The Sequel Wasn't As Good

 *sits down, opened box and cards in and I ready to show this off. it's time for a new Cards Over Coffee*

I should have known.

I didn't stick with what I knew best, that a sequel never lives up to the original.

That goes with music, movies and even cards.

When I opened that first 2022 Stadium Club Chrome blaster box and hit two autographs and some other great cards, I should have known that it was going to be hard to beat. 

And it was.

I found a second blaster last week and without thinking, without hesitation of any kind, I tossed it into the shopping cart carefree.

I skipped out of Walmart like a little child who found his favorite toy and immediately opened the box in the car hoping for the same magic as the original box.

Except this blaster didn't have any kind of magic and was a letdown like most highly promoted sequels.

 

This was my best base card, not that anyone can complain about adding a Mike Trout.

My rookies. Kind of weak.

 

X-Factor parallels, the Musial is decent but meh on the rest.

So I guess buying a second box means pulling two of the same insert card, great. At least I know a Dodgers fan that would be happy with this I believe. Yes, Greg, I am talking to you.

And my last card,

I wanted to pull a Trophy Hunters, just didn't even get a player even close to who I wanted. It's a cool looking card.

And that was it. No autographs this time. Nothing that really stood out to me and most of this is available for trade as well.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

I don't plan on opening up anymore of this product after the disappointing sequel.

In comments today, thoughts on my break and what movie sequel you felt lived up to the original. My favorite sequel, which I think outdid the first one was the new Jumanji movie series with the second one in Jumanji:The Next Level.

Also, my second cup of coffee this morning outdid the first. Which doesn't usually happen either.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Finally Found One!

*sits down, cup of coffee, box of cards in hand, it's time for a new Cards Over Coffee*

\

I finally found one!

 

My reaction (same one I have with my first cup of morning coffee)

For some reason or another, 2022 Stadium Club Chrome became a hot product and took off like it was Prizm, Mosaic or Optic football. Shelves were cleaned, product was being flipped, you know the bad old days of Covid.

Fortunately, in my area, I was able to find a blaster just sitting there on the shelf and even though I technically didn't really have the funds to do so, I couldn't leave and grabbed it and tossed it in the cart with no glare from the Mrs...this time. Of course, explaining to her how hard it is to find this product helped as well.

*takes a sip, rips the plastic off the box, stacks the packs, takes a sip and gets ready to rip*

Each blaster box of 2022 Stadium Club Chrome comes with 4 packs of 7 cards. So there really isn't a lot of cards in a box so you are hoping to score on one of them. Blaster boxes are $24.98 which makes the packs $6+ each.

Let's hope this gamble was worth it. I am just hoping for some cool looking inserts, some base for my PC's and some rookies. Maybe get lucky and land a Julio.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

Not a bad start on my base, which was one of the best base cards I pulled from the box. Not a single Judge, Jeter or Griffey Jr for my PCs.

Guess I will be on the hunt for those.

As for the card itself, I like this version of Chrome more than Topps Chrome. The photography is much better because of the Stadium Club branding.

The rookies I pulled from the box. Not any big names.

Overall there are 400 base cards in the set to collect with rookies, legends and present players.

Up next are my parallels,

Base refractor, never heard of this guy. But, a rookie refractor seems like a PC fit I suppose.

X-Factors, one fell per pack. 

Overall, there are X-Fractor, Base Refractor, Wave, Blue /199, Green /99, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /5, and SuperFractor 1/1 parallels to be found.

Now onto my inserts...fingers crossed on landing Trophy Hunter card of Griffey, Judge and Jeter.....

Nope, Beam Team of Oneil Cruz and Pete Alonso. These fall 1:6 packs and has 25 cards to collect.

Team Of The Futuer of Fernando Tatis Jr. Whatever happened to this guy, goes from hobby sweetheart with Acuna Jr and now both guys are way out of sight. These fall 1:6 packs and have 20 cards in the set to collect.

*takes a sip to build up two other finds in the break*

Then came a couple big surprises....

In Pack 2, I found this Brandon Marsh autograph!

Then in Pack 3, another autograph!!! 2 retail autos!! I don't know who this is but this is a green parallel autograph /99.

 

Overall, I am feeling like this after the break....and after two cups of coffee.

*takes as sip before finishing up today's post*

I didn't quite get the PC cards I had hoped for, but pulling was pretty cool. One of the best retail breaks I have had in a while.

Thoughts on my break welcomed in comments. Most of the cards including the autographs will be available for trade as well.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Let's Chrome It All

*takes a sip of early morning coffee. Coffee is good any time of day, but something about that first cup first thing in the morning is where it really hits the sweet spot. It's like watching Ken Griffey Jr hit a home run with that swing*

I haven't had the chance yet to update my health on here so thought I would tackle that first then lead into today's post.

Before I had my second kidney stone surgery, I had to have a "health call-in" with my PCP since he no longer is taking in-person visits currently and my internet is crud so I couldn't do an online virtual call. He wasn't too happy with my blood pressure still, I have had to test it at home the past month so he stuck me on a third blood pressure med that has so far been decreasing it though it's not where it needs to be quite yet. It's a working progress.

On the better health news front, I had my second kidney stone surgery which was a success. Both stent and stone were removed and I am currently recovering. I will be having a checkup with an ultrasound in a few weeks to make sure my kidneys are still properly working after having those surgeries but so far, so good.

*takes a sip of coffee feeling better about a clean slate to start off 2021*

For one of those kidney stone surgeries, my wife made a quick trip to Walmart-something we have avoided with the pandemic-and surprised me with a blaster box of 2020 Stadium Club Chrome baseball for a cheer-me-up.

I was more impressed by the fact she was able to find any cards but the fact it was Stadium Club Chrome was a bonus.

*takes a sip*

2020 Stadium Club Chrome is a new, but old product, as it was in the 90's for a very short period. It appears they are finally understanding collectors love of chromed items as they have now in 2020 put chrome on Stadium Club, Allen and Ginter (really wanted to open some of this) and even came out with a second round of Topps Chrome and called it Topps Chrome Black.

I guess if chroming things works, stick with it!

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

 

Every blaster box of 2020 Stadium Club Chrome baseball comes with 4 packs per box with 6 cards per pack. Each blaster comes with a bonus 1 pack of 4 bonus card X-Factor parallels. Boxes when not being flipped are $20.

 

The base card design is the same as Stadium Club except it has a nice layer of chrome on it. Up close, these look superb when you have that photography and open non border design as well. I actually liked it more than Topps Chrome which says a lot for me who is a die-hard "chromie". It's like a groupie but for Topps Chrome.

The base set is a pretty big sized one at 400 cards, which is really large for any chrome products and includes players like Baez above

and legends of the past

along with all of the rookies.

*takes another sip, feels the tummy grumbling for some breakfast. Will have to think on breakfast while I tackle the parallels*

When I saw another chrome product, I expected a year long list of parallels like all the other products. The good news is, there isn't a lot of parallels to seek out. You can find Base Refractor, X-Fractor, Wave, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /5, and SuperFractor 1/1.

I pulled only one, yes one, refractor in this blaster and it looks outstanding. The image combined with the shine may have made this one of my favorite cards of 2020. That's coming from a Yankees fan about a Mets card.

The only other parallels I found were the four card bonus x-factors,

Cespedes

Rogers (seems like I pulled this guy often when I did open baseball)

Soto (solid!!)

And lookie here, one of my main NY Yankees pc players and my favorite Yankee player of all-time in Derek Jeter. Great PC add.

*decides on a bagel, puts it in the toaster and moves onto the inserts*

Inserts have the following parallels to search for in Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /5, and SuperFractor 1/1.

Emperors Of The Zone has 25 cards in the set and has all of the top pitchers in the game.

And the always exciting and included Beam Team. These fall 1:4 packs and have 25 players to collect.

*bagels ready, time to sum this up so I can eat*

I really enjoyed this box break, despite how short it was. I doubt I will find anymore blaster boxes around even if I did make the trip to Walmart but it left me wanting more.

Speaking of wanting more, there are a few cards I am specifically looking for in the product I may need help landing,

• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Refractor Ken Griffey Jr
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome X-Factor Ken Griffey Jr
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Inserts Ken Griffey Jr
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome base Derek Jeter 
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Refractor Derek Jeter
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Refractor Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome X-Factor Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Orange Refractor Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Wave Refractor Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Gold Refractor Kyle Schwarber
• 2020 Stadium Club Chrome Red Refractor Kyle Schwarber

There are reasons for this list I will tackle at a later date.

I hope 2021 has kicked off positively for you so far and I hope you have had at least one cup of coffee while checking out this post. I will be on my third cup soon.