Coffee Break:2022 Topps Series 1 Hobby Box

*takes a sip, sits down with a hobby box of the first new baseball cards of the season in hand. this should be fun. it's time for some #CardsOverCoffee*

After about a year away, Coffee Break is back and ready more than ever!

Just like baseball fans after hearing that baseball will finally be back.

Today, I will be ripping the anticipated 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball box as it's the first product of the new season.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

Each hobby box of 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball comes with 24 packs of 14 cards. Each box comes with 1 autograph or relic card along with one silver box topper pack. Boxes currently are running $130.

Speaking of that silver pack, I sometimes save that for last as I like the shiny, but this time, I said, let's rip it first.

The pack sits atop Mt. Topps.

Here are my results,

Not much to be excited about for me. A rookie pitcher and a few named guys. That's usually how my breaks go.

BASE:

The base set still has the popular white border along with some action photography. I will say this years design has me thinking Bowman baseball. I will be curious what that will look like in comparison.

The base set features only Wander Franco. At least that what it sounds like from most collectors. Maybe they don't realize there are another 329 cards as well.

There are Topps Gold Cups subsets

Rookies...duh

Future Stars

League Leaders

Team Cards

More team cards

And some fun photography. It's not Stadium Club level photography, but not too shabby.

PARALLELS:

Overall, you can find the following parallels,

Premiere Party, Rainbow Foil, Royal Blue, Gold /2022, Green Foil /499, Advanced Stats /300, Orange Foil /299, Red Foil /199, Vintage Stock /99, Independence Day /76, Black /71, Mother’s Day Hot Pink /50, Father’s Day Powder Blue /50, Memorial Day Camo /25, Platinum 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

Rainbow Foil falls 1:10 packs. Still one of my favorite parallels.

Golds are getting tougher to find with maybe one-per-box finds.

And final parallel, Orange Foil /299. This card is certainly Purty.

*takes a sip before moving onto the inserts. starting to think of a good breakfast to eat as well*

INSERTS:

You can find the following parallels in many of the inserts,

Blue, Black /299, Gold /75, Red /10, Platinum 1/1, and Wood 1/1.

I will say for the first time in many years, I really liked the look of this years inserts.

Generation Now has 30 cards to collect and features a nice rainbow foil touch.

The Home Run Challenge cards are back again! Pick the day, get it right, win a card! There are 30 players in this set.

50 cards with a mix of legends and veterans make up Welcome To The Show.

15 Cards of the Flashiest Feet in the game. I like the design of these, however, I can't wait for the chromed version. At least I hope it's included in that product.

And when it's not 86 Topps, it's 87 we see time and time again. The 35th anniversary set features 100 cards.

How great looking is this card?! Nice die cut, touch of rainbow foil. Beautiful!!  25 Cards make up the Diamond Greats Die Cuts.

HITS:

9 times out of 10, your hit in a box will be a relic. Well...

At least its game used and the best player I have pulled out of my many years of breaks.

There are plenty of other great hits though to find, I just don't have the luck to find them. Maybe you will!

*takes a sip before ending today's post*

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Well, the price point like every box now-a-days is steep. These used to be more like $70 for a hobby box. I always love getting Series 1 every year to get the new rookies and Yankees, but I usually stick to retail which is what I will probably just stick to.

As much as I can't stand the repetitive '87 Topps, I do really like that McGwire relic. If only they had used the original photo for it.

Thoughts on my break and on Series 1 welcomed in comments.

Have a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Pie Day

*just sat down, fresh hot cup of coffee ready for this greatness of days...pie day. oh way, it's Pi Day. well....*

*takes another sip...dreams of pie..i mean pi*

Today is 3/14, which is also known as Pi Day or 3.14andaninfiniteamountofnumbersafter day.

For me, it's not about the Pi as math was one of my worst subjects in school. Can I do basic math, of course. Can I put a set of cards together by number? Absolutely. Can I do Geometry or Calculus? Absolutely not.

But, what I can do is eat pie.

Every year on my birthday, March 19th, I get a homemade Banana Cream Pie for my birthday from my mother-in-law who makes the homemade custard, etc. It's not that vanilla pudding with cut up bananas in a pre-done crust deal. This is the real thing.

This year with my new health news, I thought that maybe I should switch out the pie for something else healthier. You know what, I said no way. It's my birthday and I will pie if I want to...pie if I want to...pie if I want to...You would pie to if it was your birthday to!! duh duh duh duh duh (this will now get stuck in your head the rest of the day now)

*takes a sip before showing off today's card...while also counting down the next five days for the pie*

Banana Cream Pie is not the only pie I enjoy. One of my other favorites is an American classic.

Apple Pie. MMMMMMMM.  Look at that.

Inkworks created a card set that included this pie icon. I am not sure how many cards are in this set or if there are more pie, but I at least have this one. The important one.

Other favorite pies of mine are, Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry, and chocolate cream. This doesn't mean that I won't try others, well, not Pumpkin. I just don't like it.

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

How am I celebrating Pie (Pi) day? Well, not the way I should be. I am sitting here typing for you guys to read about pies while also daydreaming about them. My day is coming this week for pie though, it will just be a limited amount.

In comments today, let me know your favorite pie and how you are celebrating Pi day.

Have a great Monday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Is It Working?

*takes a sip, stack of cards next to me, and I am ready for a new #CardsOverCoffee*

I had my three-month bloodwork check in this week to see how my A1C was doing and I am happy to say it has dropped from 6.4 to 5.8. So I guess the exercise, the 16.5 pound loss so far and the small dose of medication is working.

However, what is not working is my diet overall. My cholesterol was also checked for the first time in five years and it didn't look good. My overall cholesterol was good, however, the triglycerides were three times what they should be and my good cholesterol was way too low. Almost a third of what it should be. I guess you can't win every battle despite the weight loss so will have to make some better food choices. I will not take away my coffee though.

I have to see what my doctor decides next week and if I will have to be on yet another medication.

*takes a sip of coffee, tries to think of a healthier breakfast alternative to a bagel*

I also believe blog reader Oren is working on a plan to make me a hockey card collector with our last few trades. He knows I fall for anything shiny, so he finds the right cards to plug in and somehow they happen to be hockey.

Take these Center Of Excellence inserts. Not only do they have kind of a cool background, but an added shine at the bottom.

I apparently have eight of these out of the twenty in the set. Will I chase more of these? Possibly. They are kind of cool, but maybe not at the seek-them-all-out cool level yet. Nice try Oren.

However, I won't let the sunset on Oren's plan yet. This card is pure beautiful and these, I would totally get into taking many of these. His plan worked on this card as I want more.

The rest of our latest trade were baseball cards that worked their way into my collection,

Gold Boggs from 1994 Donruss.

1996 Score All Stars Eddie Murray (love this card)

And final card was Big Bats from 1996 Score.

Thanks again to Oren for the trade...and the effort to try and work hockey cards into my life.

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

I am hopeful I can get my cholesterol under control soon. My grandmother on my mother's side died from multiple mini strokes and my other grandmother on my father's side had a pacemaker so some heart issues run in my family as well.

In comments today, your thoughts on my mail day and if you collect hockey cards at all?

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Spiderman Skills

*takes a sip, listens to the cold wind howling outside and glad to not have to go anywhere today and be able to sit down and focus on a new Cards Over Coffee post. takes another sip and gets ready for today's latest installment*

I always wondered what it would be like to be a superhero. I would guess many have. Imagine having the skill set of Superman being the strong, having laser eyes, super speed and flying. Or having the  gadgets and smarts like Batman OR having Hulk's ability to super leap or his incredible strength OR what about Spiderman. Shooting webs to swing your way across a city and the ability to use your spider senses to know when something is wrong. The only problem I have with his powers is how he acquired them. The fact a spider, a radioactive one at that, has to be near you at all (not to mention bite you) may make his power not worth acquiring at all.

Spiders equal the phrase, "oh heck no".

*picks up mug to take a sip, makes sure there was no spider underneath the mug before getting it close to the mouth. safe for another day*

I may never be Spiderman, or any superhero at all, but I have watched some freakish athletes that would appear to have superhero abilities.

That's where I start to discuss the Superheroes insert from 1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess. It is a 10-card insert set that fell 1:20 packs. The cards feature an MLB player with their Marvel counterpart.

I bought a Hideo Nomo a few months ago just to see what the cards looked like up close, but deep in my heart the one I really wanted was the Ken Griffey Jr one. However, the price was a bit out of my range.

Thankfully I have some good friends in the hobby and my buddy @ShaneSalmonson was able to acquire one for our latest trade.

The card features Griffey with his Marvel Counterpart Spiderman.

 

As many of us who watched Griffey growing up can attest, he had Spiderman abilities in the outfield especially. He used his spider senses to know when a ball was coming and climbed the walls to get them.

I think there is so much talk in today's baseball about Mike Trout, that many forget the greatness that Griffey was. If he hadn't gotten hurt a few times, he would have broken every record.

Thanks again to Shane for today's card.

*picks up mug carefully again, no spider is going to get me today. takes a sip, puts mug back down to finish today's post*

As I was typing this, I began to think that maybe I do have a super power after all....

COFFEE BLOG MAN! The unstoppable power of drinking lots of coffee and blogging at the same time. How does that sound? Maybe I should acquire the ability to give you a cup to read this blog with as well. I am focusing really hard staring at this screen...please tell me when a cup appears in front of you made the way you like it. And.......now!

Thoughts on today's card or a superhero comparison you would make in baseball is welcomed in comments below. Also let me know if you are drinking coffee while you are reading this.

Have a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

State Of The Hobby: Retail Product

*got up early this morning I guess to write a post for you guys or maybe wanted to infuse myself with extra coffee today. or maybe just wanted to get a few things done before my sister-in-law arrives from TN. regardless of why, here I am, and here is a new post*

In this new segment, I want to tackle a few sections of the hobby that have drastically changed since the pandemic. As we all know, life has changed in many ways since Covid.

First up, the most notable one, retail products.

Before the pandemic, I could find all of the retail product I wanted. Packs, blasters, hangers from every product that was released from every sport. Heck, there were even clearance packs of 2018 Prizm football. It offered a wonderland of options and I got excited about taking a trip to Walmart never having to worry about being able to find cards to open.

Then came the pandemic.

I think a lot of people got bored or taken in by an influencer, because that's when a big influx of money appearing in the hobby from flippers. Week by week, retail product started to disappear until the shelves were bare on a weekly basis leaving actual collectors distraught and frustrated like myself.  The flippers knowing they had cleaned out real collectors fun, found their own fun by trying to charge twice what they paid. There was no way basic collectors, especially myself, was going to pay two times the price for something I could have opened a week or two prior for regular cost.

Retail product than became a hunt for collectors and a celebration would occur if you got there first before the flippers. Especially if you ever spotted basketball products.

The only real shot you had, is if you timed it right when the vendor was there. Otherwise, you were out of luck as the flippers came in and cleared off shelves like vultures. It looked like a scene from Jingle All The Way with Turbo Man when flippers saw the shelves full.

I went many months without opening up any retail product to the point I had started trading away decent cards to people on Twitter just to get something to open. Occasionally, my father would time it right with the vendor and was able to grab me a pack or two. Otherwise, one of my favorite things to do in the hobby was gone. Ripping packs was no longer an option and I needed to find another favorite thing to do. So instead, I enjoyed the cards that I already had by sorting them again....and again....and you guessed it, again.

I had actually gotten to the point where I hated going to Walmart when the trip was just about finding laundry detergent and clearance items.

*takes a sip, coffee is getting a bit cold. better take another sip or two before continuing on*

Fast forward to the summer of 2021, I started to notice a little retail back on the shelves again. The only problem, it was only the products the flippers couldn't flip and were some of my least favorites. Topps Heritage, Topps Update, Chronicles Draft and Topps Gallery. There wasn't much of it as I think they were still trying to flip it, but there was some at least if I chose to grab it. Not that I wanted this to come across as a complaint as it was nice to see some product again, but it wasn't exactly what I would have personally spent money on.

But, there was still no basketball, no Prizm, no Topps Chrome, Mosaic, Optic to find in sight. I am not sure if it ever hit the shelves or if the flippers used a wand and said Evanesco making all of those products disappear before anyone could get to them. If you don't get that reference, you must not have seen Harry Potter.

*takes another sip, may need a new cup soon with the coffee getting quite cold from this long post*

*gets up, brews a second cup, sits back down and continues on with today's post*

By this point, I never expected to see retail shelves full again. Then came the fall/winter of 2021 where product started to appear more on the shelves giving collectors more options. But, those options didn't come without a price.

Card companies got wise. They saw flippers making a killing off of their products so they figured, why are we allowing them to make all of the money when we can be making more. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

Price increases were across the board, especially for more popular products. Most blaster boxes jumped between $28-$36. Hanger Boxes were hanging around at $20. Hanger Packs jumped to $15 while Fat Packs made their way to $8. Then there was the Mega Boxes jumping to $50-$60.

This now put real collectors on another sad level. They could actually find product, but now had to pay twice for what they want.

 

 

My last two trips to Walmart actually looked like this. There was even Optic and Mosaic basketball to find. First time in two years I have seen basketball, especially popular basketball on the shelves. The one thing you can't see though as I picked up an Optic blaster to go home with, was the $40 price tag for it that made me return it to the shelf. There was no way I was going to pay twice what I would have two years ago.

The other sad reality of retail product are companies also putting less in. Most now don't have any guaranteed hits. Not even a player worn relic. Most just have blaster exclusive parallels which don't seem worth the price tag for to me.

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

I will admit I have overpaid for some of the products on the shelves just for some retail therapy. But, I didn't like it. At least though I wasn't supporting the flipper community.

Retail is just one part of the sad reality of today's hobby and how much things have changed since the pandemic. As I continue this series, I will dive into many more topics. Some, you might not even realize until you think about it.

I know you, the readers, must have some thoughts on today's topic. Make sure your mug is full of joy, and you let me know your comments on this.

Have a great Monday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Wallet Card: 7 Years Later

*some like their coffee in the morning and some like myself, like it all day long. so here I am this afternoon sipping on a cup and getting ready for the latest #CardsOverCoffee post*

Back in January of 2015, Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown created a fun game for Bloggers or whoever wanted to join in, where you carry a sport card around in your wallet and take pictures with it on your journeys in a year. He called it, The Game Of Wallet Card.

I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, so I wanted to join in but would however have to find a card that I wouldn't mind seeing ruined. My hobby OCD couldn't have handled taking a PC card and destroying it even though the rules stated, "It should be a card that makes you smile every time you see it, since you'll probably be seeing a lot of it"

So, even though I chose some random card I didn't mind getting ruined, I tried to find one with some relevancy to it.

I chose this Fleer '91 base card of coach Orlando Magic coach Matt Guokas. I guess with my name being Matt G, I thought that worked pretty well. And I thought the coaches face kind of captured someone who would look trapped in a wallet.

This card traveled with me for the year of the game, and I took some pictures along the way and posted them. What I didn't realize is, the card continued to travel with me until recently.

*takes a sip before continuing on with today's post*

I don't use my wallet very much other than to carry my license, my wife is the Financial Advisor in the family, so it stays in my pants pocket all of the time. The other day I had to actually take it out and open it since I got a new license to replace the old one. I saw something blue poking out and that's when I realized, the Wallet Card was still making its round in my wallet seven years later.

I carefully took the card out just in case it crumbled apart, but it was still together.

But, definitely not as mint as it used to be. Though I bet some grading companies would still call it that :) I also hope none of you are disappointed there are no coffee stains.

You're probably wondering what did I do next, toss it? Nope, I stuck it back in my wallet. I figured at this point; it will be interesting to see what another seven years does to it.

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

I think it would be fun to re-start the Wallet Card game back up again. Would love to see photos across the country of where your wallet card goes.

Maybe after reading this post, it will inspire Gavin to do another one.

Thoughts on Wallet Card Game and if you participated the first time and if you still have your wallet card in your wallet or out of it.

Have a great Friday and weekend.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Unfinished Cup:1997 Fleer Metal Marvel Football

*about a week ago, I was holding my cup of coffee looking out my kitchen window and starting to see bare ground. today, the ground is covered in white after a snowy weekend with more coming today to kick off the month that was supposed to creep up closer to spring. coffee will make everything better.....there's no place like coffee...there's no place like coffee....there's....*

*takes a sip, closes curtains, sits down, gets ready for a new #CardsOverCoffee*

Today, kicks off a new segment on the blog called Unfinished Cup. It will feature sets that I need to finish and seek help to finish. I guess you can say I am Robert Stack and this is Unsolved Mysteries and I am looking for your help.

The first set featured in this series is one of the newer ones I have been chasing. So far, I am halfway through this set chase.

The 1997 Fleer Metal Universe Marvel has 20 cards in the set and fell 1:6 packs. The set features an NFL player alongside a Marvel superhero that is compared to them.

Here is what I have so far in my set chase minus the Kerry Collins I haven't pulled out of my Kerry Collins box yet. (update, since I started this draft, I acquired Kordell Stewart which should show up next week)

*takes a sip before showing off the cards*

Spiderman seems to be the theme when it comes to recievers who have weblike sticky hands.

Hulk is featured for those fearsome and angry defensive players.

(my biggest set piece so far thanks to @90sNicheFBCard)

Captain America is for those quarterback leaders.

Overall look at my Avengers team so far,

Pretty cool huh?

For the most part, the set is pretty affordable. The Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders however are steep at $50 plus. It may be a while before I am able to finish this set.

Here is what remains for my set chase, 

1,2,3,4,6,9,11,12,14,17.

If you have any help for me, reach out to me by email with sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com.

At the top of the blog, web version on your mobile browser, I am adding a tab that will have this series in it. This will be my new way of keeping track of my set needs and I will update each one as I go along. Just like I did above with the Kordell Stewart card #12.

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

I am more of a DC guy overall as I have posted on here before, but they didn't make a set like that with football players. I think an Eli Manning/Batman card would have been amazing.

In comments today, let me know your thoughts on today's set and which player you like to watch matched up with their Marvel or DC superhero.

Have a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*