2015 Topps Update MegaBox Break

I let myself get suckered into picking up one of those 5+2 megaboxes of Updated/Chrome Update. Between the 7 packs I came up empty for Phillies - and really no former Phillies either :(

There are some minor highlights - pix below

Dallas Keuchel

Starting out with a couple of the Update cards. Keuchel is  the man who became the ace of the Astros. I am much happier with the shot selection for the 2015 All-Star cards. A year ago I think Topps was restricted to Practice Day photos, and there didn't appear to be enough selection.

Yoenis Cespedes

Before we spent the entire postseason hearing about Daniel Murphy, we spent the duration of the stretch run hearing about Yoenis Cespedes. The Cuban outfielder is a Free Agent and this may be one of the few cards issued of Cespedes as a Met.

Stephen Vogt

Another All-Star card, this is an interesting shot of A's catcher Stephen Vogt with I assume his child. The two of them are holding a placard for MLBs Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign.

Chrome

Joey Gallo
Francisco Lindor
Jason Heyward

These are this years special Chrome Cards. One advantage of photographing over scanning for these is you can capture the sparkles at a variety of angles. Three Pictures of the same card could have quite different results.

Eduardo Rodriguez
Delino DeShields
Eddie Butler

The filled in "Future Stars" tag, shown here on the Eddie Butler Card, looks a bit better on the Chrome Cards than on flagship - You can actually read the tag on the Chrome Card.

Inserts/Notables

Joe Ross
Craig Biggio
Dwight Gooden
Josh Donaldson

The Ross card is a parallel out of one of the base packs. Whatever Works for Craig Biggio is his dirty helment.

No-Hitter

The Bob Feller card above will likely get covered in a future No-Hitters posting.

Joey Butler
Danny Valencia

Gold Cards from flagship - both numbered to 2015.

Rookies

Jason Garcia/Scott Copeland

Apparently Dual RCs are in Update. I don't recall seeing these in the first 2 series of 2015T.

Joc Pederson

This is one of the Gold Versions of Chrome Update - numbered to /250.

Rookie Sensations Jose Abreu

I believe Rookie Sensations is the common insert for Chrome Update.

I pick up a couple of packs of Update each year, adding these few packs from the MegaBox along with the 8 ChroUp cards will probably conclude my new pack purchases for the year.

Sources and Links
Cardboard Connection

Bob Feller: 1918-2010

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Autograph Bob Feller




Bob Feller is from well before my time but I always enjoy hearing stories about him and his career.  Here are a couple of links from Card Bloggers and Elsewhere:

Phungo Profile from December 11 2008
Vintage Sportscards
Bob Lemke (includes great photo)
Frank Deford SI Article from November 21 2007

You can't beat the old B&W footage of Feller's Fastball racing against the Motorcycle.  

Spot the Sig Profile - Bob Feller

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Autograph Bob Feller

Bob Feller won 266 career games, every one of them with the Cleveland Indians. He was also a member of the most recent Cleveland Indians team to win the World Series in 1948. The 266 Career wins is an even greater accomplishment when you consider that Feller gave up 3 prime years of his career for Military service. Those three years from 1942-1944 were sandwiched between 25 and 26 Win season for Feller.

Feller is frequently outspoken and I admire his convictions. Last year he was in the booth for a very entertaining inning or two during the American League playoffs, as I remember he did not hold back on any criticisms of the current state of baseball or the disposition of the games players.

I will always enjoy the old black and white films of Feller throwing his fastball “racing” against a motorcycle in order to time the pitch. I couldn't find the motorcycle video but I did find a video of him throwing his fastball through some contraption that clocked the pitch at 98 mph.

Bob Feller autographs, are in pretty high circulation on Ebay. You can also acquire one through the Bob Feller Museum , located in Rapid Robert’s hometown of Van Meter, Iowa. The charge is $20 although right now they are running a discount that brings the price to $16.20. I couldn't figure out the shipping charge, but I would imagine that it would bring the item back into the $20.00 range. Twenty bucks for an autograph of a 90 year old Hall of Famer seems like a decent deal to me.

For further information regarding the Phungo Spot the Sig! contest click here and join the party - you just may find yourself with a stack of cards come spring training!