Swag from Play at the Plate: 2014 Topps Blue Blaster

At the end of last year Brian over at Play at the Plate ran a contest to win a blaster of 2014 Topps. It was my kind of contest too, All I had to do was comment on a post. And Team Phungo Won!

2014 Topps Blue #312 Jimmy Rollins

There was only one Phillies player in the blaster, but it was a colorful Walmart parallel. Other than that it was a pretty nice box. I had already hoarded 100+ cards via Hangers and Looseys, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out that the blaster didn't duplicate many of the cards that I had already collected. I have developed a taste for hangers so it has been a while since I have opened a blaster. The number of inserts is mindblowing. Since each 8 card pack contains 2 blue parallels plus an insert, technically 37.5% of the cards are not base. To me parallels count as base, but for the completists out there, well I sympathize for their plight.

Highlights - Base

2014 Topps Leonys Martin 
2014 Topps Brian McCann

Check it out a Ranger and a Play at the Plate card. These should put a smile on faces at PATP HQ.

Inserts

Manupatch of 2008 Kershaw RC

These are a bit odd. the "Border" from the original 2008 design is raised, while the pix is inset.

89T Die Cut Sandy Koufax

The blaster was a bit of Dodger Hot Box. Never been a big fan of Die Cuts. Just harder to take care of. That being said the 89T design is a good one to give the Die Cut treatment.

2014 Topps Power Player Wilmer Flores

Just noting the difference from the PP cards and base here. The RCe logo is gone and the Topps moved from right to left. There is good news here if your hate the chrome print, it appears a bit lighter on the Power Play cards.

2014 Topps Blue Mariano Rivera

This was a bit of an oddity, All of the Blue Parallels in the box were of cards with Landscrape Photos, notice these two of the retiring Rivera and the one of Jimmy above. This is a coalation thing I have noticed from Topps previously. In 2008 I got a Hobby Box of S1 where all the Gold Foil stamped cards were Horizontal.

Bleeders

Night Owl referred this years new Red parallels as bleeding walls or something similar. At some point I hope to have some additional thoughts on these, but will note that all 3 of these like the blue instagrams above are landscapes.

etc   

The reamaining inserts. I like the UpperClass cards but find the Future is Now cards meh. For whatever reason I liked the UC cards of Retired players more than these new cards of current players.

All in all a fun break. Lots of new blue cards for the Phungo collection, a couple of cool inserts including a Rollins Parallel. Thanks to the Brian over at Play at the Plate for running a contest that even Team Phungo can win.

More 2014 Topps Review
2014 Topps First Pack

2013 Topps #US313 Mariano Rivera (SP Variation)

The recently retired Mariano Rivera turns 44 today. To mark the occasion Team Phungo is celebrating by taking a look at one of the Sandman's Short Printed Variations from this years Topps Update set.

 

2013 Topps #US313 Mariano Rivera (SP Variation)

There are actually 2 variations for this card. There are so many variations in 2013 Topps that I didn't realize that this card was a SP right away. This is a bit annoying but I am still glad to pick up the minor hit. It is a good looking card with a nice shot of Rivera entering his last all-star game - The partially show All-Star game logo helps highlight the photo.

Variations
The base version of this variation card has gone as low as $3.52 with 6 auctions concluding under $6.  Auctions for this card have ended as high as $19.49.

SSP
The Super Short Print version of the card which shows Rivera on the same night just emerging out of the Citifield Bullpen door has gone for a high of $142 and a low of $47 

Sources
Cardboard Connection
ebay.com
baseball-ref.com

2013 Topps Update Hanger Pack Match Race - Target Red vs Vanilla

Really this isn’t a competition. Either you like the red parallels or you don’t but I wanted to take a few minutes to examine the contents of a Hanger Pack of each.

Today we open our Hanger Pack analysis with the vanilla non-red Parallel version.

2013 Topps Update #US30 Mike Adams

This is the one Phillies card I picked up in the 72 cards pack.  Low-level card , the Phils needed Adams to sure up their shaky bullpen. - Unfortunately Mike Adams spent most of 2013 on the DL . He is on a 2 year stretch, hopefully his 2014 campaign will be more productive.  I believe this is my first card of Adams in Phillies pinstripes.

The Adams card was one of 66 Base Cards I picked up in the Hanger. The base cards also included both Zach Wheeler RCs

2013 Topps Update #US220 Zach Wheeler (rc  Rookie Debut)

2013 Topps Update #US50 Zach Wheeler (rc)

I assume the rookie debut cards are part of the base set as they are in the regular checker.  The b-side of the cards give the players line for the game and have a related caption. I like that the Rookie Debut note on the front of the card is a stamp - even if it is Chrome.   

More Vanilla

Among the highlights of the Base Cards were The nice shot of Mariano Rivera entering his final All-Star game. Phungo Favorite Wil Myers RC.  Reliever Brian Wilson has his signature look, with a new ballclub. The Drake Britton RC nicely displays the Boston Strong logo.

Inserts

71 Topps Mini of Clayton Kershaw and the Chasing History of Jim Palmer highlight this set of inserts 

Making their Mark

I believe The Make their Mark cards are an insert that notes a big game for a player early in their career.  The Kyle Gibson card is from his Debut.  Marcell Ozuna's card is from his first HR which occurred a few days after his debut - unfortunately the HR was in a game versus the Phillies :(

That is it for our first Hanger Pack.  Tomorrow we will take a look at the Target Hanger.

2013 Topps - Looking Back

2013 Topps S1 First Pack (Retail)

2013 Topps S2 Hobby Packs

2013 Topps S1 & S2 Phillies Checkers

2013 Topps Chrome Value Pack

2013 Topps Opening Day 1/2 Price

2012 Topps Hanger Pack

Sources

Baseball-ref.com

First Ballot Hall of Famer???: 2012 Phungo Cards #30 Mariano Rivera

2012 Phungo Cards #30 Mariano Rivera

After Tuesday's night's Mariano LoveFest at Citifield and some discussion on Twitter today, we are taking a look at the Career of the games most prolific closers. It is basically considered a given that Mariano Rivera and his 638 Saves are destined for Cooperstown.

I won't argue that - but I want to look into a superlative aspect of that question.

Is Mariano Rivera a First Ballot Hall of Famer?   

	Career Saves	Led League	Ballot	1st Ballot PCT	World Series	Cy Young Award	MVP	All-Star	WAR	HoF Sims
Mariano Rivera	638	3	???	???	5 (7)	2nd (2005)	9th (04,05)	13	55.4	Sutter
Dennis Eckersley	390	2	1st	83.2%	1 (3)	1992	1992	6	62.5	Gossage, Wilhelm, Fingers
Rollie Fingers	341	3	2nd	65.7%	3 (3)	1981	1981	7	25	Gossage
Rich Gossage	310	3	9th	33.3%	1 (3)	3rd (1980)	3rd (1980)	9	41.8	Fingers, Wilhelm
Bruce Sutter	300	5	13th	23.9%	1 (1)	1979	5th (1982)	6	24.5	none
Hoyt Wilhelm	227	0	8th	41.7%	1 (1)	none	4th (1952)	8x 5 yrs	50.1	Gossage, Fingers
Notable Recent	SV	LL	Ballot	1ST PCT	WS	CYA?	MVP?	ALL ***	WAR	HOF Sims
Lee Smith	478	4	???	42.3%	0	2nd (1991)	8th (1991)	7	29.4	Fingers, Sutter
John Franco	424	3	0	4.6%	0 (1)	7th (1994)	12th (1988)	4	23.7	Fingers
Jeff Reardon	367	1	0	4.8%	1 (2)	7th (1985)	11th (1987)	4	19.1	Sutter
Notable Distant	SV	LL	Ballot	1ST PCT	WS	CYA?	MVP?	ALL ***	WAR	HOF Sims
Lindy McDaniel	172	3	0	0.2%	0	3rd (1960)	5th (1960)	1	28.7	Wilhelm, Gossage
Elroy Face	193	3	0	5.9%	1 (1)	none	7th (1957)	6x 3yrs	21.3	none
Firpo Marberry	101	5	0	0.4%	1 (3)	none	13th (1931)	na	31.7	none

*Stats as of 2013-07-17

There are by my count only 5 HoF closers.  They are the first set below Super Mariano.  Among those 5 there is exactly 1 First Ballot Qualifier, Dennis Eckersley. Of course Eck had 2 careers, 1 as a starter and a 2nd as a closer.

As the only first ballot qualifier, Eckersley is probably the most important comp in this discussion.

How does Mo Stack up?  On the minus side Eckersley has his tremendous 1992 season in which he won both the MVP and  Cy Young Awards.  Rivera's best finishes are 9th and 2nd respectively for the two awards. In 2005 the Cy Young Award went to Bartolo Colon - depending on how you feel about PED use one could default the award to Rivera. The 2nd minus is in the career WAR column.  Rivera is 7 WAR wins behind. This is a conundrum in that the bulk(73%) of Eck's career WAR happened as a starter, yet it is accepted that he was elected to the Hall as a closer.

The Plusses are less debatable - granted the era's have changed but Rivera is almost 250 saves in front of Eckersley in career saves and counting. Finally there are the 5 World Championships.  Mariano Rivera has always been in a class of his own and this is the one number that truly separates him.

The Cy Young/MVP award is the only category that separates Rollie Fingers from Rivera.

Rivera outranks Goose Gossage in almost every category charted. Bruce Sutter perhaps the weakest of the candidates does have his 5 save titles v Mariano's 3 and a Cy Young Award.

Hoyt Wilhelm is close in WAR, but is somewhat in a different category as well.  It is also worth noting that Wilhelm was a 2nd place finisher for 1952 Rookie of the Year and lost 3 season to the service during the early part of his career.    

Lee Smith, John Franco and Jeff Reardon
All good closers, none in Rivera's class.  Franco probably was dismissed from the ballot a bit early.

Out of the Past
During my research a couple of names came up that I felt as though were worth charting. Lindy McDaniel was a 1950s "bonus baby" who showed up on a number of comps. It appears that this resulted in a career WAR comparable to Sutter and Fingers.  Elroy Face was the career saves leader for a few years prior to Wilhelm taking over the category in 1964. Face also had his notable 1959 season when he posted an 18-1 record as a reliever.  Firpo Marberry held the saves record from 1926-1945. He was a member of the 1924 Washington Senators squad that won the franchises only World Series in DC  

Phungo Card

The Photo on Today's Phungo card is a bit of an oddity in that it is from a game in which Rivera blew a save in an April 24th 2011 game v the Baltimore Orioles. Brian Roberts hit a game tying single with 2 out in the 9th. 

In the end the Yankees picked up the victory with a 3 run 11th.

Voices in the Crowd
Cardboard Connection - Top 10 Mariano Rivera Cards

Source

Baseball-ref.com

2012 Topps Live in the 19355

Sort of - explain at the bottom of the post.  Here are a couple of teaser images.  Try and get up some more observations in the next 48 hrs or so.

First Card of 2012 

The first card of the year is a stinking Yankee, but at least it is a future HoF. 

First Phil

Left Handed SetUp Guy Antonio Bastardo.  One advantage to Photgraphing these cards is that in some scans I have seen the last name is unreadable on a scan - the black background hurts them.  The Red Parallells are a Target Exclusive I think and are related to...

The Box

I have no idea what this configuration is called - I have seen them for a while, but never bought one.  I assumed they had packs in them.  But it is just a single brick of cards. 

Until I hear differently I will refer to these as KindlePacks - although I am sure this is much bigger then an iPad Nook or Kindle.  Apparently 2012 Topps Series 1 Blasters do not carry relics or Autos. According to the KindlePack odds there is a 1 in million chance of getting one in these boxes. 

The Target I went to in Malvern PA only had 2 configurations of Cards, these Kindle Packs and Blasters.  No Lose packs.   

For me or anyone colecting base cards the KindlePack seems to be better then blaster.  The KindlePack has 72 cards vs 81 in the blaster - 80 + 1 Manupatch card.  No gauranteeed Patch Card in the KindlePack, but it costs only half as much for almost as many cards. 

If you look at the top right of the KindlePack you see a price of $9.99, but when the shrinkwrap is removed a price of $10.49 is displayed.  not sure how Topps screwed that up, but I am glad to see somebody had the good sense to figure out that $9.99 sure looks a lot cheaper then $10.49. 

Ok I wanted to get a couple of quick images up.  enjoy.  will try and post a more comprehensive review later.

2010 Allen Ginter Blaster Break and Review

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter This Day in History
#TDH1 Chase Utley/Wright Brothers

Time to open and review a Blaster of 2010 Allen & Ginter. First off I would like to state that this was a fun product to open. I sort of soured on Ginter in 2008. I was already building a variety of current sets at the time, and I felt that 08 Ginter was pretty bland. In general the A&G cards have a fairly plain appearance. For me the spice is in the oddball cards and the non-baseball insert sets - which in A&G do not feel out of place.

Opening a Blaster full of 2010 Allen & Ginter was just a box of good old fun - there is a History and or pop culture lesson in just about every pack. These packs actually even drew some interest from the future Mrs Phungo. Thats right I said the future Mrs Phungo. I don't really get into many personal messages here, but yes I am very happy to let everyone know that I have been given the promotion from Boyfriend to Fiance. Jo is on my mind a lot currently as she is traveling abroad for a long term work assignment and we will be apart for the next several months.

The Review
Product
1 blaster of 2010 Tops Allen & Ginter ($21.59 incl PA Sales Tax).

Specs
8 Packs @ 6 Cards/Pack = 48 cards.

Phillies Cards - Strike Out
ugh - 8 packs, 4 base cards a pack - 30 teams in the league. You do the math - one should get at least a single base card from their favorite team. I haven't really analyzed the checklist but my guess is that the Phils likely have more than their share of 2010 Topps A&G base cards. Well none of those have found their way into the Phungo collection yet. I did manage a Phils insert - see above - which sort of makes up for not getting any of the base cards.
2010 Topps Allen & Ginter (click to enlarge)
#73 Avery Jenkins
#145 Jim Thome
#264 Nemo
#277 Regis Philbin

Base Cards - Line Drive Single
The rest of base cards were solid enough. I picked up a good mix of Favorite Players, Former Phils, Hated Villains and Oddball guests. I think I would have handed out a Double here had I received any Phils in the Box.

I love the Avery Jenkins card. Until my late 30s I was involved in the Philadelphia's areas Ultimate Frisbee league. My legs, knees, ankles and resistance to staying in good shape eventually conspired to force my retirement. About a year ago on the suggestion of card blogger Lake Effect Baseball Cards, I took up a little Disc Golf. It's a fun hobby, we have a very short course near our home and get out to it a few times a month when the weather if favourable. If anybody comes up with the relic or auto of this one, let me know - perhaps we can work a deal.

Regis Philbin and I are within a degree of separation. A co-worker of mine appeared on "Millionaire" about a decade ago. I think She won $125,000. I can' t remember what question she went out on, but I remember there was a Question regarding Magnum's baseball cap.



2010 Topps Allen & Ginter (click to enlarge)
#334 Brett Myers(sp)
#302 Daric Barton(sp)
#311 Chone Figgins(sp)
#304 Carlos Pena(sp)

Short Prints - Ground Rule Double
A former Phil, plus Phungo favorite Chone Figgins. Is it me or are the Figgins and Pena cards recycled images?


Inserts
This Day in History - Home Run

Love this set!!!

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter This Day in History (click to enlarge)
#TDH48 Matt Holliday/Queen Elizabeth I
#TDH67 Josh Beckett/Women Suffragettes: Susan B Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton
#TDH20 CC Sabathia/Andy Kaufmann
#TDH34 Troy Tulowitcki/USNA opens


2010 Topps Allen & Ginter This Day in History (click to enlarge)
#TDH8 Yunel Escobar/KDKA initial commercial radio broadcast
#TDH53 Nick Markakis/First Session of Congress
#TDH61 James Shields/Louisiana Purchase

Yes, I like this set, Plus my one Phils card was the December 17th Chase Utley/Wright Brothers Aviation card above. Not sure at 1 per pack I will feel this way down the road, as I will likely open at least one more blaster of A&G this year.

Sketch Card
2010 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Sketches #AGHS4 Mariano Rivera
I suppose according to the Odds, This is the hardest card in the box to pull. The Card is nice enough, Not sure who the Phillies rep is in this set.

2010 Allen & Ginter Mini
#243 Jim Zapp (negro leaguer)
#177 Pedro Feliz
#315 Bobby Abreu (sp)
#201 KF Panda (AnG back)

Minis - Ground Rule Double

Former Phils Pedro Feliz in the black border format, A Negro Leaguer. John Milton is a great Wordsmith - If I decide to build a mini insert set the Wordsmiths would likely be the one.

2010 Allen & Ginter Lords of Olympus #LO20 Thanatos (Personification of Death)
2010 Allen & Ginter Monsters of the Mesozoic #MM7 Spinosarus
2010 Allen & Ginter World's Wordsmiths #WGWS8 John Milton
2010 Allen & Ginter National Animals #NA3 Falcon of Iceland
2010 Allen & Ginter National Animals #NA34 Condor of Colombia



Not sure if the Dinosaurs work in a mini format - Oxymoron violation.

Overall - Double
Nice cards, Cool Subsets, Fun to bust - Only drawback was a low Phils count.