Thursday, November 5, 2015

What Have I Done?


I'd guess that everyone who dabbles in this memorabilia hobby has done this....make a purchase and know immediately (maybe even beforehand) that it's a mistake that you'll regret very soon.

I was killing time between scouting last week and stopped at a Target. I ventured over to the card aisle as I always do just to see what they had. I rarely buying anything but I like to see what's around.

But like the dope that I am I decided that I was going to waste some cash since I hadn't attended the local show for a couple of months and I felt my hobby budget was yearning to be spent. I soon found myself at the checkout stands holding a large hanger pack (I guess that's what they are called) of Heritage High Numbers/Updates(?), a hanging box of 2015 Topps Regular Set Update and an Astros team set. That was one of those things that Topps puts into blister packs.

My premonition that I was wasting money turned out to be spot on. The Heritage pack got me two cards of guys for my fantasy baseball binder.


And that was a a hollow victory because I already had cards of Boxberger and Lowrie from this year with the correct teams. But I felt obligated to use these new ones in the binder.

I got about five cards of other guys I've actually heard of including these two:


And I got a bunch of cards of guys about whom I'm clueless....


And no Orioles, dammit.

The Update box was more interesting. A couple of old school Astros on special cards:


Home Run Derby cards.....they make me hear Chris Berman in my head. Ugh.


Two useless Orioles cards. Manny Machado in an All Star warm-up jersey. Don't need this. And a Mike Mussina card. I'm not one of those Orioles fans that insert a expletive between 'Mike" and 'Mussina' when I say his name but I also don't need to see him in orange and black anymore.


Brock Holt goes in the fantasy baseball binder. The other card is fancy with a gold-ish border and the throwback Topps logo.


Fernando! I like my Stadium Club Fernando more. And we begin seeing the hate my scanner has for newer Topps cards with white borders.


Same deal. My scanner hates these. But it's a Griffey (and Brandon Belt???).


Guys from the World Series.

Hamels updated. I kept his '15 as a Phillie card in the fantasy binder.


A braves pitcher with a gold-ish card.

This Aoki guy had a couple of hits on a mid-season Sunday night to hurt my fantasy team's week as I recall. Don't need to be reminded of that.


And the last card of interest is Dallas Keuchel wearing one of those atrocious All Star caps. Outside of pimping these for profit is there a reason for these to exist? I think not.


But the card is here because it reminds me of this:


Speaking of the Astros the team set had a few cards I thought were pretty nice and cards that represent one huge boatload of strikeouts.

So all in all it's pretty obvious that I could have found a decent '63 Fleer Yaz for what I paid for this stuff. Live and learn.

13 comments:

  1. Classic buyer's remorse. I know it well!

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    1. I guess I'm lucky it was only $25 worth of cards and not a home or car purchase.

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  2. Did you start humming "Man of Constant Sorrow" after opening those packs?

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    1. LOL I actually went and found it on YouTube. Watched about seven different versions. The Bob Dylan clip is amazing. He looks to be about 18. Supposedly his first tv appearance.

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  3. Retail purchases can do that too you. At least you have some trade fodder and a few new Astros!

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  4. "Outside of pimping these for profit is there a reason for these to exist?"

    No.

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  5. I'll confess: I like the Heritage High Numbers enough to buy a jumbo pack after I'd bought a blaster... The reason is BECAUSE it's filled with Paulo Orlando and Brad Boxberger and Eddie Butler. I like the obscure guys because they fill out spots in my Current Roster binders... but unlike update I don't get Home Run Derby cards or other filler from the bloated flagship update.

    ...but that's just me, and there's no way I would even try to complete the Hi #'s... as it is, most of the SP's are going to be sold on COMC.

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    1. I admire the Current Roster binder idea. I may be ambitious enough to just do the Orioles like that.

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  6. Replies
    1. Yes, Yes I have. And honestly it's not that I dislike the cards. The Heritage design is what it is and the 2015 Base set design has really grown on me since I first saw it. I guess it's that I din't get anything that would make me want to go back and buy more.From now on I'll just cherry pick Orioles off COMC. (Famous last words, right?)

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    2. I like a lot of the designs of the recent sets I just don't need a bunch of cards I don't want. Comc is the way to go. Either that or hit up a show buy my team set

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  7. You need to look at the bright side. You have prevented me from going out and spending my money on any hanger packs of Heritage or Update. Domo arigato.

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