2021-22 Panini Illusions Value Pack

Here we are with another Panini NBA offering. Because of production delays (?), the bulk of their release calendar was pushed until after the actual season it was made for. I'm guessing we won't be done with 2021-22 releases by the time the league tips off for the 2022-23 season in a couple of weeks.

70 - Luka Doncic - We start things off with one of the game's biggest names.

27 - Anthony Edwards - This year's Illusions design distinguishes itself from previous releases with the player name and team running down the side of the card.

51 - Jrue Holiday - The backs show that Panini has pretty much given up on including stats on cards anymore, aside from NBA Hoops because of tradition, I guess.

9 - Julius Randle

67 - Kristaps Porzingis - Each card gives you multiple photos. In this case, it gives you multiple photos of Kristaps looking serious.

25 - D'Angelo Russell

82 - CJ McCollum - This is the first card I've pulled of McCollum since the Blazers traded him, and it breaks my heart a little.

123 - Ray Allen Starlight - I'm assuming the correct parallel name for this is Starlight, because of all of the stars in the background. At first I had pegged this as a teal parallel, but those are supposed to be numbered to 79 and this is unnumbered.

36 - Jamal Murray Operation Detonation Orange - In addition to the apparently rare teal parallels, this particular pack configuration also has exclusive orange parallels. Operation Detonation is kind of a mouthful.

105 - Draymond Green - Green is pretty much the Mouth of the NBA, for better or for worse.

182 - Jeremiah Robinson-Earl - We finish it off with a pair of rookies.

155 - Jalen Suggs - Suggs does not care that the Illusions logo is right down there where his foot should be.

Repacked Wax Baseball

 

Here's something a little bit different. I went to a card show last month, and one of the tables had a box of "Repacked Wax" packs for sale. These are actually sealed in real wax wrappers, which brings back all the nostalgia. They have a website and have packs available for other sports as well. This isn't normally the type of thing I'd go for, but the guy at the table was getting people hooked by showing off some of the packs he had opened, which included a 1968 Topps Frank Robinson card if memory serves me.

235 - John Lowenstein (1981 Donruss) - We kick things off with the always slightly out of focus debut Donruss set.

69 - Billy Sample (1982 Donruss) - Donruss made great strides between year one and two as you can see here.

211 - Doug Dascenzo (1993 Topps) - We don't see many bunts these days.

247 - Wayne Tolleson (1985 Topps) - Should the Rangers bring these unis back as throwbacks someday?

446 - Joey Belle (1990 Upper Deck) - Albert, as he would come to be known, had a lot of hot cards in 1990.

35T - Terry Francona (1989 Topps Traded) - This is one that you couldn't have pulled out of a wax pack at any point, although Topps did experiment with putting their Traded sets in pack form in 1990 and 1991.

235 - Alvin Davis (1987 Topps) - What?

50 - Ryne Sandberg (1992 Topps Stadium Club) - With the background completely out of focus, it looks like the person in the crowd on the bottom right is wearing some sort of construction hard hat.

581 - Lynn McGlothen (1978 Topps) - Here's our first card from the '70s. McGlothen looks a bit more like a coach than an active pitcher here.

US8 - Amed Rosario (2021 Topps Update) - We then leap forward a bunch of decades for this one.

221 - Kevin Bass (1984 Fleer) - It looks like Bass was pulled aside during batting practice to snap this photo and isn't super happy about it.

629 - Rickey Henderson / Dave Winfield (1985 Fleer) - This is a card well remembered from my youth that happens to be from one of my all-time favorite sets (and a favorite subset to boot.)

445 - Alan Ashby (1983 Fleer) - Here's another Astros card featuring their dark unis.

603 - Dinelson Lamet (2020 Topps) - It looks like Lamet plays for the "Paddres".

244 - Ozzie Smith (1992 Donruss Triple Play) - The last card is a slightly off-center card of my favorite player.

The packs come with a couple of these stickers to apparently shield the cards inside from the dreaded wax stains. It's a nice touch.

2022 Garbage Pail Kids Book Worms

 Hello. I've opened quite a few packs of this hoping to put together a set of this. 

Here is one pack of this newish set. FWIW this pack was from one of the toy aisle mega box.

These cards are pretty self-explanatory; 100 a cards, and 100 b cards with a few inserts thrown in.

 

Didn't pull any cards from the Gross Adaptations insert set, but I did pull a Booger Green parallel card.

 

 Couldn't find much better a candidate than Snot Jam ANNE.

These come one in every pack.

I also bull the b card of Green MAUREEN. That would've been a good green parallel too.

 

I've always liked the artwork on these GPK cards. Literary themes are cool.

The cool thing about GPK is that the basic logo and font hasn't changed in 40ish years.

The gross out humor also hasn't changed much either.

Levar Burton puking out a literal reading rainbow is great. 

2022 Topps Archives Signature Series: Retired Player Edition Baseball

As a Hall-of-Famer here at APTBNL (read: mild sarcasm), I pride myself in my posting of the epic, weird, stupid, gross, and exciting pack breaks.

Every year I buy a few boxes of Topps Archives Signature Series: Retired Player Edition. Each box has 1 autographed card, in a one-touch magnetic sealed case. Each card is a buyback, serial numbered and signed on-card by a retired player.

I have pulled everyone from Mike Lieberthal and Jose Rijo to Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson through the years.

Now, I thought, I could just open one box for you. But then you would have just one card, and that would be kind of dull. There are no packs, just boxes with a single card in each.

It wouldn't really be a "pack break" if I did 3 boxes.

So I decided, for YOU, our readers, to sacrifice my hard earned money and buy a CASE of this product. (And definitely not because I have been itching to do it for years or anything)

So here's 20 cards, 20 boxes, 20 packs, of 2022 Topps Archives Signature Series: Retired Player Edition Baseball. A Case To Be Named Later.

(Yes, I scanned this myself. It wasn't easy)

So, what shall we find? 20 Steve Balbonis? A dual auto of bloodied Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura?

Box 1:

Starting off of a Bill Mazeroski Auto, capturing his most famous moment, one of the most famous walk-off home runs in baseball... so famous, in fact, that it wasn't even called it a walk-off home run yet. This is a 2012 Topps Buyback, 24/46

Box 2:

Another Pirate! This one, the legendary leadoff catcher Jason Kendall. This is a 1998 Topps Buyback, 28/42.

Dave Magadan, perhaps a modest career as a player but had a big role in the 2007 Red Sox World Series win as a coach. This is a 1992 Topps Buyback, 02/81.

Here we have Andrew Jones, one of the great Superstation-era Braves. This is a 2005 Topps Updates Highlights Buyback, 01/34.

Next up is Steve Finley of the Arizona Diamondbacks as depicted on a 2004 Topps Cracker Jack Buyback, 21/32.

And here we have BBHOF Braves Legend Orlando Cepeda. This is on a 2016 Allen & Ginter Buyback, 09/31.

Moving the clock ahead, here is Rafael Furcal on 2010 Topps Update Buyback. 02/73.

A man who will likely enter the BBHOF as a Manager, Dusty Baker. Back in 1982 his PPE was a flapless batting helmet. Nowadays you can see him sporting a New-Era mask. This is a 1982 Topps Buyback 05/25.

Here is my first 1/1, Scott Rolen on a 2006 Allen & Ginter Buyback. Nice Card. 

Shawn Green appears on this 2007 Bowman Buyback, our 2nd 1/1 today. 

Angels HOFer Garret Anderson appears here on this 2002 Topps Gallery Buyback Auto, 10/15.

Twins Fan-Favorite Justin Morneau appears on a 2012 Allen & Ginter Buyback, 01/47.

Here we have Shannon Stewart's 1996 Topps Rookie Card Buyback, 29/99. 

Just a few more... More HOFers? Balboni? Don Mossi? Stomper? What are we gonna get?

Ah, a nice 1985 Topps Buyback featuring the legendary Tommy John, albeit in a uniform you aren't used to seeing him in. 02/53.

 

Next up is Ken Griffey (Sr.) in action, 1982 Topps Buyback. 51/99. I liked that we got a lot of 1982 Topps, given that it has been exactly 40 years since that set came out. 

One of my all-time faves, should be in Cooperstown, Luis Tiant, in a completely unusual uniform. "Pirate" is not how one typically imagines El Tiante. This is a 1982 Topps Buyback 43/99.

Whether he ends up in the Hall or not is about politics not achievements, and Gary Sheffield had a Hall of Fame career. This 2006 Topps Heritage Buyback is numbered 12/18.

And another (newer) BBHOFer, Jim Kaat, depicted here on a 1982 Topps Buyback 66/99.

I feel like I have been chasing Fergie forever with no luck. Here is his 1983 Topps Buyback 09/14. Gorgeous card.

And finally...

A 1983 Topps All-Star Set Buyback of Oriole Legend and BBHOFer Jim Palmer. 13/19.

This was a fun case break. What do you think?