2023 Topps Series 1 Blaster Pack

Greetings!

Hope everyone is doing well.  It's Leap Day and APTBNL is 4 for 4 when it comes to posting on this day!  You gotta have goals, right?

Yes, 2024 Topps is out, and yes, I found some rack packs after the part time Target gig last week.  But here's a blaster pack of 2023 Topps.

Wal-Mart has put blasters of recent product on clearance in recent months.  Obviously some are more popular than others.  I popped in a couple of weeks ago and found a few Series 1 blasters for 15 bucks each. 

This leads to a dilemma of immediate gratification.  Do you want to pay $25 for a blaster now or $15 for it a year later?  Logically you'd wait but if you see it now, why not?  And who knows if for sure they'll be on clearance a year later?

7 packs with 14 cards in a pack, plus 1 manupatch card equals 99 cards.  Here's the pack with the "Commemorative Patch Card":

#91 - Josh Naylor

#108 - Alex Cobb

The 2023 design isn't bad, but it ain't no 2024.

#252 - Austin Meadows 

#260 - Matt Chapman

Chapman is still unsigned.  After the Cubs finally resigned Cody Belllinger, he's the biggest bat still available.  It doesn't help that his agent (like Bellinger) is Scott Boras.

#165 - Jeter Downs (RC)

#221 - Rhys Hoskins

Hoskins signed with the Brewers over the off-season, while Downs is now a minor leaguer with the Yankees.

#322 - Luis Urías

#101 - Tyler Mahle

As you all know, there's 330 cards in Series 1.  Here's the checklist if you still need it.

#SMLB-24 - Pete Alonso (Stars of MLB)

#12P-18 Justin Verlander / Gerrit Cole (One-Two Punch)

As usual, the Stars of MLB come in every pack.  The One-Two Punch insert comes 1 in every 16 packs.  Gerritt is in the set twice, here with the Astros and then with his new team, the Yankees. 

#TLP-BB - Bo Bichette (Team Logo Commemorative Patch)

Here's the Patch card.  At first glance I was a bit annoyed that the logo isn't straight, but then I flipped the card over...

This ain't no regular Team Logo Patch.  The Black parallel is numbered to 299 (this is #173/299) and the pack odds are 1 in 484 packs.  Not bad.

After the initial joy of getting a parallel died down, I was still annoyed Mr. Blue Jay was looking up.

#247 - Gavin Lux

#180 - Dominic Leone

Gavin is back after missing last year with a torn ACL.  Dominic spent 2023 with the Mets, Angels, and Mariners, but not with the Giants.

#38 - Jorge Mateo

#223 - Eli Morgan 

Holy crap, only 1 rookie in the pack!

Here are the backs because discounts:

Anyway, that's the pack.  We'll get 2024 Topps up here soon enough.

Enjoy the rest of Leap Day, and thanks for reading!

1990 Confex Nasty Tricks

 Today on APTBNL, we've got a wax pack of Nasty Tricks, from 1990.

Each pack contains 6 cards, 8 stickers, and 1 stick of bubble gum. Here's an image of the back of the wrapper:

It appears as if there were 68 different individual cards in the set, and 64 different individual stickers. Underneath the flap, the text states that these were made and printed in Argentina. The copyright is for a company called Confex Inc., based in New Jersey. 

 

First up, let's look at the 6 cards.

Sheep dipping is an actual, literal thing where farmers dip their sheep in a liquid solution to keep the wool free from infestation (mites, flies, ticks, and lice).

 

Look closely, and you'll see that each card is separated into two panels, with a perforation. So even though the wax pack says "6 cards", you really get 12 wacky tricks. Good value! The cards are made of a thick, tan-colored cardboard. They're blank on the back.

The Director of the Venus Beauty Academy is Venus DeMilo. Mildly clever. As for the bottom panel, 1990 was still "peak skateboard" time, so it's understandable why this one would have been created and included in the set.

The text on the top panel seems like it would a good fit for the back of a Garbage Pail Kids sticker. And I suppose the bottom card was designed to try to fool your friends or family when you're playing Monopoly with them.

I don't know why you'd want that ID. Maybe it's meant to give to a friend. As for the Nashinul Speling Sosiety, I can appreciate that joke. 

 

I think lots of kids would have wanted quite a few of those homework exemption cards. As for the eye chart, I was searching for a joke within all those letters, but I couldn't find one.

Finally, here's a klutz training certificate, and one of my favorites of the bunch, "Intergalactic Exchange Student".

Now the stickers, which came two per sheet, and were numbered.

 

The housefly got the worst of the piece of nasty gum that was in the wax pack, as you can see.

This one has a little damage, too.

The fake ink blot is a nice touch. I might have stuck that on someone else's homework.

As for these two, I'd recommend decorating your notebook or Trapper Keeper.

So that's that. For the first time ever on APTBNL, a wax pack of Nasty Tricks from 1990!

 

Have you ever heard of this set? Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading.

2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball

 I got a hobby pack on 2023 Topps Heritage High Number set. Nine cards in a pack. Filled with rookies, players on new teams, or didn't get a card til now. I wonder how many are still with the team after 2023 season. Let's rip.

651 - Hobie Harris - first card is a rookie. He made his debut playing in 16 games. Signed a minor league contract with the Twins few weeks ago. First card of a player on a new team for 2024 season.

683 - Tristan Beck - second rookie card in this pack. Played in 33 games in 2023 season..

563 - Gus Varland - a third rookie and a player I've seen played in the minors. Pitched 16 games games for two teams before ending his season on the injured list.

663 - Peyton Battenfield - fourth rookie in this pack and wasn't with the team when the season ended. Pitched in 7 games for the Guardians bouncing between AAA club and the injured list. Would be DFA'd  a month before the season ended and got picked up by the Mets.

RP-10 - Kevin Kelly - a fifth rookie and an insert card. Had a decent rookie season getting in 57 games with ERA of 3.09. Look to be a good pick up for the Rays consider he was traded for cash.

502 - Christian Bethancourt - eventful offseason as Rays released him then Guardians claimed him only to be shipped to the Marlins.

513 - Jarred Kelenic - now with the Braves after getting traded in the offseason

549 - Jose Caballero - another rookie card. He played in 104 games in 2023. Got traded to the Rays during the offseason. Mariners making lot of trades during the offseason.

526 - Jared Schuster - played 11 games in his rookie year bouncing between the Braves and AAA club Gwinnet. Now with the White Sox via trade.

I got 7 rookie cards in this along with 6 players playing on new teams in 2024. Ready for baseball?

2019 Topps Big League Blaster Pack

Greetings...

Hope everyone's doing well.  It's Super Bowl week, so here's a baseball post from the ol' Scanned folder!  I don't have a dog in the race, but as the saying goes, "in order the be the man, you gotta beat the man", the man being Mahomes.

Look at that pricing!  10 bucks for a blaster.  Thanks, Covid.

Each blaster came with 4 blue parallel cards.  I don't remember if they were in the bonus pack or if they were randomly inserted into the packs, but here's my 4:

#6 - Kevin Gausman

#307 - Carlos Santana

#65 - Matt Kemp

#101 - Travis Jankowski

Here are the backs because The Big Game:

Onto the blaster pack.  

10 cards per pack, let's see what I got:

#104 - Jose Abreu

#325 - Gerrit Cole

We've seen a rack pack on the site before; each pack has 1 of 4 possible player combos.  The design is OK since this is a low end product.  It's possible I could have been upset if this was a flagship design.

#211 - Miguel Cabrera

#53 - Josh Reddick

There are 400 cards in the set; the first 343 cards form the base and the rest are from 3 subsets (Stat Kings, Award Winners, and Highlights). 

#BO-8 - Aaron Judge (Blast Off) 

#363 - Stat Kings: 2018 AL Wins Leaders (Gold parallel)

The Blast Off insert comes 1 in 4 packs.  You also get a Gold parallel in every pack, which happens to be the Stat Kings in this case.

#94 - Leonys Martin

#277 - Sean Doolittle

Doolittle retired last year after 11 years in MLB.  He got signed by the Nationals to be on their coaching staff.

#398 - Christian Yelich (Highlights)

#97 - Aaron Hicks

Yelich had a rebound year for Milwaukee, while Hicks rebounded nicely in Baltimore.

Here are more backs because The Big Game:

Love those Did You Knows.

Anyway, that's the pack.  All the ol' Scanned folder has now are Pokemon cards, a pack of football cards (but some of the files are corrupted, so I don't know if that will ever get on here), and several scans of individual cards which may make it on here if I can think of the right angle for it.

Enjoy the Super Bowl, party responsibly, and thanks for reading!