Aficionado I Am Not

Last week's trip to Target netted me a handful of great boxes, including a hanger box of 2020 Panini Diamond Kings which I'll cover today. I typically shy away from Panini's baseball offerings but I was itching to open some packs and figured I'd give it a go.

A hanger box only promises 20 cards (half of the contents of the box are in this post), including one red frame parallel card per box. That's actually one of the cards I didn't scan, though I did send it to Tom at The Angels, In Order so you can check it out over there. 

I knew next to nothing about this set when I purchased it, and planned to consider it a win if I could just add some new Dodgers to the collection. That Mookie Betts cards above (the second card of his I pulled from this Target purchase) sealed the win for me, but I'm pretty happy with the rest of the contents as well.

The cards themselves are fairly high quality with a heavy card stock (more similar to Heritage than Flagship) and canvas-like feel. Of course, the cards lack licensing, but the artsy water-color type design and strong use of color makes up for that in my opinion. The Verlander Aficionado insert at the top of this post is a beauty (but the Astros are still yuck).

I also found a handful of All-Time Diamond Kings inserts which I believe are based on the 1992 design. These are up for grabs if any one is interested. Consider this my entry into Free Card Friday.

Artist's Proof cards are also part of the checklist, and I happened to unearth this blue parallel of Eddie Mathews. I have no idea what makes this an Artist's Proof, but it seems like they just stamped those words on with a small foil stamp. Meh. 

Perhaps the coolest card to fall out of the box--and the most unexpected considering my luck with the Big League blaster--was this Holo Silver DK Materials dual relic #'d /99 of Padres outfielder Trent Grisham. I've also placed this on eBay, but I'm happy to trade it away if anyone's interested.

Will I purchase any more Diamond Kings? Probably not. But at just ten bucks for a hanger box, you could do a lot worse with your money.

Best Set Yet

I made my weekly trip to Target for groceries last week, though I did so at a different time and day than typical. While my Target trips typically take place on Friday afternoons, I took a few days off last week and decided to head to the store on Wednesday morning. 

The card aisle vindicated this decision, as the shelves were filled with hanger packs and blaster boxes and a new display for Series 2. There was probably close to fifty blaster boxes/hanger packs and another several hundred single packs of various products. I should have taken a photo considering how unusual the sight was in the current card climate, but I was too stunned at the sight before me to do so. 

I didn't want to be that bro who clears the shelves and resells everything online, but there was some good variety and plenty of stock, so I grabbed more than a few things. I ended up going home with three Series 2 hanger packs, a hanger box of Diamond Kings, and blaster box of Big League. 

There's a lot of fun stuff here, but I'll be splitting what I got into three posts, starting with Big League today. 

Big League has already been talked about extensively on the blogs, so I won't get too into the details about the set here; I'd highly reccommend checking out Nick's post on Big League though. 

The base design is simple and clean, and as many have pointed out, looks similar to the 2009 Upper Deck OPC set. It's a much nicer and cleaner looking set then, say, 2020 Flagship and just looks more like a traditional baseball card to me. I don't mean to compare it to Flagship to illustrate its merits (it's a different set after all), but this iteration of Big League is a reminder of what Flagship should be. 

The backs of the cards are stellar as well. Clear card numbers, interesting descriptions, and a fun "Did You Know?" feature. Who would've thought going up and down stairs would calm an infant?

One of the reasons I enjoy this set so much is the beacuse of the borders. I don't typically go gaga for Dodger cards featuring this much orange, but I love how it pops. 

Maybe the real reason I enjoy Big League is because it contains what I think is Mookie Betts' first card in a Dodger uniform--not one that is photoshopped on. I didn't find his base card in the blaster box, but I this orange parallel does just fine. 

I told myself I wouldn't, but I bringing up Flagship again. Do any of the origianl insert designs from recent years stand out to you? Can you picture one? I sure as hell can't and I just opened up several packs last night. 

Big League packs a punch with their insert sets, bring some memorable designs, fun imagery, and great color. That Muncy at the top of the post is great fun and reminds me of a license plate. This Cody Bellinger sketch card also stands out (though it is a bit creepy), and I'm totally into mispropportioned sketch cards. 

I'm not as enthusiastic about the design on these Flipping Out inserts, but I applaud the color and theme of the set. I'm fully onboard with bat flipping/pimping/etc. 

The blaster box promised several blue-bordered cards, and here they are. The scans came out a bit dark but you get the idea. Dodger cards would look great with these borders, and I dig that Alonso card on the top left. 

I was so amped about the design of this set that I almost forgot to mention the blaster box held two autographs! 

Both of these have decent resale value, so I promptly posted them on eBay and they both sold as I typed this sentence. 

As if picking up great new cards wasn't enough, I recouped most of the money I spent at Target from this one blaster box of Big League alone. 

You can't beat that.