Thursday, June 25, 2015

Joining the Club


Thanks to a Wednesday evening tweet by the Night Owl himself, I was enlightened to the fact that 2015 Stadium Club was available in retail form.  I barely knew that the stuff came out this week, much less that it could be had at either Target or Walmart.

I didn't need much of an excuse to run out to Target at 8 o'clock at night, but at least I picked up dish wand refills, Zone bars, and paper plates in addition to my glossy cardboard fix.  I snagged two 12-card hanger packs of '15 TSC for 5.99 each (or .50 per card--pretty steep!) and got single packs of TSC and Series 2 flagship for Gabe's ongoing pack collection.  See, I wasn't all the way selfish after all!

Anyhow, onto the packs!  I'll present the cards in the order in which I viewed them, straight from the pack.  The very first card to greet my eyes was Big Papi and--well, because it's me--the top right corner of this awesome card was slightly dinged.  I was going to send it to Shane, so it bums me out that it's not crisp.  Well, at the very least he can use it as a placeholder.

The rest of the first pack...




This is a great rookie to own!  If people didn't know about Franco before he hit The Bronx on Monday, they do now!



I really dig this card.  It just proves that you don't need acrobatics or car wrecks to make a card really impressive or memorable.



Stadium Club's inserts have never really impressed me.  I'd rather have another base card since they're so well-done.  That being stated, I'm happy to have a new Anthony Rendon card for the collection.


I'm probably going to be in the minority on this matter, BUT I'd be fine if Stadium club ix-nayed the retired players within the checklist.  Sure it's cool to get a new card of a former MVP like Pendelton or a hallowed name like a Musial or Mays, but don't we have Archives, A&G and GQ to scratch that itch already?



I assume from the no-no in Philly last year.  Cool photo, even if it is a Dodger.


Okay, that was a pretty decent pack!  An A-1 rookie card, an insert of a player I follow, and some primo photos.

Let's see how Pack No. 2 held up in comparison...


I know there's a lot of competition, but of all the cards from '15 TSC I've seen thus far in other blogs or via eBay, Stanton's might be the most beautiful.  All the elements at play--angle, centering, shadows--make this a true masterpiece.  So happy to pull this one!



Very unique.  Or should I say, Very Stadium Club.  This one's for you, Marcus, if you're interested.



I had seen this one online earlier today and was impressed with it.  Glad to own a copy.




My first (and, as it turned out, only) Mets card of the two-pack rip.  This is the same photo used elsewhere. Flagship maybe?  Eh, well, it's a new Mets card.



Back-to-back retired players.  The Irvin is pretty damn cool.  How can you beat that photo?


Geez, another Padre?!  Marcus, are you out there?


Another solid pack!  The Stanton and Holliday cards alone make this one worthwhile.

This was a sweet and sour experience.  Stadium Club, I mean.  On one hand, I love the way these cards look and feel and, yes, even smell.  This is TSC done the right way.  However, the other hand sees this as a virtually impossible venture for a blue-collar collector and/or set-builder.  It's a 300-card set and the price point for these packs is much too rich to pursue with any vigor.

I'll likely snag another pack or two just to chase a Kris Bryant or something else sexy, and I'm sure I'll find my fill of the base cards at shows during the course of the summer.  Oh, and I'll hunt for a modestly-priced Mets team set in a few months, also.

Otherwise, this is a set that I'll just leave in the 'window shopping' category.

MK

10 comments:

  1. This is my glimpse of TSC for '15. I think the Monte Irvin card is my favorite, but that Angel Pagan is pretty neat, too. Just so many great photos. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. The more I see this set, the more I like it. But, I am with you on the inserts -- why does every single set have to have inserts? Or, if Topps has to have inserts, how about just autographs on the same card as the base set?

    And I agree on the retired players in the set. While some of the players are great to include, why couldn't Monte Irvin just be in the Allen & Ginter or Archives?

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  3. With Retired Vs. Current players; finally getting full-bleed photography and action shots of these players on cards is awesome. A & G's and Archives have their place as well, A & G's kind of chokes the photos with the design around it and Archives wraps everything in a former Topps design. With TSC, the photos are the whole point. I suppose Topps could make a series one (current players) and a Series two (retirees) to split it up and folks could more easily collect what they want...

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  4. This set would actually be better with zero inserts/parallels/whatnot. If I'm spending three bucks a pack (or five for a hanger) on a set with this kind of photography, I want all base cards. The Stanton is definitely one of the most beautiful SC cards I've seen yet, and I love that Holliday more every time I see it.

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  5. Great cards Mark, thanks for posting a peek at this for those of us who haven't picked any up yet. That Monte Irvin is fantastic!

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  6. I love of lot of these but for the price I may end up waiting this year and hand pick singles later.

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  7. I'm right here! I'll take both of those Friars off yr hands! Still waiting to find some TSC around here, but I'm just glad that it's not a Hobby only exclusive this year. Man, those look awesome.

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  8. If Topps is going to include retired players there should be at least one or two cards from the pool of Expos, 45's, Pilots and Browns.

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    Replies
    1. I can think of at least one late 80's/early 90's 3B more worthy than Terry Pendleton. (I'm sure it was tough debate for Topps whether it should be Pendleton, HoJo, Sabo, or Bonilla)

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    2. With all the ink your blog has gotten, you'd think Topps would throw you a bone just for fun!

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