#25 - Mark Trumbo
#131 - Josh Reddick
#162 - Anthony Rizzo (FP) +2
#245 - Ryan Howard (FP) +2
#263 - Pedro Alvarez
#340 - Neftali Perez
SP-37 Salvador Perez (Starting Points) +2
MINI 236 - Julio Teheran
PACK TOTAL: 6
RUNNING TOTAL: 57
Thanks to a couple of guys on the Favorite Players list, this is actually a pretty decent pack.
#103 - Salvador Perez
#179 - Manny Machado
#266 - Drew Storen
#339 - Clayton Kershaw
SP-8 Adam Jones (Starting Points) +2
Mini A&G Buyback - Nick Swisher +4
MINI FIRST-4 Dolley Madison (First Ladies) +2
PACK TOTAL: 8
RUNNING TOTAL: 65
These 10th Anniversary Buybacks are weird. I guess they're "added value" even though this framed mini version meant one less card in the pack for me. I can't imagine there being too many opportunities for me to get rid of this random Nick Swisher quasi-hit with artificial scarcity, unless Chris Olds stumbles across this particular post. Oh well.
#65 - David Ortiz (FP) +2
#85 - Kris Bryant
#203 - David Wright +2
#206 - Erick Aybar
#328 - Val Kilmer
SP-58 Brian McCann (Starting Points) +2
Full-Size A&G Buyback - Alex Rodriguez +2
MINI 95 - Kole Calhoun (A&G Back) +2
PACK TOTAL: 10
RUNNING TOTAL: 75
Now this 10th Anniversary Buyback is definitely more intriguing. I've kind of come out the other side with A-Rod. I think it's hilarious that he's doing well again this season after he was such a magnet for hate the last few years. I'm not really a fan of his per se but I definitely welcome the baseball gods trolling everybody. If only there wasn't the Yankee penalty attached to this card. Add in the Favorite Players and the A&G back and this is probably the best pack of the box so far. Not to mention that the Kris Bryant rookie card doesn't even score any points.
#53 - Brandon Crawford (FT) +1
#78 - Carlos Gonzalez
#99 - Yan Gomes
#138 - Michael Pineda (YANKEES) -1
#189 - Kennys Vargas
#224 - Edinson Volquez
WAS-3 Ether (What Once Was Believed) +2
MINI 143 - Mike Zunino (A&G Back) +2
PACK TOTAL: 4
RUNNING TOTAL: 79
I wish I could have put money on Brandon Crawford winning a Silver Slugger before a Gold Glove. The odds would probably have been like 110:1 or something. I could have made a fortune at the end of this season.
#2 - Nick Markakis
#15 - Justin Verlander
#70 - Kyle Seager
#241 - CC Sabathia (YANKEES) -1
#274 - Mookie Betts
#330 - Jason Heyward
WAS-9 California Island (What Once Was Believed) +2
MINI 292 - Grant Balfour (Black-Bordered) +3
PACK TOTAL: 4
RUNNING TOTAL: 83
I don't get why the black-bordered minis are so non-black-bordered. The little intricate ornamentation they added is unique to these parallels, so it's not like they were just following suit with their base design. They'd really look nice if they stood out a little bit more.
#239 - Zach Britton
#242 - James McCann
#252 - Mike Trout (FP) +2
#295 - Joe Nathan
MM-13 Cyclops (Menagerie of the Mind) +2
FMR-MH Matt Holliday (Framed Mini Relic) +8
MINI 85 - Kris Bryant
PACK TOTAL: 12
RUNNING TOTAL: 95
Hit #2 of the box. Whaddaya know, it's one of my least-liked players from one of my least-liked teams. I'm pretty sure Cardinals fans aren't even all that crazy about Matt Holliday. And again, the best card of the pack just happens to earn me zero points.
#12 Nelson Cruz
#29 Nick Swisher
#42 Max Scherzer
#181 Drew Hutchison
#208 Jose Fernandez
#289 Wil Myers
SP-57 Jacoby Ellsbury (Starting Points) +2
MINI 156 - Brian Dozier
PACK TOTAL: 2
RUNNING TOTAL: 97
Silver lining to this dud of a pack is the lack of Yankees, even though Ellsbury is, in fact, a Yankee.
#74 - Casey McGehee (FT) +1
#116 - Freddie Freeman
#143 - Mike Zunino
#145 - Santiago Casilla (FT) +1
#271 - Dexter Fowler
#350 - Masahiro Tanaka (YANKEES) -1
WOULD-1 Flying Car (What Once Would Be) +2
MINI 196 - Ian Kinsler
PACK TOTAL: 3
RUNNING TOTAL: 100
I know Topps has to make checklists and produce the cards waaaay in advance of release but this is a really great example of the flaw in the current system. Here we have a set that doesn't hit shelves until late July. Casey McGehee was designated for assignment May 24. His replacement, Matt Duffy, has since been one of the best thirdbasemen in the National League and is a serious contender for Rookie of the Year. Duffy, who was part of the Giants' postseason roster last year, has yet to have an MLB card produced. Meanwhile, Topps did manage to make room on the checklist for Gary Brown, who used to be considered one of the Giants' top prospects. Brown's inclusion in this year's Allen & Ginter set is even more egregious, considering he was DFA'd by the Giants before the season even began. To make matters worse, he's been picked up and DFA'd by two other teams since then.
So here I am as a Giants fan with cards of 2 players who essentially made zero contribution to the Giants' 2015 season. Meanwhile, our all-star caliber rookie thirdbaseman will be surfacing for the first time in Topps' Update series, which is just a minor step above Opening Day when it comes to enthusiasm in the hobby. Again, I know why this all happened but am just pointing out that in no way should this happen.
And as that rant ends, so does Part 2 of my Gint-a-cuffs box. I'm sitting at an even 100, on pace for 150 points with one hit remaining.
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