Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Team Set

Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Team Set

I’ve stated it multiple times over the course of the last two months – A&G is boring to me.

But, I will say that the Miami Marlins team set is not as bad – on the whole…

Have a look at the 6-card set:

 

Sure, 4 of the cards are no surprise with Cisek, Marisnick, Stanton, and Yelich.  Nothing exceptional out of those four cards.

But, the Gary Sheffield card is a great and unexpected addition to the set that I was not expecting.  I am digging the tribute to his Marlins days as a player, and I love that we get another card that features the original Marlins logo and colors.

I also really like the Jose Fernandez horizontal card – the image is neat, it is action-packed, and the background is such a nice change from what the normal A&G product offers.

All in all, I am pleased with the team set.  A&G is still an overall yawn for me, but at least I can take pleasure in owning this team set.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #3 – Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Finest Team Set w/Extra Stanton Card

Baseball Card Show Purchase #3 – Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Finest Team Set w/Extra Stanton Card

Once again, my modern dealer at the show really took care of me.  He ripped up enough of the 2014 Topps Finest product to have the full team set of the Miami Marlins in his $0.25 box.

So, you better believe that I grabbed all three cards that make up the complete Marlins team set.  And paying just $0.75 for the complete set was super nice.

Here is the full set:

He happened to also have an extra single card of Giancarlo Stanton in the mix so  I grabbed it for my Stanton collection making it an even dollar spent on the 2014 Topps Finest product.

Here is a larger scan of the Stanton card:

I like it.  And now I am after the colored versions and inserts of #27.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #1 – Lot Of 3 Billy Hamilton Rookie Cards!!

Baseball Card Show Purchase #1 – Lot Of 3 Billy Hamilton Rookie Cards!!

While not purposely seeking out these cards, there was no way that I was going to pass them up either.

Billy Hamilton is one of the most exciting young stars in the game and I have watched him become an even better player as the season has progressed.  His skills on offense always revolved around his ability to run, but now he has become a good hitter.  Not yet great, but definitely good.  And from there, he uses his wheels to make things happen and put runs on the board for the Reds.

I hope to see even more improvement from him in 2015 as he gets more comfortable at the plate and with his role as the leadoff hitter and offense generator.

I picked up each of these cards for just $0.25 each.

 

And if I can find more cards of Hamilton in that price range, I will do it again.

He’s got my vote for the NL ROY.  Does he have yours too?

Miami Marlins 2014 Bowman Platinum Team Set

Miami Marlins 2014 Bowman Platinum Team Set

You wanna see a really nicely put together baseball card set?

Look no further than 2014 Bowman Platinum!!!

 

This set is sharp, and it features great color and action-packed images.  I really like how the players are centered perfectly on each card and the muted background gives the impression of a 3-D effect.

As for the player mix, it is fair – 1 active superstar in Stanton and 1 inactive superstar in Fernandez.  The other 4: Heaney has been demoted to AAA after a unsucessful debut, Marisnick and Moran were traded to Houston in late July, and Nicolino is a high-rated prospect.  The mix is fine, but I am tired of Jake Marisnick cards at this point – he has been in a lot of MLB sets in 2014, too many for my liking, but he is now playing for the Astros.

I need to go back and review my official Marlins checklist to see what other Bowman Platinum team sets I can put together.  If they are anywhere near as nice as these, it will be a worthwhile journey…

 

 

Miami Marlins 2014 Panini Prizm Team Set

Miami Marlins 2014 Panini Prizm Team Set

I have scored another 2014 Miami Marlins team set for my collection and I am really happy that I have been able to grab and haul in these sets as they are released so I do not fall behind.

This set is from the 2014 Panini Prizm baseball card set and is just 4 cards deep.

Have a look:

 

 

Offering just four cards, I do have to say that I wish the player mix was a bit better…

I’m happy to see Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez in the set as they both deserve to be staples in all modern Marlins product.  But, Justin Rugguiano last played for the Marlins on September 29, 2013 and Brian Flynn has appeared in just 5 major league games to this point.  I would rather have seen Christian Yelich, Marcel Ozuna, Steve Cishek, or Adeiny Hechavarria get the nod over these two (no offense to these two meant).

 

I Found This Pretty Neat Collectible And I Ripped It Open!!

I Found This Pretty Neat Collectible And I Ripped It Open!!

While shopping at Target this weekend, I made my way to their small, but crammed, trading card aisle.  As usual, the area holding the sports cards was unkept and a mess.

Still, I dug in to see if anything caught my eye.  I have not purchase a lot of new products lately through retail – the last was a blaster of Gypsy Queen right after the release.  So, I was hoping to find something neat and new that would get me excited.

And I did.

But, it was not resting on a shelf – it was hanging on a peg.

It was a 2014 Topps NL All-Star Team set.  And it featured a clear, plastic shell allowing me access to see the top card.  A card of Mr. Bryce Harper.

So, I examined it to see what the story was as I had not seen this kind of set before.  And then I took it to one of those self-scan price check machines – $4.99.  I was sold.

I bought the set.  Here it is:

An it has a pretty deep, 17-card checklist, though not all of these players actually made the squad this season…

The cards are the same as the cards from Series 1 and Series 2, but they have a neat NL All-Star logo right above the team logo.

And after much deliberation, I decided to rip the package open.  Why?  Because the set has four of the current players that I collect included, and a search on Ebay for these singles did not net me any positive results.

For $4.99, I added cards to four of my player collections:

And now I have all of these ‘extras’ to enjoy as well!!

I’s say that was a good $4.99 spent.  And to get technical, my wife has a Target credit card so she saved 5% with the purchase so the set actually cost me $4.74 or $0.28 per card.

Not too bad, huh?!?!?

 

Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Series 2 Team Set – Base

Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Series 2 Team Set – Base

Finally, the Miami Marlins Series 2 team set is mine.  The set features 12 cards, but has a pretty odd mix.  Neither this team set or the one from the Series 1 release gives us a true impression of what the team truly looks like.

Percentage-wise, almost half of the players in this team set are inactive, and they were that way well before the launch of Series 2…

Have a look:

 

A quick review of the 12 card team set reveals that five of the 12 players featured on these cards are either injured or in the minor leagues.  Of the remaining 7 players – 1 is a starting pitcher, 2 are everyday players, 1 is a solid reliever, 1 is a recently demoted starter turned bullpen guy, and 2 are utility fill-ins.

Not the best mix in the world, but it could be worse.  We could be the Mets!!  🙂

I am really happy to finally have a Marlins card of Casey McGehee in my collection (I’ll have to grab two more for my sons as they both really like cheering for him).

Let The Battle Rage On: 1983 Topps Super Veterans VS 2014 Topps Super Veterans. Who Will Win???

Let The Battle Rage On:  1983 Topps Super Veterans VS 2014 Topps Super Veterans.  Who Will Win???

As a kid collecting baseball cards, I used the 1983 Topps Super Veterans subset as a tool to learn about the ‘older’ players in the game.  The set was large and it featured images from the beginning of each player’s career and then images that were current (1982-83).

When I got back into collecting in 2008, this same subset was the first one I went after.  I had built it 20+ years prior, but I wanted to re-live my youth by doing it again.  So, I did.  And it re-kindled my enjoyment for vintage baseball cards and the players that helped shape the history of the game.

Upon completion of that subset, and learning that Topps had begun recycling older designs in their modern releases, I kept my fingers crossed that ‘Super Veterans’ would eventually be re-done.

And when 2014 Topps, Series 1 hit the shelves, a 15-card subset of ‘Super Veterans’ was included.  I was ecstatic.  And I quickly made this a target for my collection.  And after a few days of shopping around, I scored the complete 15-card set and began showing it off on this blog as I did with the 1983 set back in 2009.

So, here they are.  First the 1983 version:

And now, the 2014 set:

And now for my review and comparison.

• The edge goes to ’83 as it relates to size – 35 to 15
• The edge goes to ’14 as it relates to % of future Hall of Fame inclusions:  14/35 players versus a likely 7/15 ( I did not count Peter Rose, though I want to)
• There is a tie in regards to how the images of yore are shown – Sepia tones in both ’83 and ’14
• The edge goes to ’83 as it relates to ‘Star Power’

Overall, I of course like both sets. I wish that the 2014 version included more players on the checklist or at least was continued into the Series 2 release.  I don’t find that the 2014 version has the same star power that the set from ’83 offers even though it features Jeter, Rivera, and Cabrera – I just don’t think that Topps truly dug in deep enough to really get behind this set.  It feels like it was put together as a way to add Pettitte and Rivera cards into yet another subset.  If they had truly shown us the longest tenured players in the majors, we would have had a more apples-to-apples comparison.  The set is called ‘Super Veterans’ for a reason; it is not called ‘Best Older Players In The Game’.  At the very least, and to be more consistent with the original subset, this one should have included Jason Giambi, Ichiro, Paul Konerko, Raul Ibanez, LaTroy Hawkins, and Bartolo Colon.  If Topps had taken this step, it would definitely be more true to what ‘Super Veterans’ offered in 1983.

Still, no complaints from my side.  I’m thrilled to have both sets in my collection.  I’m just thirsty for more!

My 2014 Topps Series 1 ‘Super Veterans’ Subset Is Complete!!!

My 2014 Topps Series 1 ‘Super Veterans’ Subset Is Complete!!!

Oh Yeah!!!  I am very, very excited to announce that I have completed another subset at ’30-YOC’.  And this time, it is a subset that means the world to me – Topps’ Super Veterans.

The original ‘Super Vets’ subset was part of the 1983 Topps set.  It has long been my favorite subset of all-time.  I built that set when I got back into the hobby five years ago, and I was extremely excited to see that Topps brought it back for their 2014 release.

Here is the completed 2014 version of ‘Super Veterans’:

 

I love it!!

And while there may be some questionable entries into the set as well as some notable omissions, I am very happy with the final product.  Yes, I had my fingers crossed that the set would expand into the Series 2 and Update sets but that does not look like it will be the case.

So, I will sit back and be proud of another subset completed.  A subset that I have been a fan of since 1983!

Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Archives Team Set

Miami Marlins 2014 Topps Archives Team Set

Oh yeah, I am happy to announce that I have landed myself a 2014 Topps Archives team set of the Miami Marlins.

The set features just four cards, but they look great.

Check ’em out:

 

As you can see, the cards offer up the 1986, 1973, and 1980 Topps card designs.

And the best part of this set – not one of the players featured was born when any of these players were born!!  HAHAHA.