We're digging deep into the category labeled "Stuff I Wouldn't Buy." My rule of thumb for logo-less sports cards is, if it didn't get cut off a box of Fruit Roll-Ups or from the frozen innards of a package of regionally branded chimichangas, I don't want it. Or, at the very least, I won't seek it out. Panini baseball cards, as they are currently sold, just aren't for me. Let's see what was inside this ten-year-old pack of 2014 Panini Donruss baseball cards.
195 Johnny Bench
Not a bad start, seeing as the chest protector and backwards helmet obscure the missing stuff.
132 Giancarlo Stanton
The backs mimic the basic blue design of 1986 or 1988 Donruss.
175 Jay Bruce
Bruce retired shortly after the start of the 2021 season, which he started with the New York Yankees. File that one away for the Immaculate Grid.
70 Troy Tulowitzki
Tulo retired in the the middle of the 2019 season, also with the New York Yankees.
72 Elvis Andrus
Elvis is not currently with any MLB team, but has not yet retired.
40 Tim Beckham Rated Rookie
It's interesting to note that at the back end of the aughts, two players with the same last name were selected as top 10 draft picks. Tim here was #1 overall in 2008, and in that same draft the White Sox chose Gordon Beckham. Collectors were left to wonder which Beckham would break through as an eventual superstar. The answer, sadly, was neither. That's the way it usually goes.
153 Domonic Brown
Six-year career with the Phillies, All-Star in 2013.
138 Victor Martinez
After Bench, probably the best player in the pack. Named an American League All-Star five times.
As stated this product is not my cup of tea, but I will file these cards away in a box marked, for the time being, "2013-Present." Such is the state of my collection of "recent" cards.
Yep, other than those Cooperstown releases a while back, no scenario in which I would actively buy a Panini baseball pack
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about logo-less cards. When it comes to Panini baseball, I typically won't buy them unless it's something low numbered and super cheap. But I've gladly accepted plenty of their stuff as part of care packages. I'm a little more flexible with stuff from the 80's and earlier. Like you mentioned, oddball issues are always welcome to my collection... and stuff like 70's Topps football.
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