Card of the Day: Tim Lincecum 2015 Topps Opening Day Franchise Flashback #10

Card of the Day: Barry Bonds 1987 Donruss Opening Day – Johnny Ray – Error #163

2022 Topps Opening Day Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Collector Type: Set

Topps Opening Day Baseball is a brand that has been around since 1998. It remains one of the most affordable products to buy. With that being said, you aren’t guaranteed to pull any autographs and/or relics out of a single box.

The base set consists of (220) cards. Parallels include Blue Foil (2,022 copies), Black Foil #’ed 1/1, and Printing Plates #’ed 1/1.

(30) cards have Photo Variations. These fall roughly 1:1,132 packs. Not very easy to pull. Checking the CMP code is the best way to go.

• Base – #225
• Photo Variation – #246

Autographs include Base Card Image Variations Autographs, Ballpark Profile Autographs, Luck of the Irish Autographs, Mascot Autographs, and Opening Day Autographs.

Autograph/Relics include Autograph Diamond Relics, Dual Autograph Diamond Relic Book, and Mascot Autograph Relics.

Relics include Diamond Relics, Major League Mementos Relics, Mascot Relics, Mascot Patch Relic, Opening Day Relics, and Turf War Dual Diamond Relics.

Inserts include Bomb Squad, Dugout Peeks, Luck of the Irish, Mascots, Opening Day, Triple Play, and Walk this Way.

In the past I’ve had my share of luck with Opening Day. I’ve pulled relics, photo variations, and even a printing plate once. Nothing like that in this box. But I did find a Luck of the Irish insert that falls 1:1,698 packs.

As a Phillies fan it would be great to see Tom McCarthy or any of their broadcasters get an autograph in Opening Day’s Ballpark Profile set. Their PA announcer Dan Baker was featured in the 2020 set.

Checklist

Here is what I pulled:

Parallels:

• Trent Grisham Blue Foil
• Willi Castro Blue Foil

Inserts:

• Luis Castillo Luck of the Irish
• Cole/Judge/LeMahieu Triple Play
• Acuña Jr./Guerrero Jr./Tatis Jr. Triple Play
• Trout/Ohtani/Rendon Triple Play
• Hosmer/Machado/Tatis Jr. Triple Play
• Bellinger/Betts/Kershaw Triple Play
• San Diego Padres Opening Day
• Chicago Cubs Opening Day
• Miami Marlins Opening Day
• Cincinnati Reds Opening Day
• Boston Red Sox Opening Day
• Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day
• Colorado Rockies Opening Day
• Screech Mascots
• Mascot Mascots
• Clark Mascots
• Billy the Marlin Mascots
• Mr. Red Mascots
• Orbit Mascots
• Raymond Mascots
• Fredbird Mascots
• Dinger Mascots
• Mariner Moose Mascots
• Bernie Brewer Mascots
• David Ortiz Bomb Squad
• Mike Trout Bomb Squad
• Babe Ruth Bomb Squad
• Giancarlo Stanton Bomb Squad
• Sammy Sosa Bomb Squad
• Christian Yelich Bomb Squad
• Cody Bellinger Bomb Squad
• Fernando Tatis Jr. Bomb Squad
• Jim Thome Bomb Squad
• Harmon Killebrew Bomb Squad
• Ronald Acuña Jr. Bomb Squad
• Frank Thomas Bomb Squad
• Javier Baez Bomb Squad

Card of the Day: 2019 Topps Opening Day Mascot – Dinger #17

Card of the Day: 2016 Topps Opening Day Mascot Rally Monkey #3

Padres ’21 Topps Opening Day Relic Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Jake Schornick on being the lucky winner of the Manny Machado 2021 Topps Opening Day – Opening Day Game-Used Memorabilia Relic. Once Jake Schornick sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP. Thanks!

Padres ’21 Topps Opening Day Relic Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Manny Machado 2021 Topps Opening Day – Opening Day Game-Used Memorabilia Relic. Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Saturday, May 1, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• U.S. residents only.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2021 Topps Opening Day Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Collector Type: Set

Do you want to know how crazy things are right now in the world of sports cards? Boxes of 2021 Topps Opening Day Baseball sold out quicker on the Topps website than 2021 Bowman 1st Edition. Granted, 2021 Bowman 1st Edition was put up for sale without any kind of warning. Whereas on release day for products such as Opening Day its common for Topps to list some boxes on their site for sale. Opening Day was a bit more predictable. Despite that, its mightily impressive that Opening Day sold out so quickly. With the price of sealed wax at an all time high, it wouldn’t surprise me if people snagged them up thinking they would be a big flip on the secondary market. Opening Day traditionally isn’t that type of product, but in today’s world we truly can’t predict what is and isn’t normal anymore.

Opening Day is usually one of the more affordable products. Like everything else prices are a bit higher this year. A hobby box will run about $60. Each hobby box comes with (36) packs with (7) cards per pack. Hits such as autographs and relics aren’t guaranteed per box either.

The base set consists of (220) cards utilizing the 2021 Topps flagship design. Only (2) parallels to look for – Blue Foil Opening Day Edition, and Opening Day 1-of-1 (Black Foil).

Photo variations are available, but quite difficult to pull. (30) cards from the base set have variations, and fall 1:531 packs. There are two ways you can identify them. All variations have the Opening Day logo in the top-right corner. Another way is to check the CMP code on the back.

• Base – #312
• Variation – #334

As I mentioned before you’re not guaranteed any autographs and/or relics per hobby box. That’s why Opening Day is so affordable compared to other releases. With that being said, it is possible to find a hit.

Half of the photo variation checklist subjects have autographed versions. The odds of pulling one are about 1:26,600 packs.

My favorite autographed cards are the Ballpark Profiles. These highlight various broadcasters around Major League Baseball. One of these years I hope to see Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy get a card in here. The mascot autographs have always been fun too.

Relics come in all forms ranging from your basic memorabilia card, mascot relics, and even cards containing infield dirt.

Inserts are more than plentiful. Two of the inserts use the 2021 Topps flagship design – Dugout Peeks, and Walk This Way. Please don’t think of them as photo variations. Dugout Peeks fall 1:1,595 packs, and Walk This Way 1:321 packs.

Fun is what Opening Day has always been about. Hoping for that life altering pull can happen, but its not the main purpose for opening a box.

Checklist

Here is what I pulled:

Relic:

• Manny Machado Opening Day Game-Used Memorabilia Relic

Parallels:

• Roughed Odor Blue Foil Opening Day Edition
• Kris Bubic RC Blue Foil Opening Day Edition
• Cody Bellinger Blue Foil Opening Day Edition
• Ozzie Albies Blue Foil Opening Day Edition

Inserts:

• Hank Aaron Outstanding Opening Day
• Billy Williams Outstanding Opening Day
• Bryce Harper Outstanding Opening Day
• Ivan Rodriguez Outstanding Opening Day
• Bob Feller Outstanding Opening Day
• Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day
• Cincinnati Reds Opening Day
• New York Mets Opening Day
• Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day
• Washington Nationals Opening Day
• Boston Red Sox Opening Day
• Tampa Bay Rays Opening Day
• Derek Jeter Legends Of Baseball
• Stan Musial Legends Of Baseball
• Kirby Puckett Legends Of Baseball
• Jackie Robinson Legends Of Baseball
• Rickey Henderson Legends Of Baseball
• Willie Mays Legends Of Baseball
• Roberto Clemente Legends Of Baseball
• Ichiro Legends Of Baseball
• Johnny Bench Legends Of Baseball
• Ozzie Smith Legends Of Baseball
• Tony Gwynn Legends Of Baseball
• Randy Johnson Legends Of Baseball
• Toronto Blue Jays Mascot
• Mr. Met Mascot
• Sluggerrr Mascot
• Rangers Captain Mascot
• Wally The Green Monster Mascot
• Billy The Marlin Mascot
• Blooper Mascot
• Orbit Mascot
• Slider Mascot
• Clark Mascot
• Mariner Moose Mascot
• Fredbird Mascot

2020 Topps Opening Day Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Collector Type: Set

2020 has been a weird and crazy year.  And its not even over yet.  Opening a pack of baseball cards might seem like a normal thing, but I believe everyone could use a little normal right now.

During this pandemic we’ve seen interest in sports cards reach an all-time high.  Mike Trout’s 2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Auto Superfractor #’ed 1/1 recently sold for $4 million.  With headlines and widespread media coverage such as that other people will want to try and get in on the action too.  This will cause prices to rise.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option in this era of expensive products, 2020 Topps Opening Day Baseball might be just right for you.  With (36) packs per box, and (7) cards per pack, that pack busting itch can surely get scratched.  It is possible to find big hits, but nothing is guaranteed in each box.  This is why the box price is significantly lower compared to other products.

The main base set mimics that of the 2020 flagship set design.  (200) cards make up the base set.  White Sox star rookie Luis Robert has a very difficult short print to pull.  It looks just like the base set but falls 1:360 packs or roughly 1:10 boxes.

Base set parallels include Red Foil (Target), Purple Foil (Meijer), Blue Foil (2,020 copies), Opening Day Black Foil #’ed 1/1, and Printing Plates #’ed 1/1.  The Luis Robert short print does NOT have any parallels.

Photo variations are rather difficult to find, but do exist.  I find the best way to identify them is by checking the CMP code found on the card backs.

• Base – #579
• Photo Variation – #601
• Canada Variation – #591 (exclusive cards found only in Canadian blister packs)

(15) subjects have autographs on these variations.

Autographs include Opening Day Autographs, Ballpark Profile Autographs, Diamond Relic Autographs, Mascot Autographs, Mascot Autograph Relics, and Walk This Way Autographs.

Relics include Opening Day Relics, Diamond Relics, Major League Mementos Relics, Mascot Relics, and Mascot Commemorative Patch Relics.

Inserts include Dugout Peeks, Mascots, Opening Day, Spring Has Sprung, Team Traditions and Celebrations, The Lighter Side of Baseball, Walk This Way, and 2020 Topps Sticker Collection Preview.

No autographs or relics for me in this box.  Then again, this product doesn’t guarantee any per box either.  The rarest card I pulled would be the Nolan Arenado Walk This Way insert which falls 1:369 packs.

As a Phillies fan its neat to see Phillies Public Address Announcer Dan Baker receive his first baseball card found in the Ballpark Profile Autographs set.

Checklist

Here is what I pulled:

Parallels:

• Gerrit Cole Blue Foil #21
• Luis Castillo Blue Foil #125
• Eric Hosmer Blue Foil #83

Inserts:

• Nolan Arenado – Walk This Way
• Seattle Mariners – Team Traditions and Celebrations
• New York Yankees  – Team Traditions and Celebrations
• Boston Red Sox – Team Traditions and Celebrations
• Mookie Betts – 2020 Topps Sticker Collection Preview
• Javier Baez – 2020 Topps Sticker Collection Preview
• Juan Soto – 2020 Topps Sticker Collection Preview
• Bo Bichette  – 2020 Topps Sticker Collection Preview
• Ted Williams – Spring Has Sprung
• Rafael Devers – Spring Has Sprung
• Ken Griffey Jr. – Spring Has Sprung
• Mark McGwire – Spring Has Sprung
• Bernie Brewer – Mascots
• Blooper – Mascots
• Mariner Moose – Mascots
• Rangers Captain – Mascots
• Billy The Marlin – Mascots
• Mrs. Met – Mascots
• Slider – Mascots
• Cincinnati Reds – Opening Day
• Kansas City Royals – Opening Day
• San Diego Padres – Opening Day
• (2) Seattle Mariners – Opening Day
• (2) Tampa Bay Rays – Opening Day
• Los Angeles Dodgers – Opening Day
• Miami Marlins  – Opening Day
• (2) Texas Rangers – Opening Day
• Milwaukee Brewers – Opening Day
• Minnesota Twins – Opening Day
• New York Yankees – Opening Day
• Toronto Blue Jays – Opening Day
• Oakland Athletics – Opening Day
• Philadelphia Phillies – Opening Day
• Washington Nationals – Opening Day

Card of the Day: Luis Robert 2020 Topps Opening Day RC #201