Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2011 Topps Opening Day

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  If you joined me earlier this week, you have already seen my first two blasters of this set.  This is the third and final one that I picked up from Wally World.  This blaster also ends my Upper Deck discount blaster run at 5.  Hopefully it will also end my recent run of no needed Rox in the Box.  There is absolutely nothing guaranteed in this blaster and the only hits in the set fall at around 1:420 packs, so this one is all about the base and inserts.  The goal for this one is as many keeper cards as possible.


Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

Today's blaster is 2011 Topps Opening Day.  11 seven card packs, nothing guaranteed.

On with the show.

pack one

96 James Shields - Rays

18 Justin Upton - Diamondbacks

8 Hanley Ramirez - Marlins

TTOD-5 Jon Lester Toppstown - Red Sox

167 Geovany Soto - Cubs

158 Brian McCann - Braves

134 Ian Desmond - Nationals

pack two

86 Stephen Strasburg - Nationals

77 Koji Uehara - Orioles

M-3 Baltimore Orioles mascot - Orioles - Julie

ODS-2 Carlos Gonzalez Opening Day Stars - Rockies

207 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs

193 Trevor Cahill - Athletics

186 Evan Longoria - Rays

pack three

124 Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers

51 Ben Revere - Twins

57 Zack Greinke blue parallel - Brewers 1438/2011

Spot the Error 6 Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies

176 Jason Heyward - Braves rookie cup

168 Tim Lincecum - Giants

147 Josh Hamilton - Rangers

pack four

113 Wandy Rodriguez - Astros

40 CC Sabathia - Yankees

105 Roy Oswalt - Phillies

SC-8 Vladimir Guerrero Superstar Celebrations - Rangers

UL-7 Pedro Alvarez Stadium Lights - Pirates

161 Jose Tabata - Pirates

173 Joakim Soria - Royals

pack five

30 Alex Rodriguez - Yankees

97 Mike Napoli - Angels

20 Mariano Rivera - Yankees

PFP-4 Ronald Reagan - Presidential First Pitch

181 Josh Beckett - Red Sox

160 Carlos Lee - Astros

201 Madison Bumgarner - Giants

pack six

9 Michael Cuddyer - Twins

87 Brandon Morrow - Blue Jays

121 John Danks - White Sox

M-8 Dinger mascot - Rockies

199 Francisco Liriano - Twins - slight damage (at least it was a dupe this time)

111 Nelson Cruz - Rangers

206 Rafael Furcal - Dodgers

pack seven

112 Andre Ethier - Dodgers

38 Mike Stanton - Marlins

25 Johan Santana - Mets

SC-10 Carlos Pena Superstar Celebrations - Rays

149 Tommy Hanson - Braves

141 Brent Morel - White Sox

217 Andy Pettitte - Yankees

pack eight

101 Brian Wilson - Giants

109 Mark Buehrle - White Sox

12 Neil Walker - Pirates

33 Kyle Drabek blue parallel - Blue Jays 0927/2011

Spot the Error 1 Mark Teixeira - Yankees

197 Kelly Johnson - Diamondbacks

192 Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox

pack nine

6 Aramis Ramirez - Cubs

85 Carlos Santana - Indians

75 Buster Posey - Giants

M-10 Billy the Marlin mascot - Marlins - Julie

182 Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

171 Yovani Gallardo - Brewers

165 Carlos Zambrano - Cubs

pack ten

125 Adam Dunn - White Sox

52 Placido Polanco - Phillies

115 Starlin Castro - Cubs

PFP-10 Barack Obama - Presidential First Pitch

157 Adam Lind - Blue Jays

162 Gordon Beckham - White Sox

209 Shane Victorino - Phillies

pack eleven

42 Greg Halman - Mariners

66 Brett Anderson - Athletics

29 Jonathan Papelbon - Red Sox

SC-3 David Ortiz Superstar Celebrations - Red Sox

195 Shaun Marcum - Brewers

185 Billy Butler - Royals

175 Adam Jones - Orioles

IMPRESSIONS
Design: B
You have seen and read about this design probably too many times in the last month.   So, I am not going into depth about it other than it is much better than last year.  The main difference between the two sets is the lack of foil over the names.  To me given the instances of problems with the foil for the main brand, I think it is an improvement or at least not a setback.
 
Inserts / Hits: A
The inserts are what drew me to this set and away from the flagship this year.  There is at least some good qualities about each insert set.  My favorite is the Presidential First Pitch for the design and subject matter.  I also enjoy the creative Stadium Lights set which if you didn't know glows in the dark (How very 90s).  The only one that truly misses the mark is Opening Day Stars.  While the concept is good, the execution leaves something to be desired.

Value: B+
At $9.99 per blaster, this product is aimed at kids and collectors without a large bankroll.  I think it is a better product than the flagship set this year anyway, so the price being 50% of the flagship is all the better.  If you are looking for hits, this isn't the set for you.  But if you want a nice inexpensive set for this year, this release is almost perfect.

Rox in the Box: 4
Well out of 77 cards 4 were Rockies.  I consider that a success.  I love the Tulowitzki since it is going to be in Series 2 (there are over 70 base cards which are previews of Series 2 pics).  How many times do you recall seeing a Rockie and a Royal on a card, I have a feeling someone will love this card also.  Every one of the insert sets has a Rockie in it, which pleases me.  Between that fact and the fact that Carlos Gonzalez is card #1 in this set, it's good to FINALLY see Colorado get a tiny bit of love from Topps or any card company for that matter.

Will I Collect This Set: A+++
Of course, this is the first master set I am going to attempt from the 21st century.  I will have a full wantlist up later this evening including the blue parallel which I am going to make an effort to collect as well.

Overall: A+/A
Aside from the one slightly damaged card and the 6 insert dupes (Dinger is going into the Rockie binder), this was a very successful blaster for me.  I added 58 out of a possible 62 base cards and several inserts which I didn't have.  Through three blasters I got 159/220 for the base set.  Sure I could have bought the entire set for less than the cost of the three blasters, but where is the fun in that?