As I have mentioned in my comments on several blogs, I LOVE the Opening Day set this year. The main reason is the inserts, I like none of the flagship inserts while I like most of the Opening Days. The Spot the Error are kinda weird and the Opening Day Stars are not very good in person. I am questioning whether I actually love Opening Day or if the flagship set is just so disappointing to me that I need to love it. Since I am not Dr. Freud, I don't care.
I am going with I love the set and I am going to attempt to build a master set of this year's opening day, including all the insert sets, the parallel set, and the auto set. Plus one extra of each of the Rockies in the sets. Can it be done? Yes. Will I be able to do it? Time will tell.
I will format the pack openings much like my
Sunday Afternoon Blaster, meaning any dupes are labeled in green and are for trade.
Card coloration is it's availability
white = I'm keeping it
green = available for trade
red = already claimed/traded
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| The only problem with the set is the cover "boy" |
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Let's get started.
BLASTER #1
pack one
41 Aubrey Huff - Giants
114 Ervin Santana - Angels
56 Brian Bogusevic - Astros
Spot the Error 5 David Ortiz - Red Sox
88 Carl Pavano - Twins
59 Russell Martin - Yankees
184 Austin Jackson - Tigers rookie cup
pack two
129 Ike Davis - Mets
74 Fausto Carmona - Indians
101 Brian Wilson blue parallel - Giants 1963/2011
M-3 Baltimore Orioles mascot - Orioles
196 Brian Roberts - Orioles
215 Mark Teixeira - Yankees
139 Michael Young - Rangers
pack three
73 David Aardsma - Mariners
65 Mike Stanton - Marlins rookie cup
4 Jason Kubel - Twins
PFP-3 Calvin Coolidge - Presidential First Pitch
151 Adam Wainwright - Cardinals
136 Gaby Sanchez - Marlins
210 Drew Stubbs - Reds
pack four
62 Mat Latos - Padres
123 Stephen Drew - Diamondbacks
50 Albert Pujols - Cardinals
SC-8 Vladimir Guerrero Superstar Celebrations - Rangers
200 Robinson Cano - Yankees
191 Corey Hart - Brewers
172 Jorge Posada - Yankees
pack five
106 Todd Helton - Rockies
31 Chris Sale - White Sox
TTOD-3 Trevor Cahill Toppstown - Athletics
UL-8 Adrian Gonzalez Stadium Lights - Red Sox
164 Grady Sizemore - Indians
144 Brett Gardner - Yankees
159 Dan Uggla - Braves
pack six
95 Josh Johnson - Marlins
16 Max Scherzer - Tigers
M-8 Dinger mascot - Rockies
ODS-3 Alex Rodriguez Opening Day Stars - Yankees
150 Matt Cain - Giants
170 Logan Morrison - Marlins
179 Prince Fielder - Brewers
pack seven
46 Yadier Molina - Cardinals
119 Alexei Ramirez - White Sox
91 Andres Torres - Giants
SC-10 Carlos Pena Superstar Celebrations - Rays
UL-9 Jason Heyward Stadium Lights - Braves
93 Aaron Hill - Blue Jays
36 Daniel Descalso - Cardinals
pack eight
35 Vladimir Guerrero - Rangers
13 Carl Crawford - Red Sox
92 Nick Markakis - Orioles
PFP-5 Richard Nixon - Presidential First Pitch
17 Ryan Dempster - Cubs
203 Neftali Feliz - Rangers rookie cup
127 Nick Swisher - Yankees
pack nine
3 Jon Lester - Red Sox
84 Brian Matusz - Orioles
64 Miguel Tejada - Giants
2 Shin-Soo Choo blue parallel - Indians 0812/2011
M-10 Billy the Marlin mascot - Marlins
135 David Ortiz - Red Sox
19 Carlos Marmol - Cubs
pack ten
78 Garrett Jones - Pirates
67 Johnny Cueto - Reds
11 Jaime Garcia - Cardinals
TTOD-10 Tim Lincecum Toppstown - Giants
5 David Wright - Mets
130 Justin Morneau - Twins
60 Aroldis Chapman - Reds
pack eleven
90 Chase Utley - Phillies
98 Angel Pagan - Mets
21 Martin Prado - Braves
SC-3 David Ortiz Superstar Celebrations - Red Sox
22 Hunter Pence - Astros
219 Matt Garza - Rays
39 Kurt Suzuki - Athletics
Not a bad start...no dupes, one blue parallel of a good likable player and one of douchy goofball who happened to have had a fluky season. Additionally, I got at least one of every inserts (excluding autos). I am also okay with the photoshopping of new uniforms in this set (odd that they didn't put Garza in a Cubs uniform though), because that is the team they will be playing for on 2011 Opening Day. The flagship set I consider more of a yearbook, so they should put the player in the uniform from last year.
BLASTER #2
pack one
126 Brian Duensing - Twins
54 Ian Stewart - Rockies
179 Prince Fielder blue parallel - Brewers 1309/2011
M-23 Rangers Captain mascot - Rangers
213 Matt Holliday - Cardinals
131 Chris Carpenter - Cardinals
82 Brennan Boesch - Tigers
pack two
46 Yadier Molina - Cardinals
119 Alexei Ramirez - White Sox
91 Andres Torres - Giants
PFP-6 Woodrow Wilson - Presidential First Pitch
28 Edinson Volquez - Reds
208 Matt Kemp - Dodgers
189 B.J. Upton - Rays
pack three
35 Vladimir Guerrero - Rangers
13 Carl Crawford - Red Sox
92 Nick Markakis - Orioles
SC-18 Derek Jeter Superstar Celebrations - Yankees
93 Aaron Hill - Blue Jays
36 Daniel Descalso - Cardinals
17 Ryan Dempster - Cubs - Jon from Community Gum
pack four
3 Jon Lester - Red Sox
84 Brian Matusz - Orioles
64 Miguel Tejada - Giants
TTOD-13 Ian Desmond Toppstown - Nationals
203 Neftali Feliz - Rangers rookie cup
127 Nick Swisher - Yankees - AJ
135 David Ortiz - Red Sox
pack five
78 Garrett Jones - Pirates
67 Johnny Cueto - Reds
M-12 Kansas City Royals mascot - Royals
ODS-4 Josh Hamilton Opening Day Stars - Rangers
19 Carlos Marmol - Cubs - Jon from Community Gum
5 David Wright - Mets
130 Justin Morneau - Twins - David
pack six
80 Jeremy Hellickson - Rays
94 Jimmy Rollins - Phillies
14 Ben Zobrist - Rays
SC-16 Jose Reyes Superstar Celebrations - Mets
201 Madison Bumgarner - Giants
199 Francisco Liriano - Twins
111 Nelson Cruz - Rangers
pack seven
100 Miguel Cabrera - Tigers
24 Andrew Cashner - Cubs
79 Heath Bell - Padres
PFP-9 John F. Kennedy - Presidential First Pitch
206 Rafael Furcal - Dodgers
214 Bobby Abreu - Angels
178 Joe Mauer - Twins
pack eight (short one card)
104 Victor Martinez - Tigers (damaged)
81 Jay Bruce - Reds
82 Brennan Boesch blue parallel - Tigers 1455/2011
M-15 Mr. Met mascot - Mets
37 Tim Hudson - Braves
15 David Price - Rays
pack nine (short one card)
1 Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies
103 Jose Bautista - Blue Jays
UL-3 Robinson Cano Stadium Lights - Yankees
32 James McDonald - Pirates
76 Chris Perez - Indians
202 Mike Leake - Reds
pack ten
27 Andrew McCutchen - Pirates
45 Desmond Jennings - Rays
43 Jered Weaver - Angels
SC-7 Jim Thome Superstar Celebrations - Twins
146 Gavin Floyd - White Sox
53 Bronson Arroyo - Reds
7 Mickey Mantle - Yankees
pack eleven
120 Roy Halladay - Phillies
57 Zack Greinke - Brewers
70 Freddie Freeman - Braves
Spot the Error 9 Buster Posey - Giants
110 Ichiro - Mariners
166 Ian Kinsler - Rangers
177 Magglio Ordonez - Tigers
Well, I got shorted two cards, had one damaged card, and had quite a few dupes so not the best blaster ever. Interesting that the dupes were all in the exact same order in both blasters. I can see potentially good things and potentially bad things with that collation technique. The good is it would probably not leave you one card shy of a set. The bad is when you get one dupe you are basically guaranteed getting multiple dupes. Oh well, a little trade fodder and at least no dupes were of inserts. I will probably pick up a third blaster for Sunday and then rely on trades to attempt this master. But for now here are some pics.
I love that a Rockie is card #1 in this set. Anything to get more visibility is good in my book. Why, oh why, is Mickey Mantle in this set? He isn't on the Opening Day roster this year, there is no point in including him. Lastly, one of the new uniform cards of Dan Uggla in his new Atlanta duds.
Here are the three rookie cup cards I got. I don't like the tiny cups though, although they are better than the gray monstrosity from the base set in 2010.
Here is the back of Justin Morneau. As you can see the little right sidebar note is different showing first Opening Day start (for most) instead of a Topps historical card number. On a side note, am I a bad person because of the thoughts I had reading about the "special Slurpee" from Nick Punto. Yep, you thought it too. Okay I feel better about myself now.
Here are the blue parallels. That Shin-Soo Choo is absolutely gorgeous with the blue border. These will probably be the most difficult part of my master set, so if you have ANY that you don't want or need please contact me.
I like these two inserts a lot. The Superstar Celebrations back gives a brief description of the game that the photo is from. This one of Vlad is from the ALCS final game and man what a great photo that is. The Stadium Lights (or Under the Lights) inserts I'm sure you have seen already, but if you didn't know parts of them glow in the dark. Cool idea.
The Opening Day Stars is just poorly constructed, think old Sportflics with two images instead of three. Good concept, bad execution. Well, here we have Dinger. The stupid little Barney the Dinosaur mascot of the Rockies. I will have a full post on Dinger and why he sucks probably next week, but overall I like the mascots set. I don't know why all 30 teams aren't represented though in this 25 card set.
Finally, we come to my favorite of the insert sets, the Presidential First Pitch. They are wonderfully designed and I sort of like political inserts as long they don't occur every year and don't have an agenda. My favorite is the Kennedy because it also show Lyndon Johnson in the background. Oddly though, the pic is from the 1962 All Star Game (first time ever for a President) rather than Opening Day.
After this upcoming Sunday's Afternoon Blaster, I will be putting up wantlists for this set definitely and probably others if I can get them together.
