Christmas in July

Like many collectors recently, I haven't purchased retail in quite some time. Even pre-covid, I usually ended up picking up a rack pack of whatever product I wanted to sample. But I guess not being able to find boxes made me want to open a box that much more.  

Prior to snagging a 2020 Wal-Mart Holiday retail box on the Wal-Mart app a few weeks ago, I hadn't opened a box of any kind in years. My oldest son is to the age now where he knows daddy enjoys baseball cards and he gets excited to open them with me. He also loves any holiday, and most of all Christmas. I knew he'd enjoy seeing the garland and snowflakes that come on every card from the Wal-Mart holiday release. 

I pulled the trigger on this box because it was one of the first affordable ones I'd seen online, and 10 packs, 10 cards per pack seemed like a pretty good value. Let's dig into the highlights from the box.

First up is the ornament which was not in a pack. Was hoping for Betts, but Soto is a good one too. I think I'll let my son hang this one on the tree in his room this December.

Here are some of the highlights for me from the base cards. The Freeman meets a player collection need, and I appreciate the expression here for Mallex Smith, a name I recognize as a former Brave. And as popular as Ohtani is right now, I'm happy to pull any card of his.

This Jackie Bradley Jr. card is a good start towards my former Greenville Drive list.  

Here's my favorite action shot from the box. Heck of an effort regardless of whether that ball gets caught.

Here's my favorite rookie card from the bunch. For some reason the colors on this one and that jersey look great. 

Out of 10 packs I opened 5 of the Metallic parallels. The Vlad Jr. was the best of the group. Here's a full list in case anyone is collecting them:

Corey Seager HW64, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. HW49, Ryan Zimmerman 126, Jake Arrieta HW144, Kyle Seager HW153

I opened two SPs, and let me tell you, I had to consult with an online checklist to spot these in my stack of cards. The ornaments, scarves, and skates in the case of the Arenado are easy to miss when you're opening packs.

And lastly, the relic I received from my box. Molina is one of those guys I feel like I always pull some special card of. Lindor is another guy. I've already picked up the Chavis from this set after opening the box. Why not, let's share it while we're looking at Holiday cards.

Hopefully this isn't the start of a string of 'didn't pull what I wanted, so let's grab it off eBay' kind of decisions. 

Oh, one other note- out of 100 cards in my box, 11 were Dodgers. Pretty crazy. 

Former Greenville Drive players? 3 - Jackie Bradley Jr, Yoan Moncada, and Anthony Rizzo. Moncada and Rizzo aren't guys I'm really chasing, but it's fun to see how many players I find.

To everyone out there, hope you are having a happy and healthy July.