I Went in a Card Store

A month or so ago I did something I hadn't done in several years. I went in a card shop. While on vacation I called over to a local card shop, not something I can normally do at home, to see if they had any of the newly released Stadium Club packs. They had some but said it wouldn't last long so I went over to pick some up. I was excited to open some packs but I was also excited about the prospects of picking up some single cards to add to my collection. 

Turns out I got there just in time. I was able to grab the last three packs of Stadium Club. They had some other products but nothing that seemed in line with what I was willing to pay. With just three hobby packs I think I did pretty well.

Pulled my first Benintendi of 2021 which falls into the Greenville Drive collection. That's one I won't have to put on the want list. It is weird to see him in a Royals uniform. Another former Drive player switched teams this week (Chavis to the Pirates) and while I am glad to continue to cheer for collect them after they've switched teams, it's really satisfying to see them perform well on the Red Sox. Benintendi hit just .183 in July after coming back from injury. Hoping he can turn it around for the last part of the year.

I hadn't seen the Puckett card posted anywhere yet and it may have been my favorite from my three packs. The colors look great on this one. 

And I've mentioned on pack breaks from previous years how I appreciate shots at this angle. Hoping Sale comes back strong- his rehab starts have been pretty solid.

Speaking of switching teams, Manny Machado used to be a guy I sought cards of. I still own a good stack of cards from his time with the Orioles. Since then though it's been tough for me to cheer for him, and I no longer seek out his cards. 

With Turner on the move to LA, the rich get richer. What a luxury to add a player of Turner's caliber at a position where Corey Seager is already playing.

Schwarber seems like a good fit for the Red Sox, and can't have too much quality depth, but starting pitching seems like the real weakness for this team. 

While I'm no Yankees fan, this is a pretty cool shot.

This was another of my favorite base cards I opened. Love the dirt spraying up from the slide.

Harper I'm happy to send to another collector. Never been a fan, as to be expected with him being a rival to the Braves at both of his major league stops in his career.

The Cal is a keeper out of the three packs. Love the design, love the 90s, love Cal. It's a keeper for sure.

Two Phillies inserts in the same box, I'm not enthused. Cutch is 34 now and I forget that he won an MVP award in 2013.

I've been pulling Dodger cards like crazy recently. Nothing mind blowing but solid cards nonetheless. As always the Chrome card didn't scan great, but I can assure you this card looks great in hand.

Was this a Braves rivals box? Kilome is in AAA Syracuse. Tough signature to read but I was still pleased to pull an autograph out of three packs. I figured someone would have opened packs until they pulled all the autos, but I opened one out of the last three packs in the box.

This Devers rookie card from Topps Gallery was in the display case at the front of the store. It was a little more than I could have probably found on eBay, but it was right there in front of me, I didn't have to wait for it to be shipped to me, and most of all, I want to support the local card shop when I can, even on a small purchase like this one.

While I picked up the Devers rookie at the store, this Topps Heritage relic from 2020 I spotted in the store, and it was priced significantly more than I could pick it up online. I would have liked to buy it in store, but when it's more than double the price there, I couldn't justify it. I do love the design and colors on this Devers relic, the 2nd in my collection.

I would have liked to dig through boxes for more cards for my collection, and I did browse a little bit, but I ran out of time. Next time I'm in town I'll be sure to spot back by, though. Just the act of going into a local card store and seeing packs on a shelf in person was therapeutic. Looking forward to the next time!