Stars in Series 2

I mentioned in a previous post that my family grabbed a few blasters off the Target app for a gift for Father's day. It's encouraging to see that some of the same products are still showing as available over a month later. For me, it's part of what keeps me a part of the hobby. I enjoy adding to my player and minor league team collections, but the biggest joy for me recently is opening packs with my son, and being able to find at least a few of the league's stars when doing so.

A blaster of Topps Series 2 delivered for us a few weeks ago. It was a blast to open these packs. 

I don't own any cards from Series 1 and this was my first time seeing Series 2 in person. I think Topps is on the right track with the design for 2022. The border and design elements just leave too little context for what is going on around the player for my liking. These three were some of the cards that stuck out to me. 

Berrios made his debut with the Jays and started off with a strong start. That AL East is loaded and it will be interesting to see which teams can make the playoffs. Someone's going to be left out, but if it's the Jays, they've got a lot to look forward to in coming years.

I've got a soft spot for the Orioles, even if they do rival some of my favorite Red Sox players. Was glad to see Mullins make the All-Star team and as of this post he's still sitting 4th in the AL in batting average. The Orioles have some bright spots which make them worth watching even if they aren't winning in that loaded division.

Starling I featured here because he's helping USA baseball push towards a medal. Despite losing to Japan, USA is assured a spot in the quarterfinals. I'm cheering for this guy to find success at the big league level, at one point a top prospect in baseball.

Going back to the card design, I found myself gravitating towards the horizontal cards. Look at the hair action on this Hader.

Possibly the two biggest stars in the game today on the same card. 

The Braves need some help to get over .500. Not sure if what they got at the deadline will help them make the playoffs, but Soler will be fun to cheer for regardless.

Like I said, the horizonal cards stuck out to me. They feel less crowded than the vertical cards.

More stars along with my favorite cards from the box. The '65 design cards are great. Would try to collect the whole set if I thought that was realistic. Instead I'll look for the Betts, Dalbec and Devers.

I ended up with seven of the '65 Redux cards and one Chrome, which looks like an unnumbered refractor version.

The last of the base '65 redux. He's now on the Marlins playing for the AAA team called the Jumbo Shrimp. I love minor league baseball.

Mountcastle is another one of those bright spots for the Orioles I was mentioning. 

Can't open a blaster of Topps without getting at least one numbered parallel. Maybe a Rockies collector out there needs this gold Trevor Story.

Here's another star, one of the biggest today. As opposed to the Statistically Speaking insert from the Absolute set, this insert set has a stat that you don't ordinarily see on the front of a card. This set gets a thumbs up from me. 

Can't say I'm familiar with Varsho, but as I've mentioned, I really like seeing current players on previous year set designs. Will definitely look to pick up cards of Dalbec and Houck. 

Both of the Ripken Jr. cards will go into my personal collection. Big fan of both of these and was so pleased to get multiple Cal cards in my box. Especially like the 86 All-Star card.

Another blaster and a second Dodger as the 'hit' with an anniversary patch. This is another very thick card. If I can find a thick enough toploader, I would love to send this along to a Dodger collector somewhere.