4 packs of cards that a collector will rarely see

It's a nightly ritual.  Head home from work, pull in the driveway, get out of the car and head straight to the mailbox.  We've been in this house just over 2 years now, and I don't think that my wife has ever checked the mail since we moved in.

That's because she knows the joy I get when I open the box and pull out an unexpected bubble mailer or PWE.   It's an incredible feeling because you know that someone out there has taken the time to put this together with you in mind.  

I received one such envelope early this week (or maybe the end of last week, it's been a few days) from Kenny who always manages to put together great packages for me.

This one was creative.  As protection, he re-used 4 pack wrappers.   So, I'm counting these as opening 4 packs of cards.   Just because I can....

Let's have some fun and go pack by pack, shall we?

Pack 1

This pack he'd been saving for a while, as it's a Prizm Perennial Draft Picks wrapper from 2014.  It contained 4 base cards (not like the 5 on the pack).

Hey!  Rowdy Tellez and Vladdy Jr., right off the get go!!  Tellez made quite the splash with his September call up; he's hitting .385 with 8 doubles and 2 homers in 40 plate appearances.  Guerrero Jr. just may make the Jays out of camp next year after tearing up the minors this year, hitting .381 over 4 different levels of minor league pitching (2 of those levels were just for a cup of coffee).

In this pack as well was a different sort of insert...minis!

A little crooked on the bottom row, but I wasn't going to bother fussing with the scan.  These are stickers from 3 different Panini products, and they bring back memories of the old Panini sticker books from the 80's, trying to fill those up as kids. 


Pack 2

 A little more recent, this pack is a series 2 wrapper from 2018 Topps.   It was close to 12 cards.

Another Rowdy Tellez card!  Adeiny Hechavarria has already been traded 4 times since his 2012 RC was released (Miami, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, New York).  I believe the Joe Young is a buyback card, as it has a stamp on the front (70th).  I wasn't aware that Joe was Canadian born (Ft. McMurray, AB) and spent 6 years in the Jays system, reaching as high as AA.

I'll have to check, but I'm betting most of the pack may be doubles.

Nothing wrong with the inserts though, 3 cards from the 2017-18 OPC set.  Pretty sure that I need them all so these are great for me!


Pack 3

 I'd lay money I don't have that Kenny ripped quite a few of these packs this year.  My pack beat what's listed on the wrapper, as it was bursting with 14 cards inside.

Mostly recent cards in this Blue Jays lot.  I'm pretty sure that I need the Biagini Heritage for that set build, and most of the others will likely be needed for team sets. 

By the time Heritage came out in 2010, Roy was already wearing the red "P" Philadelphia Phillies logo, but I imagine that that photo was taken from the 2009 ASG, which was Roy's 6th and final appearance as a Jay.  The other 3 cards are likely doubles, even the Daniel Norris.

Not a bad insert in this pack though, a P.K. Subban Canvas card.  I'm a sucker for these cards, and this one is no slouch.  There are quite a few copies of this card on COMC (136 to be exact), so there's no expectation of short supply at all.


Pack 4

The final pack is one that I've ripped a few times, a 2017-18 Upper Deck series 1 pack.  The pack says 8 cards, I pulled nearly double that.

Some Bowman for you, a couple of copies of Josh Donaldson who has moved on, and a couple of versions of Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s card from 2017.  I have a feeling Lourdes will be a regular member of the Jays in 2019, as his rookie season was a good one, hitting .284 with 9 homers in 61 games.

Zack Erwin is a member of the Oakland organization, so not sure how he made it in this pack.  Jon Harris does belong though; the Jays actually drafted him 2x.  He split 2018 between AA & AAA, having a couple of decent starts when he was promoted to AAA Buffalo for a week just before the July 4th holiday.

There are some nice cards on this scan, but the only 2 that I believe I need are the Topps Total cards of Hentgen and Woodward.  Maybe this Wednesday when I have the day off I'll go through all of these to see what I truly need.

Kenny, what a great idea that I'm going to have to steal off of you!!  Thank you for the cards, they are truly appreciated.

Thanks for reading, Robert