All Hail the King! (a Box Break)

Nice try, Topps.  I will never forgive you for the trespasses you have committed against me in the past.  This box of 2013 Topps Chrome Baseball was quite nice, nevertheless.  I don't buy as many baseball hobby boxes as I used to - namely because I feel Topps is uncreative and doesn't provide enough value, while Panini and Upper Deck aren't as desirable because they lack MLB licenses.  Consequently, I've gravitated toward buyback, oddball, or prospect boxes like what Leaf or Pastime has been putting out.

This type of purchasing behavior doesn't help people like my friend "J," though, who owns a brick and mortar sports card shop in Northern California.  It's just easier and cheaper for him to stock and sell Topps (and Panini and Upper Deck to a lesser extent) products to the masses than stuff from lesser known brands.  So, once in a while I'll visit his store and buy some Topps (usually Bowman) cards from him.  Solidarity!  Bros!

Here's some highlights from a semi-recent 2013 Chrome Baseball box I got from my friend:

Todd Frazier desert camo refractor numbered to 15 and a Joey Votto black refractor numbered to 100.  The camoflage border is different.  I like it.

 Rookies!

This Darin Ruf rookie autograph was actually the last hit I pulled.  At that point the card was just a third "bonus" hit to me.  You'll see why.  (Yes, indeed, three hits.)  The Ruf auto is in my trade bait.

Paco!  This was the first hit I pulled out of the box.  Man, what a year the Dodgers had.  Also, what great rookies we had this season.  I wanted a Paco Rodriguez rookie autograph card, and I pulled this redemption.  I still don't technically have it in hand, but I eagerly await the arrival of the actual card from Topps in like 12 years.  It's a "variation" too, so I imagine it's a refractor of some sort.  I already own a Yasiel Puig prospect auto.  It'd be awesome to have Hyun-Jin Ryu's rookie auto too.

"HUURRRNGH!" I believe was the reaction when I pulled this beaut.  "King" Felix Hernandez bigass four color patch auto, #'d 03/10.  What a monster patch!  This makes for my second Felix autograph card.  I didn't even know these existed in 2013 Chrome.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the surprisingly thick pack and found this dude in there.  Awesome!  I think the patch is from the Seattle Mariners away jersey?  What portion exactly?

Speaking of the Mariners... it'll be super bananas if they manage to pull off signing Robinson Cano!  Payday.

It's Good to be King

King Felix, that is.  Not as good to be the Mariners organization, I suppose?  I read today that the Seattle Mariners only gained a profit of less than $5.9 million in 2012.  You can check out the same blog post at Yahoo! Sports' Big League Stew here.  With that kind of profit margin, they could sign... an NBA player that never plays!  $5.9 million is less than a third of Felix Hernandez's yearly salary under his hefty new contract.  This card definitely did not cost anywhere near those numbers:

2005 Series 2, Felix Hernandez rookie autograph.  On card!  Sweet scrawl there.

I purchased the above card a few months ago at a very reasonable price, almost exactly a month before Hernandez signed that massive contract.  It sure took me a while to post!  The prices for Felix's signatures seem to have risen gradually yet substantially since then.  Now, if only that elbow anomaly or what ever they found in his physical does not become something serious or detrimental, then the "King" will live long and prosper indeed.

There was a moment when I was concerned that the card actually depicted someone named Hernandez Felix and not the Seattle ace as I expected.