Fire away

 

Mercy it's cold out today. I don't like it when the furnace switches on in September. I'm surrounded by people who squawk about the heat so much that I equate warm weather with bitching, so I suppose I should be pleased others are now pleased. But, it's too damn cold for right now!

Let's light a fire and get things heated.🔥

I bought a blaster of 2022 Topps Fire recently. Well, "bought" isn't exactly right. It was another gift-card purchase, because why would I be buying this set with my own cash? Some folks would prefer an ebay gift card over one from Target where your choices are limited, but here's the thing:

I still trade with people. I need cards that they like. Having cards of all Dodgers is great for me, but it's not helping in trades at all (especially since I can think of at least five dormant Dodger blogs). I need inventory.

So, even as I've cut way back on new cards the last few years, I still grab stuff like this once in awhile, preferably on someone else's dime.

 

Fire is a goofy product, good for a chuckle, so let's see what I got:

 

 

PACK 1

7-Max Scherzer, Mets; 85-Cody Bellinger, Dodgers; 70-Carlos Correa, Twins; 152-Kevin Smith, Athletics (red flame); 2-Marcus Stroman, Cubs; 123-Austin Meadows, Tigers; 123-Jarred Kelenic, Mariners (gold-minted)

All right, you astute readers may have noticed the wrapper says six-cards-per and that was seven. That's because the box says there are four "bonus" gold-minted cards randomly inserted into the packs, so some packs have six cards and some have seven. This does not explain why I got more than four gold-minted cards, though.

The first pack gives you a look at the three designs for the base cards. I'm pretty much over being interested in these. It doesn't help that the design for Scherzer and Correa is giving me 1995 Fleer vibes. Yikes. As for personal interest, yay, a Dodger pull! Also, there's that familiar downer feeling of picking up random blasters: the red flame is of a player I had no idea existed until pulling the card.

 

PACK 2

33-Freddie Freeman, Dodgers; 164-Zack Wheeler, Phillies; 86-TJ Friedl, Reds; 54-Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox; 165-Jack Flaherty, Cardinals; 26-Jorge Soler, Marlins; 42-Alex Kirilloff, Twins (gold-minted)

Woo, my first Freddie Freeman Dodger base card! At least the design matches the Dodgers colors.

 

PACK 3

106-Vladimir Guerrero, Blue Jays; 7-Max Scherzer, Mets; 109-Mitch Haniger, Mariners; TTM-5-Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves (To-The-Moon insert); 172-Brandon Crawford, Giants; 56-Brandon Marsh, Angels

Great, doubles in the same box, is this the early '90s? ... But here is perfect example of inventory-boosting, that To The Moon card is a nice add for Johnny's Trading Spot.

PACK 4

 

64-Albert Pujols, Cardinals; 136-David Ortiz, Red Sox; 83-Christian Yelich, Brewers; 195-Bryan Reynolds, Pirates; 77-Gavin Sheets, White Sox; 181-Adolis Garcia, Rangers; 23-Jake Burger, White Sox

Pulling Albert Pujols cards is cool again. But pulling cards of players barely retired like Ortiz is not cool.

 

PACK 5

107-Julio Rodriguez, Mariners; 18-Pete Alonso, Mets; 45-Hunter Greene, Reds (red flame); 4-Jose Siri, Astros; 114-Derek Jeter, Yankees; 29-Walker Buehler, Dodgers

Topps gonna issue Jeter cards until the population doesn't remember who Jeter is, I guess. At least there was a Dodger in the pack. Also, the Hunter Greene card shows you how nice parallels are when you have a border, and yes, it's surprising that there is a bordered card in Fire. ... Oh, I think that's my first Julio Rodriguez card, maybe, rookies, ya know.

 

PACK 6

43-Max Kepler, Twins; 74-Seiya Suzuki, Cubs; 167-Josiah Gray, Nationals; EF-5 Vladimir Guerrero, Blue Jays (On Fire insert); 130-Mike Piazza, Mets; 42-Alex Kiriloff, Twins; 130-Mike Piazza, Mets (gold minted)

There we go! Two Piazza cards for Starting Nine. This gift card is paying off nicely.

PACK 7

73-MacKenzie Gore, Padres; 100-Joey Votto, Reds; FIU-14-Bryce Harper, Phillies (Fired Up insert); 37-Nick Lodolo, Reds; 60-Dansby Swanson, Braves; 102-Fernando Tatis, Jr., Padres

Bleah, not much there. I guess the four bonus gold-minted cards are just the parallels of the base cards.

So, for free, that wasn't too bad. Three Dodgers I needed and a handful of cards that can be distributed elsewhere. And, yeah, a few cards that will sit in a box for awhile.

As for the set itself, I don't know why it still exists. I suppose it's nice for something to open since the summer's been a wasteland for new product. But I know this set isn't popular.

So, you know, fire away.

Maybe it'll warm things up.