Christmas made me do it

 

Living in a small city, that is not near any larger city, means you're going to end up in Walmart near Christmas at some point.

I can say all I want, "I don't go to Walmart," and most of the time that's true. Ordering online has helped me hold to that motto, but sometimes you need something quickly, especially at this time of year, and the only damn place --- damn, damn, damn -- that you know it's going to be, is Walmart.

So I planned it out, as I often have to do for an evil Walmart trip. I got up extra early and made sure I was there by 9 a.m. It was still too busy for my taste, but at least the aisles weren't clogged with the plague of cart-leaning people like they are for 90 percent of my visits there.

Things were clear enough for me to actually check out the card kiosk area (which is really a "knickknacks you don't need to have" area) for the first time in forever. And, shockingly, there were some cards there.

Yeah, most of it was Panini junk, but I spotted the Archives blasters right away. Just a couple of them. Archives isn't anything I planned on buying like this -- no gift card and almost all the Dodgers already in my collection -- but this was the first time I had spotted cards like this in Walmart since early 2020. It was a no-brainer to try one.

 

And if I actually need an excuse, here it is: Christmas made me do it. That and not living in a well-populated area.

 

 

 

Let's see what's in Archives this year: 

PACK 1

17 - Alex Bregman, Astros ('63)

85 - Joey Votto, Reds ('63)

163 - Stan Musial, Cardinals ('78)

110 - Hyun-Jin Ryu, Blue Jays ('78)
234 - David Wright, Mets ('87), green parallel

PC-14 - Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves, postcard insert

222 - Jazz Chisholm Jr., Marlins ('87)

295 - Casey Mize, Tigers ('87)

I've mentioned before how weird it is to see parallels of old-time designs, but the boringness of 1987 really lends itself to some color to spice it up. I can think of at least three collectors who could get that Wright. I'll have to do some randomizing.

 

 

PACK 2

61- Hoy Park, Pirates ('63)

19 - Matt Olson, Braves ('63)

47 - Matt Manning, Tigers ('63)

147 - Robbie Ray, Mariners ('78)

190 - Lucius Fox, Nationals ('78)

303 - Javier Baez, Cubs ('55 Scoops)

273 - Nick Castellanos, Phillies ('87)

260 - Romy Gonzalez, White Sox ('87)

 

I should not be buying new cards anymore. Two guys in this pack who I know nothing about. A couple more who I can tell you what team they play for and nothing else.

 

 

PACK 3

 

45 - Rollie Fingers, Athletics ('63)

25 - Alan Trammell, Tigers ('63)

184 - Jake Meyers, Astros ('78)

107 - Freddie Freeman, Dodgers ('78)

193 - Javier Baez, Tigers ('78)

88BF-42 - Ivan Rodriguez, Rangers ('88 Big Baseball)

290 - Cal Raleigh, Mariners ('87)

205 - Adolis Garcia, Rangers ('87)

219 - Jim Thome, Phillies ('87)

 

I liked seeing the Rollie Fingers come out of the pack, even if it's weird seeing him on the '63 design. As for the designs themselves, the '78 is the only one that interests me and even that isn't too exciting. The '87s, as usual, are sapping my will to live.

 

 

PACK 4

 

100 - Juan Soto, Nationals ('63)

53 - Mike Zunino, Rays ('63)

140 - Gerrit Cole, Yankees ('78)

29 - Manny Machado, Padres ('63)

162 - Nelson Cruz, Nationals ('78)

136 - Yogi Berra, Yankees ('78)

88BF-5 - Gavin Sheets, White Sox ('88 Big Baseball)

296 - Harmon Killebrew, Twins ('87)

240 - Tom Seaver, Mets ('87)

 

The pack with the most star power, although I would be happy if I never pulled another Manny Machado card.

 

 

PACK 5

 

14 - Mike Schmidt, Phillies ('63)

54 - Heliot Ramos, Giants ('63)

135 - Bob Feller, Clevelands ('78)

186 - Eddie Murray, Orioles ('78)

158 - Brandon Lowe, Rays ('78)

371 - Cal Ripken Jr., Orioles ('92 MLB Debut)

208 - Nick Plummer, Mets ('87)

262 - Gavin Lux, Dodgers ('87)

 

That Eddie Murray card is a long way from the actual 1978 Eddie Murray card. Practically looks like a painting.

PACK 6

5 - Tyler Gilbert, Diamondbacks ('63)

1 - Shohei Ohtani, Angels ('63)

120 - Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres ('78)

128 - Bryan Reynolds, Pirates ('78)

152 - Corbin Burnes, Brewers ('78)

88BF-14 - Brooks Robinson, Orioles ('88 Big Baseball)

283 - Jared Walsh, Angels ('87)

269 - Trevor Story, Red Sox ('87)

206 - Ian Happ, Cubs ('87)

I sure am picking up some Orioles for my nephew, whose birthday is next month. ... One thing I'll say for Archives is ever since it beefed up the card stock for most of its cards, it's been a little more satisfying to rip.

PACK 7

87 - Ryan McMahon, Rockies ('63)

16 - Josh Hader, Brewers ('63)

95 - Yadier Molina, Cardinals ('63)

180 - Tim Anderson, White Sox ('78)

159 - Luis Frias, Diamondbacks ('78)

326 - Josh Hader, Brewers, ('61 All-Star)

212 - Jake Burger, White Sox ('78)

267 - Carlos Santana, Mariners ('87)

A Josh Hader hot pack. I pull that guy like crazy. And he hasn't been on the Brewers since July.

So, at $24.98 for 59 cards, that was nothing that I needed to buy and wasn't even as interesting as the Allen & Ginter blaster I showed the other day.

You can probably look for a lot of these in trade packages in the future, or, as trade bait on TCDB in the next year as I'm supposedly doing that at some point.

But, overall, if I'm buying cards at Walmart nearly once every three years, I'll take that.