Not licensed to drive

 

A couple weeks ago reports came out that Panini America is looking to sell. While this barely causes me to shrug my shoulders, considering its output in the baseball market the last 15 years, it's concerning in another way.

 

One of the most interested parties in buying Panini is Topps/Fanatics. Topps is interested in Panini's global reach and this would fit right in with Fanatics' desire for world domination. While a sale to Topps would allow some of the brands that Panini made that didn't meet my expectations -- stuff like Donruss and Diamond Kings -- to be retooled into looks I might like better (i.e. have team logos), it also carries the potential for Topps to continue its lazy treatment of many of its sets ... or not publish them at all, as seems to be Fanatics' way.

 

But what Panini was doing with baseball sets certainly didn't interest me, so it mostly gets a shrug.

 

I haven't purchased a pack of Panini-whatever in a good long time. The last time was maybe three years ago. And we're talking a single rack pack. I'm way delinquent as a team collector in adding Panini's Dodgers to my collection over the last 3 or 4 years. That's why it's smart of card bloggers like Cards On Cards to send me Panini Dodgers. There is an excellent chance I do not have them, nor even made a want list.

 

The main theme of the latest envelope from my longest-standing blog trade partner (17 years!), was definitely Panini baseball from 2025. Fully admit I haven't done a thing with those sets.

 

These are cards from the Crusade set, which Panini made a stand-alone set a couple of years ago, after it was showing up in its Chronicles set, which apparently stopped existing in 2024.

 

Crusade is a set meant to attract those who think the late '90s was the pinnacle of card collecting. Obviously I don't think that and also obviously the ones back then look a lot better than these. But they have a little bit of charm for a set that includes a chaotic checklist of legends with yet-to-be's.

 

 

More guys from the 1960s playing on the same team with guys from the 2020s. I never warmed to Prizm (it's not a warm set), but did like some of the color parallels with some of the Panini designs (I'm thinking 2019/2020). This probably has the best chance of carrying over to Topps if that sale happens just because Prizm seems to be very popular with certain collector types.

 

 

Pee Wee Reese has shown up in both Panini and Topps products in the same year several times. I don't know how that works, but maybe it's common for competing sets to have a license with legends players. I don't pay attention much for non-Dodgers.

 

Also, there were a couple of Topps cards in the envelope with all that Panini.

 

 

Here is a Dynamic Duos insert from this year's Topps, which has been trotting out this same insert look and theme for the last 15 years. Kershaw and Koufax have appeared together on many of them, too.

 

Diamond Duos in 2011

Historic Thru Lines in 2019

Greatness Returns in 2019 Chrome

Master and Apprentice in 2019 Gallery (an abomination)

And a whole slew of Now-and-Thens in Heritage

 

 

Finally, a card going all the way back to 2003! This is a refractor. I know Cards on Cards likes the blue-border 2003s a lot, so I appreciate this.

 

As I've said many times, I won't miss Panini when it's gone eventually. But I do wish there was a third card-creating company out there that could make something that beats the pants off of Topps/Fanatics' "what's the bottom line" productions. 

 

(NOTE: In what has been a pattern for Blogger for the last week-plus, my posts don't appear on the blogger dashboard or on blog rolls until something like five hours after I posted it. For example, yesterday's post was set to go at 7:30. It did not show up until after midnight. This is a good reason to check with Night Owl Cards daily to see if there are any updates!)