Haven't missed a thing

Topps Series 2 was released at the end of June. I bought my first packs yesterday.

This would have been bizarre behavior five or six years ago. Remember how I used to whine if I didn't get cards even a week after everyone else? Even with a pandemic and an inexplicable rush on cards in the card aisles, I would have found a way before now to get some Series 2 cards. The old night owl was visiting big box stores at least once a week back then.

But I won't use covid or binge buyers as an excuse. Those aren't the primary reasons I haven't owned any Series 2 yet.

The primary reason is: Have you seen it?

This is the worst-looking flagship set since 2017. And as often happens with flagship sets that I don't like, the animosity grows as the year goes on. By the time Series 2 arrives, I don't care.

But I do miss ripping packs every now and again. I stopped at Target after a trip to the post office -- just my third Target visit since March -- and grabbed a few essentials before heading to the card aisle to rubberneck at the destruction.

I had never seen such a pathetic baseball display in a card aisle in my life. The entire content of baseball on shelves was an empty gravity feeder of 2020 Opening Day, several blaster boxes of 2020 Topps stickers and one gravity feeder of Series 2, pulled from the wall and sitting open with a few packs inside facing me.

I could've grabbed them all. There were maybe 9 or 10. I took three.

After opening them, I knew I was done buying Series 2. Done going to the store. Done looking for it on Amazon. It's not even worth the trade fodder.

My three packs yielded 25 teams. No, the Dodgers were not one of them. No Red Sox either. In fact, the packs were great if you like small-market teams. Let me show you.

The first pack yielded three Pirates. That's no Dodgers, but three Pirates in the first pack.

The second pack produced another Pirates card and now you've seen the team with the most cards in those three packs. Tied with the most anyway.

I pulled two Orioles in pack 2. I barely know who these guys are.

Add that to the Oriole I pulled in pack 1 and that's three more Orioles than Dodgers.

This Tampa Bay Ray came out of pack 1.

He was joined by a second Ray in pack 2.

And there was a third Rays card in pack 3. Who says Topps doesn't give the small markets any love?

Former Dodgers is as close to Dodgers that I got in these packs. Dee Gordon showed up in pack 1.

Two Mariners teammates joined from pack 3. And now I have these cards for life because Seattle card fans don't exist.

Pack 2 delivered a pair of Blue Jays cards.

Zeuchs!! A third Blue Jay card from pack 3 gave me three Blue Jays.

And here's another former Dodger. Ryu's Turkey Red insert showed up in pack 3 for a total of four Blue Jays, tying the Pirates.

I didn't know until I was creating this post that the Ryan Borucki card was a variation. I saw the serial number and stared and stared at it until I realized it was an advanced stats parallel. I don't know what to do with these.

Among some of the other lesser-collected teams, there were also two Rockies, two Indians, two Twins, two A's and two Tigers.

One of the few productive cards from the packs were these two Mets, which arrived just a day before Max's envelope showed up at my door! Thanks, Max!

I also matched my Texas Ranger pull total for all of Series 1. There's that weird stadium logo that I don't believe for a second was the reason there was just one Ranger in Series 1.

I never like saying this, but the inserts were the highlight of these packs, because they were of players from my childhood, although I think of Carew as a Minnesota Twin.

That's what happens though when the base set is as dull as it is this year.

I'm sure these packs would have been interesting to someone. But as for me, I haven't missed a thing.