First Look at 2014 Topps with tradebait

I was in the mood for a $5 JanuarANY footlong at the subway near my house which happens to be inside of a WalMart and while there I decided to browse the card aisle.  I was surprised to see the 2014 Topps had just been packed out.

Here's some of the highlights of the blaster and hanger I bought.  With the exception of the Pirates, everything is for trade

First up is the Commemorative Patch I was guaranteed.  It's of the 2013 AL HomeRun champ, Chris "Crush" Davis.

Some cool inserts were found in the packs.  I purposely set the Big Papi 1989 mini crooked to give it that illusion of all those miscut 1989 Topps from our youth.

Because it's WalMart, there were blue parallels.

to go with the other color parallels

I'm not sure if every player in Series 1 has these parallels, but if they do, I will certainly be tracking down the Pirates team set.  Both of these are of the Pirates rival Reds.

And of course the mega hyped LA phenoms Yasiel Puig and Mike Trout

How did I do with Pirates in my Wal Mart adventure?

Well, I didn't strike out.
of the 4 Pirates I pulled, 2 were blue parallels (Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton)

I was f-ing pumped to see the Mortons!!!!!

Unlike previous years where sunglasses, celebrations, homerun robbing catches, and autograph signings are shortprints, this year they are part of the regular set.

Bowman Inception Alen Hanson

Earlier in the month I showed off some of my Alen Hanson collection.  Hanson remains one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball and is a trade target for noncontending teams looking to unload veterans. While I know the Pirates need to add a bat to their lineup, I don't want them giving up any of their elite prospects (Taillon, Polanco, Hanson, Glasnow) for anyone not named Giancarlo Stanton.  There's rumors that Hanson may be moved for Alexei Ramirez or Alex Rios from the White Sox.  NONONONONO!!!!!

Hanson has cooled down a bit over the past 10 games, hitting only .256, but does have 12 RBI, 1 HR, and 3 SB in those 10 games.

2013 Bowman Inception AUTO

I managed to grab this Alen Hanson Bowman Inception auto on ebay in a lot with a Jose Fernandez auto for $20 shipped.

2013 Bowman Inception Jose Fernandez AUTO

The 2013 All-Star selection Jose Fernandez is going immediately to my brother who happens to be a Marlins fan.