Another Holiday Mega-Box

Yes, I went back.  I just couldn't help myself.  I had so much fun opening my first 2015 Topps Holiday Mega Box last week that I picked up another one at Target this weekend.  For $15, it's a nice way to build on my Update Series set, and the Chrome Update cards are gorgeous.  I plan on completing the 50-card set, and lots are cheap enough on eBay, but the Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa cards are the tough pulls, selling around $15 for the Bryant and $25 or more for a Correa currently.  The Correa is the card I'd want most, and apparently every other collector feels the same way.

To change up the format this time, I'm just going to show a dozen cards from the box that were noteworthy to me, working up to my favorite...

I got a kick out of this one just because I honestly had no idea Pedro Ciriaco was still in the league.  I enjoyed watching him play during the couple of seasons he was with the Red Sox.  As far as the card itself though, nothing too exciting.

An interesting photo, sure, but it probably helps if casual fans can identify which player in the picture the card belongs to.  I know that's Adam Jones at far left, then Manny Machado, but I honestly couldn't tell you which of the other two is Darren O'Day.

I do recognize all three players here, as I think most baseball fans would (by process of elimination).  Nothing like being the third best player on your own base card.

This is my first card of Josh Rutledge with the Red Sox, another name crossed off of the all-time list.  Josh got in close to 40 games with Boston after arriving at the end of July courtesy of the Shane Victorino deal with Los Angeles.

I picked this one out simply because I enjoy the photograph.  It's really busy, but for some reason works for me.

This one almost looks like a photo variation, but it's just the average, everyday Nelson Cruz card.  Between the distinctive Topps flagship design this year and those ridiculous All-Star caps, collectors digging through dime boxes 40 years from now will have no problem identifying what set these are from.

Rick Porcello makes three Red Sox cards down out of eleven on the checklist.  Rick figures to be a bottom-of-the-rotation starter for the Sox in 2016, at least at this point.

Alright, time for the top five.  I already said it the first time around, but I'll say it again; these Chrome Update cards are stunning if you're a fan of shiny/refractor cards.  It's worth the $15 price tag on this box just to open a couple packs of this stuff in my opinion.

I did get one insert in my two packs of Chrome Update, this Jeff Bagwell Rookie Sensations.  A nice enough card, but it will never hold a candle to what I consider to be the true Bagwell Rookie Sensations card!

The top three cards here all showcase rookies from 2015.  A nice horizontal Chrome Update Joc Pederson rookie.  26 home runs in his rookie season is nothing to scoff at, but a .210 batting average kinda is.  A nice looking card regardless.

I really do seem to have an uncanny ability to pull nice Cubs cards this year, Kris Bryant cards especially.  That trend continued with this box, as I ended up with this Rainbow Foil parallel.  Not exactly an insane pull, but I've ended up with at least half a dozen nice Bryants like this in 2015, which is amazing given how little wax I open.

Speaking of which, my favorite card in the box is one of the better cards you can pull short of an autograph...

Sweet!  What a nice feeling to land one of the top two cards towards the set through packs instead of having to pay for it on the secondary market.  It may not have been my top choice of Carlos Correa, but it's hard to complain about pulling this one.  A great photograph of one of the game's best young stars.  You knew Topps was going to choose this as one of the fifty to get the Chrome Update treatment.

Well, that was fun, and once again I came away from this feeling like it was an enjoyable box.  The fact that it was a Kris Bryant hot box of sorts definitely didn't hurt.  Almost makes me want to try my luck a third time, especially since I have barely a quarter of the Update Series set so far...