Pack War - 2017 Topps vs. Grab Bag

Well, I finally got around to checking out Topps' 2017 flagship baseball offering for myself.  I happened to be driving right past a hobby shop that I don't usually frequent with a few minutes to spare, so I stopped in and picked up a pack.  I also grabbed a few of their "grab bags", which I personally think are the best thing this particular shop has going for it.

I thought it might make for a good post to compare a pack of 2017 Topps with one of those grab bags to see which one comes out on top.  Let's start with the Topps pack...

Here's the pack that I'm sure you've all seen a hundred times by now, featuring the one and only Kris Bryant.  10 cards inside for $2.50, or a quarter per card after some easy math.

First card out, and I'm already bored.  Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but not by much.  This year's design just doesn't do much for me, making it two years in a row now of Topps flagship sets that I really have minimal interest in.

Yup, boring...

Arguably the best card in the pack, Lindor is an exciting young talent that I think just about every fan is aware of after Cleveland's long post-season run last year.

After the Lindor we're right back to the under-whelming.  To each his own, but these just aren't for me.

Here's my one insert, an extremely busy 5 Tool Mike Trout.  Maybe this is actually the star of the pack over the Lindor base card.

I like the horizontal cards slightly better in this release.  Slightly.

If I were a Cubs fan I guess I'd like this one, but was there no better picture of Chapman to be found?

I liked Wade Miley when he was with Boston but lost track of him after he departed and wasn't actually aware that he'd caught on with the O's.

Best hitter in the pack, along with Trout.

No idea who this guy even is, which makes this card the perfect ending to a dull pack.  Yup, one taste was enough, I won't be picking up any more of this stuff.

Here's today's competitor, a brown paper bag stuff with about 75 baseball cards for a buck.  I've been a fan of the grab bag since I was a kid collector, I guess it's the allure of the unknown combined with my "frugal" nature.  Let's tear in...

After removing the cards from the bag, Jim Bouton here was staring back at me from the top of the stack.  Fitting to have a '68 Archives card to kick things off with this set being represented in the 2017 Heritage release.  This contest is already over just one card in.

Bouton wasn't the only Archives card to be found; rather he was just the start of a small stack of cards, all from the 2001 set.

These are just great, every single one of them is a keeper for me.

I've ripped a few of these grab bags over the years and I think this is the first time I've ever landed any cards from this release.

A couple of Yankees from the set...

...including the great Thurman Munson.

Gaylord Perry rounds out the small sampling of Archives.  Seven cards in and the grab bag has already blown 2017 Topps out of the water.  Let's see what else I got though just for kicks.

I'm a fan of the 2003 Donruss set, though I have just a handful of them (all pulled from these grab bags I believe!).

This time around I pulled four of them...

...all from the Rookie/Traded set.

I got 9 of these Playoff Prestige cards.  Not really a big fan of this design, but I will be keeping one of them:

Schilling stays with me, the rest are off to my trade/giveaway pile.

Got another half dozen of these that went into my giveaway box, but this Pudge I'll be hanging onto.  I like it because it's a 2003 card, and the Marlins upset the Yankees to win it all that season.

Always nice to get a relatively obscure Mets card, since I trade regularly with a couple of Mets collectors.  This Bazooka mini will be shipped out soon.

From that same Bazooka set, this card is actually four mini stickers all on a single backboard the size of a standard trading card.

This one will be sent out in a trade package as well, since it's 1/4 of a Mets card.

Love this Jim Edmonds Upper Deck First Pitch card.  Aside from being an all-around great photograph, I'm a fan of the St. Louis skyline (including the arch) being used along the bottom border of the card.

I got about a dozen 2004 Upper Deck cards, though I chose just a few favorites from that grouping to show here.

An awesome play at the plate horizontal Javy Lopez card!

I think I like this one even more though.  It's not every day that you see a play at the plate card featuring a pitcher.  One of the best photos I've pulled from a pack in a long time.

Looks like Geoff Jenkins just hit the ball a country mile here.

Final 2004 Upper Deck card.

I won't show everything I pulled, as there were maybe 15-20 absolute junk wax cards.

But I will finish off with this trio of Upper Deck Vintage cards, an obvious homage to 1971 Topps.  This card of Mike Cameron signing for fans is just awesome.

Lastly, I'll never scoff at a new John Olerud!

Well, that wasn't even close.  Then again, this is exactly how I expected things to go.  These grab bags provide so much value for a dollar that it would take one hell of a 2017 Topps pack to top one.

Thanks for reading as always, and if you happen to be in the Northeast enjoy the snow today!