2022 Topps Heritage Blaster Box - One Pack a Day "Break" Day 2

 Wow, just the second day into this thing and I'm already a day behind. I'll blame the fact that I am on vacation and that time is just a construct instead of the actual reason - laziness. That being said I did have a nice little day  and enjoyed some of random things  I like to do when I'm back in the area - Cuban sandwich and spicy gumbo from Tampa Cuban, drive down Alt-19 and see the water, over to Tampa and stop at a museum (Florida Museum of Photography this time) and a nice stroll along the Riverwalk before heading to a hockey game.

The Lightning won and a good time was had by all (except all of the Rangers fans that came down here to get sunburned and watch their team lose back-to-back games). Enough about me, though. You're here for the cards. Let's get right to it.

Pack #2

#90 Vidal Brujan - RC

We kick things off with another Tampa Bay Ray! It's the other Ray Rookie folks were excited about last year. Currently the 4th ranked prospect in the organization according to MLB.com, Brujan has scuffled a bit at the plate so far in his major league career with a .115/.163/.146 slash line in 34 career games.

#174 Lorenzo Cain

Here we have Cain pictured reflecting on his long (12 seasons) career. Now in the final season of his 5-year. $80 million deal it's likely that things are near the end for one of the best defensive outfielders of his generation. He's now in that unenviable position of seeing his playing time reduced as the Brewers look to the future in the outfield, still it sounds like he's willing to accept that role and see what the future holds.

#150 Shohei Ohtani

Hey, hey it's Shohei! The beauty of Heritage is that there are SEVEN different versions of this card. Alas, this is just the regular base as far as I can tell, but it's still cool to have the card of the reigning MVP.

#234 Mark Melancon

Are we sure Melancon isn't a left-handed reliever? He's put together a Jesse Orosco-esque career that has now spanned 14 years and and 9 teams. Coming off of a 2021 where he saved 39 games for the San Diego Padres, Melancon has scuffled a bit in his first season as the Diamondbacks closer but still has 11 saves (despite a 1.800 WHIP).

#66 2021 Saves Leaders

It's a Mark Melancon hot pack! Here he is smiling away in his Padres uniform with an equally happy Liam Hendricks. Gotta love those league leaders cards.

#367 Cal Raleigh - RC

It's a rookie card. Quick. Slab It and Flip It! Or, you know, just go ahead and throw it in a box and wait for a Mariners collector to trade/sell it to. Raliegh may not be hitting for average (.163), but he does have a little pop in his bat (6 HRs in 95 plate appearances this year) so he's your typical modern day baseball player, I guess. 

Ohhhhh.... the next card was backwards in the back!

Variation? Chrome? Auto?

#458 Johnny Cueto - SP

Nope, nothing uber-special. It was just the standard short print for cards numbered 401 and above. Cueto is with the White Sox this season for his 15th season in the big leagues.

#126 Taijuan Walker

It's been almost a decade since Walker was a can't-miss prospect with the Seattle Mariners. Injuries have sent his career on a different path, one that has led to the Mets and a decent (but healthy) start to this season. He's 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 9 games.

#281 Colton Welker - RC

Welker had his first taste of the major leagues in 2021 with 37 plate appearances. It might have been more if didn't have to serve an 80-game suspension for PED use as well. Injuries have also hampered the progress of the former 4th-round pick. Just last week it was announced that he would be undergoing shoulder surgery. 

Running count through two packs:

Inserts - 0

Parallels - 1 (Chrome Refractor)

Short Prints - 1

Wandar's - 0

Orioles - 0

Orioles Victory Card Number 12

Orioles Victory Number 12: 6-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays

2007 Topps Generation Now Nick Markakis


Congratulations to David Hess for winning his big league debut. After surrendering a three-run home run in the first, the rookie settled down and pitched six innings (honestly he probably could have gone at least 7) to pick up the 6-3 win.  Good for him.

Also, good for Nick Markakis. The longtime Oriole, now in his fourth season with the Braves, is having a bounce-back season for the surprising Atlanta ball club. He is hitting .340 with 7 home runs (he hit 8 in 160 games last season) and has a .420 on-base percentage.

Markakis was an Oriole for nine seasons and over 1300 games. Never a true power hitter he had 141 home runs, topping out at 23 in 2007.  His flat swing was more conducive to gap-to-gap doubles and he was able to spray the ball all over the park when he was on. 

I remember sitting at an old ballpark in 2006 in Jupiter Florida with my brother-in-law's dad watching some young, skinny kid launch line drives all over the park. It was quite invigorating at the time.  The Orioles had not had a winning season since 1997 (a streak that would continue until 2012) and they weren't exactly churning out the prospects. The only position player that they had developed that had a regular spot in the line-up was Brian Roberts.

So to see this lanky outfielder with a smooth swing drill the ball all over the field with authority was refreshing. Here was a first round pick that was actually panning out, something that had not happened for the O's since...Jeffrey Hammonds? That was all the way back in 1992.  The Orioles are seriously bad at first round draft picks.

He went on to be a hell of a player for some bad teams and was still producing when the Orioles started winning. For some reason his any power he did have all but abandoned him and he was a singles hitter getting paid $15 million a year. That was a bit too rich for Orioles management and they bought out his option sending him to free agency. He signed with Atlanta, closer to where he grew up and went to college and has been a veteran presence for a rebuilding squad.

As for the Generation Now card featured above - well that was an obscene waste of cardboard. For some reason at that time Topps and Upper Deck fell in love with bloated sets featuring the same card repeated time and time again based on some random stat.  There were insert sets featuring Mickey Mantle home runs, Barry Bonds home runs and Joe DiMaggio hitting streaks.

There are 582 cards in this set. This insert set. An insert set spread over Series 1, 2 and update. For Markakis there are 10 cards featuring the 10 games he had 3 or more hits. If you are a Markakis collector that isn't too bad, but for other players there were upwards of 35 or 40 cards just in the set alone.  Not exactly the easiest thing to get your hands on.