2011 Topps Blaster (Target)

I'm still waiting for my eBay 2011 Topps Jumbo case fraud complaint to be taken care of - until it is, I have basically no cash for baseball cards...but that didn't stop me from saving 5% by putting this blaster (and the rack packs I already showed off) on my Target credit card.

2011 Topps Blaster:
10 packs (8 cards each) plus 1 Commemorative Patch Card

First up, the commemorative patch card.  Typically, I don't have much interest in these - and since there wasn't a checklist on the blaster box, I was even less interested than normal in this particular patch card.  However, that all changed when I opened up the package (the first thing I saw was the unmistakable baseball head of the Reds logo)!

Again, while I don't have the full checklist, I'm guessing that there isn't another patch card that I'd want from the set (unless there is a Larkin patch card).

Now, onto the other eight packs of cards:

Pack 1 Highlights:
Pack 1 had a Robinson Cano Topps Town card, a Diamond Duo of Berkman and Wallace, and a 60 Years of Topps:  The Lost Cards of Whitey Ford (seeded 1:12) but my favorite card out of the pack was the San Diego Padres team card...the retro uniforms coupled with the pure celebration is baseball awesomeness (I also love the baseball in the lower corner with the team logo in the middle)!

Pack 2 Highlights:
Pack 2 gifted me with an Andrew McCutchen Topps Town card (I'm already sick of these cards, even if they are better than last year's design), a 60 Years of Topps(seeded 1:4) of 1999 Topps (Piazza, Rodriguez, Kendall), and a Kimball mini (seeded 1:4) of Chris Carpenter.  While I do really like the Kimball minis, once again my favorite card in the pack is a base card - this time of Derrek Lee...in Wrigley, but in a Braves uniform.  Was this photo actually taken when Lee was a Brave or is it a photoshopped picture from his Cubs days?  The "L" in Atlanta seems like it is off (not to mention the blue-looking cleats) but I might just be imagining things...

Pack 3 Highlights:
Pack 3 produced the first diamond parallel (which I was excited by since I want to collect them ALL)!  The only other interesting card in the pack was a Ryan Howard Topps Town card, but no one seems to care about them anyhow...

Pack 4 Highlights:
As I opened the packs, I couldn't help but feel like I was being overwhelmed by insert cards.  In pack 4, there were three inserts and only five base cards...that is most definitely not the most efficient way to build the base set!  The inserts included a Hanley Ramirez Topps Town, A Topps 60 (seeded 1:4) of Stephen Strassburg, and a History of Topps card of Eisner & Company (seeded 1:18).  For a insert set that is seeded about one in every two blasters, that sure is a boring card!

Pack 5 Highlights:
Yet another pack with three inserts, this time a Starlin Castro Topps Town, a Frank Thomas and Manny Ramirez Diamond Duo (seeded 1:4) and a 60 Years of Topps (seeded 1:3) of 2004 Topps Mark Teixiera.  I didn't notice this before I put the two Diamond Duo cards side-by-side, but Topps used appropriate team colors around each player - that's a nice touch (for comparison, I've scanned both Diamond Duos from the blaster at once).

Pack 6 Highlights:
This pack yielded the promised one-per-blaster Diamond Giveaway code card, a Topps Town card of Ryan Braun, and the second Kimball Champion (seeded 1:4) card from the box (this time of Starlin Castro).  I like the Castro card a lot - especially the little drawing of the "in action play" at the bottom of the card - very cool.

Pack 7 Highlights:
Pack 7 was loaded with great cards.  The best (for my purposes), was the Jayson Werth Diamond parallel, though I also like the Ty Cobb Vintage Reproduction card (seeded 1:8).  A Topps Town card of Adrian Gonzalez rounded out the inserts, but there were also some nice base cards including a great horizontal shot of Ichiro and an Alex Rodriguez card where it looks like he's trying to pitch the ball across the diamond.

Pack 8 Highlights:
The last pack before the two "throwback" packs (since this is a Target blaster) yielded a Topps 60 (seeded 1:4) card of Neftali Feliz, a 60 Years of Topps (1959 Roger Maris), and a Topps Town of Brett Anderson.  I happen to like the 60 Years of Topps set MUCH better than last year's Cards Your Mother Threw Out.  However, I haven't decided if I have both the time and ambition to chase after this year's complete set.  We'll see (a lot will hinge on whether or not I get that eBay case of cards).

Pack 9 Highlights:
Each Target blaster contains two packs of "throwback" base cards (plus non-throwback inserts).  In the first of the throwback packs, I got the following:
144.  Lance Berkman - Yankees
176.  Daniel Hudson - Diamondbacks
279.  Nick Swisher - Yankees

282.  Buster Posey - Giants
290.  Ike Davis - Mets
There were three inserts in the pack, including an Ubaldo Jimenez Topps Town, a 60 Year of Topps (seeded 1:3) of 2005 Topps Justin Verlander, and a Diamond parallel of Jose Guillen.  As for the throwback cards, all of them are available for trade immediately - especially for diamond parallel cards!

Pack 10 Highlights:
And finally, we are on to the final pack of the blaster - the second of the throwback packs.  This one had only two inserts (Reyes Topps Town and Mel Ott Kimball Champion).  The throwback cards were of the following:
23.  Jaime Garcia - Cardinals
44.  Martin Prado - Braves
158.  Casey Blake - Dodgers

195.  Nick Markakis - Orioles

272.  J.J. Hardy - Twins
324.  Red Sox - Team Card

I really like how the backs of the throwback cards are on cardboard stock (but still easy to read).  In fact, I wish the entire set was printed on the "throwback" stock rather than the rather flimsy white cardboard.  Just as with the previous pack, all of the throwback cards are for trade - I don't see myself chasing the Target exclusive set since I'm going after the diamond parallel set!