Delivery Time! Group Break Loot from The Daily Dimwit

I recently participated in one of Daily Dimwit's Group Breaks.  Unfortunately, my teams fared only slightly better in his Topps Chrome break than they did in my own Topps Tier One group break.  At least I got a few actual cards from the boxes (unlike my own break)!

I requested the Reds for the break since I usually don't buy any Topps Chrome for myself (this year was no exception).  In fact, after Allen & Ginter hits the shelves there isn't much (usually) that I like to buy until the next year's Topps Series 1.  This year was a slight anomaly as I did buy a bunch of Topps Lineage - but I stay far, far away from Topps Chrome, Topps Update, and all things Bowman.  That said, I still like getting the Reds from those sets so the group break seemed like a perfect answer for me.

As for the Reds in the break, I ended up with five Reds base cards (Bruce x2,  Chapman, Stubbs, and Wood).  That's a rather pathetic total number of base cards - and it's even worse when you consider that there are only four unique cards there.  However, all is not lost since the Bruce card which is a double might be the card of the year for me...

I love this card - that walk-off homerun that clinched the Reds division championship last year was one of the best days of a Reds fan life (at least in terms of the last two decades).

In addition to the base cards, I did get lucky and land a few of the inserts/parallels that Topps Chrome is known for.  I got an Aroldis Chapman card (I don't know what this insert is called)...but I don't like how Chapman's face is basically gone in the little photo in the bottom corner.

I also landed a Drew Stubbs Topps Chrome Topps Heritage Chrome card numbered out of 1962.  The Topps Chrome Topps Heritage Chrome cards are different from the Topps Heritage Chrome cards by the logo only.  I think the checklist might be different too but I'm much too lazy to look that up.  I guess it's a nice enough card but honestly, I don't think the design looks great in chrome - it needs the classic cardboard stock to be truly great!

The final insert wasn't an insert so much as a parallel - and it happens to replace the above Jay Bruce card as the front runner for "card of the year."  It's the unnumbered refractor version and it sure is pretty!

In addition to the Reds, I also had the Pirates in the break.  Unlike the Reds, the Pirates had exactly nothing of value or interest.  All I got from them was five base cards (McCutchen x2, Walker, and Alvarez x2).

That's it for the Pirates - five base cards with two of the five being duplicates.  No inserts, no parallels.  Blech.  I don't recommend the Pirates in any future Topps Chrome group breaks!

Although my two teams didn't offer a lot of value, I did "win" an autograph as a booby prize.  The two boxes produced the same autograph pairs so I got "lucky" by being so unlucky and landed this Hector Noesi on card autograph of a Yankee.  I have no idea who Noesi is - but it's available for trade...

Thanks for hosting the group break Sam - and although I didn't fare particularly well, that's the nature of group breaks.  I wouldn't hesitate to join another one of your breaks in the future!