It's finally here - Topps' annual Allen & Ginter release. Ginter has long been my favorite brand - and now that I've cut drastically back on most card buying, Ginter is probably going to be the only new product I buy for myself this calendar year. That being said, I did go kind of wild on Ginter so here's hoping it's a good set this year (at the time of my preorder, there was virtually no information about the set's checklist).
After playing a bit of "phone tag" with UPS regarding my delivery, my Ginter cards finally arrived and now I'm ready to crack into the first box. My plan here is to do a running commentary of sorts - I've purposely not scoured any published checklists because the mystery is half the fun of Ginter!
Each hobby box contains 24 packs with 8 cards per pack. There is also a box topper in each box. Finally, each box promises three hits (if this follows the pattern of previous years, two of the hits will be full-sized relics while the third hit has a chance to be something a bit more interesting/rare).
Let's dig in!
Box 1:
Box topper:
Yeah, that's about right. First card pulled out of the box is a Dodger. *sigh* I'm a Dodger magnet, nothing much else to say about the box topper. I guess I can add that I do like the splash of color between the blue sky and the green trees, definitely a nicer looking cabinet card design than a lot of previous years.
Pack 1:
15. Fernando Tatis, Jr.
77. Buster Posey
80. Hank Greenberg
210. Jared Hart
279. Larry Doby
321. Luis Urias
Mini: 313. George Kirby
PAG-6. Pitching a Gem: Justin Verlander
Not a bad start to the box with Mr. Cy Young 2022 himself, Verlander, plus a mini short print rookie card. The Pitching a Gem card design is pretty cool, the pun/play on words works with the giant gemstone in the background providing a nice pop of color. It's probably worth mentioning already that I do plan on trying to complete the full base set (#1-350) plus all of the full-sized and mini-sized insert cards. The jury is still out as to whether or not I'll also chase after a mini base set (probably not but who knows).
Pack 2:
6. Jacob DeGrom
36. Jarred Kelenic
116. Andre Dawson
147. Mike Piazza
186. Alex Verdugo
233. Sam Mewis
Mini: ITP-14. Inside the Park: Mount Rainier National Park
BS-34. Banner Season: Tom Glavine
Yay, my first mini insert of the box comes in pack #2. I'm definitely going to be going for the full Inside the Park set - I love sets that highlight actual places one can visit. I haven't personally been to Mount Rainier National Park but according to the card back over 2,000,000 other people do visit the park each year!
Pack 3:
38. Johnny Bench
114. Yogi Berra
117. Carlos Correa
193. Robbie Ray
296. Jose Siri
322. Dave Concepcion
A&G mini: 57. Matt Olson
BS-22. Banner Season: Alex Rodriguez
My first Reds cards out of 2022 Allen & Ginter. Hard to go wrong with Bench and Concepcion...both much better players than pretty much anyone who's suited up for Cincinnati in the last decade plus. Ugh, it's been a rough go of things for Cincinnati Reds fans lately!
Pack 4:
31. Corbin Burnes
78. Randy Johnson
89. Robin Yount
123. Roy Campanella
209. Heliot Ramos
291. Rodney Scott
Mini: 128. Dick Allen
GTB-3. Get That Bread: Bahn Mi
Let's start with the full-sized Get That Bread insert set. I LOVE it! As a self-professed foodie who loves cooking, I'm all about that particular insert set. Heck, if you'd like to follow my food exploits, here's my Instagram page where I try to post some of what I'm up to when it comes to cooking or grilling (and every now and then, baking). Give me a follow on Instagram!
Turning back to the food card, the Bahn Mi sandwich is a favorite Vietnamese food - and one that I did a grilled version of earlier this summer:
The highlight of the sandwich is definitely the pickled vegetables!
That'll do it for the first four packs out of the box. As you can see, part of the fun of Allen & Ginter is you never quite know what to expect...I mean, who thought I'd be peppering this post with pictures of food I cooked this past year?!
For those of you who open up Ginter, please keep me in mind as a trade partner - especially for the minis and other inserts!! I'll have more from this box in the near future...just need to give my typing fingers (and my scanner) a break for now!
Ginter and GQ have replace the Topps flagship brand as the cards to collect for me. My only regret is I did not collect Ginter when it first came out in 2006. Look foward to you breaking open the boxes.
ReplyDeleteIs that Rodney Scott from the early 1980s Expos?
Looking forward to seeing the other non-baseball people on the checklist. I've gotta track down one of those Bahn Mi inserts. I'm not the biggest fan of the sandwiches... but everyone else in San Jose loves them.
ReplyDeleteSighing is not the proper reaction to pulling a Dodger!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like A&G re-used the Dawson photo from last year's set, which is pretty lame.
Looks like you bought a case? I don't know if I'll ever get to do that.
Very sad about that generic uniform on the Mewis card. Am looking forward to the Bread inserts though. Two Pork Roll cards in this set!
ReplyDelete