2022 Topps Allen & Ginter: Box 1 - Packs 13 - 16

I've officially made it to the second half of my first 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter box.  Still not a single hit has shown up so I'm expecting some fireworks in the final portion of this break!

Box 1:

Pack 13:

1.  Yadier Molina

24.  Kris Bryant

107.  Lou Brock

177.  Vidal Brujan

219.  Jeremiah Paprocki

303.  Frankie Montas

Mini:  103.  Yuli Gurriel

Banner Season:  BS-33.  Hideki Matsui

Well, Yadier Molina gets the coveted card #1 in this year's set.  I guess I can't begrudge Topps since Molina retired in 2022 but I'd still rather have just about anyone else in that card spot other than Molina!  Maybe I'm just a bitter Reds fan!

Pack 14:

14.  Ronald Acuna, Jr.

26.  Lou Gehrig

81.  Nick Castellanos

113.  Ozzie Albies

176.  JJ Matijevic

292.  Charlie Sheen

Mini:  321.  Luis Urias

Pitching a Gem:  PAG-1.  Greg Maddux

Still digging those Pitching a Gem cards.  Maddux certainly deserves his spot in the insert set as he pitched plenty of gems over his illustrious career!

Pack 15:

73.  Shane Bieber

141.  Hideki Matsui

170.  Joe Ryan

201.  Blake Jamieson

257.  Diego Castillo

333.  Steve Garvey

Mini A&G back:  294.  Josh Winder

What's Cookin'?  WC-5.  Dark Brown Sugar

The What's Cookin' cards are kind of low-key hilarious.  You need to get them all to get some sort of barbeque sauce recipe from Rodney Scott, pitmaster (who also happens to be a subject in this year's Ginter set).  I'm all about cooking so I love this quirky set though I can imagine plenty of other people out there will hate pulling a card of simply "dark brown sugar."

Pack 16:

100.  Hyun-Jin Ryu

119.  Corey Seager

212.  Otto Lopez

267.  Alyssa Naeher

Mini:  228. Steven Kwan

Banner Season:  BS-28.  Tom Seaver

Full-Sized Relic:  AGRB-CB.  Charlie Berens

Finally, my first hit of the box shows up at the two-thirds completed mark!  I don't know anything about Mr. Berens but I will say he has good taste in shirts as I might own a plaid work short that looks almost identical to the swatch of cloth in this relic card.  

Honestly, through 15 packs without a hit I was starting to wonder if Topps royally screwed up packing out this year's boxes.  However, now that I know that we have a hit for sure, I feel much better moving into the final third of the box (I'm always hoping for framed relics/autos and rip cards)!

More to come from the box soon!