First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I know many of our moms were instrumental in enabling us as collectors. Mine always seemed to bring a pack pack from the drugstore, or bribe me to babysit my siblings with packs of cards as payment.
Yesterday, my hobby box of 2017 Topps BUNT arrived, a day earlier than the tracking info told me! It looks like I've started a tradition, as this is the second straight year I've bought a box. It's hard to go wrong with 36 packs for around $30.
I was in the middle of painting my bedroom when it arrived, so I quickly cracked one pack and stashed the rest as a reward for finishing the job.
Just like last year, it was a blast to open. There are no major sick hits - at least ones that are attainable - but there are plenty of colorful base cards, parallels, and some sharp-looking inserts.
Here are the base cards:
Nice, simple design. Pretty different from last year. I think I like the base design more than the flagship. One additional thing Topps did was eliminate retired players from the base set, although they are well-represented in insert sets.
So colorful too!
I will say, I noticed the cards are exceptionally glossy and slippery, which I was bummed about. I received TTM autos on a few of these last year, as the surface was PERFECT for it. This one definitely is too glossy for a signature.
Here are the blue parallels, which fall one per pack.
There are also black parallels (one per box), green (1:32), orange (1:62), purple (1:125), and red (1:3,095). My one black parallel was Yoenis Cespedes.
I beat the odds and got two green parallels, which are numbered to 99.
The insert sets also have colored parallels, so there are a lot of different variations.
Program inserts make a return, which is a really fun set. It was one of the best inserts of 2016. I liked last year's design a little more, but they still look good.
Here is 2016, as a reminder.
As I noted, there are also colored parallels of inserts, and I lucked out and pulled an orange program insert. These fall 1:414. Pretty decent pull! This is numbered to 50.
In most packs, you'll find either a Perspectives or a Infinite insert. Both consist of current and retired players.
Infinite look amazing. Such a simple, yet elegant design. The blank white space in the background looks awesome, and you can also see the player's stadium faded in the bottom of the card. I want to get one of these signed.
Perspectives are all horizontal. It took me a few packs to realize this was a different set than Infinite. It also features some players you don't see in insert sets very much, like Martin Prado. But there are big stars too.
And, as promised by the odds, there were 12 of these BUNT code cards.
There are some really tough-to-pull inserts like Splatter Art and Galaxy, but I didn't snag any of those.
Regardless of your view on digital cards, this box of tangible, physical cards is an awesome bang for the buck. I really enjoyed busting the box, and will definitely be buying another box next year.
A tradition has been born!
