Category Archives: Baseball Reviews

Review: 2012 Panini Golden Age Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | January 11, 2013 - 11:13 am | ,
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Panini’s answer to Allen & Ginter and Champions is here with Golden Age. Like those other products, this isn’t necessarily a baseball product per se, as it does have several non-baseball cards in it, but the majority of cards do have baseball subjects. Each box contains one autograph and one memorabilia card, with autographs and memorabilia spanning the entire spectrum of the product. From baseball players to celebrities and historical events, this product has a lot of features that pay homage to the Golden Age of baseball and history. Let’s see what we got:

 Design:

4 and half stars blue

Panini has showcased that they are very creative when it comes to creating designs that look like they came from the early part of the 20th century. Cooperstown was a great example and now Golden Age continues that trend. The cards look like they came from an age long ago, perhaps a Golden Age. The card design does utilize light colors which adds to the look of an old time set. Paying homage to earlier sets as well, you can find stand ups in the product at a couple per box. Really, the only thing that I didn’t care too much about were the box toppers. Now I love box toppers and pennants are a cool idea, but they just look and feel cheap. I know they were based off a product from 1916, but they don’t feel like it. Eh, could of been better.

Checklist:

4 stars blueBeing a Ginter/Champions like product, you can find a ton of different celebrities of the past and players from multiple sports in this product. There is more baseball than the rest which is good. But the real issue I have is the lack of actual sports memorabilia and autographs. I know you can find celebrity items in other products, but Panini also has their Americana line for those types of cards. I would have like to have had at least one baseball related hit in my review box, which I didn’t get. It’s a bit too much like Americana with baseball cards added. Oh, and don’t forget all the beautiful ON CARD autographs found in this product. Makes them look that much better.

Value:

4 and half stars blue DA Card World is currently selling this product for $72 a box. Actually, that is not a terrible deal at all compared with the rest of the products out there. It actually runs about the same price as Americana with baseball cards. With two hits in a box, it’s not a terrible price and I think it has some value if you can get some of the bigger celebrity, historical, or baseball hits. My hits weren’t fabulous, but female celebrities tend to do better on the secondary market in trading card products so I wouldn’t be surprised if these did well. At a price of $72, you can afford to give this product a shot and try and build a pretty robust set at the same time.

Overall:

4 and half stars blue

Overall, this product is exactly what you would imagine it to be. Panini’s twist on Ginter or Champions with a little bit of Americana in it. If you aren’t into those types of baseball products put out, than this product isn’t for you. I wasn’t even able to pull a baseball player related hit from the product so if that is what you are looking for, it’s not for you either. However, it is a product that is filled with multiple sports figures and major American personalities from the early to mid 1900s. It is a great look at the past and pays homage to the celebrities and trading card industry. Worth the money for a box? If you’re into it, definitely go for it.

A big thank you goes out to Panini America for providing this product for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

You can find the full checklist including all the SP (short print) information over at Cardboard Connection.

And here’s what we pulled from the box…

Review: 2012 Panini Playoff Prime Cuts Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | December 8, 2012 - 10:58 am | ,
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2012 Prime Cuts has arrived, shortly after 2011 Prime Cuts, and features some of the best cards you can find of the old-timers of the game. With game used jersey swatches from legends and Hall of Famers, to cut signatures, and everything in between, there is the chance to hit something big in every pack/box. Each pack/box provides 2 cards with at least one of them being an autograph. Mine had 3 cards, so I’m not sure exactly what happened there. No complaints on the bonus. So let’s see what we pulled.

Design:

I enjoyed the design of last year’s product and this year provides little change to the successful formula from last season. One of the greatest parts about the design of the product is you often can not tell that the photos are lacking MLB logos. Panini has done a great job in this department since acquiring the MLBPA license and this product is no different. Through all the various designs, they do a good job. I even really like the design of the Team USA autographs, but we’ll have to go more into that later…

Checklist:

The checklist of names in this product is actually pretty decent. You can find everyone from Lou Gehrig to Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, and today’s stars like Albert Pujols and young stars like Yu Darvish. It really is a wide variety of players in this product. One of the highlights is always the old-timers and it is a reason people love to try their hand at this product. Pulling a Cobb or a Gehrig is always a thrill for those lucky enough to pull those cards. The only real issue I have with the checklist is the Team USA cards. Why are they in this product? But that is also a big issue with the…

Value:

Man, a file I don’t use too often. But right now this product is at $150 at DA Card World. For two cards and the possibility of some really weak autographs, like the Team USA autographs, it’s overpriced. Not even really a bit overpriced, but very overpriced. My break wasn’t terrible because I hit that low numbered patch of a superstar. However, I’ve seen some absolutely brutal breaks. If there is a definition for a truly hit or miss product, I think this would fall into it. If you hit a nice signature or a nice memorabilia piece you’ll be happy, but otherwise this product is a tough sell at that price. Good luck if you try it.

Overall:

Somehow this product averaged out to 4 stars. It makes me wonder if I should hold more weight to the actual value of the product you are buying. Do I add in a rating or re-buy value?  The design of the product is pretty well done and that deserves the applause. A non-licensed product is tough to design so they did a good job with that. The checklist while solid as usual for this product, does have it’s serious issues that cause it not to live up to the $150 price tag for two cards. It’s a tough sell at that price, but there is the opportunity for some huge cards.

Thanks to Panini America for providing this box for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can find the full checklist and other information at the Cardboard Connection.

Check out this short video, but one sweet card of a superstar pulled:

 

 

Review: 2012 Panini Signatures Series Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | December 6, 2012 - 7:49 am | ,
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2012 Panini Signature Series baseball is out as one of Panini’s premier products that produces penmanship from prospects and pros. All alliteration aside, it’s a product with a three autographs per pack/box along with three parallels. Without the use of the MLB logos, this product is still a great looking set with an old-school Donruss Studio look to it. Let’s see what you can find in a product like this…

Design:

As stated in the introduction, the design is sort of a license-less homage to the former Donruss Studio products. A studio setting face shot, dark background, with a slight appearance of the hat that is cropped out just enough so you know it’s a baseball player. Great use of cropping in the product to give it a great feel. Now most know about my feeling toward manufactured patch autographs, and this product is full of them. If they came up with a different design for that portion of the product, I easily would have given this at least another half star. But we also have the inclusion of faux baseball leather autographs on the Sweet Spot, which I have always loved. I’m glad to see those brought back again in baseball products.

Checklist:

The checklist is heavy on the rookies and short on the veterans. There really isn’t much else to say about that. If you pull one of the stars or legends of the game you’ve got some luck on your side. While the selection of rookies is large, it is still larger than the selection of veterans/legends in terms of variety and numbering. For instance, most of all rookies are numbered to 299…veterans and legends? 25 or less.

Value:

I was actually shocked when while doing my research I saw the original and current price for this product. Right now you can find the product for $97 at DA Card World. I thought that was still too high, but it originally came out at $120. For a product that leans heavy on the rookies, despite the three autographs per box, it feels very overpriced. Even at $97 it feels overpriced. I’ve seen this and other breaks of the product and I can’t justify $120, let alone $100 for this product. I’m not sure why it was priced so highly, but it could definitely use a price drop if Panini wanted to sell more product earlier in the cycle. My one issue with the MAPP is that I shouldn’t have to wait until after it expires to get a price that is accurate.

Overall:

It’s weird going from a huge success in Panini Cooperstown to a semi-fail in this product. The product design is nice, despite not being a huge fan of manufactured patch autographs. The Sweet Spot autographs was a nice addition to the product as it has always had a solid backing in a lot of previous sports card products. The checklist is sort of disappointing, but there are still some really nice autographs to be found in the product. At the price of $120, it’s definitely a no-go. Even at the newly lowered price, it is still a tough break.

Thanks to Panini for providing this product for review. You can visit them on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can find the full checklist and other information at the Cardboard Connection website.

Video is below, it’s short and sweet.

Review: 2012 Panini Cooperstown Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | November 29, 2012 - 7:43 pm | ,
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Panini’s baseball products are now in full swing to round out the 2012 season of baseball cards. Without the MLB license, they are putting out bigger and better products this season, especially with the addition of the Hall of Fame license, now is a great time for Panini to show what they can do. No better example would be this product. Panini Cooperstown is a product filled with just Hall of Famers and displays at the shrine to baseball’s best. Check out what we thought of the product:

Design:

The design of this product is one that takes the history of the Hall of Fame and places it directly in front of you on the card. I called it in my review video, “a time capsule on cardboard”. That truly is what the product is, more directly what it stands for, and more importantly what I believe Panini was striving for. While you won’t see symbols of the teams, or even the team city on the front of the card (the only fault I found), it showcases the players first and foremost. The inserts are just as informative in showcasing some of the greatest items the Hall has to showcase, as well as a bit about the city of Cooperstown itself. Finally, hard-signed autographs. They are just beautifully done. Well done. One final addition, I would of liked to have seen the year they were inducted on the base cards.

Checklist:

What makes this great is that you buy the product knowing full well that every card, including autographs, feature Hall of Famers or those with displays in the Hall. In a lot of products you might end up with with less desirable cards, but there is no denying what will be in this box in terms of content. You will find everyone from Lou Gehrig to Joe Tinker, and the Doubleday ball to Walter Johnson’s glove. Everyone and everything is immortalized.

Value:

You will be able to find these boxes for about $90 over at DA Card World. I find that price to be a tad bit high for only one or two autographs per box. At two autographs it is a bit easier to take, but I also understand the money probably needed to secure Hall of Fame autographs as well as the Hall of Fame license. It’s not terrible though. With a checklist full of Hall of Fame talent, how can you really go wrong with this product? There are also 20 SPs and a number of different numbered cards as well. Definitely fair though.

Overall:

Overall, this is by far Panini’s best baseball product it has put out since acquiring the MLBPA license. The fantastic design, complete checklist, and Hall of Fame credentials makes this a real complete product. Add in hard signed autographs from Hall of Famers, and you continue to have a fantastic product from the people over at Panini. With this product now being looked back upon, you hope that this translates to other great products to come out from Panini.

Thanks again to Panini for providing this product to review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

To view the full checklist of the product check out Cardboard Connection.

I’m STILL having trouble with photos, but check out this video on YouTube….it’s a bit long.

Review: 2011 Panini Limited Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | May 15, 2012 - 2:41 pm | ,
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First and foremost, this review is part of our “Good Cause Breaks” in which we are holding a group break to support charity. We would like to thank Panini America for the product to review and all of the participants for donating to be part of this group break. All of the proceeds will be donated to the National MS Society, as voted on by the participants.

2011 Panini Limited baseball has been brought back to life by the people at Panini and their shiny new MLBPA baseball license. This product was a solid product by Donruss in the early 2000s and was one of the first multi-hit, single pack products on the market at the time. 6 years later, it’s been brought back with extra hits and some new surprises for collectors.

Let’s get to the review.

Design:

The design brings back memories of the last time Donruss put this product out in 2005, especially with the Lumberjacks set. To me, that’s a great thing as Limited was one of my favorite products back then. Even if you look at the video, you’ll see one of the empty boxes from 2005. It also appears Panini is attempting to use some sort of Chrome/gloss technology on some of the cards. Those cards have an interesting look to them when turned into the light, giving the card a little bit of depth and some eye catching looks. Overall, a very good job doing what they can without the actual MLB license. That Braun autograph looks great (besides the white box thing), although the Votto insert looks like he’s in 1906 and Adam Jones looks like he’s in a white t-shirt. They could use a splash of color on their clothes.

Checklist:

I’m a little hard on the checklist because I’m going back to what Limited used to mean in baseball. Limited rarely had prospects, or even rookies for that matter, in their products. It was often full of veterans, superstars, fan favorites, and Hall of Famers. Having one of my two autographs being a prospect was a little tough to swallow as a fan of the product, especially one I had never heard of. I understand the need for content as well and the limitations of the licenses, but I just hope Panini understands baseball collectors are different than any other sport and not everyone enjoys prospects or prospecting. The current MLB talent is pretty good, and the Hall of Famers and fan favorites aren’t bad as well. Maybe I’m just picky, but I’d want less prospect content.

Value:

The $100 per box is a little bit high in my opinion, but again, that’s nothing new in my opinions of Panini products. This product would probably sit better in the $80 range, like it sits in the other sports currently. The four hits in the box of Limited is nice, however, the use of little known prospects and plain single jerseys or bats is kind of depressing. Although that is nothing new to the Limited line as well as it’s been that way even 6 years ago. But collectors and cards have changed to where these types of relics are so common now, nobody cares for them anymore unless they are extremely limited. I think Limited should be more of a platform for uncommonly used items. Bases, bat knobs, buttons, logo patches, helmets (thank you), batting gloves, pitcher’s rubber, cleats, stitches from a confirmed thrown baseball, just something different. I think it would add a little value and promote more ideas for memorabilia.

Overall:

Overall, I think I was tough and fair on my assessment of this product. I may have let my past love of the product interfere a bit, but things have changed in the sports card landscape since the last time this product was released in 2005. The design team did a good job with what they had to work with and I enjoy the semi-new technology from Panini on some of the cards. I know the lack of license for logos does a few things design wise, however, a splash of color on some of the clothes would be useful. The checklist wasn’t overly impressive, and the number of high numbered prospects kind of puts a damper on opening the product for me. There are still some great names to be had though, so don’t let that scare you away too much if you’re like me. The value is a little hard to swallow as well as I feel $100 is a little too much. It should sit a little lower and include some more “Limited” items like those I listed. It would create a more fun and unique product with items that are truly limited across the baseball card spectrum.

I’d like to thank Panini for providing this box for review. You can find them online at their official site, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and everywhere you can find a company online nowadays.

Congratulations to our group breakers.