2011 Topps Series 2 Box

I recently came in possession of a hobby box of 2011 Topps Series 2. I really wanted to get this set knocked out before Allen & Ginter hits, and this was a great way to cause some serious damage to my Want List.

I'm not going to go into all of the inserts or base set percentages, because, let's face it, you're just here for the hits. I will say that I did not get a single duplicate in the box, so good job with that, Topps. I know that with some shorter base sets, it can be unavoidable, but with 330 cards, it can be avoided, so I certainly appreciate the effort.

Anyway, each box is guaranteed to contain one autograph or relic, and I pulled a Chase Utley bat relic. While I don't always like bat relic cards, the Topps 60 cards have a decent-sized swatch to it, and having that bigger bat piece looks really cool. While I'm not a Chase Utley collector, I could have done MUCH worse with my one hit.

I also pulled a diamond sparkle variation of Giants pitcher Matt Cain. I'm completely indifferent to him as a player, but it was cool to at least pull one of these variations, and I also pulled a sparkly version of the Andre Dawson SP. He may be in his Expos uni, but he'll always be a Cub to me.

With those pulls, I was very happy with what I found, and I got even happier when I redeemed my Diamond Giveaway cards, and got TWO die-cuts: Carl Yastrzemski and Torii Hunter.

I've already gotten quite a few offers for these, but I might hold on to them to see if they add any more Cubs in their final 3. If you haven't gone already, by the way, head over to the Topps Diamond Cut Vote-In Facebook Page and keep Ryne Sandberg in the running.It looks like he's beating Ozzie Smith in the semis and will face Reggie Jackson in the finals.

That's all for now. I've updated my needs list. There's only a few base cards I need, but I still have a whole lot of inserts to go.