2023 Bowman and another team set

 Yesterday, the family and I went to Wal-Mart to get some things. Unlike last time, there was a little more there. Blasters of 2023 Bowman and more 2023 Topps team sets, this time, the Rays, Orioles, and Nationals. Kind of weird to have the O's and Nats there instead of the Marlins, or a team like the Tigers which trains nearby, but hey, we're going to see the Nats in less than a month, so I scooped up a blaster of Bowman and a Nats team set. I didn't expect much from Bowman, and don't think I did good from a flipper brah perspective, but feel like I got a ton more rookies than when I got some 2022 Bowman, and did well in the Rays department. 

First up are the vets and first part of the Nats team set. Nothing to spectacular. A bunch of 2nd year guys and a few people I have actually heard of. 

The rest of the Nats set and the vets, as well as the Rays, Tigers, and the 1 favorite player I pulled. Surprisingly (even though he is injured), the Nats set didn't have a Stephen Strasburg card in it. He is the face of the franchise now, and as long as he has been playing, he deserves a card. Yeah, he is hurt, but he will be back next year (if not, this one), and for him to miss out on a Series 2 card and be relegated to the company of Ryan Yarbrough, Connor Joe, Michael Chavis, etc non-household name guys who get in Update every year, it is just a shame. The guy who was THE card to pull in 2010 Topps. Fanatics guys must not be 'yearbook style' guys, but even so, you know Strasburg (and Glasnow for that matter!) will be back this year, so why not put them in the set?  I can't think of any other big name guys who had Tommy John in 2022 who might not be back till the end of this year, but I'm curious to see who is in the 2023 Topps set (or at least in team sets) so far (just checked and Casey Mize is in the Tigers 2023 team set). I swear, Fanatics needs to let me (or another normal baseall fan who is opposed to advanced stats, pitch clocks, flippers, SPs, and has actually put together a complete baseball card set) work in their player selection department. 

The Rays were nice ones for me. I have been hearing alot about Caminero lately, and knew that Isaac was a 2022 1st Round pick, and I was hoping to get cards of them sooner than later. Also got 1 Miggy card, and a Jacob deGrom. 

I really haven't heard of any of the rookies, other than some of the guys with Major League time. The Harris cards are my first of his, and I'm glad I pulled that Henderson card. Just hope the Orioles (Yankee$ and Blue Jays for that matter) can go on some nice losing streaks sooner than later. 

More of the same with the Chrome, and also a (Green?) Refractor. The last 3 are rookies from the team set. Only Menses will have a chance at being at the game as Cavalli is out for the year with surgery, and Lee is in AA right now. Good thing Cavalli got diagnosed with Tommy John in Spring Training after the 2023 cards were released, else he might not have got into a 2023 card with the way Fanatics seems to run things. 

I have been going through the Nats and Marlins roster so I can pull cards for autographs and have a nice master list going of which binders to look for which players in. Friday morning's project will be pulling a card or 2 out for everyone on my list and putting them in a box to take to the game. 18 more days until we leave if I'm counting correctly. Should be all downhill once Memorial Day is over with. I'll get to spend some time with my youngest 2 sisters the first week of June (they are twins, and the youngest who lives in Texas is coming to Florida), and one of Karen's stepsisters is coming down that week as well, so we will spend time with them, and with the packing and last minute things during the final week, it will fly by. The master Topps needlist only got as far as the Red Sox, but more important things need to be done for the trip, so I'll most likely pick that up with the White Sox when we get back. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy