Stadium Club Pack War

When I was lucky enough to find Stadium Club at my local Wally World recently, I splurged and bought two boxes. I showed off the first box already, giving my first impressions of the set.  Since each box contained 8 packs of cards, I thought it'd be fun to use the 2nd box and have a pack war!

Stadium Club is all about the photography, so that's what I'm basing my decisions on. Parallels don't get any more sway over the base set. For each pack, I'll select the card that I feel is the best overall, and pit the 8 selections against each other in a bracketed elimination.

 

Pack 1

#231 Jo Adell (RC)

#117 Max Muncy

#189 Bob Gibson

#167 Jacob deGrom (black parallel)

#120 Eddie Murray

 

Pack 2

#22 Willson Contreras

#296 Lucas Giolito

#248 Jose Ramirez

#165 Thurman Munson (red parallel)

#216 Brady Singer (RC)

 

In both packs, it was pretty easy to pick a winner.  Gibson's card is a flashback to an honor bestowed upon a select few. Ramirez's card is just insane. Despite being such a closely cropped card, there's four other people along the outskirts.

 

#189 Bob Gibson vs #248 Jose Ramirez

You couldn't ask for two more different cards. Black and white vs color. Action vs. stillness. Past vs present. It's a tough call. In the end, I think seeing Gibson mainly in profile was enough of a nit-pick for me to choose Ramirez.

Winner: Jose Ramirez

Pack 3

#15 Jeff McNeil

#238 Isaac Paredes (RC)

#203 Ian Anderson (Stadium Club Chrome Refractor)

#17 Nolan Ryan(red parallel)

#148 Alex Kirilloff (RC)

 

Pack 4

#227 Reggie Jackson

#135 David Wright

#24 Tony Gwynn

#52 Rafael marchan (RC) (Sepia parallel)

#229 William Contreras (RC)

 

Is McNeil making a sliding catch or just casually catching a ball as he lies out on the grass? One could make an argument for either. The best thing about Reggie's card (other than the fact he's not a Yankee on it) is that you can clearly see the grip he uses to throw the ball.

#15 Jeff McNeil vs #227 Reggie Jackson

Heh. Side by side, these two cards almost look like they're playing catch. I have to advance Jackson, you can almost picture the ball rocketing from his hand.

Winner: Reggie Jackson

Pack 5 

#153 Freddie Freeman

#218 Jesus Aguilar

#240 Dinelson Lamet

#VR-13 Corey Seager (Virtual Reality red insert/parallel)

#235 Rickey Henderson

 

Pack 6

#168 Daulton Varsho (RC)

#80 Walker Buehler

#160 George Springer

#12 Didi Gregorious (red parallel)

#222 DJ LeMahieu

 

Freeman's card was a contender here, but I just had to pick Rickey sliding up a dust storm. Varsho seems to have a rather pained look on his face, but that's the price you got to pay to get such a great rookie card!

#235 Rickey Henderson vs #168 Daulton Varsho

Rickey is making some unidentified Yankee look bad. Rickey joins Reggie to stack this pack war with Hall of Fame Athletics! 

 

Winner: Rickey Henderson

 

Pack 7

#8 Rafael Devers

#139 Drew Rasmussen (RC)

#65 Bryan Reynolds

#42 Jack Flajherty (red parallel)

#3 Mike Clevinger

 

Pack 8

#10 Salvador Perez

#23 Tim Anderson

#276 Mark McGwire

#SCG-13 Randy Johnson (Stadium Club Greats insert)

#72 Barry Larkin

 

I'm not being biased, but Raffy really does have the best card in this pack. You can sense the impending collision on Perez's card, and yet you can't help but think the poor runner is just going to bounce off the immovable catcher.

 

#8 Rafael Devers vs #10 Salvador Perez

OK, so maybe I am being a little biased... (and can someone explain what is on his thumb?)

 

Winner: Rafael Devers

 

Our final four is set with two All-Star third basemen and two Hall of Famers donning the green and gold.

 

Semifinal Round

 

#248 Jose Ramirez vs #227 Reggie Jackson

We can't see it, but Jose can - the base, so close, if he can only reach it. The look of a man determined to reach his destination. That glove is close, but will it tag him? There's a tenseness in this photo, an uncertainty of what is transpiring before our eyes. Reggie's rocket throw will not overtake him.

 

Winner: Jose Ramirez

#235 Rickey Henderson vs #8 Rafael Devers

 

Like ghosts dancing on the edges of your peripheral vision, you see them. The crowd, blended in the shadows of a bygone era, stand and cheer as their champion wins another race. No man can catch Rickey. The standings do not lie - Devers sits and wonders how can he and his team crawl from the depths and salvage their pride. Today, there is one more tally in the loss column for Boston. 

Winner: Rickey Henderson

The Finals

  

#248 Jose Ramirez vs #235 Rickey Henderson

The goal is simple: Touch each base by any means necessary. Steal that next base if you must, but fight for it always. Only then can you come back around from where you started. Only then can you come home. Success is never guaranteed, but for those who give it their all, the crowd's admiration is certain.

 

This is a tough choice between two strong contenders. When all is said and done, it was the little details on Ramirez's card that won me over.

 

Pack War Champion

 

 

Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear your opinion in the comments.