For the collector who enjoys looking into the future, the 2018 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball set is the perfect vehicle. Members of the U.S. national team are in the spotlight in this set, and it offers younger prospects, current stars and retired greats. That includes players from the collegiate national team and the 18-and-under national squad.
The 2018 edition uses the formula that worked well in 2017: base cards, parallels and hits. For retail blaster boxes (the focus for this review), Panini America promises two autograph or memorabilia cards on average.
I was fortunate to buy an above average box, as I pulled one autograph, one relic and an autographed relic. For the $19.99 price tag, that’s a good deal; if you buy a hobby box, which lists somewhere in the neighborhood of $65, there will be a hit in each of the five packs. Sure, the names may not mean anything right now — but there’s always the chance that one of these players could make it to the major leagues and become a star, and that autograph or relic card will be a treasured gem.
The 2018 edition uses the formula that worked well in 2017: base cards, parallels and hits. For retail blaster boxes (the focus for this review), Panini America promises two autograph or memorabilia cards on average.
I was fortunate to buy an above average box, as I pulled one autograph, one relic and an autographed relic. For the $19.99 price tag, that’s a good deal; if you buy a hobby box, which lists somewhere in the neighborhood of $65, there will be a hit in each of the five packs. Sure, the names may not mean anything right now — but there’s always the chance that one of these players could make it to the major leagues and become a star, and that autograph or relic card will be a treasured gem.
The base set contains 100 cards, and because I bought a blaster box, all 30 base I pulled were the retail-exclusive Longevity cards. It was fun to pull cards of players who had successful major-league careers, like Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire, and it also was nice to pull a card of a player from Tampa like Alex Faedo.
The card design is vertical on the front, with the exception of team cards. A blue border adorns the top of the card and parts of the top left and right borders, and the rest of the borders are silver foil. The player’s name sits above an action shot, stamped in gold foil and next to a similarly stamped USA Baseball logo. The backdrop for the player’s name is red.
The images are a mixture of posed and action shots. My favorite shot was card No. 86 of M.J. Melendez, a second-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 2017 who currently plays for the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League. Melendez, a catcher, is standing, mask off, and gripping the baseball while sneaking a peek down the third-base line. His expression is like “yeah, go ahead and take a longer lead.” Entertaining.
The card design is vertical on the front, with the exception of team cards. A blue border adorns the top of the card and parts of the top left and right borders, and the rest of the borders are silver foil. The player’s name sits above an action shot, stamped in gold foil and next to a similarly stamped USA Baseball logo. The backdrop for the player’s name is red.
The images are a mixture of posed and action shots. My favorite shot was card No. 86 of M.J. Melendez, a second-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 2017 who currently plays for the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League. Melendez, a catcher, is standing, mask off, and gripping the baseball while sneaking a peek down the third-base line. His expression is like “yeah, go ahead and take a longer lead.” Entertaining.
The card backs sport a large USA Baseball logo and the card number in the upper left-hand corner. Underneath each player’s name is a five-line biography, followed by another line that lists vital statistics such as height, weight, and whether the player bats and throws left-handed or right-handed.
In addition to the base cards, I found a pair of parallels: A Ruby team card of the national 15-and-under team, numbered to 249; and a Sapphire card of Nick Pratto, numbered to 49.
There were three hits in the blaster box I opened. The first was a sticker autograph card of 17-year-old Blake Shapen, an infielder from Shreveport, Louisiana. The autograph is boldly written in a blue Sharpie; an on-card signature would have been nice, but this was still a very nice card.
In addition to the base cards, I found a pair of parallels: A Ruby team card of the national 15-and-under team, numbered to 249; and a Sapphire card of Nick Pratto, numbered to 49.
There were three hits in the blaster box I opened. The first was a sticker autograph card of 17-year-old Blake Shapen, an infielder from Shreveport, Louisiana. The autograph is boldly written in a blue Sharpie; an on-card signature would have been nice, but this was still a very nice card.
The second hit was a Jumbo National Team relic card of pitcher Ryley Gilliam, numbered to 299. This relic lives up to its name, with a huge swatch of Gilliam’s uniform on the card; the player is almost an afterthought.
The only criticism I have with the card is that it is all white; a more attractive swatch would have been one with at least one more color. Or even a pinstripe.
The third hit was an Silhouettes Signatures Jersey card of Alex Boychuk, a 15-year-old catcher from Hoschton, Georgia. The card is numbered to 199 and the autograph is on a sticker. The uniform swatch is beige-colored.
The 2018 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball set is perfect for collectors who like to look into the future. The extra hit in the blaster box was a definite plus.
The only criticism I have with the card is that it is all white; a more attractive swatch would have been one with at least one more color. Or even a pinstripe.
The third hit was an Silhouettes Signatures Jersey card of Alex Boychuk, a 15-year-old catcher from Hoschton, Georgia. The card is numbered to 199 and the autograph is on a sticker. The uniform swatch is beige-colored.
The 2018 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball set is perfect for collectors who like to look into the future. The extra hit in the blaster box was a definite plus.
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