A HOF Auto Out of a Pharmacy Box?!?!

I picked up a couple pharmacy boxes at Wallgreens this morning thinking I’d go back to the well and do another FairField box break/faceoff, but a find in Box #2 had me saying, “Holy sh*t!”

Stan “the Man” Musial? Autographed? From a Pharmacy Box?!?!

Wow.

A closer look...

Yes, it’s a sticker auto.
Yes, it’s an unlicensed Leaf card (from 2015).
and Yes, the auto itself doesn’t look great.

But hey, I pulled a Stan Musial autograph from a pharmacy box!

Wait, hold on a second. The card was issued in 2015. Musial died in 2013. What? Some of you surely know this already. I didn’t. Apparently, Stan’s family and business people had him sign a ton of stickers in his waning years. Leaf bought the stickers and put out a product where you’re guaranteed a Musial auto with every box.

That’s morbid. It does diminish my enthusiasm for my hit some.

Musial, of course, was a first-ballot HOFer and one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in baseball history.

He’s a 24x All-Star (1943, 1944, 1946-1963), a three time World Series winner (1942, 1944, 1946), a three-time NL MVP (1943, 1946, 1948), he twice led the NL in RBIs (1948, 1956), and was a seven-time NL Batting champion (1943, 1946, 1948, 1950-1952, 1957).

What a resume.

The backstory on the auto explains the devaluation of Musial’s autograph over recent years (COMC listings have autos from this Leaf series in the $22-40 range) and potentially how it ended up in a $5 repack.

Still, to pull this out of a pharmacy box feels like a win.

BIG Mail Day: Luis Robert GQ Auto

I’m impressed, Topps. Less than a month after pulling a Luis Robert redemption from a Target retail Value Pack, it’s hit my mailbox.

Behold: an autographed, Gypsy Queen logo swap parallel of Chicago White Sox uber prospect.

As I said when I wrote up the break, this is one of the biggest – and least expected – hits that I’ve ever pulled.

Robert, who is included as a rookie despite not playing in the majors, is a 22-year-old Cuban outfielder and the #2 prospect in the game (according to Baseball America). He led the minors across all levels last season in hits (165) and was second in runs (108).

The White Sox locked him up with a six-year, $50 million contract in January, another key piece for the franchise’s future. Penciling Robert into a lineup with Tim Anderson, Eloy Jiménez, and Yoán Moncada makes for a fun, intriguing team.

Breaking Gypsy Queen 3-Pack Retail Hanger (Big Hit)

Had to run to Target today to do some “essentials” shopping. So of course, I was going to swing by the card aisle. Picked up a 3-pack hanger of Gypsy Queen. It was between that, Heritage and Series 1. I’ve opened plenty of the latter two, so I opted for GQ.

Even though I’ve had a bit of success with retail packs lately (I pulled a Mike Clevenger auto out of a Series 1 blaster), I keep my expectations low. Hopefully I’ll net a rookie. Hope to pull some Yankees or Red Sox for the boys’ collections.

So imagine my surprise when I tear into pack one...

Mike Trout, Francisco Mejia, Jesus Luzardo (R)… upside-down redemption!

I am due to receive an autographed, Gypsy Queen logo swap parallel of Luis Robert!

This is one of the biggest, and least expected, hits that I’ve ever pulled. And yes, I am aware that Luis Robert is yet to even appear in the majors.

That didn’t stop the White Sox from inking Robert to a six-year, $50 million contract this January.

Robert is a 22-year-old outfielder, the #2 prospect in the game (according to Baseball America), and part of the White Sox bright future. He was number one across the minor leagues last season in hits (165) and number two in runs (108).

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to pack one, and frankly, didn’t really register what else I got until much later as I sat down to write this.

So… what else? Mauricio Dubon (R) and Max Kepler rounded out pack one.

Pack two: Michael Lorenzen, Jose Ramirez, Brendan Rodgers, David Price, Sean Murphy (R), and Stephen Stasburg.

Pack three: Yolmer Sanchez, Christian Yelich, David Fletcher, Jean Segura, Mitch Garver, and Trea Turner.

Finally, the three green parallels: Miguel Cabrera, Lorenzo Cain, and Emmanuel Clase (R).

Very pleased with my pick up. =)