Pack of the Day 58: 2013 Topps Chrome Value Pack

I really wanted to open a pack of baseball cards the other day. I have had a fairly steady inflow of single cards, card lots, and trades recently, but I hadn't opened any packs for a while. My wife went to the store and brought home a Value Pack of 2013 Topps Chrome.

The first thing to come out of the Value Pack was the pack of three Orange Refractors and the security tag. A Value Pack costs the same as three packs of cards, so these Orange Refractors are what provide the 'value' in this arrangement. I got Carlos Beltran, Melky Cabrera, and Aroldis Chapman. At least I got a Blue Jay, even if it is my least favorite Blue Jay.

Pack 1 starts off pretty well with a couple of RCs. I guess people don't care about Rookie Cards anymore, unless they are shiny and serially-numbered. These ones are shiny, at least.

Also included was a Ben Revere base card and a Stephen Strasburg Dynamic Die-Cuts insert, which is a 1:24 packs insert set that sells for about $0.80 on COMC. So much for retiring on the spoils from this Value Pack.

Pack 2 contained an R.A. Dickey base card, which is pretty good. I already had at least two of them, though. Now I have three. I also got an Astro in Brandon Barnes, although he went to the Rockies in the Dexter Fowler trade.

Alex Gordon is another favorite-team hit, although like all the others I already have at least one copy of his card. This pack netted a 1:12 packs insert, a 1972 Topps Chrome card of Justin Upton. Again, I wouldn't even be able to buy a pack of cards from the proceeds of selling this card, let alone retire on them. The font used for the team name makes it look like Upton plays for the BRAWES.

Overall this was an okay group of packs. I certainly beat the odds with my insert pulls, but nothing really blew me away. It doesn't help that I already have a complete set of the base cards. I should 1) not buy Retail packs anymore and 2) avoid busting packs of sets that I have already completed.