2015 Panini Stars and Stripes Box Break

I frequently mention using Triple Cards in Plano TX as a source for pricing and commentary on recent products. Not only is his store near my residence but also because of his constant interaction with customers he has a good understanding of the day-to-day mechanics of what is popular.

Right now, he’s getting a lot of questions about Kris Bryant and the general consensus right now is that any issue with Bryant autographs in it has a chance for success.

You can put the recently released 2015 Panini Stars and Stripes on that list. He’s also on the cover of the hobby boxes.

Stars and Stripes has a base set along with autographs and memorabilia from the current USA Baseball teams at various age levels as well as top prospects who recently played on a USA National team. Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, Trea Turner and Carlos Rodon all have autographed cards in this product.

When I saw a Turner card I started to laugh because he is for now perhaps the most famous ‘player to be named later’. You see, due to major league rules, Turner cannot be traded until June but the word is already out he is going to the Washington Nationals. And if Ian Desmond does not remember how to field grounders, he might be in the majors even sooner than expected.

The 2015 Stars and Stripes cards feature white borders with the photo in the middle, the USA Stars and Stripes logo and the player’s name at the bottom. The back has another color player photo, biographical information and some text about the player.

There are several different parallels and inserts including the long-running, artsy Diamond Kings brand and Crusade, an insert you see across a lot of different Panini products.

There are eight cards in each pack and 24 packs in a box. Most online retailers are at $65-75 before shipping. Each box should have four autograph or memorabilia cards, 12 parallels, 12 Crusades, four Champions, four Diamond Kings, four Fireworks and four Statistical Standouts.

Here’s what was in the box provided to us by Panini. Our autographs were on stickers.

Base Cards: We pulled 148 total base cards. With a base set consisting of 100 cards one should be able to complete a set or trade for any missing numbers.

Longevity Parallel: Kolby Allard, Gray Fenter, Carson Fulmer, Courtney Hawkins, Chris Okey, Matt Olson, Bryan Reynolds Corey Seager, Lucas Sims, Jameson Taillon, Blake Teahan, Bradley Zimmer

Champions: Luken Baker,Carson Fulmer, Robert Refsnyder, Christin Stewart

Crusade: Kristofer Armstrong, Noah Campbell, Michael Comforto, Joe DeMers, Hugh Fisher, Peter Lambert, Luis Ortiz,, D.J. Peterson, Christin Stewart, DJ Stewart, Luke Weaver, Max Wotell

Crusade Red and Blue (#d to 49): Kale Breaux

Diamond Kings: D.J. Peterson, Carlos Rodon, Corey Seager, Trea Turner

Fireworks: Luken Baker, D.J. Peterson, Christin Stewart, Blake Swihart

Statistical Standouts: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Peter Lambert, Kyle Molnar, Kyle Schwarber

Game Gear Longevity (#d to 49): Thomas Eshelman

Game Gear Signature (#d to 99) Kyle Molnar

Game Gear Signatures Longevity (#d to 49): Christin Stewart

Silhouettes Signature Jersey Prime (#d to 25): Mitchell Hansen

In the tradition of the old school Donruss/Leaf/Playoff boxes there is a minor hit in every pack with the autos and memorabilia cards promised in each box. There’s no complaint about the number of cards for the money, with seems comparatively fair with other products. While some aren’t crazy about sticker autographs, when the average cost of a hit is about $15 and there’s very good potential upside depending on what the future holds, then the price point for USA Stars and Stripes seems quite reasonable to me.

You can see 2015 Panini Stars and Stripes singles, inserts, autographs, sets and lots on eBay by clicking here.