Arizona Diamondbacks sparkplug outfielder Corbin Carroll made his Major League debut in August of 2022. The youngster showed promise in limited play in about 100 at bats in the late summer and early fall. This season, his first full season in The Show, Carroll has exploded as one of the brightest rising stars in the game.
One of the fastest players in the big leagues, Carroll currently leads baseball in triples. The outfielder is one of a handful of players to have scored over 100 runs this season. An intoxicating combination of speed and power, the Seattle, WA native has joined the 20/20 club early, cranking more than 20 home runs and swiping nearly 50 bases in his rookie season.
Being names as a starter to the NL All-Star team was a storybook moment for Carroll as he returned to his hometown as one of a very select few elite Major League Baseball All Stars for the midsummer showcase.
With an already established All-Star resume, Carroll is still one of the younger players in the game and has an incredibly bright future ahead of him.
In this newest version of Better Than a Box, we stack up four pieces of Carroll cardboard you can own for about the same price as a box of the new 2023 Topps Cosmic Chrome.
Cosmic Chrome attempts to go where no man has gone before and showcase cards from the farthest reaches and depths of the galaxy… and beyond. The over the top, extraterrestrial design structure is very appealing to the eye with the unlimited amount of parallels, inserts, star clusters and SuperFractors,
Cosmic Chrome has been a strong seller, with current prices generally hovering between $375 and $395.
The Rookie Card
Our collection starts with our rookie card and so far this season, it’s hard to find a more attractive Carroll card than the one from the Spotlights insert set in 2023 Bowman. The spotlight design (front and back) shows him doing what he does best- sprinting around the bases and flat out making it happen between the lines.
For right around 70-80 bucks in a PSA 10 grade, this is a solid card in our lead off spot.
The Autograph Card
We go big for our autograph card as we pick up Carroll’s 2023 Topps Chrome bold on card rookie auto. The iconic Topps Chrome product is always wildly popular and this RC logoed up auto of Carroll pictures the young star acknowledging someone in the crowd after a big play.
This is one of the nicer Chrome designs in recent years and is a great contributor in our number two slot.
We have to dig into our pockets for around $180-$190 but this is going to be the All-Star of our lot.
The Jersey Card
We pencil in Topps Series 2 in the lineup and snag our memorabilia card from that flagship product. 2023 Topps Series 2 Major League Materials offers a nice rookie year Corbin memorabilia card and, for under 10 bucks, this fits our budget perfectly. The image shows Carroll leading off, ready to steal yet another bag.
The Serial Numbered Card
Topps has been producing the gold parallel of players’ flagship rookie cards for a long time now, but it’s that history and numbering to the actual year of production that makes this such an attractive staple. There are certainly other lower numbered Carroll cards we could pick here, but for the long haul, the popularity of the gold/#2023 parallel is tough to top. These are–for now–available for a price that fits our budget.
So there you have it. You can take your chances on an admittedly, potentially, really fun box of 2023 Topps Cosmic Chrome or you can crush it with four guaranteed classic cards of one of baseball’s top young players.
As always, the choice is yours.
Related Stories:
Better Than a Box: Tyreek Hill Throws Up Deuces to 2023 Legacy Football
Better Than a Box: The Beard Steps Back and Scores on 2022-23 Select H2
Better Than a Box: Joel Embiid vs Donruss Optic Basketball
Better Than a Box: Jimmy Buckets Over Slim Boxes
Better Than a Box: Four Bryce Harper Home Runs
Better Than a Box: Polar Bear Plunge
Better Than a Box: Value in Vladimir
Better Than a Box: The Joker Jackpot
