2012 Gypsy Queen Extreme Value Blaster #2

As 2013 Gypsy Queen is hitting stores, I'd like to take you into the past. Allllll the way to the year 2012. I picked up another discounted 2012 Gypsy Queen blaster from Target for $11.99, after the previous one from November looked pretty good. And, I just can't resist a deal.

2012 Gypsy Queen
Mini Parallel #78 Sergio Santos
Mini Parallel #84 Freddie Freeman
Mini Parallel #123 Geovany Soto
Mini Parallel #134 Juan Nicasio
Mini Green #45 Madison Baumgarner
Mini Gypsy Queen Back #29 Ryan Roberts
Mini Gypsy Queen Back #126 Brett Myers
Mini Straight Cut Back #240 Tim Lincecum

Why do I love parallel sets so much? I've got half a mind to try to complete at least the regular mini set.

2012 Gypsy Queen
#143 Dustin Pedroia SP Variation
#250 Ken Griffey, Jr. SP Variation

I only spotted these variations when I noticed 2 of the packs appeared to have 5 standard cards and 1 mini. All of the other packs had 2 or 3 insert cards, so I dug around for the SP Variation checklist.

2012 Gypsy Queen Hallmark Heroes
#HH-FR Frank Robinson
#HH-NR Nolan Ryan

I start feeling old when I see a guy I remember playing, Nolan Ryan, featured as an old-timer with the likes of Frank Robinson.

2012 Gypsy Queen Future Stars
#FS-DH Derek Holland
#FS-DJ Desmond Jennings

Also making me feel old: These guys are both about 4 years younger than me; both are 26.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Sliding Stars #SS-DG Dee Gordon

2012 Gypsy Queen
#208 Adron Chambers
#249 Stan Musial

I already got this Adron Chambers card in the last blaster. He appears to be running from a giant lizard bent on destroying Tokyo. Oh, and there's a Musial, which is good because those are hard to pry away from another Cardinals fan these days.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Glove Stories #GS-BR Ben Revere

Imagine Chariots of Fire playing over this catch in slow motion. It'll be the next big thing: music cards.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Moonshots #MS-FT Frank Thomas

It's even weirder that Frank Thomas is an old-timer now. I've still got a poster of him in my pool room, which I bought as a kid. What can I say, the Cardinals just weren't that good in the early 90s, so I went with the Chicago guy.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Relics #GWR-RK Ralph Kiner

And here's the crown jewel of the box, a Ralph Kiner relic. It was actually in the last pack I opened, which added to the suspense of opening. I don't know much about Ralph Kiner, so I went and read his Wikipedia page. I thought it was interesting that despite playing in only the minimum required 10 seasons, he's in the Hall of Fame. And not only did he barely qualify, he gained entry on his final ballot, and with just 1 vote over what he needed. I bet this guy slams on the gas to zip through yellow lights.

All in all, I was pretty happy with this box, which means I'll keep checking the bottom shelf at Target for discounted year-old blasters.