Cheap Wax Wednesday Box Breaks: 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Baseball
2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Baseball features a stacked 300-card base checklist. It’s loaded with Hall of Famers as well as fan favorites and current players as well. Every base card is also available in two parallels, State and Zip Code. State parallels have the player’s home state in gold foil, while Zip Code parallels feature the player’s home zip code in foil.
In addition to the base set there are eight different insert sets that also have their own Gold and Black parallels. That isn’t enough for you? Well, ok. There are also six different autograph sets with checklists totaling nearly 150 different cards. You should find three autographs in each hobby box.
I am going to do something a little different with this one. Since the checklist is almost exclusively notable players, I am not going to list out all of the base cards. Nobody wants to read 20+ base cards in every single pack.
This was a Black Friday Sale snag a few years back. These days boxes aren’t super easy to find, and sell for over $75.
2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Baseball Hobby Box Break:
Cards per pack: 24
Packs per box: 12
Price paid: $33
Shop for 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Baseball boxes on eBay.
Pack 1 base:
Through his first nine big league seasons, Willie McGee averaged 31 stolen bases per year.
Pack 1 inserts/parallels:
Andy Van Slyke Rivalry (1:12 packs), Andres Galarraga City Hall (1:6 packs) & Bill Buckner State (1:3 packs)
Pack 2 base:
David Eckstein was a 19th round draft pick of the Red Sox in 1997. He was waived by the Sox in 2000, and called up to the majors the following season with the Angels.
Pack 2 inserts/parallels:
Roy “Doc” Halladay Nicknames (1:12 packs), Nolan Ryan Curtain Call (1:4 packs), Kerry Wood Sportdiscs (1:4 packs) & Mookie Wilson City Hall Signatures
Pack 3 base:
Huston Street was the 2005 American League Rookie of the Year after recording 23 saves and a 1.72 ERA. His career ERA was an impressive 2.95.
Pack 3 inserts/parallels:
Curt Schilling Defining Moments (1:6 packs) & Jack McDowell State (1:3 packs)
Pack 4 base:
Bill Madlock won four batting titles, and finished his career with a .305 batting average.
Pack 4 inserts/parallels:
Dan Gladden Zip Code (1:12 packs), Nolan Ryan City Hall Gold, Jorge Posada Homegrown Heroes Gold & a Dickie Thon Hometown Signatures redemption
Pack 5 base:
Mike Scott went 18-10 with a league-leading 2.22 ERA en route to winning the 1986 NL Cy Young.
Pack 5 inserts/parallels:
Nolan Ryan Curtain Call Gold, Ken Griffey, Jr. Sportdiscs (1:4 packs) & Kirk Gibson Curtain Call (1:4 packs)
Pack 6 base:
Rusty Greer played nine seasons in the majors, and retired with a career .865 OPS. An .865 OPS this season would be in line with Rafael Devers for 14th overall in the majors.
Pack 6 inserts/parallels:
Dwight Gooden Defining Moments (1:6 packs), Wil Myers State (1:3 packs) & Robin Ventura Calling the Shots Gold
Pack 7 base:
Bobby Witt’s son has fared better so far in his career. Witt Sr. led the league in three different categories over his career: earned runs allowed (once), walks allowed (three times) and wild pitches (twice).
Pack 7 inserts/parallels:
Edgar Martinez Defining Moments (1:6 packs), Cal Ripken, Jr. State (1:3 packs) & Lee Mazzilli Hometown Signatures
Pack 8 base:
Gorman Thomas led the league with 45 home runs in 1979. Thomas Gorman, on the other hand, played 25 big league games in 1884.
Pack 8 inserts/parallels:
Rickey “Man of Steal” Henderson Nicknames (1:12 packs), Hyun-Jin Ryu Sportdiscs (1:4 packs) & Cal Ripken, Jr. Curtain Call (1:4 packs)
Pack 9 base:
Jeff Conine fell just 18 hits shy of 2,000 over his 17-year major league career.
Pack 9 inserts/parallels:
Chipper Jones Homegrown Heroes, Frank Robinson State (1:3 packs) & Jose Rijo City Hall (1:6 packs)
Pack 10 base:
Dan Petry finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting following the 1984 season. He went 18-8 with a 3.24 ERA.
Pack 10 inserts/parallels:
David Ortiz Defining Moments Gold & Willie Wilson Hometown Signatures
Pack 11 base:
Joe Charboneau won the 1980 AL Rookie of the Year in his only full major league season. He hit .289 with 23 HR and 87 RBI.
Pack 11 inserts/parallels:
Johnny Damon Rivalry (1:12 packs), Kirk Gibson Calling the Shots, Justin Verlander Curtain Call (1:4 packs) & David Wright Sportdiscs (1:4 packs)
Pack 12 base:
John Tudor went 21-8 with a 1.73 ERA in 1985, leading the league with 10 complete game shutouts. He finished second in Cy Young voting.
Pack 12 inserts/parallels:
Willie Wilson City Hall (1:6 packs), Stan Musial Homegrown Heroes Black Parallel & Nomar Garciaparra State (1:3 packs)
See what I mean? A strong checklist on this one makes for a fun rip, though it can get repetitive with so many base cards. I got lucky, finding the three advertised autographs plus a bonus redemption card. Like I mentioned, there aren’t a ton of these boxes lying around, so grab it if you see it.
Shop for 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Baseball cards on:
Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.
What happens to redemption cards that go unclaimed? Are they destroyed? Sold?