Two Rack Packs of 2023 Topps Series 1 [Finally]

 

I was in a place the other day where I not only had enough saved up to get some baseball cards, but there were actually baseball cards present. I won't divulge where this was, nor how much the price was hiked up...but I went with it. It was Series 1.

Obviously I'd seen a lot of this on the blogs for the past month or so, but it'd taken me this long to have any in hand. I got 2 rack packs, and until I figure out eBay selling and/or make a breakthrough with work, that'll be enough. 

Pack 1-

101- Tyler Mahle

My first card of the year was a guy I'd seen pitch only a few days prior. He got chased, yes, but he's still a nice pickup for the Twins if he keeps at Cincinnati-era pace. 

I've probably said as such, but I have come around on this design. I wish it wasn't so fragrantly the photo day icon images that were being used, as they're not too interesting, but I like so many design elements that it counteracts that. 

73- Jon Gray

322- Luis Urias

215- Wander Franco

22- Clayton Kershaw

Two big pulls from a base perspective. As is evident on Kershaw's, full career stats are in play on the back, much to my amusement. 

214- Graham Ashcraft RC

50- Mookie Betts

293- J.T. Realmuto

I agree that there are too many rookies in the set, but at the very least a good majority of them are people that played a big enough part in the second half of the 2022 season, like Graham Ashcraft. Also nice that star cards aren't too rare, especially JT.

34- Zack Thompson

80- Tanner Rainey

277- David Villar RC

158- Kris Bryant

175- Liam Hendriks

Maybe it's because he was injured for most of last year, but it's still very weird to see Bryant in Rockies colors. I really hope Hendriks makes it to the mound at some point this year, he's awesome. 

12- Jeffrey Springs. Not showing his picture, not even collecting his cards. Ya done goofed, pal.

255- Cal Quantrill

257- Yadiel Hernandez

218- Jhoan Duran rainbow foil, unnumbered. I still don't see the point of these, and of making gold numbered cards rarer, but Duran is filthy.

88 Topps Brendan Rodgers. Pleased they finally did these, even if there are slight font issues. 

Stars of MLB Wander Franco

Stars of MLB Bryce Harper

Good subjects, but for a 'multiple-per-pack' insert, I would have preferred the 88s, honestly. This is at least cool design wise, but there are others similar, like 2019's Stars of the Game or 2018's Legends in the Making, that are more memorable to me.

226- Michael Harris II RC

One of the big rookies of the first series. And one hell of an image for it, too.

194- Josh Staumont

220- Cubs TC

292- Rangers TC

113- Dodgers CL

174- Mariners CL. These team cards and checklists are cool, but they feel like filler sometimes.

32- Jordan Montgomery

162- Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Even if I knew they had Gumby photos available, his card still looks photoshopped. The good news is both these cards show variance in the types of headshots we can see, like Montgomery's in-game shot and IKF's slight tilt. A little change-up goes a long way.

IKF's smug smile here says something along the lines of 'hey Anthony, you're really good and all but you know I'm making the opening day roster and you're not, right?'

37- Josh Smith RC

76- John Winckowski RC

105- Seth Beer

278- Aaron Nola

179- Carlos Rodon

290- Max Fried

Three of the best pitchers in the majors in one pack. Plus, Nola and Fried might actually pitch in the first half!

90- Korey Lee RC

286- Ezequiel Duran

PACK 2-

53- Dylan Cease

236- Shane McClanahan

Two pitchers who had incredible 2022s start us off. I really hope Cease can sustain this. McClanahan too, but, y'know, division rival.

232- Ian Happ

13- Giovanny Gallegos

163- Miguel Vargas RC

21- Max Scherzer

313- Cal Mitchell

Scherz is Scherz. Mitchell I saw as an A-baller and have some pride in, even if he's not very good in the majors so far.

74- Tarik Skubal

171- Mychal Givens. I'll say this, the reliever presence in this set seems like an improvement.

132- Gavin Sheets

204- Manuel Margot

269- Steven Matz

182- Nick Pratto

68- William Contreras

Pratto's rookie is a decent pull. Contreras' is a great card even if it is already outdated.

66- Brandon Crawford

154- Jonathan Aranda

Home Field Advantage Bryce Harper.

I...had a reaction to this one. Didn't think I'd end up pulling one of these, so the fact that I do and it's the hometown superstar is...a huge deal. I love so much of this card. Rocky's boxing gloves, man. Penn and Franklin. As a Philadelphian, I wholeheartedly approve. As a Phils collector, I'm even more grateful. 

88T insert of Matthew Liberatore

Stars of MLB Rafael Devers

Stars of MLB Gerrit Cole

I still don't exactly see the point of bringing the rookies that aren't sure bets into the inserts but Topps is doing their thing. Good to get a Cole, seeing as he was on the mound when I was in Tampa [more on that later].

303- Checklist

190- Checklist

326- Checklist

I mean, the checklists do at least point out how well-done the photography in this set is. I just think the contractually-obligated MLB logo takes away from it a bit.

4 dupes from last pack including the Harris RC

191- Caleb Smith, who I believe just got demoted by the Pirates, which is an insult in itself.

49- Mitch Haniger

276- David MacKinnon

45- Gerrit Cole

87- Ethan Small RC

There's Cole again, given his own hero number. 

296- Cristian Pache

67- Travis Swaggerty RC

110- Randal Grichuk

So, not especially showy save for that Harper insert, but a nice array of base and fun details from this set. I'll try to get more when I can, and I'll see if I can build team sets and get the guys I collect. There's fun ideas here, and I think Topps can survive on this for the rest of the year. 

Notes from the Retail Shelves: 2022 Topps Series One

 

I'd lost hope.

It was April. APRIL. And not only had I yet to find any 2022 Heritage in the wild, I hadn't found any 2022 Topps FLAGSHIP in the wild. The retail shelves were shrugging their shoulders every time I came by, January til March. And I, obviously, was getting discouraged. Worried that I'd have to get all my cards online again this year. Heck, I placed an order from Topps's site for a few Heritage blasters, already thinking none of them would get to Target.

And so yesterday I wound up at Target. And finally, out of the blue...there it was. Not just flagship. LOTS of flagship. I was worried if there'd be anything, there'd be like one of something. No, there were dozens of rack packs. I didn't feel bad in taking three. And I threw in a blaster as well, because lord knows when I was gonna find anymore. 

I present to you now, my findings, from 3 rack packs and a blaster of Topps Series 1. A lot of this product has been heralded to you already, so I'm sticking to the highlights.

Pack 1- My 'first card of the year' was not only a hometown hero, but a perennial favorite of mine in Didi Gregorius, former Yankee hero. This is also a beautiful shot and a great hero moment for Didi in Philly. Glad I got it so soon.

What I noticed pretty soon off the bat here was the excellent photography, even in the team cards. No much character, so much 'picture of a moment' stuff that I love. The Dodgers CL one is the best of these.

I surprisingly didn't find many parallels at all in these, but two out of three of them were in this opening rack pack. The Elieser Hernandez is an unnumbered blue parallel, seeded 1 in 10 packs. The IKF gold, numbered to 2022 as usual, is now seeded 1 in 38. They're printing more cards now, because the demand is great enough, so the gold parallels are even rarer. Which means it's cooler that I not only pulled one, but pulled one of a current Yankee. 

The inserts are...Topps inserts. Our reprint du jour is, once again, 1987 Topps. These don't even have the fun cardstock of the 2017 iterations, and instead have the same as the last few flagship reprint inserts. Stars of MLB is, what I can gather, the 1-per-pack multi-centric insert this year. I prefer when it was something like Turkey Red, or even the multi-reprint ones from last year. Bichette's is the first of two images of his Canada Day duds in this set.

Pretty cool photography all around, honestly. Like the Moose one a lot. Also, glad to see MV3 get a true hero card.

Rack Pack 2- Yeah, these horizontals are wonderful. Tatis's reaction in that first one is great. I love the Bichette, again incorporating the red Canada Day duds in there.

I....pulled an SP. 

Pack 2 of the whole thing, here's an SP, it's Hank Aaron. SPs are seeded 1 in 112 packs, so I definitely beat the odds there. Usually when I pull SPs, it's either something esoteric that I don't care about or it's something incredible that I can't believe. Here, it is definitely the latter. Short Print of one of the greatest baseball players of all time, just...hanging out in one of my packs. And I don't think this was even the best 2022 Series One had to offer for me this time out. 

Inserts. Willie Mays heard Hank Aaron showed up and wanted to help the cause.

I shit on Topps for having early print schedules, but at least they can finally deliver these new uniforms eventually. That's a wonderful throwback shot for Galvis [I wanna know if that was taken at the game I was at, which was a Throwback Thursday night], and good to finally put a cap on the Starling the A era before the Mets issues come flooding in.

Rack Pack 3- More incredible photography, and another lovely Bryce to go along with it.

SPEAKING OF BRYCE, HERE HE IS AGAIN. Keep in mind, I already enjoyed pulling cards of him before the MVP, I love it more now. Always a believer. 

Kinda cool that Topps did a final tribute for Ryan Zimmerman. Mr. Nat may not have too much of a Hall of Fame case, but he was hella fun to see play.

Alright, now the blaster packs. I'll show the highlights for each one.

Pack 1- Burger could be a big piece of this new White Sox team. Alcides Escobar looks so happy to be on an active roster again. I like that Topps is returning to foil inserts, it gives passe ideas like 2021's Greatest Hits and Stars of MLB a bit more pop. Not complaining about pulling an Ohtani insert. 

Pack 2- Even the relatively normal looking cards just look cool in this one. Kind of like a 1993 or 1995 Topps quality. Something just pops, y'know? Hoy Park may not have much to do with the Pirates this year, but...to be fair, he wouldn't have much to do with the Yankees if he'd stayed.

Great horizontals. Will this be Gardy's final sendoff? I don't know if anyone's gonna sign him this offseason. Heck of a career, though. To me, he felt like Roy White 2.0. 

A Kershaw insert, and my blaster-exclusive manu-patch thingy that used to get its own pack. And it's a Red Sox. Topps, honestly...what the hell am I gonna do with these? They're thick and take up space. 

Pack 3- JT being JT, a cool shot of Ben Gamel, an 87T insert of Jackie Robinson, and a Vladdie insert. Nothing too bad here.

Pack 4- I liked this pack a lot. Rookie for scoreless 2021 hero Luis Gil, a Chapman base card, a Home Run Challenge card of a guy that's gonna hit a lot of home runs for the Yankees, Joey Gallo, and an insert of a fun up and comer Ke'Bryan Hayes.

And then...

So...I may have reacted to this one.

This is...a Mother's Day Hot Pink parallel of Mike Trout. It is numbered to 50, and seeded 1 in 1,519 packs. This is a card that, given to a collector who actually knows how to time the card market and sell things on eBay, might be worth a great deal of money.

...so what the hell am I to do with it?

This is a wonderful card of an all-timer, low-numbered and worth probably a lot of money. I'm not eBay educated, and with a large number of similar-caliber stuff hanging around my collection, I really should be. It's worth researching, I suppose. But yeah, this card floored me when I pulled it. Little to no topping that.

Pack 5- One more Yankee, and some par-for-the-course stuff. Kinda puzzled as to why Welcome to the Show isn't foil-based like some of the other inserts.

Pack 6- Hey guys I pulled a Wander rookie

Double dose of Yelich in this pack, which is all well and good. The Acuna chrome is also a nice touch.

Pack 7- Some more great photography, big names, and an 87T of a Hall of Famer round out the blaster.

So yeah. Target did a lot of help in making sure I finally got some 2022 Topps. I like this set, and I think there's a lot going on design-wise and insert-wise that's cool, despite the usual autopilot tendencies. I also pulled a short print of a Hall of Famer and a pink parallel of a future Hall of Famer. So yeah, did pretty well.

I also got a blaster of heritage. That's up tomorrow. 

Fanaticized

 

I didn't post about the MLBPA license acquisition by Fanatics last fall because I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it, and therefore what to say about it. Part of it was, for the first time ever as a collector, I wasn't sure what the future held for the hobby.

I started collecting in 2007, as I've discussed, and I knew full well how far the hobby had come. I'd gone through my dad's collection, watching Topps' 70s and 80s run be eventually joined by Fleer, Donruss and Upper Deck, I traced the overproduction boom in the 90s to the premium, multi-tier collecting market in the mid-2000s, and I enjoyed having the selection of Topps and Upper Deck products. Then, in 2010, I saw Topps become the top dog, and promptly go on auto-pilot, once UD would lose their license. Some things in the last decade I didn't see coming, like Panini's more creative ideas without a license, or the total collapse of the retail market in 2020 thanks to stir-crazy prospectors, but I could always point to what I knew, or what was constant.

And as it stood with the license acquisition, after 2022 there wasn't going to be anything constant. Which I had problems with.

I...don't think I've ever talked about this on here, but I've spent most of my life living with autism, and taking in the therapies and behavioral ideas in order to fit in with everyone else. One of the things I've always had troubles with is changes in routine. If something has been one way for as long as I can remember and just suddenly changes without much leeway, I had troubles with that. I point to whenever a website I use often changes its interface, or when a process I've been relying on for some time changes or ends and I have to pick up something new. And I'm working on my response to this, and I always manage, but...it's difficult. 

I will say, though, that one of the few times change excites me is when it's tied to collecting. When I get to see cards of people in new uniforms, especially if they're only known to me in one primary uniform, it's insanely cool. Or seeing the first few cards of a new product. That's something I've always enjoyed. 

The point is that all my life, I've had Topps releases every year, things to look forward to with that. And with the Fanatics licensing acquisition, I wasn't sure what would be waiting for me on shelves. The silver lining is that Fanatics would improve distribution, as evidenced by their merch sales, but what would Fanatics Baseball be? What would the cards look like? What idea men would be on that? Would it in any way resemble the feeling of opening Topps cards? And I say this as someone who's been very critical of Topps ever since having the universal license. Yes, Topps has made some mistakes, but I'd still be sad if they weren't producing cards. 

Which is why yesterday's news, that Fanatics would be buying Topps, its facilities and its employees, as a total absorption of the brand and the company, came as something of a relief.

I mean, yes, any sort of corporate takeover is bad. Corporations becoming too big and too powerful is something that's already spelled doom for the film industry, and I have opinions on the weight of corporations vs. the weight of the average worker that I'm clearly not gonna get into here for fear of alienating even more of the fanbase [hey, remember the guy who called me a shit writer during the month where I was afraid I wouldn't be making any more customs?]. It's kinda similar to the Rob Manfred conundrum, with the big people with money having too much leverage over the players. 

But...Topps has enough people on the inside who know what they're doing. Enough products, like Stadium Club, Heritage, Big League and Archives, prove that there's some level of creativity, knowledge of past successes, and design smarts. And hopefully with the collaboration with Fanatics's main idea men, there will be some modicum of collaboration and improving current concepts. Fanatics can use Topps' people to figure out how to make good baseball products, Topps can use Fanatics' people to make better new ideas and to get products in hands faster. 

The other bit of this that people have rightfully gotten excited over is the return of the football and basketball licenses to Topps, and the potential return of Topps Football and Topps Basketball. As flawed as both licenses became in Topps' hands, they have the potential to try again in a more lucrative card market. As sad as it was that Topps didn't get to produce rookies of Pat Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Devonta Smith, imagine the big rookies yet to come that Topps will be able to make cards of. 

There is obviously the potential for drawbacks. The continued lack of a licensed competitor could make for even more diminishing returns. There could be a lot more of the same behaviors, like the continued stagnation of printing deadlines, pushing back product release dates, and harebrained creative decisions. The only thing this acquisition could change is just who holds the money bag. 

And there's always the lingering question of 'what kind of collector will Fanatics be marketing to?' This is still a hobby ruled by eBay flippers and mojo sellers who use cards like cryptocurrency. And while I do think there is merit in selling big money cards [I need to figure out eBay, I have a ton of stuff I could make good money off of], it can't be the whole hobby. Topps, and Fanatics, needs to remember the collectors who are just team collectors, or player collectors, or, if you're me, even more specific types of collecting. 

I sincerely hope that this acquisition deal leads to a long and prosperous run, that revitalizes the hobby, levels things back to equilibrium, and makes a majority of collectors happy. I know there's not a high probability of that happening, but it's nice to dream. 

Two Hanger Boxes of 2021 Topps Update

 I rounded the aisle to check for gift cards for the holidays and I had to triple-take.

The Target stock clerk. METICULOUSLY CURATING THE CARD AISLE SHELVES. Immaculately organizing the Update, the Archives boxes, the assorted basketball stuff. In a way I had not seen since before I left for college. I was floored. Not only was there product at a retail store, but there was LOTS of it. I couldn't believe it.

As I grabbed my hanger boxes, I thanked him. "It's good to see product back here. It's been a long few months." And I went on my way.

I grabbed a blaster of Archives, which I've already broke a box of for here, and this one didn't yield much else [I did get a Brian Anderson silver parallel #'d to 99, which...of course I would]. I also grabbed two hanger boxes of Update, because, HEY, IT'S DECEMBER AND I HAVEN'T BROKEN ANY UPDATE YET. GADZOOKS.

Here are the results. I'll do what I usually do and point out which players changed uniforms again by the end of the season, because the deadlines for this set are unreasonably early now.

Box 1-

225- Corey Knebel

28- Manuel Margot

231- Travis Blankenhorn

167- Juan Lagares. Thrilling stuff

179- David Phelps

79- Tatis/Cronenworth combo. So...the combo cards aren't checklists. They're set filler...in a set where the ASG cards are now inserts? WHY?

314- Liam Hendriks. 

22- Maikel Franco. The amount of goodwill wasted on this guy by Phils fans, has to be through the roof.

264- Jonathan Loaisiga. Thank god they did this guy

52- Kluber no-no CL. Yes, there were so many no-hitters that Topps had to do combo cards aside from them. On the bright side, this card exists.

282- Lance Lynn

246- Brent Honeywell. Has been traded, but after the season.

190- Rony Garcia

224- Steve Cishek. They've...done pretty well so far.

305- Bryan Garcia

287- BoSox combo card featuring the city connect unis

255- Jake Lamb. THERE WE GO. Outdated Update #1, finished the season with the Blue Jays

103- Kyle Finnegan. Annoyed with all these rookie listings for people who had substantial 2020 numbers

36- Wade Miley no-no CL.

13- Chance Sisco. Outdated Update #2, waived by the Mets IN JUNE. WE'RE THAT EARLY??

249- Jarred Kelenic RD. Okay, at least this exists

242- Dillon Tate

51- Roel Ramirez, the guy who gave up 4 straight home runs in 2020. SEEMS RIPE FOR 2021 UPDATE.

163- Spencer Turnbull no-no CL

278- Chris Rodriguez

34- Tyler Naquin

93- Corey Ray

328- Yu Chang

84- Bailey Ober.

238- Trevor Rosenthal ORANGE #'d to 299. That's right, a parallel base card of a player who didn't even play for the team depicted in 2021, due to injures. Thanks, Topps.

ASG Insert of Jake Cronenworth. Yes, an insert...of an ASG base card...of a player depicted NOT in the ASG. The deadline is too damned early.

Topps Cards That Never Were insert of Alex Rodriguez from 1994. I like the concept of this one. Hope it doesn't render my Should Have Been set too moot

86T insert of Jonathan India

92T insert of Randy Arozarena, the [sigh] ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.

92T insert of AARON JUDGE

92T insert of GIANCARLO STANTON. Double Yankee fun,

92T insert of Christian Yelich

33- Marcus Semien. Not outdated by the construct of this.

194- Miguel Castro, a good, smart relief choice by Topps

88- Victor Caratini

25- Chi Chi Gonzalez

316- Patrick Wisdom, thank god. NOT A ROOKIE CARD THOUGH.

61- Marvin Gonzalez. Outdated Update #3, finished the season with Houston

178- Ryan Weathers RD

283- Sergio Romo. 

174- Mario Feliciano

164- Andrew Knapp

41- Alex Kirilloff RD. Thrilling stuff

18- Billy Hamilton. GOOD. HE GETS A BASE CARD. GREAT!

30- Brock Holt, PRINTED UPSIDE DOWN ON THE BACK. Ughhhh.

26- Taijuan Walker, also printed upside down on the back

166- Chris Gittens. [loud sigh]

171- Matt Moore

105- Chad Kuhl, yeah, the Bucs' Opening Day starter didn't make Flagship

20- Josh Staumont

66- James Paxton

117- Hirokazu Sawamura

92- Tyler Stephenson RD

228- Dylan Moore, who, thanks to Adam Frazier, is now out of a job

19- Chase Anderson

67- Angel Rondon

120- Seth Brown

138- Will Harris

136- Nate Lowe

75- Kyle Funkhowser

236- Ross Stripling. Also should have been in Flagship

131- Jon Berti. Ditto

Box #2-

6 dupes

23- Jake Cave. Why wasn't HE in Flagship?

113- Aaron Civale. Okay. Another person who was definitely relevant enough in early 2021 to be featured in flagship. Why leave people out? Because it's easier to just do a Series 3 than actually do an Update Series? CHANGE THE NAME.

147- Luis Torrens

245- Gilberto Celestino

158- Darin Ruf. I'm just glad they remembered to make a Darin Ruf card at all

326- Aaron Fletcher

311- Jake Arrieta. Outdated Update #4, finished with San Diego

268- Geraldo Perdomo

189- Jeff Hoffman

260- Owen Miller RC. Oh yeah, he made his debut this year, forgot about that

139- Jake Odorizzi

250- Alec Bohm RD. DON'T...REMIND...ME.

90- Joe Kelly

63- Casey Mize RD

3 dupes

273- Mike Minor

148- Daniel Vogelbach. He was...he was with the team in January, why's he in Update? This set frustrates me.

175- Ha-Seong Kim RD

211- Luis Patino

140- Andrew Vaughn RD

196- Akil Baddoo RC. Okay, at least they got him

ASG insert of Fernando Tatis Jr.

70 Years of Topps insert of Christian Yelich in the 87T design

86T insert of Mookie Betts

92T insert of Ian Anderson

92T insert of Kyle Lewis

TWO 92T DUPES. JEEZ

186- Sixto Sanchez RD

128- Rich Hill. Outdated Update #5, ended the year with the Mets

144- Mariners combo

172- Giovanny Gallegos

150- Zack Wheeler. HOW DID HE NOT HAVE A FLAGSHIP BASE CARD? WHAT IS GOING ON??

58- Austin Dean

12- Nick Gordon RC

243- Lane Thomas. Outdated Update #6, traded to the Nats

46- Ryan McKenna

237- Will Craig. EVEN THE GUY WHO BOTCHED THE BAEZ PLAY GETS A CARD? Wow.

TEN DUPES

89- Brad Hand. Outdated Update #7, ended year with Mets

35- Joe Musgrove no-no CL

54- Yoshi Tsutsugo. Outdated Update #8, waived by the Pirates in July.

233- Nick Anderson. BARELY PLAYED THIS YEAR AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN FLAGSHIP.

149- Travis Shaw. Outdated Update #9, ended year with Red Sox

218- Connor Brogdon

43- Franklyn Kilome

160- Erik Gonzalez

253- Steven Duggar

325- Chris Archer

Man this set's a mess. A few cool things here, some actual needed cards, but a lot of making up for flagship while also failing as an Update set. This set has been flawed since 2019, ever since the deadline for this set was moved up to June, and ever since MLB laws have made rookies not count after then. This set needs to be seriously rethought, though it probably won't seeing as Fanatics isn't far off.

FINALLY SOME RETAIL: 2 Rack Packs and a Blaster of 2021 Topps Heritage

 Topps cards in retail stores have officially pulled the Nanny McPhee line. When I want cards, but do not need them, they won't be there. But when I need cards, but do not want them, they will be. It's rather sad, really, but there it is.

So every week I'd desperately scour the Target or Wal-Mart shelves hoping for some relevant card product to be there, and nothing ever was. Again and again and again. And so today, as I went to Target for some other things, I didn't expect to find any cards.

And suddenly there some were. On the exact opposite side of the standee as I was used to. A few blasters and rack packs of Heritage, alongside some stragglers from flagship and Opening Day.

Actual cards. New cards. That I could buy. Who could imagine?

The aisles weren't really being policed, so I was able to walk away with a blaster and two rack packs. There was more than enough left that it didn't exactly feel like robbery or anything. But still, I didn't have to go online for Heritage, it was just there. 

I'll cover the rack packs, then the blaster. I'd been excited for this year's Heritage as well, as 1972 Topps is a set I do have some fondness for.

Pack 1-

321- Joey Wendle. A Yankee fan pulling a 2020 Ray as the first out of a product is too on-the-nose

391- J.D. Davis. As is a Phillie fan pulling a Met second

210- Devin Williams. One earned run in 22 innings...and so far in 3 innings he's allowed two so far. Interesting. 

133- Danny Jansen. We've so far gotten lots of teams that oppose ones I root for, none of the actual ones yet.

201- Ryan McBroom. Okay, very funny, a former Yankee farmhand. Seriously, guys. I know I'm getting a bunch of Yankees cause I claimed the Yanks in Nachos Grande's last Heritage break, but COME ON now.

154- Framber Valdez. Still not funny.

319- Chad Kuhl, something resembling an ace in Pittsburgh this year

316- Jeff McNeil

78- Brian Anderson

New Age Performers insert of Kyle Lewis. These look cool this year.

185- Mountcastle/Dalbec RC. Figures

365- CY YOUNG AWARD. Also figures

161- Dexter Fowler, already A.) on the Angels and B.) out for the season, but how would they have known?

297- Jose Ramirez. The amount of wider posed shots is giving me throwbacks to 2007 Heritage. Not sure if that's a good thing or not

116- Tommy Milone. I forget if he made the Jays or not.

359- Taylor Williams

363- THERE WE GO. Yanks rookies. Nick Nelson's a relief favorite, Miguel Yajure's a lower-tier prospect, and Albert Abreu has been lights-out so far this season

'167- Mookie Betts. High-tier star card- check.

53- Austin Hays

190- Albert Pujols IA. Shouldn't be much of a surprise that I love the In Action subset in this set

Pack 2-

103- Paul Goldschmidt

68- Carson Kelly. Lol, these two were traded for each other..

261- Tyson Miller/Jimmy Lambert RC

33- Luis Robert. One of the big to-get cards in this set

226- Austin Riley

111- Kyle Tucker

64- Spencer Turnbull

118- A.J. Puk. Lot of commons-y guys so far

47- Shane Bieber. Alright, there's the Cy Young winner.

228- James Karinchak

136- Mike Yastrzemski IA. 

204- Kenta Maeda

21- Tatis Postseason Highlights card. 

331- Danny Duffy

182- Max Scherzer IA. Lot less to say about this grouping, honestly

377- Anthony Santander

134- Evan White RC IA. You know, if Topps had banked on White instead of Jake Fraley last year, we would not be getting Evan White rookie cards in 2021. 

2- Max Muncy. 

294- Bo Bichette IA, not bad at all

346- James McCann. The McCann-Mets deal happened in December. This set went to print before December????

And now the blaster:

Pack 1-

105- Pete Fairbanks. So no matter which I broke first, I would have pulled a Ray first.

187- Jo Adell/Nick Madrigal RC. Not bad

245- Shohei Ohtani. Kinda love this shot

2 dupes from last pack

New Age Performers of Alex Verdugo

402- Shed Long. Shed Long got short print status? Hmm.

298- Jose Ramirez IA.

278- Adam Eaton. Man, if the print date wasn't so damn early Topps could have just got a posed shot from 2016 to throw in here rather than still being wrong.

Pack 2-

125- Nick Castellanos

280- Gio Gonzalez, who has already retired

11- SPENCER HOWARD/ALEC BOHM RC. Not bad for the hometown team.

236- Kevin Pillar. If anything, this does ensure that Pillar will have some cards as Rockie..

295- Dylan Carlson/Evan White RC

182- Scherzer IA again

183- Trea Turner

108- Miguel Cabrera IA

232- Trent Grisham

Pack 3-

371- Gregory Polanco

231- Robbie Grossman pre-Tigers

374- Ender Inciarte

239- CUUUUUUUUTCH!

237- Eduardo Escobar

242- Brandon Lowe IA. I'll say it again, I'm glad Topps had fun with the In Action subset in this one

139- Kyle Schwarber

22- Mike Brosseau Postseason highlight

381- Evan Longoria

Pack 4-

249- GERRIT COLE

334- Randy Dobnak, former Uber driver

97- Ke'Bryan Hayes/Jose Garcia RC. Very nice

333- Sean Manaea

314- Nolan Arenado IA. As per the theme, not a new uniform.

340- Jurickson Profar

478- Ramon Laureano. Now THERE'S an apt subject for a short print..

174- Cody Bellinger IA

198- Josh Donaldson

Pack 5-

3 dupes from pack 1

212- Dominic Smith's mighty swing

265- Boyhood Photos of Jesus Luzardo. Glad they brought this back as well

203- Hunter Dozier

72 Flashbacks- Golden Gate Bridge welcomes the public. Thrilling.

40- Freddie Freeman IA

353- Justus Sheffield

Pack 6-

133- Danny Jansen

173- Cody Bellinger, very nice

26- World Series Game 1- Mookie Betts. I feel like there's a Dodger blogger who's been excited for these.

362- Austin Slater

354- Rick Porcello. I don't think anybody signed Porcello this year, and 5 years removed from the Cy Young as well..

357- Kelbert Ruiz/Mitch White RC. Dodger-friendly pack

9- Miguel Rojas

149- Boyhood Photos/RC of Ryan Mountcastle. Not bad

360- Tanner Houck/Sam Huff RC

Pack 7-

305- Charlie Blackmon

8- Rio Ruiz

157- Brett Anderson

359- Eric Thames. Despite him not playing in the bigs this year, I'm happy to pull cards of him

267- Boyhood Photos of Whit Merrifield

256- Victor Reyes

427- David Fletcher, another subject worthy of a short print

148- Spencer Howard RC/Boyhood Photos. A good one of these to pull

66- Asdrubal Cabrera

Pack 8-

41- Willson Contreras

396- Yasmani Grandal. 2 straight Chicago catchers

222- Blake Treinen

247- Justin Verlander, who'll hopefully turn up eventually this year

329- Gregory Soto

46- Joey Votto IA

A 72 Die-Cut insert of Casey Mize. Still thinking he'll be a big star once he gets used to the majors. 

263- Yu Darvish, still a Cub

135- Mike Yastrzemski. Very classy

So yeah, I'm liking Heritage so far, printing deadline woes aside. It looks great, it feels great, and doesn't feel like a waste of retail space. Doubting I'll find any more in the wild, but you never know. 

Two Blasters Full of 2021 Topps Series One [Part Two]

 

Yesterday I showed off the first of two blasters of 2021 Topps Series 1 that finally arrived for me. Today, we're tackling the second. 

I don't like manupatches, at all, but getting a Seaver this year is pretty special. So that's something.

Pack 1- Pretty cool base stuff here, what with Yelich and Kersh. I also like the Buxton photo.

A final tribute for the great Howie Kendrick, and a second-year card for Luis Robert. Not bad at all.

My inserts- My 52 is Alex Bregman, who I'm still not a big fan of. And my 86 is Pete Alonso, who I hope rebounds this year.

We finish off tiwh some AL Central infielders, Verlander, and that sweet, sweet Deivi Garcia rookie. 

Pack 2- More standard base, though star power in the form of Posey, Vlad Jr., Lindor and Pujols.

Got a pretty well marked gold card, but it's of Brendan McKay, a two-way player who the Rays aren't sure what to do with.

Double 52 goodness- Yelich is a chrome parallel, Chapman's is a regular. Very cool.

Remainder of base stuff. Galvis and Means are now on the same team.

Pack 3- It became clear here that this blaster was organized differently than the previous one. Here, the horizontals went before the inserts, not after. Strange. Still, happy to pull Bryce and pre-Phils Bradley. 

That 52 Scherz ain't bad. Stars in Service is a very boring insert set. 

And we finish up with 3 rookies and Justin Dunn. Bart is a nice one, though.

Pack 4- Hoskins was my highlight, but Doolittle has a great photo, and that Arcia dab card is kinda charming.

Severino is an unnumbered foil shiny card, which...fine. And that Bo 52 is a nice one.

Some standard base stuff. Tim Anderson is looking at another nice year, I hope.

Pack 5- Here the dupes from box 1 began to trickle in, all those on the right. So it took away from needs like Judge and that sweet Verdugo shot.

These weren't dupes though- Tatis looks great on this design, and I like the weekend kelly green A's unis matching up with the 86 design.

DJ and some Reds, though only AG is still with the team. Also, that AG shot is awesome. 

Pack 6- All of these are dupes from Box 1. Including the Yelich 52, the pack's only insert. 

These 4 were new, though. Skubal is a decent KC pitching prospect, and Bo is Bo.

Pack 7- more dupes. Topps' collation can't even wait one single purchase in order to disappoint me.

My 70 Years of Topps was one I don't have a ton of use for, since I don't collect Will Clark. Looks moderately cool here, like a 90s Topps Magazine punch-out

Devers looks cool in 52, though.

And we end on some AL east players and a Rockie. 

So yeah, that's 2021 Topps. It's fine. Perfectly functional. It'd be held in better regard if the real collectors could find any of it in the wild, but even then I don't see a lot of us buying more than a few packs. I'll be hunting for amusing singles and inserts from this, but if getting blasters is that much of a hassle, I don't know if I'll be able to snag more anywhere.