I Am Disappointed With the Youth of Today

 

This whole blog is the fault of little league as a concept.

I did my 6 or so years in little league, made a name for myself as a power hitter as an 8/9 year old and, once I realized how tantalizingly difficult it was to hit 12/13-year-old pitching, I became a late-lineup contact/bunt supplier. I was mostly in it for the fraternity, the social bonds, as I clearly wasn't much of an athlete. I knew I wouldn't get disciplined to death by some coach, as the coach, more often than not, was my dad. 

The perk of that was at the end of the year, he'd give all his players a pack of baseball cards as a going away gift, to keep abreast of the game ahead. These packs of 2007 Topps would be my gateway into the hobby, and an addiction that's persisted to this day.

I've kept around my old little league field because my family coaches a Challenger Baseball League, and has for 15-odd years, at the same field. So I go on back to the place where I struggled to hit it past third and get to help absolute units with autism or down syndrome or whatnot completely annihilate baseballs. It's fantastic, and I assure you, a lot of these guys are legitimate athletes with genuine talent that just happen to need help with some things here and there. 

So yesterday was the first game of the season, and I get there early to help set up, and since the little league also occupies the fields, you see remnants of other coaches and regimes in the supply area. As we were unlocking the storage closet, I saw a large rubbermaid tub filled with cheap sunglasses flanked by a wax wrapper.

1993 Fleer, Atlantic Edition. Like a hunter sniffing the footprints. Cards have been this way.

In the storage room, on the old desk with various pens and supplies and things was a cardboard container filled with about 40 or so little individual bags filled with baseball cards. Despite the Fleer wrapper, there were no 90s or junk wax oddities, as everything in these baskets was from the past year, and a coach likely strung 'em together last fall to give to his travel team athletes. 

Around here was when I, and my dad, figured out that the little league had been claiming, and taking home, helmets reserved for challenger athletes. So I thought, if they're gonna leaf through our stuff...and if these baseball cards are gonna be sitting here...

Here's where I mention that this isn't the first time some coach has left cards around there. A couple years ago there were some random 2019 Bowman singles, including rookies of Adolis Garcia and Pete Alonso. Some morally-minded person would call this theft. The way these cards were strewn out in this box yesterday, they weren't being well kept, and you could just feel this dirt grit to a lot of them. 

This wasn't robbery. This was a rehoming. I was giving these cards a good home, where nobody would throw dirt on them or leave them in a box at a little league field again. 

The majority of this was from 2022 Update, a set I bought tantalizingly few cards from anyhow. There was only one outlier, that being the 2022 A&G Jack Suwinski card that heads the post. Nothing from 2023, as, again, this must have been last fall. 

I reckon this wasn't everything that landed in these packs. There weren't any inserts, there weren't any Philadelphia Phillies, and there was certainly no sign of Julio Rodriguez or Bobby Witt or any of the big money cards. Though, as evidenced by Pujols, they weren't all picked clean.

These boxes, which I didn't completely ransack as there were a lot of Henry Ramoses and Stephan Ridingses that I had no interested in, were predominantly filled with rookies. I think this coach must have known that rookies were what the kids wanted, and could hold onto. But there were a lot of veterans too, and these two, which, like most of these, were new to me, had some of the more inspired photography of Topps' recent eras.

All of these were needs for me. Bassitt, Ruf and Cutch have already moved on, but these are at least good portraits of them. Joc's City Connect uni is pretty cool there.

And yes, there were some rookies there that I had some interest in. As this was last fall, Bryce Elder had yet to become a big figure in the Braves' rotation, so these kids must not have had a use for him. Useful for me, for sure.

These three aren't even on these teams anymore. Sears is more of a loyalty pick than anything. But Siri and Gore are gonna be big, and have already posted excellent numbers this year. 

Whole page of rookies. Some of these aren't in great shape, admittedly Duran's has a bent corner, which isn't ideal, but these were still useful. 

Most surprisingly, there was an OMG rookie card still left in here, that of Nick Lodolo. There was a Hunter Greene as well, but I already pulled two of those last year. Lodolo is sharp, and he'll probably have the longer career of the two. If the kids aren't gonna want a genuinely good rookie card, I guess I'll take it.

As I went about the day of Challenger games, I couldn't help but notice a few of the empty plastic bags that I'd seen in the storage room lying around on the field, or a corner of a pack flittering in the breeze. I thought about how grateful I was 15 years back to get packs of cards, and how I tried to trade with my teammates and value the star cards, and now I see that the kids of today either want the really ritzy stuff from cards or they don't care. Julio or bust. And so to see the unorganized, occasionally dinged mess that I sifted through was disheartening, but not surprising. Not every kid growing up now has that collecting gene, I guess, and not every kid sees the hobby like I've grown to see it.

Still, if they're not gonna value the occasional cards, I guess collectors like me will have to. 

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.

Diamond in the Rough

I lampshaded this yesterday, but...2019 Topps Update makes me sad.

With all this time, resources and personnel on this product, it STILL ends up being a really disappointing affair. The inserts are mailed-in, the base set must have been finalized in mid-July, and after last year's improvement in so many ways, this set feels like another step backward in a long line of them for Topps.

Yet, because of my desire to achieve copious amounts of traded players to fuel my neurosis, I went back today to get two more hanger boxes of the product.

I'm not posting the full results, because...90% of the two boxes were made up cards I had already pulled in last week's break. In the exact same order. Both hanger boxes were almost identical to each other. I must have 4 copies of the Skye Bolt card by now. It was a progressively saddening card-opening experience. This might be the worst-collated set Topps has ever put out, and I'm not gonna find out if this is the only card combination you can pull from Update, because I'm gonna get the rest of my base needs at card shows, or CardBarrel or whatever.

There was, however, one card worthy of showing. And it was a good enough pull to ALMOST make me happy I'd gone with this purchase. Almost.

On paper, this doesn't look like much. If anything, it looks like everything that's wrong with Topps Update from a design standpoint. This insert set is yet another iteration of the Topps Salute mega-set that they've been running through flagship products for the past 3 years. A lot of the times in card show 10 cent bins, I'll see these mixed in as well, because you can't exactly charge more for a card this un-insertlike.

I could get into a whole rant about the de-evolution of the insert card, or the fact that only sets like Stadium Club, or even Big League, make Inserts truly pop these days, but...I'm tired.

The other thing I don't like about modern Topps inserts is the use of color parallels that don't mean anything. Some Topps inserts just have a differently-hued border. Does it mean it falls rarer than other inserts? Not really. Does it mean it's numbered? Nope. Does it mean ANYTHING? No. Not at all.

So seeing this Pettitte card, which is already kinda cool as it commemorates his post-retirement 2-year stint with the Yankees, and noticing its red border, rather than the usual gold with this insert set, I wasn't expecting much.

Which honestly helps with Update. Go in with low-to-no expectations. And then flip it over anyway:

My, that foil stamping scanned well.

This is probably the lowest-numbered card I've ever pulled out of a pack. I need to check my game-used ones to see if any of them are less than 10, but...I've never pulled a 1/10 before, and the fact that it's...a legendary pitcher...and a legendary member of my team...is even cooler. Like, usually when I pull low-numbered cards, they're all Cardinals. This is a VERY nice change of pace.

Besides that, it was nice to finally get a base card of Hunter Pence as a Ranger, though I would have preferred only pulling one copy of it. But...amongst all the crap that came from this box, at least I got one really cool card from it. Which, I guess, is enough.

11 Blaster Packs of 2019 Topps Update Series

Well, quite obviously, I'm not getting a hobby box of Update this year.

This is the deal I have with Topps. If they actually put traded players in their sets, and not just the ones from January that should have been in flagship, but the ones from July that Update used to be full of, I'll get a hobby box. If not, I'll get a few retail packs, and just find singles of the other base cards I want. This is what happened in 2017, when they balked the traded players and kept the big one, Yu Darvish, to a short print. And this is what they've done in 2019. Yasiel Puig is the only player in a July-on uniform, and that's also a short print.

So, I got two blasters today, and that may be the most of the retail sales they'll get from me. So, fourteen packs...and three of them were EXACT REPLICAS of other packs in this break. Collation is so bad now that exact packs are repeating themselves. So those three will not be shown here (I might mention the inserts), but the first eleven certainly will.

Guaranteed Manu-Patch Cards: Warren Spahn & JD Martinez

Pack 1-
85- Robbie Grossman, quietest DH in baseball
95- Nick Senzel Rookie Debut. I really don't think they need to do these.
124- Raimel Tapia
63- Trent Thornton RC. There's something people actually wanted from this set, rather than roster pieces that were kinda set in January and BS-set-fillers.
163- Miguel Castro. Another thing Update should be used for- relievers. I wanna see more of these, and less filler cards.
89- Carlos Santana ASG GOLD #'D TO 2019. Nice pick for a gold card
84T insert of Jon Duplantier. Man, they really doubled down on this guy.
Bryce Harper Welcome to Philly insert. Okay, so...as much as I enjoy Bryce-Phillies stuff...lemme ask you this. Topps has done these player-centric inserts for Judge, Bellinger, Torres and Ohtani, and now Bellinger. What happens if a big-mojo rookie comes into a no-market baseball city like Miami or Detroit?
205- Darwinzon Hernandez
203- Wilmer Flores
78- MIKE FORD RC. Okay, NOW I'm happy. If Ford's rookie wasn't in here, I woulda revolted. Though, Ford being here and Alvarez not being here, even if Alvarez debuted earlier, is VERY fishy
195- Nick Hundley
87- Willson Contreras ASG
92- George Springer ASG

Pack 2-
182- Andrew Knizner
123- Justus Sheffield RC
294- Josh Fuentes. Lots of rookies who were big in like May
282- Nate Eovaldi
236- Adam Ottavino. Alright, now I'm happy
65- Brad Hand ASG
Reds History insert of Johnny Bench. I kinda love they're doing this, as the Reds don't get a ton of love as is
187- CURTIS GRANDERSON 150-stamped.
115- Pedro Avila
262- Pete Alonso HRD. At the very least, this card is great.
296- Dan Vogelbach ASG
177- JP Crawford. It looks suspiciously like Topps PD's out the Spring Training patch
46- Tanner Roark. Outdated Update #1- Roark finished the season in Oakland
66- JT Realmuto. WOOOO

Pack 3-
170- Michael Chavis RC, which is nice
110- Marwin Gonzalez. This is a very nice card
211- Skye Bolt
132- Neil Walker
248- Ryan Helsley
137- Hansel Robles, which is a MUCH-NEEDED Update Series card
270- Homer Bailey. Outdated Update #2. Bailey also finished the season in Oakland.
27- JD Hammer SHINY.
165- Dwight Smith Jr.
275- Brandon Kintzler, who had a great season in relief for Chicago
286- Luis Cessa. Yeah, I'm fine with the excess relievers, except for the unneeded rookie ones
151- Mookie Betts ASG
214- Zack Britton. Ottavino and Britton in 2 packs. Nicely done
58- JT Realmuto ASG. Annd 2 Realmutos in 2 packs.

Pack 4-
108- Cole Irvin
277- Luke Weaver
199- Will Smith RC. This one looks nice.
184- Travis D'Arnaud. Very satisfying that this guy stayed healthy this year.
37- Tim Beckham and his 50-game suspension
194- Max Muncy ASG. Nice looking card, too
Perennial All-Stars of Sandy Koufax
Another Welcome to Philly Harper insert
103- Austin Allen
209- Justin Bour, post-awful LA season
27- JD Hammer again
134- JD Martinez ASG
292- Joe Biagini. Outdated Update #3- Biagini was traded to Houston
155- Charlie Morton, MLB's Mr. Life Begins After 30.

Pack 5-
243- Eloy Jimenez RD
153- Tyler Austin. Outdated Update #4- Austin ended 2019 in Milwaukee
295-Cavan Biggio RD
269- Craig Kimbrel as a Cub, perhaps one of the two important Update Series cards in this set
18- Christian Walker
162- Scott Alexander, sans-awesome-stache
84T insert of Carter Kieboom
202- Nicky Lopez
57- Clayton Richard
90 Blake Pakrer. Outdated Update #5, Parker was traded to Philly in July
128- GIIIOOOOOO Urshela. That's a nice inclusion
91- Ketel Marte ASG
25- Cody Bellinger ASG
47- Pete Alonso ASG. Man, imagine how much more they could do with this set if they ditched the ASG subset and made said subset a ToppsNOW exclusive thing for 40 bucks or something.

Pack 6-
240- Merrill Kelly RC. Not...necessarily a rookie
222- Martin Perez
198- Pete Alonso RD
119- Jesus Sucre. Okay, with Sucre's like 16 games in Baltimore, we did not need a card of him in this.
71- Queen City Kings. It's a Dietrich-Puig combo, and I am counting this as a Derek Dietrich card because he's featured more prominently
9- Masahiro Tanaka ASG
189- Another Combo, PACIFIC POWER, with Trout and Ohtani. Because it is called 'PACIFIC Power', I'm counting this as an Ohtani card, sort of like his Japanese-text combo card from earlier this year
Greatest Players of Alex Bregman
36- Jake Odorizzi ASG
111- Matt Festa
206- Dylan Moore
100- Austin Riley RC, which is kinda nice
152- Jordan Lyles. Outdated Update #6, Lyles went back to Milwaukee at the deadline.
72- Albert Pujols 2000 RBI Checklist

Pack 7-
139- Adam Haseley RC, which is a nice start
26- Mark Reynolds
169- Taylor Clarke RC
35- Derek Dietrich
210- Borque/Noll Combo RC
59- Jared Walsh. I love that the card credits him as a 1B/P. That is cool. I want them to do that for Michael Lorenzen
284- Clayton Kershaw ASG
1- Vladimir Guerrero...PHOTO VARIATION RC. Holy crap. This shot is of him pointing, which is different from the him-throwing RC. Photo variations are seeded 1 in 32 packs, so this is a NICE pull.
...and that is followed by...
84T AUTOGRAPH OF...Jason Martin. Yes, it's an auto of a career .270 minors hitter who played 20 games this year for Pittsburgh, but it's still a rookie autograph out of RETAIL Update. Hell, 84T autos are seeded 1 in 580 packs. FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY. So to say I beat the odds is an understatement. Hell, let's multiply 1/32 by 1/580. The odds of pulling both of these is 1 in 18,560 packs. Holy crap.
49- Mike Moustakas ASG
74- Elvis Luciano RC
259- Alex Bregman HRD
28- Oscar Mercado
24- Lucas Giolito ASG

Pack 8-
1- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RC. THIS IS THE REGULAR ONE. So...with this one, the variation, AND the variation I somehow got from S2...I now have 3 versions of Vlad's rookie card, and I'm not even a Jays fan
11- Brandon Brennan
81- Jose Iglesias
186- JR Murphy. Didn't exactly need an US card
268- Jose Berrios ASG
229- Kyle Dowdy
84T Xander Bogaerts, which is nice
Welcome to Philly Harper Insert. MORE. I know this is stupid, but MORE.
191- Brad Boxberger
120- Billy Hamilton. Outdated Update #7- Hamilton went from KC to Atlanta in August
192- Michael Chavis RD
279- Freddie Freeman ASG
232- Michael Brantley ASG
21- Melky Cabrera

Pack 9-
224- Yasmani Grandal ASG
67- Nick Ramirez
121- Asdrubal Cabrera. Outdated Update #8, left for Washington
94- Gregory Soto
213- RICHARD LOVELADY, BEST BASEBALL NAME OF THE YEAR
166- Andrew Miller
Greatest Players of Paul Molitor
265- Syndergaard's HR and Shutout CL
62- Vlad Jr. RD. Yeah, they even make a Rookie Debut card for people who's debut was listless.
187- Curtis Granderson. They knew I'd be getting these boxes, I guess
109- Carter Kieboom
106- Yasiel Puig...sadly as a Red, not an Indian
257- Josh Donaldson, who had an awesome year
271- Ronald Acuna HRD

Pack 10-
233- DJ LEMAHIEU
51- Bryan Reynolds RC
118- Freddy Galvis. COME ON. Outdated Update #9, traded to Cincinnati.
235- Alex Jackson RC. This card wasn't necessary
234- Trevor Cahill
127- Kelvin Herrera, who had a very weak year in Chicago
261- Jeff McNeil ASG
151- Mookie Betts ASG FOIL
105- Luis Rengifo RC
77- Drew Pomeranz. Outdated Update #10, ended the year in Milwaukee
237- Domingo Santana
141- Brandon Woodruff ASG
13- Yasmani Grandal ASG
83- Whit Merrifield ASG

Pack 11-
73- Peter Lambert RC
226- Ryne Harper
131- Mike Moustakas. SO...MOOSE, who must have had a base card in flagship, gets a base card HERE because he almost switched teams in the offseason, but didn't?? REALLY, TOPPS?
138- Adam Warren
117- DJ LeMahieu ASG. Awesome
183- Bird/Dowdy Rangers Rookies. WAIT, KYLE DOWDY ALREADY HAS A SOLO ROOKIE IN THIS SET. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??
Perennial All-Stars of Jose Altuve
Bryce Harper Welcome to Philly. WOO
149- Corbin Martin RC. Outdated Update #11, traded to the Diamondbacks for Zack Greinke, who's ALSO not in this in a new uniform.
52- Keston Hiura RD
56- Fernando Tatis RD
272- Vlad Jr. HRD
45- Brendan Rodgers RD
112- Josh Bell ASG. Enthralling.

And the highlights of the 3 dupe packs:
84T Insert of MARIANO RIVERA
Greatest Players of RHYS HOSKINS
213- RICHARD LOVELADY...gold #'d to 2019. Yep. My favorite baseball name of the year, in gold. I love it.

So...yeah, Topps still makes a TON of bad mistakes here, but...as an Update set, it's fine? I guess. I got some nice stuff out of it, including that INCREDIBLE Pack 7, which has gotta go among my all-time ripping achievements. But...idk if I'll go back to retail for much more. Especially if the collation's always gonna be this bad.

Box Break: 2018 Topps Update Series (Part Four)

We've got 9 packs to go in this box. We've landed some cool base cards, some cool parallels, and a shitty hit. What more could await us in the last fourth of the box? Let's find out.

 Pack 28-
2018 Playoffs: 2/10
Guys Who Strike Out Too Many Times: 2/10

 Matt Kemp at the ASG, pre-slump, along with Felipe Vazquez holding the Bucs colors by himself.

 Reynaldo Lopez didn't have a base card in flagship? Man, Topps really underestimated some people that were clearly primed for big years in 2018. And Maybin's Mariners base card looks better than his season was.

Gleyber Torres' ASG card is dynamic as hell, and Todd Frazier's 83T insert is another nice one. That may be a personal favorite in terms of inserts, as it doesn't really screw up the design.

 Pack 29-
Cool Rookies: 4/10
2018 Playoffs: 4/10

 Of this bunch of rookies, Dereck Rodriguez had the best year, but Tony Kemp had some great postseason numbers off the bench.

 Some nice NL Central arms. Harvey had the most surprising year, but Hicks' relief numbers are scary. Don't count out Musgrove, though. Guy's stuff is scary.

Hero and villain- Sevvy had great ASG-caliber stuff, while Devers' 83T insert reestablishes how promising the kid is. And he's been great in the playoffs so far.

 Pack 30-
Cards that Make me laugh: 1/10
Cards That Make Me Sad: 2/10

 ...I love this card.

 Chapman deserved that ASG spot, and Asdrubal Cabrera was a fine upgrade for a Phillies squad that underwhelmed.

 Ian Kinsler's postseason stuff isn't bad at all, but the Don't Blink insert of Kris Bryant is definitely one of the more impressive ones I've seen.

Two great shots. Stripling looks ferocious, fighting for a rotation spot. Meanwhile, this is all a walk in the park for Todd Frazier, who's already become a fan favorite in Queens.

 Pack 31-
2018 Disappointments: 3/10
Absolute Legends: 1/10

 Two guys that could have done better to prove themselves this year.

 Greene had a great year as Tigers closer, and while the choice of Ripken for Storybook Endings may be a bit on the nose, I won't be mad with another card of his.

 Soroka had a great bunch of starts before an injury took him out. J.A. Happ continued his fantastic, ASG-worthy season in Toronto...in the Bronx.

 Max Muncy has an ASG card, but no base card. No sense, Topps.
At least this Seung-Hwan Oh card looks cool.

And...this card makes me smile. Just...Bartolo Colon deserves good stuff like this.

 Pack 32-
2018 Playoffs: 3/10
Ex-Rays (HA!): 2/10

 Three guys with unlucky seasons. Drury was just getting good pre-injury.

 Longo and Moose are ones I'd been meaning to snag, and both are great. Hicks' rookie is, sigh, another one of the many Cardinals I've been cursed to land this box.

Whatever, at least Aaron Judge's ASG card saves the day.

 Pack 33-
2018 Playoffs: 4/10
Ex-Cardinals: 2/10

 Joe Jimenez looks sharp in his ASG card, while Randal Grichuk managed to get a nice running shot on his premier Jays card.

Needed base cards of Profar and Vizcaino, a on-the-nose International Affair insert of Freddie Freeman, and a Meadows photo so nice that I think I used it for his custom.

 Pack 34-
BIG TIME ROOKIES: 2/10
Big Time Rookies in like 2014: 1/10

 DeGrom, still without his locks, throwing a great bit of the ASG, and Kingham's actual RC there.

 Sharp photography here on all parts. The Acuna RD is the most eye-catching, but I like the Seranthony.

 Ted Williams' Legends Card is a nice one, because who doesn't love Ted. And Bregman's HRD card is another one for his epic 2018 season.

Annnnd...here's Ohtani's Topps RC. That's gonna be up for serious dollars this Christmas.

 Pack 35-
Truly Great Shots: 2/10

 The Chatwood is a wonderfully dramatic shot, while the Crawford is awesome enough to feel like a Stadium Club snub. And that Reds combo is a reverse negative parallel. Not numbered, just...cool.

 Assorted rookies. Yairo Munoz had the best season, but don't count out McKinney.

Dee's 83T is a cool one. And Rhys' HRD card makes me happy, and hopeful.

 Pack 36-
Phillies Personnel: 2/10
Huge rookies: 2/10

 Two fantastic shots, even though Ramos had the better season.

 Treinen's is a nice summation of his huge year, and Ohtani and Gurriel are great additions to their respective rookie piles.

And we end with an alright Yankees rookie, and a classic Don't Blink insert of Bo Jackson.

That was a fine box. I have to check if I need any base, but I did a pretty nice job, hit notwithstanding.

I'm gonna be away from the blog this weekend, and when I come back...the Red Sox better not have won a World Series.