Topps is starting to heat up just like the baseball season and more releases are flying on shelves.
This time around we find a sequel to Series 1. You pretty much always expect the similar finds in two except with some new players and a few new toys to play with.
My break of Series 1 was the best I ever had so let's see if Series 2 is the same. READ ON!
Each hobby box of 2017 Topps Series 2 baseball comes with 36 packs of 10 cards. There is either one autograph or one memorabilia card per box. Hobby boxes have been running around $70 each.
The base card checklist is 350 total cards deep showcasing superstars, young players and rookies such as Trey Mancini, Amir Garrett, Jorge Alfaro, Hunter Renfroe, Manny Margot, Mitch Haniger, Jharel Cotton, Matt Olson, Dan Vogelbach, and Gavin Cecchini.
The design is the same as Series 1. One thing that caught my attention in Series 2 is the photography. Great selection of action and non-action shots. Also like in Series 1 there are team cards and nicknames as well embedded in the set.
I have included some of my favorite images from the base set. But, there were plenty others I could have chosen as well.
This one I thought was the coolest of the set.
While we are on the base card topic, as always, there are photo variations to find. Series 2 provides more of them, 50 to be exact, that are extremely tough to pull and are rare. There are some base card variations of the same player and there are variations that replace that player with a legend. Which those are really easy to spot.
Just like in past releases, just look at the bottom of the card to define if you have pulled an Sp or not. Here are the codes you need to define that, Base Code ends in 3535 and Variation Code ends in 3587
This product wouldn't be the same if it didn't have parallels. Well, it has many to choose from and you find a nice amount per box. But, not an overabundance which is good.
These are the golds. I will admit they are hard to spot with the way they were done with just the little splash of gold. I prefer the all of the white be done in gold as well and same goes for all of the parallels except the foil that are obvious.
Rainbow Foils fall 1:10 and look spectacular as always.
And to my surprise, a black that I didn't spot the first two times sorting. These are /66. Like I said earlier, would be easier to spot with the white being black as well.
Other parallels include:
- Vintage Stock Parallel numbered to 99.
- Mother's Day Hot Pink Parallel numbered to 50.
- Father's Day Powder Blue Parallel numbered to 50.
- Memorial Day Parallel numbered to 25.
- Clear Parallel numbered to 10
- Negative Parallel
- Platinum Parallel numbered 1/1
- Printing Plates Sequentially numbered 1/1
Insert time and there are plenty to find. At least one per pack.
As always, celebrity fun with First Pitch makes their return. I don't think I could ever get tired of these.
A new insert in Series 2 is Major League Milestones. This helps celebrate milestone achievements from the 2016 MLB season such as David Ortiz passing Ted Williams' HR total and Albert Pujols joining the 600 HR club! These fell 1:8 packs
1987 Topps Baseball makes it return in Series to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of this iconic design with an insert set! These have stars of today, future and past and have the feel of the original. They also are each foil stamped with the 30th anniversary stamp. This time they include Rookies and All-Stars. These fall 1:4 packs so you will find plenty of them. They also have red and platinum parallels.
New to Series 2 also is Memorable Moments that recap some of the greatest moments in Baseball history such as rookie debuts, pitching performances, home run records and walk-off wins. These fall 1:8 packs. I found a Griffey, so I am good.
Buyback cards fall 1 in every 6 packs and all but the most valuable cards will be stamped with a new foil "Rediscover" logo so they can be easily found. There will be multiple levels of rarity in the foil logos like blue, silver and bronze. I found a Tex in my box. It's kinda fun finding these especially for the older cards as I think the newer ones are a bit odd to find it with it on it. There are actually some collectors trying to chase all of these down.
Topps Salutes makes it's return for Series 2 and this time commemorate mid-season events highlighting customized MLB uniforms, celebrating top rookies, Spring Training, curtain call moments, vintage uniforms and the greatest legends of MLB. These fall 1:4 packs and also include a Red Parallel numbered to 25 and a Platinum Parallel numbered 1/1.
MLB Network inserts just like in Series 1. These fall one-per-box. This guy is one of the bigger names to get in my opinion.
Just like in Series 1, I pulled an Ultimate Card Giveaway card that I assume are one-per-box for a chance at a free Topps Now card. You can also win Free Topps Bunt '17 cards. Did I win, well, no. I have lost on both now. If you have won on these, would love to hear about it in comments!
Now time to reveal the hit!
My hit of the box wasn't the best, a single color swatch from Jay Bruce. It was my usual expectation for a hit as autograph odds are a bit tougher.
Other hits not found in my box but look great are, Topps Reverence Autograph Patch Cards,Major League Material Autograph Cards, Memorable Moments Autograph Relic Cards, Major League Milestones Autograph Relic Cards ,Topps Salute Autograph Cards, Memorable Moments Autograph Cards,Major League Milestones Autograph Cards,and 1987 Topps Baseball - Rookie & All-Star Edition Autograph Cards. Most of the auto relic cards have red /10 and platinum 1/1/ parallels.
Major League Material Cards, Memorable Moments Relic Cards, Major League Milestone Relic Cards., In the Name Relics, Cut Signatures, MLB All-Star Game Logo Patch Cards and finally, Independence Day Team Logo Patch Cards. Some of these also have much rarer parallels like red and platinum like the autographs.
Lots of hits to choose from as you can see.
OVERALL: My box was a tad lackluster, but it doesn't mean I didn't have fun. Isn't that the point of the hobby. I would say if you are looking at it for an investment end and just want a shot at bigger hits, I would go for a Jumbo Box which promises more hits. But, if you are just looking for something to bust that's at a reasonable price and available for both retail and hobby, this isn't a terrible way to go. Last few years the base rookie cards in here have held their value and occasionally you will find that big hit. But, I think flagship both series one and two targets us set collectors and those who just like a bust that isn't about all of the hits pizazz. It's about the fun, the photography and the stats which is baseball.
Look for a future giveaway with some of the cards you see above in the MLB Pick Em Promo!.
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