Topps Aces

 

This year's Topps came out hot with some great looking inserts. Something I haven't seen since the 90's. Well, besides the use of the 1988 inserts that I have no use for.

One of my favorite inserts from Series 1 was the All Aces inserts. I am not usually one to want pitcher cards, even from my own team, but these look great and so great that I want to chase the set.

I finally got my first one in hand this week when I did a Twitter trade with @matth3wbrigg5 who needed help for his Series 1 set and I had some for him.

With Cole being the only one down so far, here is what remains,

AA-1 Nolan Ryan - Texas Rangers

AA-2 Bob Gibson - St. Louis Cardinals
AA-3 Greg Maddux - Atlanta Braves
AA-4 Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks
AA-5 Pedro Martinez - Boston Red Sox
AA-6 Justin Verlander - Houston Astros
AA-7 Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers
AA-8 Jacob deGrom - New York Mets
AA-9 Gerrit Cole - New York Yankees
AA-10 Corbin Burnes - Milwaukee Brewers
AA-11 Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Angels

AA-12 Shane McClanahan - Tampa Bay Rays
AA-13 Carlos Rodon - San Francisco Giants
AA-14 Sonny Gray - Minnesota Twins
AA-15 Shane Bieber - Cleveland Guardians
AA-16 Aaron Nola - Philadelphia Phillies
AA-17 Sandy Alcantara - Miami Marlins
AA-18 Joe Musgrove - San Diego Padres
AA-19 Alek Manoah - Toronto Blue Jays
AA-20 Max Fried - Atlanta Braves
AA-21 Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals
AA-22 Dylan Cease - Chicago White Sox
AA-23 Luis Castillo - Seattle Mariners
AA-24 Julio Urías - Los Angeles Dodgers
AA-25 Max Scherzer - New York Mets

I will update this as I go along but if any of you have any for pwe trade, hit me up please!

Thoughts on this insert set is welcomed in comments.

CARDBOARD REVIEW:2020 Topps Series 1 Baseball

It's here, it's finally here!

That's the chants from all baseball fans when football season ends, they know the newest Topps Series 1 release is just around the corner. And their favorite sport as well is coming up.

Topps Series 1 this year was out of order when it comes to releases as Topps Archives Signature took it's spot as the first release of the year. For me, that felt odd but it was quickly ignored as the site of the Pete Alonso covered box made its appearance.

I don't normally do well with hobby box breaks of this product, but this year is a new year. Let's hope for something good.

It's time to rip!

 Every hobby box of 2020 Topps Series 1 baseball comes with 24 packs of 14 cards. So you get a lot of cards in a box break. There is one hit per box either an autograph or relic card and boxes currently are running about $70 per.

One of my favorite additions to these are the silver packs, something I couldn't get before when they were only a hobby shop exclusive since I don't have one. It was also the very first pack I ripped. Sometimes I save it for last hoping for some boom.

Here's my rip

Vlad Jr

 The Kep

 Kris Bryant...will he remain a cubbie?

 Whit

Darn, was hoping for a Griffey Jr. Overall these silver pack cards have 50 cards in the set to collect including autographs and I believe parallels.

Up next, let's see how my first pack of 2020 Topps turned out......

All base, (Actually, my first three packs were all base) but hey, one is that Trout guy so I will take that. Mike was voted by fans as the victor in Card #1 in the base set.

BASE:

This years base card design once again goes borderless and many weren't happy when they first saw it. I didn't mind the design that much but it does remind me of Bowman quite a bit and I am still not bothered by it. I do think a lot of collectors changed their mind on the design once it was in hand as I have seen a lot of love towards it on social media.

There are 350 cards in the Series 1 base set. There are plenty of veterans

 (card back)

 

Rookies including lots of the big names, I never landed that guy from the Reds everyone is talking about. But he is in here.

And plenty of subsets,

Plenty of subsets as I said. I am always a big fan of the team cards, Topps does a great job with photo selection on those.

And speaking of photos in this years Series 1, they are probably some of the best I have ever seen for it. Here are a few of my favorites,

 This Bryce Harper is the most talked about base card in the set and you can see why

 I have always liked wall catches

Big hits and cheering, it's what baseball is all about to me. There are plenty others I could have shown, but these were top three to me.

Sp's

 Once again Topps comes in hot with Sp parallels with seventy-stinkin'-five of them.

Here's the CMP codes to break 'em down the easiest

• Base Cards end 269
• Advanced Stat Parallels end 283
• SP Variations end 284
• SSP Variations end 285
• SSSP Variations end 578

 Here's the CMP codes located at the bottom. This is the JD with an 84

Base card of Trout has the 69

PARALLELS
Lots of parallels to be found in Series 1 but at much harder rates than usual.

Overall look at the parallels,
Yellow (Walgreens), Purple (Meijer), Rainbow, Gold /2020, Advanced Stat /300, Vintage /99, Independence /76, Black /69 , Mother's Day Hot Pink /50, Father's Day Blue /50, Memorial Day Camp /25, Platinum 1/1, Printing Plates 1/1.

Gold. These are hard to spot so be sure to have your eyes checked before doing so. You only get two per box when they used to be four.

 Rainbow Foil. 1:10 on these

 INSERTS:

A good handful of inserts to be found in Series 1 but once again I am not overly impressed by them. I have grown tiresome of the reprinted cards in classic designs. I would like to see some new creativity brought to the insert line. Add more foil, come up with creative lines or maybe instead of 75 Sp's cut those back and do an insert line called Topp Photography and just show the best photos that way. Make the Sp's be legendary players only.

Just a thought. Let's check out my inserts.

 

Homerun Challenge in which I have yet to enter one of these. I usually give them away which I will be giving this one away as well on Twitter. There are 30 of these in all.

Topps Choice set brings back those classic designs... there are 25 cards in all to collect

 100 cards in all for the Decades best. I love the Griffey card and design. Nice PC find

And the least intriguing insert to me is this one. I prefer not having these at all as an insert, wished they were a bonus flyer type of thing. But, if they have to be, just reprint the card instead of taking a picture of it. There are 10 of these to collect.

 1985 Topps cards....100 cards to collect including some parallels

I got this blue one of Tigers Jake Rogers. I think I know of a Tigers collector who would like this don't you Dennis?

HITS:
Well, it says one autograph or relic but honestly, 9 times out of 10 it's going to be a relic and here is one,

 Austin Riley

However, there is some tremendous pulls to be found and you can possibly find them in your box. Here's what you may find,

• 1985 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary Autographs
• Baseball Stars Autographs
• Baseball Stars Dual Autographs
• Decade of Dominance Autographs
• Decades' Best Autographs
• Decade's Next Autographs
• Player Highlight Autographs - Rhys Hoskins
• Player Highlight Autographs - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Postseason Performance Autographs
• Topps Choice Autographs
• World Series Champion Autographs
• Cut Signatures
• Major League Material Autograph
• Postseason Performance Autograph Relics
• Topps Reverence Autograph Patch
• World Series Champion Autograph Relics
• Global Game Medallion Autograph Manufactured Relics
• Jumbo Jersey Sleeve Patch Autograph Manufactured Relics
• Rookie Card Retrospective RC Logo Medallion Autograph Manufactured Relics
• 1985 Topps Baseball Relics
• In The Name Relics
• Major League Material Relics
• Postseason Performance Relic
• World Series Champion Relic
• Global Game Medallion Manufactured Relics
• Jumbo Jersey Sleeve Patch Manufactured Relics
• Rookie Card Retrospective RC Logo Medallion Manufactured Relics

 

Before I close out this post, I wanted to also mention that there seems to be some chipping on these cards. I had quite a few packs with some corner issues. So keep that in mind when busting packs to be very careful.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I always enjoy the first rip of Topps flagship. That thought that baseball season is right around the corner, and hopefully some green grass with all the white out my window and more base cards for the baseball card season makes it exciting.

 

I also enjoy collecting the newest rookie class which appears to be a good one and also collecting players in their new uniforms. You also add in a few Griffeys to find and all is good. 

One thing I will say is when I buy Series 1,2 or Update I always stick with retail blaster boxes. I always land a relic hit in my hobby breaks so for me the cost of a $70 hobby box to land a relic vs buying a retail blaster for $20 and land a relic seems more logical to me. I can even get three blaster relics and one hanger box for the cost of a hobby box. It's just my thinking.

It's a good product overall and if you have always bought Series one, this year won't disappoint.

Thanks to Topps for providing me this box to review and to giveaway some of the cards on Twitter. You can check out Topps website HERE. And find them on FACEBOOK  and TWITTER as well! Don't forget to give them a follow on each!

REVIEW:2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball

After a treacherous 2017 football season in which my Giants were the laughing stock of the NFL, I had to witness a Super Bowl with two of my most hated teams and see the eventual winner come from my teams division, it was more than time for baseball season.

And nothing kicks off baseball season more than seeing the first baseball card release. This to me is the start of baseball season.

I can picture it now, the smell of fresh cut grass, the sound of a ball hitting a catchers mitt and the crack of the bat smashing a ball out of the stadium. Oh boy. Summer and baseball right around the....hold on. Then I look out my window and see the new fresh 12 inches of snow and try to brush it off.

At least for now, I have Series 1 to reflect on.

In every box of 2018 Topps Series one hobby, you will find yourself dreaming of  baseball season with 36 packs of 10 cards each. Boxes will come with one hit and run around $65 currently.

The base set which is 350 cards deep, has modernized their design just like the last few years. I saw so many complaints about this years design and the boycotting of the product. Now let's be honest, you're gonna buy some at some point and realize the design is actually pretty darn cool. I thought the design when it was first released was okay, but seeing it in person it grew on me fast and I have actually seen those who said they were boycotting it actually enjoying it after seeing the design in person. 

You can call it ride the wave, I think that's a good way to put it, but I think it looks like a graphic off from MLB Network. The one thing these type of designs without borders leads to, it lets us see some amazing photography.

Here are some of my favorites along with the subsets within the product.

Brett is diving right on in!

Wall Crashes!

 

Matt Kemp gives his base card a thumbs up!

 

World Series, Future Stars, and Nicknames

 

League Leaders. Sadly this was my only Judge base of the three offered in the product.

 

And team cards. These all have amazing photography.

 

The rookies are in here too. Who will be this years Aaron Judge? It's important to snag these guys early.

 

And just like with past Topps releases, there is lots of photo variations. This years comes pounding with over 100 of them. I do think that's a bit much. I would much rather prefer six really tough SSP's instead.

Luckily tho, these are easy to spot thanks to the codes again on the back of the cards. Base cards end in 87.

Sp's like this Billy Hamilton I found,

 

 

 

end in 43

 

There are also SSP's that end in 44.

Now here is probably the only part of the product I didn't care much about, the parallels especially the Gold ones I found. The problem without borders is figuring out how to do these parallels they provide. Honestly, this wouldn't be the way I would do them. Very hard to spot unless you really are looking. I think you either gold it up like 1995 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallions or you simply go back to old Topps days and gold the names and logos. This background didn't work for me.

 

The foil Parallels are a bit different as they are easy to spot because of their shine.

 

 

Other parallels include,

• Vintage Stock Parallel numbered to 99.
• Independence Day Parallel numbered to 76.
• Black Parallel numbered to 67
• Mother's Day Pink Parallel  numbered to 50.
• Father's Day Blue Parallel numbered to 50.
• Memorial Day Camo Parallel numbered to 25.
• Clear Parallel numbered to 10
• Negative Parallel
• Platinum Parallel 1/1.
• Printing Plates 1/1.

Now onto the inserts. Most of these have parallels of, Blue Parallel, Black Parallel ,Gold Parallel, Red Parallel and Platinum Parallel.

I really like the Superstar Sensations inserts. Great design. Something I could see being done with a base set down the road. Topps Fire maybe...These fall 1:8 packs

 

Topps celebrates the 35th Anniversary of this iconic design that fall 1:4 packs.

 

Topps Now celebrating the most sold cards from the program. Looks like they fall a couple per box.

 

MLB Awards capturing the players who won 2017 awards. Pulled a Judge! These fall 1:8 packs

 

Topps Salute that celebrates events during the 2017 season like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, top rookies and Jackie Robinson Day. I wasn't a fan of the design of these or the inclusion unless they were done differently. Felt like subset cards to me. I pulled a ton as well and they fall 1:8 packs. Felt more like 1:3

 

This is a pretty cool promo.  Find one of these cards in packs,

 

 

Choose the game you think they will hit a home run. If they do, you win a prize and are entered into the grand prize drawing for a trip to the 2019 Home Run Derby. Pretty stinkin cool. Anyone want to help pick a game for Jake Lamb?

Now onto the hit,

I pulled a MLB ALL-STAR GAME MEDALLION CARDS of Mookie Betts, These actually fall 1:1000+ so it's a decent tough pull. Sometimes I prefer to see cards like this instead of the usual plain color game used swatch I normally land.

 

 

Other hits, all with parallels, to be found in here include,

TOPPS REVERENCE AUTOGRAPH PATCH CARDS:,MAJOR LEAGUE MATERIAL AUTOGRAPH CARDS,WORLD SERIES CHAMPION AUTOGRAPH RELIC CARDS:, POSTSEASON PERFORMANCE AUTOGRAPH RELIC CARDS, TOPPS SALUTE AUTOGRAPH CARDS, WORLD SERIES CHAMPION AUTOGRAPH CARDS, POSTSEASON PERFORMANCE AUTOGRAPH CARDS, MLB AWARDS AUTOGRAPH PARALLEL CARDS

CUT SIGNATURE CARDS, 1983 TOPPS BASEBALL AUTOGRAPH CARDS, WORLD SERIES CHAMPION RELIC CARDS, POSTSEASON PERFORMANCE RELIC CARDS, IN THE NAME RELIC CARDS, SKETCH CARDS, MAJOR LEAGUE MATERIAL RELIC CARDS

and MLB SPRING TRAINING LOGO PATCH CARDS.

 

OVERALL: I can never truly tell how I feel about Series 1. My box probably didn't get full value back but I had a lot of fun and was ready to dig into the new baseball card season. Isn't that really what it's all about? It really isn't much of a gamble and is offered in many forms even if you don't want to gamble hobby box wise. I have seen some good retail hits as well.

I have also heard/seen collation in this years product is perfect. Not many doubles at all. Which makes a purchase even more valuable.

If you are one of the ones who protested this years design, I promise you it's not that bad and I think you will enjoy it. So listen to Troy who is pointing in the right direction so you will go grab yourself some.

 

 

Please take a minute out to thank Topps for providing the box to review. Some of the cards you see above will be included in a future to be announced baseball promo! Follow Topps on all social media sites and check out their website HERE for cards and more!