2010 Topps Updates & Highlights Review

Decent.

That's all.

Not great.

Not bad.

The Hits: Nick Swisher Black Bat (12/25), Joey Votto All-Star workout jersey, Ricky Romero Peak Performance autograph (redemption), Strasburg #661, Gibson SP #661, Cliff Lee gold-border.

What I like: Continuation of a good set, with some great photography and an excellent design.

What I didn't like: Too many inserts again. Redemption Peak Performance auto. Manufactured relics.

What makes me really angry: I buy the Jumbo boxes because it gives me the complete set along with a few more hits and inserts than the wax box. This time, however, I ended up about 150 cards short of a full set. I only got half of the cards! What the...! If I had known that, I would have saved 30% and bought the wax box. Now I have to trade for the rest, or buy another box. Damn!

Why I love trading

Yesterday was Trade Days, the get-together at the local card shop for prospectors, set-collectors and autogamer hounds. I usually don't get involved in prospecting, the chasing of autographs of hot pre-rookies, USA team members and first year players. However, I can easily drift back and forth between the worlds of high-end autogamer swapping and set-collecting.

The pre-eminent set collectors at the trade days always sets up in the same corner One always has the same box of Topps, Bowman and Upper Deck dupes, plus a full 5000 count box of inserts from the 90's. He buys multiple boxes at a time and makes up sets, then leaves the dupes for us to peruse. The other has many grandchildren, so he makes sets upon sets for them all. He is currently working on his 10th base set of this year's Topps! Fortunately for me, he gets lots of doubles of the inserts, and even some short print doubles.

Lately, the former has been going through my box of '70's dupes, and he has picked out over bv200 in cards, so I am able to pick and choose what I need from him, but he has only a limited number of inserts to trade. The latter is indebted to the former for near bv400 for helping to finish all those base sets of Topps. So when I need inserts for Series 2 Topps, I go to the second guy, and whittle down what he owes to the first guy by relieving him of many of his insert doubles.

In addition, a newer guy to the Trade Days busted six or seven boxes of Series 2 and had hundreds of inserts to trade. He was looking for the autos and relics only, and was trading everything else. That's where some of the Sweet Spot autographs I have pulled and cut-rate autos I have traded for or bought come in handy. I was able to get most of what I needed for S2 inserts, about 80-90 cards, from him for a Billingsley Sweet Spot auto, an Ethier A&G auto, a Jordan minor league card, and one other low-end auto. Not bad!

As you can see from my wantlists, I am down to only a dozen or so insert cards left for Series 2. That is one of the great things about Trade Days. I can rely on my trading partners to help me finish some of these sets.

First Look: 2010 Topps Heritage

I broke open my box of 2010 Topps Heritage today, and for good measure another half box at the store, and came away with a pretty good impression of what to expect from this year's version of the Throwback cards.

Ho-hum.

Disclaimer: I LOVE Heritage, and everything about it. But this year's product is a bit boring, if you ask me.

Design

Great design. I especially love the short prints of the MVPs and All-Stars. Very cool. The photos are true to the originals, in the same style and the same washed-out, saturated colors. Full stats on the back are very nice.

Grade: A-

Inserts

Same inserts as other years, plus a new one for Mantle's and Maris' chase for The Babe's home run record. But we've seen it all before. The rest of the inserts are getting a bit stale, though. News flashbacks. Baseball flashbacks. Then & Now. New Age Performers. Clubhouse Collection relics. It's getting a bit tedious and repetitive.

Grade: B-

Checklist

All the stars are out in this one, as far as I can tell. King Albert is #1, and worthy. Lots of rookies, including my new favorite Indian Michael Brantley. I think that there is even a few real stars who have signed autos, like Gibson, Schoendienst and Frank Robinson. A few no-names, but not bad.

Grade: B+

Collation

Impressive. In one box plus half of another, I only got 32. However, I still need about 180 base cards, all but 12 of the short prints, and most of the inserts. It seems they were stingy with the inserts and SPs this year.

Grade: A

Hits

Don't ask.

I told you not to ask!

OK. Billy Wagner relic. Dan Haren relic. (yaaawwwwwnnnnnn)

Grade: C-

Overall, I'd say this is a very average product. If you love Heritage, you'll love it. If you love throwback stuff like Goudey, Allen & Ginter, Obak, T206, Goodwins Champions (did I forget any!?!), then you'll like it. If you are a baseball fan and want interesting cards for this year, you probably won't like it. Stick to the flagship product.

Overall Grade: B

(scans to follow in a few days)

2010 Topps Review

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for my Jumbo Hobby box of 2010 Topps to come in. It finally did on Tuesday, and my son and I opened it last night. Hmmm, I have a few opinions on this year's edition of the only licensed MBL product.

Design: B

Not bad. Not great. This may be one of those Topps designs, like 1972 or 1975, that grows on you after a while and becomes a classic. On the other had, the use of foil is becoming a bit annoying. Topps should not use it for the names and logo, in my opinion. But the size of the names and the team name and logo are good. Makes it easy to read, especially for my old, failing eyesight.

The backs are pretty good, too. The numbers are easy to read and all situated the same way. Complete batting and pitching records are listed, and a nice second picture is there, too. Good job on the obverse, Topps.

It's also good to see that Topps has finally gotten over their A-Rod infatuation and put someone else in the #1 card slot - Prince Fielder - although it is a strange picture!

Photography: A

Like last year, the photography is a strong point, although I don't have any of those stupid Yankee pie-in-the-face cards. Thank goodness! But there are some really nice photographs. Randy Johnson's falling-down-while-throwing-to-first-base photo comes to mind.

Inserts: C+

WAY TOO MANY!

There are just too many insert sets to collect, and that doesn't even include the variations. Not only do the base cards have variations, but the Cards Your Mother Threw Out has variations, too. I pulled the Albert Pujols 2002 All-Topps Rookie card, and it has the original back on it, not the CYMTO back! (If anyone is interested in trading for it, make an offer.)

Do I really need Turkey Red again? Why is there Tales of the Game AND History of the Game? Two sets of ToppsTown, gold and silver? C'mon!

As I count it, there are TEN different insert sets this year for Series 1. Lord knows how many more they will bring out for Series 2 and U&H. There could end up being 12 to 15 different insert sets this year. Dial it down, Topps!

Collation: A-

Very good, for the most part. In the Jumbo Hobby box, you get the entire set plus inserts, plus about 50 base doubles. However, I did get four Turkey Red doubles, out of 10 cards. Not good. Other than that, though, the variety is excellent.

Hits: B+

This is where I did well this year. The first hit is an autograph of Glen Perkins. OK. It looks like the signature was rushed. Very messy compared to the Sweet Spot I had.

Second was a bat relic - thank goodness, again, for no plain jersey relics - of Dustin Pedroia. I do like the design of the Peak Performance inserts, and the autos and relics are nicely done.

Third I got one of the manufactured hat patches of a Red Sox logo, for Kevin Youkilis. Nice card. I'd rather have an Indians logo, though, so if you read this and you have the Grady Sizemore version, I will trade with you. In any event, it's a good-looking design, and better than the partial, can't-figure-out-what-it-is patches from last year.

Fourth, as a bonus, I got a silk card, numbered to 50, of Adrian Gonzalez. Again, nice card, didn't make me jump up and down, but it is good trade bait, so if you are interested....

Value: B+

From what I understand, the price of a hobby box is quickly escalating, according to my dealer. Jumbos are up to $90-something, and wax are up to the high $60's. It is a hot product so far. If you haven't bought yours yet, you may want to wait until the price comes down again.

As for me, though, I preordered at $75 for the Jumbo Hobby box, and I believe that I got good value. Four hits is nice, and the cards look pretty good.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B+

I couldn't make up my mind, so I'm waffling. However, this is a strong set for Topps' first exclusive. They deliver good value, so that help boost the grade, but those inserts! As Charlie Brown would say, "AAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm really looking forward to Heritage. I hope it is not as difficult to collect as this one is.

FOR TRADE

HITS

Dustin Pexroia Peak Performance GU Bat #PPR-DP
Glen Perkins Peak Performance autograph #PPA-GP
Adrian Gonzalez Silk Collection (03/50)

(this one will only be traded for a Grady Sizemore logo hat patch)
Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox Hat Logo manufactured patch #MHR-127 (86/99)

Turkey Red
6 - Upton
10 - Papelbon
19 - Ripken
31 - Ott

Gold-border
8 - LL Mauer-Ichiro-Jeter
24 - Maine
33 - Moore
70 - Hamels
84 - Robertson
102 - Twins
140 - Holliday
173 - Morales
214 - Kemp
227 - Thole (not Thome)

Base: 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 24, 29, 42, 45, 48, 49, 55, 60, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72, 74, 78, 80, 87, 105, 107, 114, 117, 120, 130, 135, 136, 145, 152, 153, 164, 167, 171, 172, 177, 185, 188, 196, 197, 198, 216, 226, 237, 240, 241, 248, 256, 260, 261, 274, 280, 288, 293, 300, 303, 304, 314, 321, 326