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

08 UD Masterpieces review

Have I mentioned lately how much I like Masterpieces? It is a beautiful product, my favorite of 2008. It is well-designed, with great pictures that seem as if they are hand-painted on canvas, simple accents such as the subtle gold double border (which separates it from the single border of the 2007 version), and generally interesting and relative facts on the obverse, aside from the few factual mistakes that have been noted. The parallels are not-too-difficult to pull, despite the colors that sometimes are hard to discern, and great inserts, such as Strokes of Genius and Captured on Canvas. The short prints are not exceedingly difficult to find, and the base cards are a tidy 90 cards. My kind of set.

I've already detailed how I pulled some beautiful inserts in the two boxes and variety of packs that I've bought, both from retail and hobby. I was in my favorite card shop in Rochester, and spied a lonely box sitting up on the shelf with only six packs left in it. They were calling to me: Hey, Mister, take us home with you.

Seeing as I have only two or three base cards and a dozen or so SP's to go, I bought them and broke them right there. I've never had great luck with any of the other packs or boxes I buy at the store, even with the "lucky" daughter of the shop owner picking the packs or boxes for me. (For example, the box of Heritage that didn't have an auto in it, or anything else really all that worthwhile. Maybe that is why I'm not actively trying to collect the High-Numbers set to go along with the base set of Heritage.)

Here is what I got out of those six:

• base cards: 24
• short prints: 4 - Seaver, Stargell, Clemente, Gibson

 

 

• black border parallel: 2 - Mauer, Magglio Ordonez
• red border parallel: 1 - Chin-Lung Hu
• green border parallel (#/75): 1 - Hanley Ramirez
• Strokes of Genius auto: 1 - Geoff Jenkins
• Captured on Canvas relic: 1 - Verlander

 

  

Not bad for only six packs. The only complaint that I have is that I got another Verlander relic, my second, and another Sheffield base, my fourth or fifth. These two guys are haunting me! Has there been as big a disappointment last year as Verlander? I can throw Ordonez into that crowd, too. I get WAY too many of these Tigers.

Maybe that is what it is: I'm being stalked by Tigers!

Calling all Traitors, uh, I mean Traders!

Please help me finish off a few sets before the new sets start coming out in LESS THAN A MONTH! 

Here is a short recap of what I need:

08 UD Masterpieces: 16 left

08 Topps Heritage: 37 left

08 Allen & Ginter: 5 base cards, 9 world leaders, 5 world icons, 10 baseball icons, 2 pioneers of aviation, 1 shark,  8 world's greatest victories, and 8 Team Orange left

08 Finest: 29 left

08 Goudey: 96 left

07 Goudey: 57 green-backs left, only 5 red-backs left

08 SP Authentic: 6 left

07 SP Authentic: 12 left

08 Topps Inserts: 28 All-Rookies, 2 Topps Stars, 2 Trading Card History, 28 Historical Campaign Matchups, 13 First Couples, 10 World Baseball Classics, 81 Year in Review,  9 Target T205, 5 Walmart Dick Perez

If you have anything you would like to trade, you can check my Wantlist. 

Thanks for any help!

What I Need - 1980 on

Want List - 1980 to present

(updated 04/29/09)

(greyed-out numbers are no longer needed)

(purple means trade is pending)

2009 Topps

base: COMPLETE!

Legends (hobby): LL1, LL14, LL18, LL19, LL27, LL40, LL42, LL45

Turkey Red (hobby): COMPLETE!

ToppsTown: COMPLETE!

Target Mayo - TME: AR, ARi, AS, CJ, DP, HR, IS, JS, RB, RH

Walmart Mayo - WME: AP, DM, DO, DW, EL, GS, JH, MR, TL, VG

2009 Topps Heritage

base: 25, 129, 149, 189, 196, 241, 270, 285, 327, 355, 359, 386, 388, 389, 393

SP: 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500

Baseball Flashback: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
News Flashback: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Then & Now: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

2008 UD Presidential Predictors

base: 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14b, 15

2008 Goudey

base: 201, 204, 205, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 220, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 232, 233, 234, 239, 240, 241, 242, 245, 248, 250, 251, 253, 255, 256, 257, 260, 262, 269, 271, 272, 274, 275, 281, 282, 286, 290, 293, 294, 295, 296, 299, 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330

Hit Parade of Champions: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 ,15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30

Mini Red-backs (have): 20, 51, 72, 79, 81, 104, 115, 124, 150, 164, 209, 220, 230, 236, 244, 251, 260, 262, 268, 269, 272, 273, 277, 284, 291

2008 Topps Heritage

base: 178, 180, 283, 322, 347

SP: 427, 430, 432, 435, 438, 440b, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 451, 452, 453, 454, 461, 462, 464, 474, 479, 481, 487, 490, 493

High Numbers: 567, 573, 608, 645, 649,

Black-back: 333, 360, 539, 549

Baseball Flashback: COMPLETE!

Dick Perez: HDP5, HDP7

New Age Performer: NAP7, NAP8, NAP10

News Flashback: NF5, NF6

Target Minis: COMPLETE!

Then & Now: COMPLETE!

Rookie Performers: RP1, RP2, RP3, RP4, RP5, RP6, RP7, RP8, RP9, RP10, RP11, RP12, RP13, RP14, RP15

2008 SP Authentic

base: COMPLETE!

Authentic Achievements: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50

Marquee Matchups: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50

Rookie Exclusives: AR, CC, CW, JT, NA

2008 Topps

Base: COMPLETE!

Own the Game: COMPLETE!

50th Anniversary All-Star Rookies: 1, 7, 16, 23, 37, 39, 45, 64, 69, 71, 79, 88, 108

Trading Card History: COMPLETE!

Year in Review: 1, 4, 7, 20, 30, 37, 65, 67, 71, 74, 76, 82, 84, 89, 90, 91, 94, 97, 101, 102, 104, 108, 109, 110, 111, 122, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 147, 148, 149, 150, 154, 156, 159, 160, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176

Walmart Dick Perez: 1, 4, 11, 12, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Target T205: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45

Topps Stars: 1

World Baseball Classic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Historical Campaign Matchups: 1792, 1796, 1800, 1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008

First Couples: 15, 34, 36, 37

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights

Base: COMPLETE!

see above for inserts

2008 Topps Chrome

base: 1, 7, 14, 17, 19, 21, 25, 28, 31, 32, 39, 43, 50, 51, 57, 63, 64, 69, 71, 73, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 91, 105, 106, 121, 127, 140, 145, 147, 151, 155, 159, 165, 166, 167, 168, 171, 175, 191, 194, 198, 205, 207, 208, 209, 211, 218

refractors (have): 53, 68, 77, 97, 112, 122, 150, 151, 156, 194

x-fractors (have): 87

gold-bordered (have): 189

Trading Card History (have): TCH1, TCH4, TCH27, TCH44, TCH46, TCH47

Trading Card History refractors (have): TCHC1

Trading Card History gold-bordered (have): TCHC3

50th Anniversary All-Star Rookies (have): ARC1, ARC3, ARC16

2008 Finest

Base: 52, 55, 57, 63, 66, 67, 71, 75, 88, 95, 117, 125, 133, 143

Refractor (have): 2, 5, 10, 42, 49, 52, 55, 75, 99, 124, 133, 146

Black Refractor (have): 66

Blue Refractor (have): 13, 19, 23, 41, 53, 64, 67, 88, 102

Green Refractor (have): 4, 31, 63, 77, 80, 84, 86, 91, 100, 106, 117

Gold Refractor (have): 104

Finest Moments (need): AG, AP, APU, AR, BPB, BW, CF, CG, CH, CP, CS, DL, DO, DW, FC, FH, ISS, JAS, JMC, JSA, JT, JV, ME, MH, MR, PF, PM, RA, RB, ROH, SS, TG, TH, TOH, VG

FM Refractor (have): BW, CG, DJ, DO, EB, ME, RA, RB, RH, TG, TH

FM Blue Refractor (have): JS

FM Green Refractor (have): CB, FT, HP, RB

FM Black Refractor (have): AG, AS

Team Favorites: COMPLETE!

TF Refractor (have): BC

TF Dual Refractor (have): SP

2008 Allen & Ginter

Base (need): COMPLETE!

U.S. States: COMPLETE!

Mini (need - either regular back or A&G back): 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19, 24, 30, 31, 37, 45, 47, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 70, 80, 88, 104, 118, 128, 139, 150, 160, 173, 175, 177, 178, 190, 202, 204, 206, 215, 216, 220, 221, 225, 229, 230, 234, 241, 248, 251, 252, 254, 265, 266, 273, 275, 277, 289, 305, 308, 323, 326, 327, 332, 338, 346, 349

Mini World Leaders (need): 8, 15, 20, 25, 28, 37, 43

Mini World Icons (need): A2, A4, A13, A17, A20

Mini Baseball Icons (need): BI-5, BI-6, BI-7, BI-8, BI-10, BI-12, BI-14, BI-15, BI-17

Mini Aviation (need): PA2, PA4

Mini World's Deadliest Sharks (need): WDS2

Worlds Greatest Victories (need): 1, 2

Team Orange (need): TO1, TO3, TO6, TO7, TO8, TO9, TO10

Mini Black-border (have): 6, 7, 21, 23, 24, 29, 33, 44, 50, 74, 78, 91, 95, 100, 116, 118, 138, 150, 162, 166, 181, 184, 189, 190, 194, 201, 214, 249, 248, 264, 267, 270, 277, 283, 289, 301, 322, 327, 330

2008 UD Masterpieces

base: 95, 96, 106, 110

2007 SP Authentic

base: 46, 80

2007 Goudey

Green-backs (need): 96, 112, 119, 120, 134, 137, 201, 202, 205, 207, 209, 212, 213, 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 227, 230, 231, 234, 239, 240, 241, 242, 244, 247, 248, 250, 251, 255, 257, 264, 267, 270, 271, 276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 287

Redbacks: 34, 104, 151, 159

2007 UD Masterpieces

Base: FINISHED!

2007 Topps Heritage

Base: 4, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17, 22, 23, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 49, 50, 58, 67, 68, 76, 77, 78, 94, 95, 103, 104, 109, 112, 113, 121, 122, 131, 132, 139, 140, 145, 149, 150, 158, 159, 176, 177, 185, 186, 194, 195, 203, 212, 213, 221, 222, 230, 231, 239, 257, 258, 266, 267, 275, 276, 285, 293, 294, 302, 303, 310, 311, 312, 320, 321, 325, 329, 339, 347, 348, 351, 355, 357, 365, 366, 373, 383, 384, 385, 392, 393, 398, 401, 403, 410, 411, 418, 419, 420, 428, 429, 431, 437, 438, 446, 447, 448, 455, 456, 459, 462, 465, 468, 469, 470, 473, 474, 480, 481, 482, 491, 492

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Flashback: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Then & Now: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

2004 Topps Heritage

Base: 4, 8, 10, 28, 47, 56, 61, 62, 64, 67, 68, 92, 95, 99, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 110, 113, 114, 117, 118, 123, 124, 125, 128, 130, 131, 133, 143, 146, 147, 148, 152, 155, 162, 166, 175, 181, 186, 194, 195, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 218, 222, 224, 225, 227, 229, 230, 231, 232, 235, 239, 246, 261, 265, 268, 269, 270, 280, 282, 283, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 296, 298, 299, 301, 305, 306, 309, 310, 311, 316, 320, 323, 325, 331, 334, 335, 336, 338, 341, 342, 343, 347, 350, 355, 356, 363, 364, 365, 366, 380, 385, 388, 394, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 404, 406, 409, 410, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 421, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 432, 433, 435, 436, 437, 438, 440, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, 468, 469, 470, 472, 473, 474, 475

Flashback: COMPLETE!

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 ,15

Then & Now: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1987 Donruss

base: 11, 19, 36, 105, 186, 346, 361, 421, 502, 558, 620

The Rookies (green): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55

Highlights (blue): complete!

Opening Day (Purplish-red) (have): 49, 221