2018 Topps Decides Targets vs WalMarts
2018 Topps came out the other day. The first new cards of the year, and the signal the 2018 season isn't that far away either. Topps released pictures of the base card design last Summer, and my initial response wasn't apathy, as it's been for 2016 and 2017 flagship. So I was pretty amped to get a good look at 2018 Topps.
With new card releases, I've often liked to do my 2 pack challenge. Where I buy two packs of a given card brand and use what the two packs contain to form my opinion on it... However, with 2018 Topps, I was intrigued enough by what I'd seen online to want a little more...
I decided for my introduction to 2018 Topps Baseball, that I would buy two 36 card jumbo packs and one 72 value box, from the Super Target Store at River Point in Sheridan, Colorado...
I would then buy an equal amount of 2018 Topps from the WalMarts at Evans Ave and Federal Blvd. in Denver, Colorado.
The 2 Retail Big Box Store Challenge will be contested in two rounds of Jumbo Pack-offs, then a final Value Box-off...
I will judge the packs specifically on what I think of them as I go. Not very subjective, but that's the way things go here. Why define the rules when I'm only going to break them ten minutes later?
Hanger tag on the Target Jumbo Packs are labeled "More Value! As compared to our single packs." I agree and almost never buy those single packs that have been banging around inside the hanger box. They just get beat up too much by pack searchers and careless children.
1983 Topps is a great set (that I need to free from it's 800ct box and put in album pages, along with the 1983 Traded set) that I don't mind seeing rehashed, despite it becoming overdone. McMahon is an intriguing prospect for Colorado. They currently do not have an established starter signed to play first, so McMahon has a decent shot at making the 2018 team. He's been a strong hitter in the minors, so it would be easy to imagine he could at least post respectable numbers with a Coors Field boost.
Which is going to be stranger, McCutchen or Longoria in the Orange and Black? I'm not sure if I'm on board with what San Francisco is doing. They seem to be doubling down on veterans on an already aging team. As a Rockies fan, I hope to see the Giants in an extended basement stay...
I both like and hate this card... Overly cute word play is a pet peeve of mine.... I feel it's cheap and just makes me cringe when used as a marketing tool... However, there is the issue of this great shot of Fenway, from an angle not usually seen... Along with Benintendi looking like he's greasing out a fart...
Rather pedestrian shot of one of the Rockies impressive stockpile of good young arms. I was very happy with how Senzatela pitched last season, and hope to see another step forward next season. Some predict he could pair with Jon Gray, and give Colorado a pretty good top of the rotation. Which would be nice to see...
Another shot from Target Field. (I think I watched this game on my phone last year...) When Target Field was being built, I'd hoped it would lend itself to interesting photos, and be featured in card sets with some regularity. That has actually panned out. Target Field does have a distinctive look in card photographs, and is a popular target (HA!) for baseball photographers.
So that was a good pack to familiarize myself with 2018 Topps. Overall, I liked what I saw. This was a major improvement over 2016 and 2017 Topps.
My biggest gripe with 2017 Topps wasn't the cumbersome design that ruined almost every photo. That wasn't a deal breaker... 850 Aaron Judge cards wasn't even my biggest point of contention... It was the lack of complete career statistics. You can plainly read that Robinson Cano has played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, but only 5 of them are represented in stats....
Some of my earliest card collecting memories come from pouring over career statistics on the 1987 Topps set. That was how I learned about who was good and who wasn't. Subsiquently, who I needed to collect...
WalMarts Jumbos are different from Target's, with the inclusion of a special Kris Bryant Highlights subset. While I'm not a Bryant or Cubs fan, I have to say that's a MUCH better selling point than just saying "VALUE!" in big letters.
First Twins card of 2018 is likely the key player to how successful Minnesota's 2018 season will be... Will the rob surgically implanted into Sano's ankle allow him to dominate both at the plate and at third base. Hopefully there are no lasting suspensions stemming from the sexual harassment charge filed against him by a freelance photographer. If he's good and on, the Twins could go far. If he's hurt and distracted, the Twins chances are hurt significantly...
Slightly surprised that Grossman is still featured prominently in Minneosta's plans for 2018. He still provides value with his relatively low salary, but occupies a roster spot that is ripe for upgrading...
This would be the WalMarts exclusive Kris Bryant Highlights subset. After all, Bryant has played three complete seasons in the Majors, he certainly is due for a large insert set dedicated to honoring his legendary status as a 24 year old... Nice card design though...
Yup, this is still Topps.... Two packs in and I'm already getting doubles... Granted, these packs were between corporations, and in different towns, but it is so Topps to always have lousy collation...
There wasn't a huge amount of doubles in this pack, so I wrote it off for now. Once all was said and done, I got a whole lot less doubles and triples than I usually do from Flagship Topps. So there was a small victory wrapped up in this...
While both weighed in fairly equal, and neither store offering a blow away prize, Im leaning towards that WalMarts pack, for the sole reason of it contained Twins. And a whole buncha Washington Nationals... It was close, but in the end, the winner of Round 1 is the WalMarts...
Reyes was a throw-in from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, to offset salary and give Colorado a shortstop to replace him. Reyes got here and was a whiney dick, then beat his wife up and got released by the Rockies. So we paid the Mets to play Reyes so we didn't have to. His contract ended last year, and he has resigned with the Mets. But at least the Rockies are no longer footing the bill...
I already talked about McMahon and his chances with the 2018 Rockies. This is also a nice Coors Field shot, and those don't come along in every set...
When I was packing up the baseball card albums and scanning a bunch of them for possible stories, I made it a point to scan a good percentage of the Mattingly's as that is one of the intended ones. I don't know if I will get around to writing it very soon, but I am somewhat prepared to make it happen if the motivation strikes.
Cabrera is another of those unofficial collections I keep. So it's nice to get a rarer new Miggy card in a pack, that I wouldn't normally go out of my way to add to my binders.
Yu, You need to sign with Minnesota... They need you, Yu... You could be a key figure in turning around the franchise, Yu... 5 years, $125 million... Everyone wins Yu.... Minnesota needs you Yu... Sign with the Twins...
Mauer takes a mighty hack and launches the ball nearly 37 feet before seven hops to shortstop.... But the Twins only have to pay Mauer $23 million to hit weak ground balls to opposing infielders for the 2018 season....
So come on Yu... You should be the guy the Twins pay Mauer Money to, after not paying Mauer anymore!
As much as the Twins are overpaying Mauer for poor production, Minnesota has gotten one hell of a bargain in Dozier. Second basemen that hit 40 home runs in a season don't come along very often, and the Twins have had one. They've also paid him relatively little over the life of his bargain multi-year contract. Which also ends in 2018, so this may be his last go round with the Twins.
Look at all the purple... Story was the Rockies Story for the first half of 2016, until injuries stopped his season in July. He comeback in 2017 wasn't a step forward, but he didn't fall flat either. It will be interesting to see how 2018 goes for Story, Colorado's top prospect, Brendan Rogers, is also a shortstop. Story could easily be moved for more pitching...
No matter what Colorado does, they need to sign this guy to a megadeal... I've never seen a third basemen make the defensive plays that Arenado can with ease. Add to that, 40 home run power, and you have a franchise cornerstone player. That you need to lock in before you wake up in 2 years and his Rockies purple has been traded for Dodger Blue...
Topps... Zoom out just a click so you get the full baseball in mid-air... Maybe even clear Fowler's foot from the waterslide?
Was sad to see him go at the 2015 Trading Deadline, but it was the right move for the franchise. And his time in Toronto has been marred by injury. A painful but brilliant trade made at precisely the right time, a rare trade win for Colorado. And Tulowitzki is still one of my all time favorite Rockies.
This pack ended with bang, and brought a lot to the table in both quality Twins and Rockies. Strong inserts left me feeling that WalMarts Jumbo would go for a clean sweep.
I missed it the first time I looked at this card, but Holland is doing a low impact levitation gimmick on the mound... I thought he was simply standing there looking off in the distance... Nope, just hovering... Holland was expected to resign with Colorado over the winter, but he never did work out a deal and the Rockies went with his former teammate in Kansas City, Wade Davis, instead.
While nowhere near as obnoxious as the Astros uniforms of the 1970's the current throwbacks have just a slice of rainbow, instead of a wraparound torso of sherbert...
The insane hobby fever of Strasburg has long since died down, and it's hard to believe that was 7-8 years ago already... Nice to see a former number one overall draft pick have a successful career, and I've been rooting for Strasburg since before the Nationals picked him...
Back to back in the pack... I knew going in that I was going to see a bunch of Judge, but was surprised that it wasn't anywhere near as much as I pictured... It was within the bounds of reason!
Found it funny that rookie card of Hoskins followed immediate after the Aaron Judge double shot. As Judge went through a post-All Star Break slump, Philadelphia called Hoskins up from the minors and he went on a home run binge that had people momentarily forgetting about Aaron Judge...
After years of being ignored by Topps for not having the young players that collectors are chasing, Minnesota now gets inserts of Sano in every set. As a collector denied interesting insert cards of Twins for decades, Sano is a breath of fresh air...
I could immediately tell when I opened the pack that Target had sent along a relic. (Pack searchers musta not hit River Point Target yet, and that earns major points...) I waited for it's reveal until I reached it. As I opened all the packs, I wrote down each card one by one for this story. Once the Sano blockage was removed, I saw the Kershaw and was even happier. Kershaw is no journeyman middle infielder with little power... The type of plain jersey chunks I usually see from packs.
Topps getting a little more egotistic with their boasting here... "Look! We sell exclusive cards online and they are so awesome that we are going to make an insert set about it in our Flagship brand to advertise how awesome we are!"
Where's my Minnesota Twins Bartolo Colon card Topps? Oh that's right, I had to buy one online from your exclusive club on the one day you decided to sell them... Which I didn't know about...
Gee, (not Dillon, you didn't make a Twins card for him either...) why have I grown so disgruntled with the single manufacturer baseball card market?
Watching the 2017-18 offseason progress has been fascinating to me. I think we may be in a bit of a market correction, where the top free agents are simply not getting the contract offers they feel they deserve. I buy into the theory that teams have wised up to the sunk cost that most free agent contracts end up being in their fifth and sixth year. Reportedly, Hosmer has two contract offers (from the Royals and the Padres, woth over $140 million, over 7 years), but has yet to sign. At some point you have to accept that no one else is going to cough up $180 million, if that's what you're looking for.
You have every right in the world to hold out for a contract you want, but no one is obligated to give it to you...
I am very worried about how the Players Association will react to this, even if it is indeed a market correction. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has suggested the players go on strike once the current CBA expires in 2021.
Miami Marlins were rather scarce in my packs it seemed. I didn't keep track, but I didn't seem to get as many fish as other teams. Maybe they were just too embarrassed to show up? New owner Derek Jeter has his work cut out for him, and it will be difficult cleaning up Loria's mess...
Definitely one of the 2018 Topps Series One base cards I wanted the most... This is also a great example of Topps Toppsifying a photograph. I'd have preferred an unfiltered shot, but I'm thinking it was slightly blurry, hence the alterations.
I'm being a bit picky perhaps, you do that with cards of your favorite players... I would have preferred Topps choosing a Buxton picture that showed off some incredible defensive play, but a "speed out of the box" shot isn't one you commonly get...
When the Sheridan Target opened in 2008, it used to have a decent card section at the front of the store. In it's first decade on the retail map, baseball cards have become a shrinking inventory at River Point. Personally, I think the loss of Upper Deck had something to do with it... With a little economy sprinkled on top...
Denver's Federal and Evans WalMarts's card shelf remains impressive, especially considering the relatively small size of the store...
The small WalMarts was built on the grave of a MASSIVE Kmart, which closed in January 2013. The photo is from April 2013, the store was demolished a couple of months later. WalMarts opened in the Spring of 2014. I've always wondered why they didn't take advantage of the large K Mart land and build something arranged on the property that would give them a bigger store?
Which also makes it all the more interesting that this particular WalMarts has by far the biggest card section of any WalMarts in the south Denver metro.
There's a buncha 2017 (all three series) and 2018 Topps available. But nothing beyond Flagship (other than a couple of those horrifying Topps Gallery cards...) which is how it's been all last year...
Some 2016 Topps Series Two are hanging there on blowout. I bought very few of those two years ago, and may take advantage of that price someday...
Panini has a huge presence here with their NBA and NFL cards, while Upper Deck is demoted to just the NHL license. They do have Yu-Gi-Oh, which makes up a good percentage of losing the top three of the four major sports... Topps does have Star Wars and a surprisingly large percentage of Wrasslin cards for sale...
Things picked up once that ended with another Twin I needed. With another decent season, Santana could probably claim the honor of "Best free agent starting pitcher the Twins have ever signed." Setting the table for Yu Darvish to sign with Minnesota and pitching even better for five seasons...
Target gets it. Throw Twins cards at me to butter me up... Great action shot here too... Polanco took a big step forward in 2017, solidifying his as Minnesota's shortstop until he's is eventually pushed out by the trifecta of Twins top shortstop prospects:
2017 #1 Overall Draft Pick, Royce Lewis; 2014 #4 Overall Draft Pick, Nick Gordon and 2015 International Free Agent signee, Wander Javier.
I saw this card on Night Owl's 2018 Topps post, and it immediately became my favorite card from what I'd seen to that point. Starting with the home alternate throwback 1960's uniform. Target Field video scoreboard and the Treasure Island Cove seats above make a great contrasting background.
Jury is still out on Slegers as a Major League starting pitcher. His 4 game (3 start) tryout with Minnesota brought some interesting numbers. He misses bats and doesn't give up a great deal of hits. Walks were kept down, but the strikeouts were below average. There's room for improvement, but the odds of Slegers being much more than a number 5 in an average rotation aren't that high.
Please ignore the long piece of hair that fell on the scanner. It's my own and not a part of Charlie Blackmon's mane. I was going to re-scan it, but those cards are already boxed up and put away. I was going to attempt to Photoshop it out, but without a great deal of work, it would still look like a flaw in the cardboard...
I like the way Topps designed the Award Winners insert set this year. This photo of Bellinger fits the design as if the design were based on this photo. Some of the others in the set look nice, but none approach Bellinger's...
I like these. They earn bonus points for sticking to the 1983 Topps color pairings. From what I've seen anyway.... The 35th Anniversary foil stamp is a good way of noting it, since the design is a dead on 1983 impression.
Topps did a better job with it's Jeter tribute set, than they did with the Kris Bryant set. (Well, how much more was there to work with...) The bottom quarter of the card fits the subject perfect. Not that I need any more. I have way more than enough Derek Jeter in my collection... But this one's a keeper.
Since the card isn't for sale, I'm going to say the hair is actually a strange crease going through both this and Charlie Blackmon's cards! My collection certainly doesn't care...
Now this is a great photo. The entire Rockies starting infield (L-R: Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, D.J. LeMahieu and Mark Reynolds) having a conference, behind the mound at Coors Field. Just hanging out during a pitching change...
PNC Park in Pittsburgh also takes some great pictures. Weather it's the circular ramp in the left field corner, or the iconic Roberto Clemente bridge over the Alleghaney River, you immediately know when you've got a PNC Park photo... And Tapia's hair rules...
Three Twins I needed... Five Rockies I needed...
I was hoping the Twins would have drafted Nola at #4 in 2014, instead of Nick Gordon. I thought Nola would succeed fast going into the 2014 draft... Gordon is still a top 100 prospect in the middle infield today. Nola was drafted at #6 by Philadelphia, and has already pitched 60 starts in the major leagues. Going 24-22 for some really bad Phillies teams, with 373 strikeouts in 356.2 innings. And he's only 24 years old...
I like to keep tabs on who the New York Mets give #40 to each year. That number belonged to Wasted Quarter's Favorite Player from 1988-1993, and it has bounced around ever since. I think it was future Minnesota Twin Bartolo Colon who wore #40 before New York traded for Ramos last Summer.
Foil parallels were the only parallels I got in my packs. I didn't highlight any of them because the photos were unremarkable. Davies isn't either...
Currently a free agent, I think the Rockies should drop a million or two and resign him. Reynolds wont command a top salary, and more than proved his value to the Rockies over the past couple of years.
CarGo is also a free agent, and has meant a lot to the Rockies franchise, since arriving in the Matt Holiday trade, way back in the 2008-09 offseason. There has been mild interest from Color in resigning Gonzalez, and I'd like to see it at an acceptable price. CarGo is the type of player with a strong tie to the franchise that you want to be smart about in contract negotiations. I don't think he is a $10 million player any more. But at half that, I'd sign CarGo for that anyday...
This card of Pence shows him in mid unorthodox swing. Which is how I best remember Pence's game. He shows up on the MLB Network a lot, given his hyperactive athlete personality, he makes for good television. As his career is starting to wind down, he's looking into other ventures. I watched a feature on Pence's new coffee and game store he and some partners are putting together in Houston.
Why the Yankees? The baseball world needed Stanton to not play for the Yankees and that stadium that keeps giving us ridiculous home run totals at sea level... I'm already tired of the Stanton/Judge back to back home run highlight videos...
Great deal of duplicates here, but the new (to me) cards had some particularly good photos. Just not nearly enough to sway me from Tagret's Kershaw contribution...
The winner of the Four Baggers and Foreclosures 2018 Topps Retail Challange is the Target in Sheridan Colorado!
Hats off to Topps. They've been disappointing me consistently since 2011 (though, I really like 2015 Topps), but this is a set that I wholeheartedly like.
Yes, there are a ton of rookie cards, likely more than there should be... In hopes of striking rich with another Judge or Bellanger showing up this season, creating another collector rush, Topps predictably threw in as many fringe rookies as they could. Which gives 2018 Topps a slight Bowmanny flavor. Not entirely a bad thing as I got a very "2017 Bowman" feel in the general appearance of the flagship brand.
The color in the photos is deep and not washed out. Topps wisely didn't go all photoshoppy and put bizarre filters on too many of the photos. Fog has been burned away, and the oppressive pile of collapsed steel girders has been removed, freeing up the picture.
Someone has already likened the team logo in the corner appearing as if it were riding a waterslide. Fair comparison... But it works in this context, and doesn't take away from the image.
And thank you Topps for weaning yourself off the excessive foil stamping. I'm glad they went with standard ink to define the player's name, position and/or team. In addition to making scanning them easier, the cards just look nicer and easier to read. And scan.
I've been looking at a small thumbnail of this card on my desktop for a while today, and all I can see is Tyler's Saladong hanging down between his legs. Not so much when viewed at full size, but reduce it down to an inch wide and you'll see what I mean...
Seriously... Topps finally put in some effort to vary up the photography a bit this year. The last few seasons Topps sets have been far too much of pitchers making wacky throwing face and batters batting. I really enjoyed flipping through these as they were fun and not tedious to look at.
The departure from the multiple player themed League Leaders subset to just a single player took a little getting used to. I liked the top three player collages of the past...
Overall, there's a lack of redundant parallels and pointless inserts that choked Topps packs over the last decade. The 2013 & 2014 Topps sets had blue, yellow, green, red, and then a second rainbow of even rarer parallel sets for every card in the base set. They just became irritating after a while.
With new card releases, I've often liked to do my 2 pack challenge. Where I buy two packs of a given card brand and use what the two packs contain to form my opinion on it... However, with 2018 Topps, I was intrigued enough by what I'd seen online to want a little more...
The 2 Pack Challenge simply wouldn't do...
This needed to be the 2 Retail Big Box Store Challenge!
I decided for my introduction to 2018 Topps Baseball, that I would buy two 36 card jumbo packs and one 72 value box, from the Super Target Store at River Point in Sheridan, Colorado...
I would then buy an equal amount of 2018 Topps from the WalMarts at Evans Ave and Federal Blvd. in Denver, Colorado.
The 2 Retail Big Box Store Challenge will be contested in two rounds of Jumbo Pack-offs, then a final Value Box-off...
I will judge the packs specifically on what I think of them as I go. Not very subjective, but that's the way things go here. Why define the rules when I'm only going to break them ten minutes later?
Completely fictitious random coin flip sees Target winning the opening tear....
Hanger tag on the Target Jumbo Packs are labeled "More Value! As compared to our single packs." I agree and almost never buy those single packs that have been banging around inside the hanger box. They just get beat up too much by pack searchers and careless children.
But first... Let me reveal the first 2018 card of 2018 in 2018 is...
Nomar Mazara - Rangers
Nice looking card, decent player with a bright future, perfectly acceptable first card.
Zack Cosart - Reds
Luis Perdomo - Padres
Alex Avila - Cubs
Andrew McCutchen - Pirates
It's going to be strange seeing Cutch in a Giants uniforms from now on...
John Lester - Cubs
Aaron Nola - Phillies
Mitch Moreland - Red Sox
Khris Davis - Athletics
Eric Hosmer - Royals - League Leaders
Paul Blackburn - Athletics RC
Chance Cisco - Orioles RC
Parker Bridwell - Angels RC
Christian Arroyo - Giants - FS
Alex Bregman - Astros - Future Star
I think it's safe to say Bregman is a current star, in addition to being one in the future. I liked this tag when it was used for more appropriate players on 1980's and 1990's Topps cards
Carlos Carrasco - Indians - League Leaders
Nick Markakis - Braves - Foil
Ryan McMahon - Rockies - 1983 Anniversary
1983 Topps is a great set (that I need to free from it's 800ct box and put in album pages, along with the 1983 Traded set) that I don't mind seeing rehashed, despite it becoming overdone. McMahon is an intriguing prospect for Colorado. They currently do not have an established starter signed to play first, so McMahon has a decent shot at making the 2018 team. He's been a strong hitter in the minors, so it would be easy to imagine he could at least post respectable numbers with a Coors Field boost.
Evan Longoria - Rays - Short Print
Which is going to be stranger, McCutchen or Longoria in the Orange and Black? I'm not sure if I'm on board with what San Francisco is doing. They seem to be doubling down on veterans on an already aging team. As a Rockies fan, I hope to see the Giants in an extended basement stay...
Buster Posey - Giants - Legends in the Making
Much respect to Posey, however....
Neil Walker - Brewers
Brandon Finnegan - Reds
Corey Knebel - Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers - Team Card
Boston Red Sox - Team Card
J.P. Crawford - Phillies RC
Boston B-Boys - Betts Brad & Bens
And that makes me like it it again...
Danny Salazar - Indians
Edwin Diaz - Mariners
Antonio Senzatela - Rockies
Rather pedestrian shot of one of the Rockies impressive stockpile of good young arms. I was very happy with how Senzatela pitched last season, and hope to see another step forward next season. Some predict he could pair with Jon Gray, and give Colorado a pretty good top of the rotation. Which would be nice to see...
Stephen Piscotty - Cardinals
Marwin Gonzalez - Astros
Adrian Beltre - Rangers
Focused Beltre in a blurry Target Field.
Ian Kennedy - Royals
Another shot from Target Field. (I think I watched this game on my phone last year...) When Target Field was being built, I'd hoped it would lend itself to interesting photos, and be featured in card sets with some regularity. That has actually panned out. Target Field does have a distinctive look in card photographs, and is a popular target (HA!) for baseball photographers.
Justin Smoak - Blue Jays
Julio Urias - Dodgers
So that was a good pack to familiarize myself with 2018 Topps. Overall, I liked what I saw. This was a major improvement over 2016 and 2017 Topps.
But not all was roses....
Cano Card Back Disappointment...
My biggest gripe with 2017 Topps wasn't the cumbersome design that ruined almost every photo. That wasn't a deal breaker... 850 Aaron Judge cards wasn't even my biggest point of contention... It was the lack of complete career statistics. You can plainly read that Robinson Cano has played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, but only 5 of them are represented in stats....
Some of my earliest card collecting memories come from pouring over career statistics on the 1987 Topps set. That was how I learned about who was good and who wasn't. Subsiquently, who I needed to collect...
Topps took that away in 2017... And didn't give it back in 2018....
Up next in round 1...
The 2018 Topps WalMarts jumbo Pack!
WalMarts Jumbos are different from Target's, with the inclusion of a special Kris Bryant Highlights subset. While I'm not a Bryant or Cubs fan, I have to say that's a MUCH better selling point than just saying "VALUE!" in big letters.
Not a deal breaker Target, but often it is the little things...
Eduardo Rodriguez - Red Sox
Todd Frazier - Yankees
Tyler Flowers - Braves
Miguel Sano - Twins
Mike Trout - Angels
Yasiel Puig - Dodgers
Matt Kemp - Braves
Never been a Kemp fan, but this is a great shot of Kemp at SunTrust. No longer Kemp's home park...
Robbie Grossman - Twins
Slightly surprised that Grossman is still featured prominently in Minneosta's plans for 2018. He still provides value with his relatively low salary, but occupies a roster spot that is ripe for upgrading...
Mark Trumbo - Orioles
Max Scherzer - Nationals - League Leader
Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals
This is like a Washington Nationals Hot Pack...
Nelson Cruz - Mariners
Eric Hosmer - Royals - League Leaders
Paul Blackburn - Athletics RC
Chance Cisco - Orioles RC
Addison Russell - Cubs - Superstar Sensations
I kinda like this insert...
George Springer - Astros - 1983 Anniversary
And I've already mentioned my appreciation for this set....
Yadier Molina - Cardinals - Legends in the Making
Kris Bryant - Cubs - Highlights
This would be the WalMarts exclusive Kris Bryant Highlights subset. After all, Bryant has played three complete seasons in the Majors, he certainly is due for a large insert set dedicated to honoring his legendary status as a 24 year old... Nice card design though...
Dansby Swanson - Braves - Future Stars
I don't like the Braves, but I want Dansby to do well....
Garrett Cooper - Yankees - RC
Cam Gallagher - Royals - RC
Atlanta Braves - Team Card
Victor Robles - Nationals -RC
Is he good enough to be Bryce Harper's replacement in 2019?
Ariel Miranda - Mariners
A good example of less than peak enthusiasm...
Alex Verdugo - Dodgers - RC
I'm tired of good Dodgers rookies....
Baltimore Orioles - Team Card
Antonio Senzatela - Rockies
Stephen Piscotty - Cardinals
Marwin Gonzalez - Astros
Adrian Beltre - Rangers
Ian Kennedy - Royals
Justin Smoak - Blue Jays
Julio Urias - Dodgers
Gio Gonzalez - Nationals
Carlos Carrasco - Indians
There wasn't a huge amount of doubles in this pack, so I wrote it off for now. Once all was said and done, I got a whole lot less doubles and triples than I usually do from Flagship Topps. So there was a small victory wrapped up in this...
Judging Round 1...
While both weighed in fairly equal, and neither store offering a blow away prize, Im leaning towards that WalMarts pack, for the sole reason of it contained Twins. And a whole buncha Washington Nationals... It was close, but in the end, the winner of Round 1 is the WalMarts...
So I will give them...
One Golden Sphincter!
Placing them in lead in this hotly contested battle of the retail giants...
It's neck and neck heading into Round Two...
Which will be opened by the Jumbo pack from WalMarts...
Round Two!
Yulieski Gurriel - Astros
Kendrys Morales - Blue Jays
Mookie Betts - Red Sox
Marcus Semien - Athletics
Jackie Bradley Jr. - Red Sox
Luis Severino - Yankees
Adam Jones - Orioles
Jose Reyes - Mets
Reyes was a throw-in from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, to offset salary and give Colorado a shortstop to replace him. Reyes got here and was a whiney dick, then beat his wife up and got released by the Rockies. So we paid the Mets to play Reyes so we didn't have to. His contract ended last year, and he has resigned with the Mets. But at least the Rockies are no longer footing the bill...
Andrew Stevenson - Nationals - RC
I like the Nationals alternate jerseys.
Raudy Read - Nationals - RC
Never heard of him.... And that's surprising to me...
J.D. Davis - Astros - RC
Ryan McMahon - Rockies - RC
I already talked about McMahon and his chances with the 2018 Rockies. This is also a nice Coors Field shot, and those don't come along in every set...
Trey Mancini - Orioles - Future Stars
Jason Vargas - Royals - League Leaders
Jayson Werth - Nationals
Don Mattingly - Yankees - Legends
When I was packing up the baseball card albums and scanning a bunch of them for possible stories, I made it a point to scan a good percentage of the Mattingly's as that is one of the intended ones. I don't know if I will get around to writing it very soon, but I am somewhat prepared to make it happen if the motivation strikes.
Andrew Benintendi - Red Sox - Superstar Sensations
Miguel Cabrera - Tigers - Short Print
Cabrera is another of those unofficial collections I keep. So it's nice to get a rarer new Miggy card in a pack, that I wouldn't normally go out of my way to add to my binders.
Yu Darvish - Dodgers - Legends in the Making
Yu, You need to sign with Minnesota... They need you, Yu... You could be a key figure in turning around the franchise, Yu... 5 years, $125 million... Everyone wins Yu.... Minnesota needs you Yu... Sign with the Twins...
Kris Bryant - Cubs - Highlights
Joe Mauer - Twins
Mauer takes a mighty hack and launches the ball nearly 37 feet before seven hops to shortstop.... But the Twins only have to pay Mauer $23 million to hit weak ground balls to opposing infielders for the 2018 season....
So come on Yu... You should be the guy the Twins pay Mauer Money to, after not paying Mauer anymore!
But that is a pretty cool picture....
Brian Dozier - Twins
As much as the Twins are overpaying Mauer for poor production, Minnesota has gotten one hell of a bargain in Dozier. Second basemen that hit 40 home runs in a season don't come along very often, and the Twins have had one. They've also paid him relatively little over the life of his bargain multi-year contract. Which also ends in 2018, so this may be his last go round with the Twins.
Trevor Story - Rockies
Look at all the purple... Story was the Rockies Story for the first half of 2016, until injuries stopped his season in July. He comeback in 2017 wasn't a step forward, but he didn't fall flat either. It will be interesting to see how 2018 goes for Story, Colorado's top prospect, Brendan Rogers, is also a shortstop. Story could easily be moved for more pitching...
Luis Gohara - Braves - RC
Tyler Mahle - Reds - RC
Ian Happ - Cubs - Future Stars
Detroit Tigers - Team Card
Eugenio Suarez - Reds
Johnny Cueto - Giants
Nolan Arenado - Rockies
No matter what Colorado does, they need to sign this guy to a megadeal... I've never seen a third basemen make the defensive plays that Arenado can with ease. Add to that, 40 home run power, and you have a franchise cornerstone player. That you need to lock in before you wake up in 2 years and his Rockies purple has been traded for Dodger Blue...
Dexter Fowler - Cardinals
Topps... Zoom out just a click so you get the full baseball in mid-air... Maybe even clear Fowler's foot from the waterslide?
David Dahl - Rockies
Just be healthy in 2018 please...
Mike Leake - Mariners
Danny Duffy - Royals
Troy Tulowitzki - Blue Jays
Was sad to see him go at the 2015 Trading Deadline, but it was the right move for the franchise. And his time in Toronto has been marred by injury. A painful but brilliant trade made at precisely the right time, a rare trade win for Colorado. And Tulowitzki is still one of my all time favorite Rockies.
Alex Wood - Dodgers
This pack ended with bang, and brought a lot to the table in both quality Twins and Rockies. Strong inserts left me feeling that WalMarts Jumbo would go for a clean sweep.
But Target has a chance for a comeback with it's second Jumbo Pack...
Let's see what is hiding behind the Target Trout...
(And thanks again Topps for not putting Aaron Judge on the pack art...)
(And thanks again Topps for not putting Aaron Judge on the pack art...)
Amir Garrett - Reds
Daniel Coulombe - Athletics
Greg Holland - Rockies
I missed it the first time I looked at this card, but Holland is doing a low impact levitation gimmick on the mound... I thought he was simply standing there looking off in the distance... Nope, just hovering... Holland was expected to resign with Colorado over the winter, but he never did work out a deal and the Rockies went with his former teammate in Kansas City, Wade Davis, instead.
Holland is still looking for a 2018 team.
Kolten Wong - Cardinals
George Springer - Astros
While nowhere near as obnoxious as the Astros uniforms of the 1970's the current throwbacks have just a slice of rainbow, instead of a wraparound torso of sherbert...
Elvis Andrus - Rangers
Salvador Perez - Royals
Howie Kendrick - Nationals
Yulieski Gurriel - Astros
Khris Davis - Athletics - League Leaders
Stephen Strasburg - Nationals - League Leaders
The insane hobby fever of Strasburg has long since died down, and it's hard to believe that was 7-8 years ago already... Nice to see a former number one overall draft pick have a successful career, and I've been rooting for Strasburg since before the Nationals picked him...
And then I imagine the franchise back in Montreal...
Zack Greinke - Diamondbacks - League Leaders
Aaron Judge - Yankees - League Leaders
Aaron Judge - Yankees - Future Stars
Back to back in the pack... I knew going in that I was going to see a bunch of Judge, but was surprised that it wasn't anywhere near as much as I pictured... It was within the bounds of reason!
Rhys Hoskins - Phillies - RC
Found it funny that rookie card of Hoskins followed immediate after the Aaron Judge double shot. As Judge went through a post-All Star Break slump, Philadelphia called Hoskins up from the minors and he went on a home run binge that had people momentarily forgetting about Aaron Judge...
Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals - Comeback Player of the Year
Carlos Martinez - Cardinals - 1983 Anniversary
Miguel Sano - Twins - Legends in the Making
After years of being ignored by Topps for not having the young players that collectors are chasing, Minnesota now gets inserts of Sano in every set. As a collector denied interesting insert cards of Twins for decades, Sano is a breath of fresh air...
Unless he's harassing women because of his status as a young power hitting third baseman...
Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers - Major League Material
I could immediately tell when I opened the pack that Target had sent along a relic. (Pack searchers musta not hit River Point Target yet, and that earns major points...) I waited for it's reveal until I reached it. As I opened all the packs, I wrote down each card one by one for this story. Once the Sano blockage was removed, I saw the Kershaw and was even happier. Kershaw is no journeyman middle infielder with little power... The type of plain jersey chunks I usually see from packs.
This also marked my first Kershaw relic.
I took care of getting his autograph at WalMarts in late 2006...
Aaron Judge - Yankees - Topps Now Bragging Opportunity Insert
Topps getting a little more egotistic with their boasting here... "Look! We sell exclusive cards online and they are so awesome that we are going to make an insert set about it in our Flagship brand to advertise how awesome we are!"
Where's my Minnesota Twins Bartolo Colon card Topps? Oh that's right, I had to buy one online from your exclusive club on the one day you decided to sell them... Which I didn't know about...
Gee, (not Dillon, you didn't make a Twins card for him either...) why have I grown so disgruntled with the single manufacturer baseball card market?
David Peralta - Diamondbacks
Eric Hosmer - Royals
Now this is an awesome photo!
Watching the 2017-18 offseason progress has been fascinating to me. I think we may be in a bit of a market correction, where the top free agents are simply not getting the contract offers they feel they deserve. I buy into the theory that teams have wised up to the sunk cost that most free agent contracts end up being in their fifth and sixth year. Reportedly, Hosmer has two contract offers (from the Royals and the Padres, woth over $140 million, over 7 years), but has yet to sign. At some point you have to accept that no one else is going to cough up $180 million, if that's what you're looking for.
You have every right in the world to hold out for a contract you want, but no one is obligated to give it to you...
And I like Hosmer...
I am very worried about how the Players Association will react to this, even if it is indeed a market correction. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has suggested the players go on strike once the current CBA expires in 2021.
I really don't want to see the 1994 catastrophe again...
Tyler Saladino - White Sox
Atlanta Braves - Team Card
Victor Robles - Nationals -RC
Ariel Miranda - Mariners
Alex Verdugo - Dodgers - RC
Ian Kinsler - Tigers
Joey Gallo - Rangers
Chris Owings - Diamondbacks
Edison Volquez - Marlins
Nick Ahmed - Diamondbacks
Byron Buxton - Twins
Definitely one of the 2018 Topps Series One base cards I wanted the most... This is also a great example of Topps Toppsifying a photograph. I'd have preferred an unfiltered shot, but I'm thinking it was slightly blurry, hence the alterations.
I'm being a bit picky perhaps, you do that with cards of your favorite players... I would have preferred Topps choosing a Buxton picture that showed off some incredible defensive play, but a "speed out of the box" shot isn't one you commonly get...
Lonnie Chisenhall - Indians
Jeff Samardzija - Giants
Even without the Kershaw jersey chunk, this pack was leaning in Target's direction...
Round 2 goes to Target
They get a Red Bullseye!
******
Tie breaker!
Just kidding, this is more of an intermission.
Judgement of each store's retail offerings!
When the Sheridan Target opened in 2008, it used to have a decent card section at the front of the store. In it's first decade on the retail map, baseball cards have become a shrinking inventory at River Point. Personally, I think the loss of Upper Deck had something to do with it... With a little economy sprinkled on top...
Denver's Federal and Evans WalMarts's card shelf remains impressive, especially considering the relatively small size of the store...
The small WalMarts was built on the grave of a MASSIVE Kmart, which closed in January 2013. The photo is from April 2013, the store was demolished a couple of months later. WalMarts opened in the Spring of 2014. I've always wondered why they didn't take advantage of the large K Mart land and build something arranged on the property that would give them a bigger store?
Which also makes it all the more interesting that this particular WalMarts has by far the biggest card section of any WalMarts in the south Denver metro.
I really wish this picture turned out clear...
There's a buncha 2017 (all three series) and 2018 Topps available. But nothing beyond Flagship (other than a couple of those horrifying Topps Gallery cards...) which is how it's been all last year...
Some 2016 Topps Series Two are hanging there on blowout. I bought very few of those two years ago, and may take advantage of that price someday...
Panini has a huge presence here with their NBA and NFL cards, while Upper Deck is demoted to just the NHL license. They do have Yu-Gi-Oh, which makes up a good percentage of losing the top three of the four major sports... Topps does have Star Wars and a surprisingly large percentage of Wrasslin cards for sale...
Man do I wish Upper Deck still had an MLB license...
For reasons of retail display, I'm going to award WalMarts with a very important half point...
Or a half sphincter...
*******
Now it's time for the main event...
The Battle of the Boxes of Value!
For the final round, we will have a 72 card duel to the death!
No, no one is dying over this. Maybe just of boredom...
Because I say so, Target will go first...
The point of Target's Value Box's sales pitch isn't value,
it's two exclusive Derek Jeter Highlights cards....
Oh, I get it! I see what you're doing Topps...
Let's start this round off with a lengthy run of doubles...
Alex Avila - Cubs
Andrew McCutchen - Pirates
John Lester - Cubs
Aaron Nola - Phillies
Mitch Moreland - Red Sox
Khris Davis - Athletics
Mike Foltynewicz - Braves
A.J. Ramos - Mets
Brandon Drury - Diamondbacks
Ryan Braun - Brewers
Garrett Richards - Angels
Martin Prado - Marlins
Matt Adams - Braves
Ervin Santana - Twins
Things picked up once that ended with another Twin I needed. With another decent season, Santana could probably claim the honor of "Best free agent starting pitcher the Twins have ever signed." Setting the table for Yu Darvish to sign with Minnesota and pitching even better for five seasons...
We need you Yu!
Nick Markakis - Braves
Jorge Polanco - Twins
Target gets it. Throw Twins cards at me to butter me up... Great action shot here too... Polanco took a big step forward in 2017, solidifying his as Minnesota's shortstop until he's is eventually pushed out by the trifecta of Twins top shortstop prospects:
2017 #1 Overall Draft Pick, Royce Lewis; 2014 #4 Overall Draft Pick, Nick Gordon and 2015 International Free Agent signee, Wander Javier.
Eduardo Nunez - Red Sox
Greg Allen - Indians - RC
Amed Rosario - Mets - RC
Cody Bellinger - Dogers - Future Stars
Soothing Los Angeles colors...
Even Topps "Batter Face" picture doesn't disrupt the laid backedness...
Max Fried - Braves - RC
Aaron Slegers - Twins - RC
I saw this card on Night Owl's 2018 Topps post, and it immediately became my favorite card from what I'd seen to that point. Starting with the home alternate throwback 1960's uniform. Target Field video scoreboard and the Treasure Island Cove seats above make a great contrasting background.
Even after seeing a whole bunch more 2018 Topps, Slegers remains a top 5 favorite.
Jury is still out on Slegers as a Major League starting pitcher. His 4 game (3 start) tryout with Minnesota brought some interesting numbers. He misses bats and doesn't give up a great deal of hits. Walks were kept down, but the strikeouts were below average. There's room for improvement, but the odds of Slegers being much more than a number 5 in an average rotation aren't that high.
But he will always have an awesome rookie card in my book!
Harrison Bader - RC
Avasial Garcia - White Sox - League Leaders
Nolan Arenado - Rockies - League Leaders
Trea Turner - Nationals
Charlie Blackmon - Rockies - League Leaders
Please ignore the long piece of hair that fell on the scanner. It's my own and not a part of Charlie Blackmon's mane. I was going to re-scan it, but those cards are already boxed up and put away. I was going to attempt to Photoshop it out, but without a great deal of work, it would still look like a flaw in the cardboard...
Aaron Judge - Yankees - League Leaders
Francisco Mejie - Indians - RC
Lucas Sims - Braves - RC
Christian Arroyo - Giants - Memorial Day
Cody Bellinger - Dodgers - Rookie of the Year
Garrett Richards - Angels - Foil
Nelson Cruz - Mariners - 1983 Anniversary
I like these. They earn bonus points for sticking to the 1983 Topps color pairings. From what I've seen anyway.... The 35th Anniversary foil stamp is a good way of noting it, since the design is a dead on 1983 impression.
Wil Myers - Padres - Legends in the Making
Joey Votto - Reds - Legends in the Making
Derek Jeter - Yankees - Highlights
Derek Jeter - Yankees - Highlights
Topps did a better job with it's Jeter tribute set, than they did with the Kris Bryant set. (Well, how much more was there to work with...) The bottom quarter of the card fits the subject perfect. Not that I need any more. I have way more than enough Derek Jeter in my collection... But this one's a keeper.
Cody Bellinger - Dodgers - Legends in the Making
Ian Kinsler - Tigers - Short Print
Yaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnn....
Trevor Story - Rockies
Yasmani Grandal - Dodgers
Brett Gardner - Yankees
Great photo. End of story.
Mark Reynolds - Rockies
Neil Walker - Brewers
Joey Gallo - Rangers - League Leaders
Seattle Mariners - Team Card
What is Robinson Cano staring at instead of the flag!
Angels - Team Card
Gotta love a post home run celebration in the dugout...
Colorado Rockies - Team Card
That's it!
Now this is a great photo. The entire Rockies starting infield (L-R: Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, D.J. LeMahieu and Mark Reynolds) having a conference, behind the mound at Coors Field. Just hanging out during a pitching change...
Miami Marlins - Team Card
Jordy Mercer - Pirates
Aledmys Diaz - Cardinals
Alex Bregman - Astros - World Series
Like the World Series subset cards a lot.
Whos On First - Rizzarper (eye roll...)
Wil Myers - Padres
Josh Tomlin - Indians
Robinson Cano - Mariners
Raimel Tapia - Rockies
PNC Park in Pittsburgh also takes some great pictures. Weather it's the circular ramp in the left field corner, or the iconic Roberto Clemente bridge over the Alleghaney River, you immediately know when you've got a PNC Park photo... And Tapia's hair rules...
Michael Wacha - Cardinals
Michael Fullmer - Tigers
Corey Dickerson - Rays
One of my favorite Rockies when he played in Denver from 2013-2015...
Josh Reddick - Astros
Did Reddick hit a blast out of the park in the right field corner...
Or did he pop it up foul behind first base?
Either way, nice photo!
Or did he pop it up foul behind first base?
Either way, nice photo!
Andrew Cashner - Rangers
Cheslor Cuthbert - Royals
Jose Bautista - Blue Jays
Carlos Rodon - White Sox
Starling Marte - Pirates
PNC, black and mustard alternate uniforms... Great card despite Topp "Batter Face" showing up...
John Lackey - Cubs
Maikel Franco - Phillies
Matt Barnes - Red Sox
C.C. Sabathia - Yankees
Kevin Gausman - Orioles
A very strong showing in the final round for Target...
Three Twins I needed... Five Rockies I needed...
WalMarts is going to have to pull off a miracle to get the win...
You know, a Sano autograph would surely do it...
WalMarts gets it's last ups, and here is their representative in the final battle...
After just two new cards, I got a lengthy string of doubles and triples...
That's not helping the WalMarts at all...
Jake Odorizzi - Rays
Joe Musgrove - Astros
Nomar Mazara - Rangers
Zack Cosart - Reds
Luis Perdomo - Padres
Alex Avila - Cubs
Andrew McCutchen - Pirates
John Lester - Cubs
Aaron Nola - Phillies
I was hoping the Twins would have drafted Nola at #4 in 2014, instead of Nick Gordon. I thought Nola would succeed fast going into the 2014 draft... Gordon is still a top 100 prospect in the middle infield today. Nola was drafted at #6 by Philadelphia, and has already pitched 60 starts in the major leagues. Going 24-22 for some really bad Phillies teams, with 373 strikeouts in 356.2 innings. And he's only 24 years old...
Minnesota needed that far more than another light hitting, good fielding middle infield prospect. The front office that made that call is gone now...
Mitch Moreland - Red Sox
Khris Davis - Athletics
Mike Foltynewicz - Braves
A.J. Ramos - Mets
I like to keep tabs on who the New York Mets give #40 to each year. That number belonged to Wasted Quarter's Favorite Player from 1988-1993, and it has bounced around ever since. I think it was future Minnesota Twin Bartolo Colon who wore #40 before New York traded for Ramos last Summer.
Brandon Drury - Diamondbacks
Ryan Braun - Brewers
Garrett Richards - Angels
Martin Prado - Marlins
Matt Adams - Braves
Ervin Santana - Twins
Parker Bridwell - Angels RC
Christian Arroyo - Giants - FS
Alex Bregman - Astros - FS
Carlos Carrasco - Indians - League Leaders
Potent Pair - Miggy & Hos
Miggy is Miguel Cabrera... Not Miguel Sano.
And Hos? Really Topps?
Stop trying to be cute... It rarely works...
Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers - League Leaders
Andrew Stevenson - Nationals - RC
Raudy Read - Nationals - RC
J.D. Davis - Astros - RC
Ryan McMahon - Rockies - RC
Trey Mancini - Orioles - Future Stars
Jason Vargas - Royals - League Leaders
Jayson Werth - Nationals
Harrison Bader - Cardinals - Rookies
Zack Grienke - Diamondbacks - Fielding Award
Zach Davies - Brewers - League Leaders - Foil
Foil parallels were the only parallels I got in my packs. I didn't highlight any of them because the photos were unremarkable. Davies isn't either...
Now get me a foil Aaron Slegers and I'm suddenly very interested...
Aaron Judge - Yankees - 1983 Anniversary
Slegers! Not Judge!
Kris Bryant - Cubs - Legends in the Making
Yadier Molina - Cardinals - Legends in the Making
Kris Bryant - Cubs - Highlights
Kris Bryant - Cubs - Highlights
Mark Reynolds - Rockies
Neil Walker - Brewers
Brandon Finnegan - Reds
I like this photo...
Corey Knebel - Brewers
Travis d'Arnaud - Mets
I really like this photo!
Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies
I really really like this photo!
CarGo is also a free agent, and has meant a lot to the Rockies franchise, since arriving in the Matt Holiday trade, way back in the 2008-09 offseason. There has been mild interest from Color in resigning Gonzalez, and I'd like to see it at an acceptable price. CarGo is the type of player with a strong tie to the franchise that you want to be smart about in contract negotiations. I don't think he is a $10 million player any more. But at half that, I'd sign CarGo for that anyday...
Justin Turner - Dodgers - League Leaders
Jean Segura - Mariners
Lance McCullers - Astros - World Series
Kevin Pillar - Blue Jays
Brad Hand - Padres
New York Yankees - Team Card
Luis Gohara - Braves - RC
Tyler Mahle - Reds - RC
Ian Happ - Cubs - Future Stars
Jordan Zimmermann - Tigers
Chris Archer - Rays
I get a big kick out of the Rays 1970's throwback uniforms.
The Rays didn't play their first game until 1998...
I miss the Devil Rays...
James McCann - Tigers
Kevin Kiermaier - Rays
The Rays have the best center fielder in baseball that is not named Byron Buxton...
or (begrudgingly) Mike Trout...
Nate Jones - White Sox
Chad Kuhl - Pirates
Jason Kipnis - Indians
Hunter Pence - Giants
Cant stand the Giants... But I kinda like Hunter Pence...
This card of Pence shows him in mid unorthodox swing. Which is how I best remember Pence's game. He shows up on the MLB Network a lot, given his hyperactive athlete personality, he makes for good television. As his career is starting to wind down, he's looking into other ventures. I watched a feature on Pence's new coffee and game store he and some partners are putting together in Houston.
Robbie Ray - Diamondbacks
Jonathan Villar - Brewers
Andrelton Simmons - Angels
Giancarlo Stanton - Marlins
Rick Porcello - Red Sox
Sean Manaea - Athletics
Scott Feldman - Reds
Wil Myers - Padres
Josh Tomlin - Indians
Robinson Cano - Mariners
Great deal of duplicates here, but the new (to me) cards had some particularly good photos. Just not nearly enough to sway me from Tagret's Kershaw contribution...
Hmmm... I think I have to to go with Target getting the decisive win in the third round...
WalMarts just fell short in the end.
So that means our final tally is...
Walmarts:
1 1/2 Golden Sphincters
Target:
2 Bullseyes.
You'll be getting a nice plaque or something...
Or maybe not...
*********
I will wrap this up with some final thoughts on my 2018 Topps Series One experience...
Which was quite a pleasant surprise to be completely honest...
I probably wont collect it, but I wont not buy it either...
Yes, there are a ton of rookie cards, likely more than there should be... In hopes of striking rich with another Judge or Bellanger showing up this season, creating another collector rush, Topps predictably threw in as many fringe rookies as they could. Which gives 2018 Topps a slight Bowmanny flavor. Not entirely a bad thing as I got a very "2017 Bowman" feel in the general appearance of the flagship brand.
And 2017 Bowman was a set I really liked.
The color in the photos is deep and not washed out. Topps wisely didn't go all photoshoppy and put bizarre filters on too many of the photos. Fog has been burned away, and the oppressive pile of collapsed steel girders has been removed, freeing up the picture.
Someone has already likened the team logo in the corner appearing as if it were riding a waterslide. Fair comparison... But it works in this context, and doesn't take away from the image.
And thank you Topps for weaning yourself off the excessive foil stamping. I'm glad they went with standard ink to define the player's name, position and/or team. In addition to making scanning them easier, the cards just look nicer and easier to read. And scan.
I've been looking at a small thumbnail of this card on my desktop for a while today, and all I can see is Tyler's Saladong hanging down between his legs. Not so much when viewed at full size, but reduce it down to an inch wide and you'll see what I mean...
See!!!
Seriously... Topps finally put in some effort to vary up the photography a bit this year. The last few seasons Topps sets have been far too much of pitchers making wacky throwing face and batters batting. I really enjoyed flipping through these as they were fun and not tedious to look at.
The departure from the multiple player themed League Leaders subset to just a single player took a little getting used to. I liked the top three player collages of the past...
At least the filler has been toned down a bit.
Overall, there's a lack of redundant parallels and pointless inserts that choked Topps packs over the last decade. The 2013 & 2014 Topps sets had blue, yellow, green, red, and then a second rainbow of even rarer parallel sets for every card in the base set. They just became irritating after a while.
I was actually surprised that I didn't get more Aaron Judgeses and Cody Bellangereses...
Topps made a nice comeback after 2017's update took a steamy dump in collectors mouths...
And Target is still better than WalMarts...
Rizzarper!
Some really nice cards there. I think the Longoria card is a SP. Nice pull!
ReplyDeleteI hope you took food breaks when you writing this ... Nice Kershaw pull!
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to write shorter stories... They just get out of hand!
Delete"Topps... Zoom out just a click so you get the full baseball in mid-air... Maybe even clear Fowler's foot from the waterslide?" Exactly. Topps stepped up the images this year over the past few, and have put out some really nice cards. But how someone missed the boat on this card with slightly too much cropping is sad.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting. Thanks for taking the time (which I assumed was a lot) for doing this. I don't buy much retail these days, but when I do it is always Target.
ReplyDelete