2020 Baseball Card Top Whatever
Let’s all rejoice that it’s not 2020 anymore.
So now that it’s 2021, let’s take a look back at last year, and review the baseball cards that I bought and didn’t cover in a story here. There was more than I’d expected once I looked at all of them, so the best way to handle this is Whatever...
In this case, that Whatever will be the Top 27 2020 Baseball Sets (that I bought at least one pack of).
With a few honorable mentions sprinkled around.
As a rule, I'm not going to show any cards that have already been featured. So this will be 100% "new" content. That's what's called "added value" to the already low low price of free! Additionally, I’m going to cover a few of the things I’m going to try and accomplish with the card collection in 2021.
Number one would be making sense of this disaster:
New BaseballCardLand was so nice and organized for the first couple of months after we moved into this house. However, some two plus years later, all of the new additions came without any organization. Looking at this picture, and the actual room, I have no clue what all of this stuff is and where it should go.
A lot of the new arrivals came from baseball items salvaged from my mom’s collection, after the house fire in May, 2020. While this picture looks pretty bad, it was surprising to see a great deal of the cards and memorabilia was still in acceptable condition. I took on many of the items that weren’t damaged by excess heat or smoke, which included several large boxes of stuff that I had left behind when I moved out of state in 1996.
So tackling all of this will be a big plan for 2021.
But let’s go back to last year!
Whatever...
#27 - 2020 Allen & Ginter Chrome
When I heard that Topps was Chromeing up the Allen & Ginter brand, my first impression was “why?” This set absolutely doesn’t need that. If you want to make an insert set that’s Chrome as a prat of the base set, go ahead. Make it like the one per box inserts in Heritage. It absolutely doesn’t fit the theme of the brand, but if it’s what you feel you have to do... Out of all the Topps brands, Allen & Ginter probably lends itself the least to a Chrome set. (Until 2021 Topps Opening Day Chrome hits the market in late September!) I was so against the idea that, I wasn’t going to buy any.
Then I decided to buy one pack just so I could dump on it here.
Yeah... This is absolutely NOT what Allen & Ginter is supposed to be.
Although, the mini cards are kind of novel.
Would have liked to seen a Refractor.
Whatever...
******
Next!
#26 - 2020 Panini Stars & Stripes
Was not a fan of the foil board printed cards. They don’t scan well and are fairly ugly in person. Finding this sort of niche product at the retail level is interesting (who wouldn’t like two autographs inside a Blaster?), but it’s clearly not for everyone. Very few of the players included in the set had even signed with a professional team when I opened it.
However, that single Blaster provided inspiration for one of my favorite baseball card stories I wrote this year. Not knowing what to do with these cards, just as the 2020 MLB Draft was coming up, I figured I’d follow the draft to see where these players ended up going. The end result being that I was more familiar with the 2020 Draft than any others in recent memory. Which drove a deeper appreciation for the year end prospect centered sets. As you’ll see if you keep reading!
******
#25 - 2020 Topps Gallery
I’ve never been a fan of Topps Gallery. A good amount of the paintings used for the card just don’t look right. It’s a set that I end up laughing at more than collecting. Perhaps because I was never able to paint at all, so I don’t enjoy looking at it. I’ll pick it apart for it’s flaws, instead of respecting the work and effort involved in trying to replicate a photo with a brush. In recent years, it’s pretty much been a WalMarts exclusive release. My WalMarts shopping is way down from what it was in Denver, but I lucked into finding a lonely blaster on the shelf on a day where I had no choice but to go to WalMarts.
For example...
Soto’s face looks good, that jersey does not.
Despite it being almost the same image of two Rockies players, Freeland looks okay, but McMahon looks incomplete. Even with cheating by choosing a side profile.
Zack Littell is an odd choice for a small set. This isn’t a rookie card and Littell is just your standard middle reliever. And this drawing makes him look like an old boss of mine that I didn’t like. So this card bothers me. If it wasn’t a Twin needed for my collection, I’d take great pleasure in throwing it away.
Marwin is cool.
Great idea for a card... TERRIBLE execution. Kershaw’s mangled face looks almost as bad as if I drew it. Buehler’s cartoon glove is pretty comical too.
Think these are parallels, but I don’t know or care. The Lux is probably a desired card by a few, the Olson is likely only desired by one guy in New Mexico.
******
#24 - 2020 Panini Contenders
Knowing this as a NFL release, I was interested in seeing how Panini handled making it a logo less baseball set. A bit much for a per pack price point, but the odds of getting something good are significantly higher. These are lottery games you just don’t get to play at the retail level.
The base cards are crap. When over half the card is taken up by the design, it doesn’t leave much room for the player itself. It works out kind of okay for the Kershaw, given the photo, but it’s hard to see much of Polanco. And what’s with the “ticket”? Row 511? I don’t ever want to sit in a stadium that has over 500 rows of seats. I'm certainly not climbing those stairs.
So here’s the main draw, one of the first card appearances of 2020 Draft Picks. The Royals took Asa Lacy 4th overall. I didn’t get a card of his in 2020 Panini Stars & Stripes, so I’m good with this.
And a nice hit in the one pack I purchased. Granted he’s most likely to be a middle reliever if he sticks in the major leagues, but an autograph is still fun to get out of a pack even if it’s not someone to retire off of. These types of packs usually have good odds to pull an autograph, because the set is filled with fringe players to pad out the odds. And I’m okay with this. I don’t mind keeping a bunch of low level autographs. In fact I bought quite a few of them for $5 or less this year.
******
#23 - 2020 Topps Archives
The biggest baseball card disappointment of 2020 would be Archives. I really liked last year's product, even beyond that sweet Montreal Expos insert set. But the 2020 edition... Just wow... First thing I noticed was how lightweight and flimsy these feel.
Cards 1-100 are supposed to look like 1955 Topps. Which they kind of do. But they made the "action" photo far too small. Authentic 1955 Topps have the action photos fill the space from the nameplate up to the border. These are so much smaller that they look stupid. And of course the fonts are way off. I really wish Topps would actually LOOK at their own cards they are plagiarizing...
Hank Aaron is a short print, because the stupid small action photo is black and white, because that was the best Topps could come up with. Cool, but stupid. The Mookie Betts is a blue-bordered parallel, serial numbered 23/25. This would be my big hit from the less than 20 packs of Archives I opened in 2020.
At least Larry Walker got a card in a Topps product this year. And while I didn't pull the inevitable Derek Jeter card, I did get another ex-Rockie and current Yankee. Actually a current Free Agent, as DJ rightfully wants to cash in on 2 great seasons in New York. Oh, he just re-signed. I'm taking way too long to write this... The 1974 knockoffs are better than the 1955's, but the fonts are still way wrong. Especially the names.
Knockoffs of the 1976 Traded set are included as an insert. This Pedro represents the closest I came to an Expos card out of the project. I still haven't encountered the Vladimir Guerrero Expos card that shows up in the 2002 portion of 2020 Archives.
Which Topps did a fairly good job on replicating. Apparently you can get the font correct only if you print in gold foil. Although the border is more bronze than the mustard color of 2002 Topps. Either way, I'm NOT a fan of this design either. Hopefully 2021 Archives comes up with a better retro trio, or I'm not buying any.
Okay, I'll give them that the mini posters are fairly cool.
******
#22 - 2020 Donruss
I didn't buy much Donruss this year. Probably less than 12 packs. But I had to buy another pack a few weeks ago, just so I could have this picture of a pack.
Most of the singles that I wanted were easy enough to pick up separately. That's some serious Topps-level photo redundancy going on...
Almost like they didn't bother photoshopping the logos off this one.
Topps is saluting their 1985 set this year, so Donruss has to one up them and salute their 1986 set.
These really need logos...
2020 Donruss came out before they had a chance to update the hot rookie of the 2020 Postseason.
Seems kind of novel now...
Donruss likes to add a bunch of serial numbered parallels to their set. Gives the illusion of value to an already padded product. Despite the Dodgerness of Kershaw, I'll always keep his cards. Have to thank 2006 Bowman for that... So adding another to the binder is a positive. Although why bother serial numbering a card with a print run of 220/650?
And why are the foil cards produced in such greater quantities than these lame parallels with pictures of fire or the number 100 printed over and over? So the Brian Anderson is 55/75, While Yadier Molina is 87/100. How weird will it be to see cards of Yadi if he's not with the Cards?
Pseudo-1986 Diamond Kings are back. Both in regular and foil flavors (and likely others). These look as good as they possibly can without logos.
Probably my favorite card from 2020 Donruss. Big fan of the "The Rookies" logo that dates back to... 1986!
Oh, and this has nothing to do with Donruss or 1986 or even 2020...
But I had forgotten all about Bo's father playing for the Boston Red Sox in 2001, after his excellent Rockies run.
Ranked the next one too high...
******
#21 - 2020 Topps
Although I did recently find a Hanger Box of Update at the Walgreens, with those coveted yellow parallels inside.
Color me not impressed.
One of the few times I saw cards at the local Targets this year, they had some of those 2 packs and a green parallel of the Decades' Best set deals. Flipping through the 10 or 12 hanging off the pegs, I found this. Of course it had to be bought. No memory of what I got inside the packs. I'm sure Derek Jeter was involved in some way. Because, Topps...
This didn't come out of a pack I bought. It was sitting in the case at the card shop for about a month and was always a debated purchase that got voted down in favor of something else. This was one of a couple of certified Arraez autographs in the case, and both signatures could not have looked more different. This one is cute and loopy, the other looked like a couple of triangles and straight lines. It was also more expensive. After turning it down one final time, my mom bought this card and gave it to me.
As I said earlier, this year I started buying more autographed singles than I had in the past. If I liked the player or it was a team I collected, I figured that was worth dropping a few bucks on. Autographed cards just look cool. Especially on-card signatures. Not stickers, like Arraez. Although, of the three, Arraez is by far the best signature.
******
Taking a break from 2020 cards for a second, here is likely my biggest project that I need to tackle:
Shout out to Frank The Pizza King, the greatest pizza in all of Englewood, Colorado. The memory of their great food lives on in New BaseballCardLand, with a pizza box perched atop the albums. These shelves of card albums do need a bunch of attention though. Currently my collection is set up with Twins, Expos and Rockies cards kept separate from the rest of the league. All the rest of the teams are then sorted into three categories (of cards I've kept).
1. Albums sorted by year and brand.
About 65 binders featuring anywhere from 9 to 200+ cards of each set, sorted by year then brand. From 1957 to 2019, consisting of stars, rookies, inserts and commons I like, are all represented here. The number of pages filled are set up to give the feel of each set.
2. Sleeved cards.
Stuff I'm keeping, but not in pages. Better cards go in Top Loaders, sorted by team. Duplicates stars, rookies, inserts and anything else that didn't make the album cut, go into penny sleeves that go into Monster Boxes. Also sorted by team.
3. Commons.
I do keep a few thousand commons. They are thrown into Monster boxes, also sorted by teams, but NOT sleeved. These are kept because for whatever reason, I liked them enough to not throw them away.
Back to the albums. Those need to be dealt with before I can sort the cards to be sleeved from the commons. The albums themselves are sorely in need of updating. (The label on the spine of each binder does not reflect the actual contents, and haven't for years.) Sets are out of order, there are spaces missing cards that had been taken out for various reasons, and just need some general tidying up.
Since they need a lot of work, I've been kicking the idea around of a major reconfiguring of how they are set up. The idea of setting up albums of player collections and certain Hall of Famers, then condensing the other stuff, sound rather appealing. I like the idea of having all my Ken Griffey Jr. (and Jeff Innis) cards in one place, instead of being spread through 60+ binders.
All of which will be a massive undertaking.
But even if I decide to not do that, I still have to figure out where the contents of these boxes go. Since the last time I updated the albums, I've acquired nearly another 8,000 cards from 1957 to 2019, that need to be moved into one of the above three places. (Or the fourth option, the trash.) I've already sorted these boxes of cards by year, for inclusion into the albums, sleeves, commons or trash. This part of the project is just waiting on a decision for each of the 8,000.
So if I was to isolate the Cal Ripken's, Greg Maddux's, Don Mattingly's, Mike Trout'seses and Mark Gubicza's into their own albums, this would probably be the time to start that process. It would likely only take several years to accomplish...
Makes my head hurt just thinking about it...
Back to Whatever...
******
#20 - 2020 Topps Chrome
Usually, I would buy a lot of Topps Chrome at the retail stores, along with household supplies and groceries. That absolutely did not happen this year due to those damn flippers. So all of the Topps Chrome that I bought in 2020 boils down to this one Hobby Jumbo pack. And yes, I did pay $36 for a pack of 13 cards.
2020 was stupid that way.
But there was one Twin inside!
And my lone hit in the pack was a good one. But I decided to quit on this product while I was ahead, and never bought another pack of 2020 Topps Chrome.
******
And because Topps...
Topps Chrome is a higher end set based on regular Topps. So why wouldn't the higher end set have and EVEN HIGHER end set of it's own? Enter Topps Chrome Black! If you think $36 for 13 cards is unreasonable, for the low price of $160 a pack, you get TWO base cards, ONE Refractor of varying color and serial numbering, and an autographed card! Placed in a Magnetic One-Touch holder, with a Topps sticker sealing the deal. It's an incredible nice product, just not worth that kind of money!
Honorable Mention - 2020 Topps Chrome Black
A few weeks back, I took part in a group break that included some nice 2020 cards, including a box (pack) of Chrome Black. When the teams were drawn, I got the Marlins. Now, I don't hate the Marlins, so I wasn't upset by this, but the Marlins have no current stars or hot rookies in any of the products offered in the break. I could hold out hope for a hit, but that's unlikely because there just aren't many Marlins hits out there. Sure enough, I got only 6 commons from Topps Update as my share of the break. That kinda sucked. But I forgot the Chrome Black was included. Certainly the encased autograph wouldn't come from Miami... But one of the three base cards did!
This didn't exactly redeem the terrible draw, but I felt a whole lot better about getting a common from a really rare set, than just six additional Topps Update cards I already had and already didn't want. But that's why Group Breaks are fun.
Chad Wallach is a weak hitting backup catcher for Miami. That Chrome Black card looks really cool and has added value to me since his father is Tim Wallach. Who played third base for the Montreal Expos from 1981-1992. I took a picture of him on the TV during the playoffs, since I had just seen Tim's 1994 SP card. The picture showed a very young Chad, sitting on his father's shoulders. Later that day, I watched him play against Atlanta in the playoffs.
I didn't scan that card for this story because?
I have no excuse.
******
#19 - 2020 Select
I bought only two packs of 2020 Select. My hopes were it would somewhat replicate the Select sets of the mid 1990's, as I really liked those. This was Panini's interpretation of Topps Finest (without logos). Which is fine, but I wasn't very interested. It was too much like Prizm, and that set was a whole lot cheaper.
See! This is a fine card!
Almost a Finest card!
I'll always be okay with a Miguel Cabrera RePrizmFractor, serial numbered 3/50.
For some reason, this RePrizmFractor has no serial number.
Although I prefer the purple and green tint over the silver of Cabrera.
******
Honorable Mention - 2020 Panini National Treasures
At the $550 plus per pack entry fee, I obviously bought zero unopened product. But I definitely admired the brand from afar. From watching people open packs of it for group breaks outside my price range, I have to say, these cards are incredible. Even without logos...
Earlier this year I wrote about possibly collecting Jake Fraley cards. I don't remember the context or why I declared that, but it popped into mind when I saw this sweet looking National Treasures Fraley card at the shop. Since it was a price I agreed with, it was added to my budding Jake Fraley collection. Which numbers in upwards of 2 cards!
As far as I know...
******
#18 - 2020 Topps Pro Debut
I have a soft spot for Minor League cards that dates back 30 years, to my Junk Wax Prospector days. They are fun products that seem less serious than Major League releases. After a month or so of not buying any of it, I caved in and bought a box. And while it's basically 2020 Topps with teams and players you've never heard of, I still liked this a lot more than regular Topps.
Just look at that jersey! The Yankees sure aint wearing anything like that.
A pair of Rockies top prospects. Schunk is a possible Nolan Arenado replacement in the future. Toglia could possibly replace whoever the Rockies are going to use at first base in the future. I doubt they even know...
A pair of Twins top prospects. This would be my first Matt Canterino card. But not my first Jordan Balazovic card. As the 2020 cards grew in my collection, I'd add a few more Balazovic's, but no more Canterino's.
A couple of Blue Wahoos!
You want to know something really stupid? When I opened the first pack of Pro Debut, and found a run of Chrome cards inside. That was the first time I knew anything about there being Chrome parallels of Pro Debut. Apparently I hadn't read the box or the wrappers very well...
That first pack also had a Keoni Cavaco Gold Refractor, serial numbered 26/75. Getting a nice hit from your team in the first pack is always a good sign.
Then the box had a second Gold Refractor inside, Bryson Stott. His serial was one greater than Cavaco, at 27/75. This is a hidden drawing point to minor league cards. Obviously they wont be produced at the same rate as Major League cards, so it's easier to pull nice cards. There's not enough extra padding to hide them in across the brand.
I really hope Victor Victor Mesa makes it big, because I'm a fan of that repeated first name. His older brother is named Victor Mesa Jr., so there was obviously some creativity in coming up with those baby names. As cool as it would be if both brothers were patrolling the Marlins outfield as teammates, neither Victor has exactly set the world on fire since signing with Miami, after defecting from Cuba.
The box also had three autographs inside, in addition to the two Gold Refractors. All of them were sticker autos instead of on-card. And that's fine. Of the three, Mountcastle has already achieved a level of success with the Baltimore Orioles. Batting .333, with 5 home runs and an .878 OPS, over 140 Major League plate appearances. At only 23 years old, he looks to be a possible building block for Baltimore. And I'll look at holding onto this card.
Oooooh! A Red Refractor!
In the world of Topps, red is far rarer than gold.
This Matthew Lugo card has a nice low serial number of 9/10.
I can do better than that!
So what's something else I could do better with my collection?
Maybe tackling these boxes of unsorted 2020 cards? These all need to find a home. Be it in an album, sleeves, commons boxes or banished altogether. Most of this has been removed from their wrappers a couple months ago. Twins and Rockies (and a couple Expos) cards pulled out and moved to those respective boxes for the same treatment on a smaller scale. Some of the hits were taken out and moved to other storage means (Top Loaders!), but dealing with this is a project I'll likely put on hold until other areas of New BaseballCardLand have been addressed.
Back to Whatever...
Retail product dried up at the Targets and WalMarts around the beginning of April. This changed what collecting would mean to me in 2020. Without the option of picking up a few packs of current product along with my bagels, toofpayste and cat food, new cards were almost exclusively purchased from the local hobby shop. A phenomenon that hasn't happened in nearly 20 years. Good thing Pal's Sports Cards is just a mile or so north of my house.
In my opinion, no set represents the changing baseball card market of 2020, than Bowman. A set I traditionally collected, and enjoy more than most card sets each year, dating back to 1992.
#17 - 2020 Bowman
I was lucky to have pre-ordered a 2020 Bowman Hobby Box in advance of the retail evaporation. The product had already been Covid delayed by over a month. When it finally appeared, it immediately disappeared. Bowman was something I usually picked up a Hobby box or two, then supplemented that with as much retail as I can find over the summer. I've already written about that box and my thoughts on this year's product, so let's move on...
This autograph came as a single I picked up at the card shop. His uncle, Andy Ashby, pitched for 14 seasons. Part of one of those seasons was for the 1993 Colorado Rockies. That was enough of a tie to pick up this autograph of a pretty decent prospect. And his A's look like rounded 4's.
Up next is a slight stretch for the Whatever.
******
#16* - 2020 Bowman Platinum
Asterisk given due to the fact that I'm bending my own rules here. I never bought a single pack of Bowman Platinum in 2020. The retail only product appeared at WalMarts for roughly three minutes, before they were all picked up by the Flippers. One such scourge to the hobby dropped off what he didn't want, which was then put into various singles boxes. Allowing me to pick and choose what I wanted from what was available. Almost like a Blaster, but I got to pick the cards for the trade off of less of them.
With the added bonus of NOT having to go to WalMarts!
Topps sent the Bowman Platinum brand into retail exclusive distribution a few years back, and I've lost out on buying it more often than not. (Exception being when I stumbled into a nice pile of 2019 Bowman Platinum jumbo packs at a downtown Washington DC WalMarts.) Packs and Blasters disappear quickly, and if I'm not there when it appears, I just wont be buying any packs of that year's product.
At least with this method, I'm able to make sure that I'll be getting a Nelson Cruz card. I picked it out of the box! Hope that Cruz ends up re-signing with Minnesota. Even at 40 years old, he showed enough in 2020 to warrant another go round. But this offseason has been just as strange as the regular season was, so few players have signed.
On the opposite end of the Twins age spectrum, we have 2019 First Round Draft Pick, Keoni Cavaco.
Available in both base and Sparkley Parallel flavors!
More Sparkley Parallels of the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year...
And maybe the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year?
Nabbed a few Rockies... However, of them, only Story spent any time in the Major Leagues.
There was even a Blue Parallel of Stephen Strasburg, serial numbered 103/199.
And because they are Bowman Platinum, they don't scan anywhere near as nice as they look.
******
#15 - 2020 Topps Big League
I like Topps Big League. It's been around for three years now and has carved a nice spot in the low end of baseball cards. Something I'd like to see is Topps focus more on developing this set into something with a more defined identity. Perhaps scrapping the forever pointless Opening Day set?
Okay, but these cards must go! I know the set is geared towards younger collectors, but cartooney sketches with enlarged heads have always bothered me. This is something that has popped up throughout the years on cards, and they've always been my least favorite every time.
Big League does show off some nice photography in the set. Sure, there's a lot redundant batters batting and pitchers pitching, but pictures like these make me collect. Topps went very traditional with the 2020 design, after the 2019 set was a busy mess.
See! That's a really cool picture!
I liked the Roll Call insert set, with the giant name behind the player. Nice and simple, yet attractive and appropriate.
And you round the set out with some colored border parallels.
You don't need a lot of bells and whistles to make a nice set. There are autographs available because there has to be, but these are just nice and basic cards. And the hobby needs a product like this, that isn't about the bells and whistles. I would like to see the set expanded to include a deeper roster, and cutting back on the League Leader cards. Which are just an excuse to feature adifferent 3 players, from a pool of about 15, on 25 different cards each year.
And just get rid of Opening Day. We don't need an even crappier copy of the flagship set.
******
#14 - 2020 Stadium Club Chrome
I've ranked this far too high, as I view this just slightly less pointless than Allen & Ginter Chrome. Why Topps chose sets to reprint these sets on their Chrome stock is beyond me. Wait, no it's not... It's money... And both sets are a pretty shameless money grab. Stadium Club's drawing card is the photography. Unique approaches to standard baseball photos with bright vivid colors printed on thick card stock. The Chrome effect cancels a lot of that out.
Would still like to know why Buster Posey is wearing a chest protector autographed by Mrs. Plumtree's second grade class, but I love that early 1970's Johnny Bench photo.
Beam Team inserts date back to 1993-94 Stadium Club Basketball, and they've since expanded to baseball. They look great, but seem more appropriate for the standard Topps Chrome set.
Only bought two packs of Stadium Club Chrome, and scanned only one of those. My favorite card came from a Group Break. When I drew the Pirates, I didn't have high hopes...
But it got me this Waveyfractor of Roberto Clemente, which is all sorts of awesome!
And yes, it looks better in person than it scans...
******
#13 - 2020 Allen & Ginter
Allen & Ginter is the poster set for the change in the 2020 baseball card buying patterns. With the exceptions of 2009 and 2019, when I bought a hobby box, I've only bought packs and singles. Virtually all at the retail level. Not this year... Although, there were a few times I found Allen & Ginter at a Targets, including my retail pull of the year, an autographed mini Black Bordered Gavin Lux, 7/25. But I've already shown that card, so I can't again today. Rules are rules.
With Allen & Ginter, you get your standard baseball subjects that I'm looking for; current Twin, token Expos Hall of Famer and a retired Colorado Rockies star. Whose chances at the Hall of Fame are increasing every year.
With mini versions of each card in the set. An Allen & Ginter staple.
Along with WACKINESS!
Mini terrifying sea creatures!
Full size Farmy Stuff!
Ichiro! Platinum!
Bugs!
Boggs!
Dressed up for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?
Really Tall Buildings!
A comedian that I don't like!
And the usual one mini set that I'd really like to complete, but not at the odds weighed against the per pack cost. Seems like every year, there's a mini set that is just awesome. But I never get more than one or two cards. Because at one per every box or two, it's just not happening.
This year's edition of that is:
You know, maybe the Chrome set isn't as stupid as I originally thought.
I just have to find a good stack of singles to flip through.
Ones that are not already buried under my collection...
Because the boxes and piles of books and magazines are getting out of control.
Something that needs to happen in 2021, is sorting through all of those books and magazines. In their respective boxes, I've already separated anything related to the Twins, Expos and Rockies. That stuff is being kept no matter what. But underneath that would be the boxes and piles of official programs and magazines for teams that I don't collect. Even more likely to meet the recycling bin, are the boxes of Becketts and assorted Junk Wax Era baseball card magazines. They are still a lot of fun to flip through every once in a while.
The plan for those old card magazines is to pillage each of them for anything that would be worth saving. Stories on hot prospects (that flamed out a year or two after printing), card sets and advertising for product. The stuff I wanted to save would go into folders, ideally sorted by year. I started this many years ago when I started to thin out the magazines. First in 2003, and again in 2015. So in 2021, I need to make a whole lot more progress on it. The space this stuff is taking up has to be reclaimed for more important and newer stuff.
Back to Whatever…
#12 - 2020 Diamond Kings
Diamond Kings was probably Donruss’ most important and significant brand, dating back to 1982. When Playoff/Absolute purchased the trademarks, they made it a stand alone set in the early 2000’s, and Panini continued that a few years ago. Still logoless, but not as noticeable since the cards are given a painting treatment. And they look great in album pages.
You’ve got Hall of Famers from the 1990’s.
It’s nice to see Pete Rose included in a set full of Hall of Famers (where he should be).
Each base card has thick colored bordered parallel, with different colors that signify different print runs. This blue border is the most common, and did not get a serial number. But it’s Harmon Killebrew, and that’s worth more than most of the set. To me anyways...
The Diamond Kings insert set in the Diamond Kings brand are patterned after the Donruss Diamond Kings insert sets of 1992 and 1993. Which happened to be my favorite Diamond Kings that Donruss, Playoff/Absolute or Panini have ever made. There’s a Vladimir Guerrero card depicting him with Montreal that I really need for my Expos binder.
A couple of other really nice insert sets. One highlighting batters with 3000 hits and the other just historic players. Under the name DK Originals. Whatever that means...
Aficionado was a card line under the Pinnacle brand from 1996. While I’m pretty sure that Aficionado was a trademark acquired by Playoff/Absolute when they purchased the property in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s, from whoever had the property. I have no idea if this insert set is supposed to be a continuation of what Pinnacle Brands came up with nearly 25 years ago.
Either way, it doesn’t smell like wood...
Hey “Fire Jeff Bridich” sign, how do you feel about this nicely done painting of your best player?
We still agree!
Mixed in with all the Hall of Famers in the set are a big pile of fringe prospects. You know why they do stuff like this. You can create a wider variety of hits featuring young players than you can Hall of Famers. They simply charge way too much per signature to make it cost effective. It’s far cheaper for Panini to make a bunch of these, than a similar autographed/jersey combo card of Sandy Koufax.
Not taking anything away from Jonathan Hernandez, this is a beautiful card.
******
Sticking with Panini, next up on the Whatever is their Chromed-up take on their own Donruss line.
#11 - 2020 Optic
My only Optic purchase came in the form of this Mega Box, found one afternoon at a Targets I rarely shop at. It seemed like an orphan, being the only baseball product in stock. Looked like it need to be freed from it's Pokemon and Magic prison. So I had to buy it. This was clearly a sign.
Yup... That sure is Chromed up Donruss. At least they updated Arozarena no longer being a Cardinal. Speckles and lint added by my scanner. These are really clean cards.
That piece of Harley fur looks to have wrapped around Trout’s arm and likely screwed up his swing. I really like these All Star cards. They look like they fit in with the base set and are about as elaborate as you can get without logos.
However, the Chromey Prizmfractor version of 1986 Donruss looks kind of naked without the horizontal lines going across the border.
These inserts are awesome looking. Wish I would have gotten a better player... Nothing personal Aristides, but one good half season out of one and a half regular seasons, with injury issues, is hard to get overly excited about. (See also, Jordan Alvarez, Houston.)
Panini obviously feels different since they put him on the box.
The drawing card of the Optic Mega Box is the Red Wave parallels. Which doesn’t work so well on the Diamond Kings, but look great on the base cards!
******
#10 - 2020 Topps Heritage
I’ve already covered 2020 Topps Heritage a few months back, and am still trying to complete that set. So I really don’t have anything else to add to it here. Go read my old story if you need that content.
But I do have an old Topps story that kind of relates. A few weeks back, I was at the card shop and was told he had a new box of singles, filled with Topps cards ranging from 1967-1972. I’m in! A good 400 or so of them were 1970 Topps (the subject of last year’s Heritage set). I’ve always been a fan of 1970 Topps, so I was looking for some more singles to add to the binder.
In the middle of a block of Washington Senators, I found this Jim Shellenback. I stopped for a second to admire just how bad of a photo it was. From that weird hair hat to the general almond shape of his head. It just seemed like an ugly card. I continued flipping through the stack and there was another 4 of these Shellenback cards in a row. I wasn’t going to buy it UNTIL I took a closer look at one of them...
Someone had hilariously burned holes in his eyes, nostrils and mouth, then gave Shellenback a singed unibrow! I showed the card to the shop owner who took it out and was bringing it to the back of the shop. “No! I want to buy it!” I had to buy another intact Shellenback card to sit alongside it in my 1970 Topps album. They belong together!
******
#9 - 2020 Topps Heritage High Number
Since I am working on the Topps Heritage set, naturally I would have to include the High Numbers set. Which was almost released too late for my 2020 Baseball Whatever. I bought two boxes, since one would leave me fairly short. When all was said and sorted, I need two base cards and seven short prints for the high number set.
Topps Heritage High Numbers are weird in that the set is nearly devoid of stars in the set. All the big names are reduced to sitting outside in insert sets. Like Trout, who makes an appearance in the Award Winners insert set (which is rather nice looking), but doesn’t get a base card. And that's fine. He has no place in this set.
The High Numbers set is dedicated to your traded player and free agents in their new uniforms. Plus rookies that didn’t find a place in the first 500 Heritage cards, and some of the more fringe players in baseball. Just the type of thing I like to see in a set. Something that you don’t get enough of now that there’s not five companies printing a 700+ card set every year.
I hope Lamonte Wade Jr. gets a bigger chance in 2021, he should be the Twins fourth outfielder. He’s good defensively and his plate discipline is amongst the best on the roster. Harper was a Twin in 2019, so it’s cool to get a Nationals card after a 2019 offseason trade.
Another thing you’ll find in the High Numbers set is players in strange uniforms that never actually happened. Longtime Colorado Rockies outfielder, Carlos Gonzalez, went to Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners, but didn’t make the team. He was released before the season started. Dozier, who played second base for the Twins from 2012-2018, went to Spring Training with the Padres, but asked for his release and signed with the Mets in February. He saw a little time in Queens, but did nothing to establish himself there, and was released before the 2020 season ended.
One of the High Number boxes was a “Hot Box”, with a Purple Chrome Refractor in each pack. Just like I hit in the low number series. At least this isn’t a poorly Photoshopped Donaldson, he’s actually wearing a Twins uniform!
These combo cards seemed to be inserted at one per box. The first box had the Twins combo of Sano and Cruz, and the second box did too. I guess that’s okay!
My two hits from the second High Numbers box. A Mookie Betts Chrome Refractor, serial numbered out of 599. And a fairly jarring white bordered Marlins parallel. I think it’s serial numbered, but I don’t remember and don’t feel like looking it up.
But the first box was where the good stuff was at. In addition to pulling 24 Purple Chrome Refractors, it also had a mini parallel of hot White Sox prospect Luis Robert!
I assure you, it’s miniature compared to the rest, even if it doesn’t look like it.
And it’s serial numbered 50/100!
But that’s not all!
I completely missed this card when I opened the first pack.
Corey Kluber Red Ink Autograph, serial numbered 12/71.
This was stuck to the card underneath it, which was a Corey Kluber Purple Chrome Refractor. Getting that in the first pack of the box meant I’d be getting one in every pack. I was so excited to see purple, I glossed right over what I’d assumed was the same base card on top of it. Upon a second look, I noticed the second Kluber was signed by Kluber himself. In Red Ink!
Topps Heritage was a good mojo set for 2020!
******
Continuing on with Heritage, is another set that’s likely ranked too high. But it fits the theme I’ve got going on here...
#8 - 2020 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues
As far as Minor League cards go, I did like Heritage more than Topps Pro Debut this year. There’s something about seeing a traditional looking set (like 1971 Topps) with all the bizarre team names at the top, that just works for me. Although I didn't get a card from the Trash Pandas.
Couple of Blue Wahoos, that just happen to be the Twins first draft picks in 2017 and 2018.
And another Wahoo, also the Twins top pitching prospect. Who donated a chunk of his jersey to make my first hit of the box.
Let’s keep with the Twins, since this was almost a Minnesota prospect hot box of sorts. (I didn’t get a single Rockies farm hand from it.) Now I find Minnesota’s 2019 first round pick and a second rounder from 2018. Rooker found himself in Minnesota during the 2020 season, and fared well until an injury ended his year in early September. Rooker moved fast in 2019, making it all the way up to the AAA Rochester (NY) Red Wings.
After nearly 20 years as Minnesota’s AAA team, the Rochester Red Wings will no longer be the Twins top affiliate in 2021. In one of the more surprising developments, Major League Baseball’s consolidating of the Minor Leagues resulted in the St. Paul Saints of the Independent American Association, becoming an affiliated Twins franchise.
Now the Twins AAA team will be only 11 miles away from Target Field, instead of almost 1,000 miles away in Rochester, NY. That’s going to be a big deal for all those upcoming Byron Buxton injury rehab assignments!
Just like his Intentional Talk host once did, Matt Wallner may also become a Saint in the near future. The native of Forest Lake, Minnesota, Wallner played Little League with a former co-worker of mine's son. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round of 2019.
Ildemaro Vargas is an odd inclusion in the set. An aging prospect in the Diamondbacks system when he appeared on this card, Vargas had played parts of 4 seasons in the Majors. While this type of player is all over the minors, I don't understand why he would earn a card amongst each organization's top prospects. But I am glad he's in the set!
After a weak 8 games with the D-Bags, the infield depth needing Twins purchased his contract in August. He got into 12 games with Minnesota, and put up an OPS of .614. Better than the .340 OPS Arizona got. Facing another roster crunch, the Twins put him on waivers, the Cubs claimed him in early September. With Chicago, his OPS surged to .778 over 6 games. Mostly due to his first home run of the year.
Still debating weather to include this card in the Twins album, since he'll never have an actual Twins card...
In fact, there were actual cards in this box that had nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins! Who Knew?
Like this J.J. Bleday Scratch Off insert!
Or this Sam Huff Blue Ink Autograph, serial numbered 7/25!
I missed this autograph when opening the packs until I was all finished with the box and wondered where my guaranteed hit was. I knew the Balazovic when I saw it, but the box said that I would also be getting an autograph... So I'm definitely happy to see one of the top catching prospects on a very low number. Huff has a chance to become a star. For the Texas Rangers, in case you don't know who the Wood Ducks are.
Heheheheheh... Wood Ducks...
Like I said, I'm a big fan of the 1971 Topps traditional look, with the modern wackiness of Minor League team names!
That's an oxymoron, and his name is JAZZ!
But this one rules:
That's just awesome.
Heheheheheh... Spinners...
Hey, this one's red?
1 of 1!
He's already got his Topps Infielder Face working.
Well then, you all know the rule that I just made up... If you pull a 1 of 1 of anybody, you have to collect that player. Since he's with the Boston Red Sox, I guess I have one player in their system that I'll collect.
******
#7 - 2020 Gypsy Queen
This also seems to be ranked too high... But that Hanger Box is gorgeous, and the cards aren't shabby either. And I wish they hadn't disappeared from the Targets and Walmarts so soon after release.
Gypsy Queen has a nice design this year. It's not a very middle ground set. The design is either fitting the player photo, or it's a distracting mis-match. 2020 was one of their better sets.
Zero problems with this.
Really hope he has a solid 2021. Colorado needs him to step up, and he'll get ample chances...
Obligatory Short Prints are Hall of Famers. Which makes sense. That Griffey will fit in nicely with my player collection. Didn't even pull a 1 of 1 of him at any time. Although I'd really like to...
Obligatory Retail Green Parallel. Kinda works because it's not overwhelming the card. And I still fall for those retro 1983 Wite Sox uniforms. So tacky and awesome.
Obligatory Fortune Teller thin card. These are okay, but they are an awkward fit in Top Loaders and album pages. After making an effort to center them in whatever holder I'm using, the next time I see them, they've migrated to one side or another.
And I don't want that to happen to Luis Robert...
******
Honorable Mention - 2020 Topps Gold Label
Topps Gold Label is a brand that I've always liked, but haven't bought in pack form since 2000. They're at a price point that I don't often venture, but they're really nice cards.
Recently I drew the Phillies in a group break, which gave me my first card from this set. So far, I've not gotten another. Sucks when you often draw teams like the Pirates, Marlins and Rays... Lesser produced in sets because they rarely have a hot rookie or any stars...
******
Unless they happen to pick up one of those top prospects in the MLB Draft!
#6 - 2020 Bowman Draft
Back before the prices became ridiculous, which seems so long ago now, Bowman Draft was one of my favorite products. I've always followed the MLB Draft, and the yearly Bowman set covering it was always highly anticipated. Seeing the draft picks I'd learned about as they went to their new teams, featured on a card in that MLB uniform, kind of seals in your memory who went where in the Draft.
I was extra jazzed for 2020 Bowman Draft after reading this in the December 2020 issue of The Becketts...
Yeah, I see it now...
Thanks for previewing the set that doesn't come out for FIVE more months, not the one releasing THAT month... Especially irritating because the three cards previewed are all 2020 First Round Picks. Leading me to assume this was about Bowman Draft. I guess I'd forgotten what regular Bowman looked like this year...
By the time Bowman Draft hit the store, I was expecting to see the Twins first pick, Aaron Sabato in the set. But I didn't get one. So I checked online and he's not even in the set. Well, that sucks. I have no one else to blame but me for that.
Stupid Becketts...
At least in general, the draft picks I was looking for are here.
Complete with Photoshopped MLB uniforms!
Colorado's first pick (9th overall) gets a card, but the Twins first pick has to wait to be a draw in 2021?
Thanks Topps... I really want that Sabato autograph, as shown in The Becketts...
The Refractors are very nice, as usual.
In addition to appearing on the wrapper, third overall pick, Max Meyer, shows up with fellow 2020 Draft Pick Dax Fulton. Meyer pitched for the University of Minnesota, and was their highest drafted player ever (beating Hall of Famer, Paul Molitor). So I was really hoping for his card from my two packs. But this was all I got from Meyer.
Two Jumbo Packs just wasn't enough of a representation of this set for me. So I used pre-Xmess overtime to buy a box. That would most likely get me a complete set, plus a shot at some decent inserts and autographs. Because that's what EVERYONE wants!
I did get the Colorado Rockies Franchise Futures insert. Which is cool. I usually get the Pirates for these team combo cards. Zac Veen is a highly ranked outfielder that gets comparisons to Cody Bellinger. Drew Romo is hopefully going to develop into a starting catcher.
Twins 2020 Draft Pick stuck in a bad Photoshopped nightmare.
Twins top prospect in Chromey form.
Hey... That guy...
Speckley!
One of my hits was a 20 in 20 Nick Gonzalez Green Refractor, serial numbered 11/99...
Staying in the same flavor, I pulled a Connor Phillips Autographed Green Refractor, serial numbered 86/99. Buying the box did give me a complete base set, which I wanted, even though Aaron Sabato was nowhere to be found. There were several more autographs from this year's 2020 Bowman Draft purchases, including a Rockies player who had already been traded to Cincinnati in November.
But it still goes in the Rockies collection!
Which inadvertently caused a delay in writing this. While staring at one of those big planned 2021 projects, beginning to tackle it led me to stop writing this story for a week.
Next to my desk (table) I had the big box of Twins, Expos and Rockies cards (left to right), that are new to my collection. These will be added to my team albums, and have already been sorted by year/brand, for placement in...
Those albums!
Without planning on it, I went through the Twins and Expos and placed them in with the rest. This added another full album of Twins card, the tenth to sit on that shelf. Additions from Montreal brought that total to seven albums worth. I had to stop before the Rockies, or be in danger of not finishing this story before the first 2021's hit the market.
Guess I need to make more of those custom album spine team labels in 2021 as well...
Duplicate Twins, Expos and Rockies, that will be sleeved and filed into the respective duplicate boxes. The more significant singles will get Top Loadered. Even though I haven't done this since last January, I feel like I just did this about 2 months ago...
That is a pretty sweet Miguel Sano / Byron Buxton card...
Whatever...
******
#5 - 2020 Prizm Draft
Much like Bowman Draft, Panini offered their version. All Chrome, all sortsa low serial numbered cards, easy to get autographs and zero filler. Completely different from Bowman Draft in that there's little point for trying to build a set. Of the 8 cards per pack, only an average of 2 will be base cards. And that's fine. This is a player driven product, not for set builders. I've only purchased three packs, and only scanned one of them (the other 2 packs were bought in 2021). But the first pack was enough to boost this brand all the way to number five.
I got my desired Max Meyer card in both regular and Prizm flavor from the same pack!
Panini didn't even have to Photoshop his Gophers uniform away!
Then there was a Blue Wavey Prizmfractor that looks like it should be serial numbered, but isn't. But the Tanner Burns Tigerfractor is! This is copy number 28/99.
And my hit among the hits...
An Emerson Hancock Atomic Prizm (?), serial numbered a meager 9 of 17. Hancock was the First Round Draft Pick of the Seattle Mariners, and is pegged to move fast. This card brings back memories of the 2006 Bowman Draft Clayton Kershaw Atomic Refractor I pulled at the Highlands Ranch (CO) Walmarts. That was numbered out of 225. So if Emerson can replicate what that Dodgers guy has done, I may be able to retire off this card!
Well, probably not.
Whatever...
******
#4 - 2020 Prizm
Regular Panini Prizm ended up being one of my most purchased cards of 2020. My mom liked the cards and decided to pursue a set, so I ended up with a lot of her duplicates. It was also a fun box for us to split over lunch at Bakers Square. (They make a very tasty Patty Melt, and Covid seating keeps a nice space bubble around me. I appreciate that!) As of today, she has not completed the set. Those pesky short prints strike again...
I guess that white uniform is supposed to represent the Twins? But Panini could have easily Photoshopped out a Braves uniform and called it Minnesota. They wouldn't have the to modify the blue. Getting past the absence of logos, opening packs of this product brought back fond memories of 1994 and 1995 Topps Finest. Of course Panini offers more in terms of inserts and refractory stuff than the Finest of 25 years ago, but times and the hobby have drastically changed. And Finest is nearly cost prohibitive in 2020, and nowhere near the same product it was then. It's actually more like the 1993 Finest set than... I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore...
But you don't even notice the logos are missing on a card like this!
This either. And this is a stunning card in person!
Not going through Major League Baseball allows Panini to add players to it's sets that Topps usually doesn't. Unless it's a Bowman product. While we don't have the proper competition on an equal level, at least Panini has something new to offer in contrast to the establishment.
Too bad it's Alex Bregman.
Otherwise this Skull Crushing Teal Cinnamon Mini-Donutfractor, numbered only 3/15, would be one of my favorites of the year. But it's Alex Bregman. And nobody likes him.
This was the prize of the Group Break where I drew the Tampa Bay Rays. The darker blue Cheeriofractors are the most common to the boxes stocked at Pal's. According to The Becketts, 2020 Prizm has around 85,295,138 different styles of parallel sets. I couldn't make any sense of the listings so I gave up and I will call them whatever I want from now on.
Cherry Halls Mentholiptusfractor of Oakland's Matt Olson, numbered 4/99.
Butterscotch Amoebafractor of Arizona's Eduardo Escobar, numbered 2/25
Blue and Red MeltyAcidtripfractor of the Rockies Yonathan Daza, numbered 102/199
Golden Ring Macaronifractor of Oakland's Ramon Laureano, clocking in at a whopping 6/10!
You know who likes that!
No, but yeah...
You're late!
Red VHS Cassette TV Staticfractor of Seattle's Corey Seager, numbered 37/99.
This is fun!
Let's autograph them!
Red Left Out At Room Temperature Too Long Carbonated V-8 Juicefractor of Seattle's Donnie Walton, numbered 35/35.
Blue Cells in a Petri Dish in a Pre-Med School Science Departmentfractor of the Dodgers Brusdar Graterol, wearing a Photoshopped Twins uniform. Numbered 22/50.
Red Martha Stewart's Decorated Queef from that episode of South Parkfractor, Rico Garcia, 10/35. (Something about those colors reminded me of a confetti explosion.)
Bronze Plain Boring Didn't Scan Very Wellfractor of San Francisco's Mauricio Dubon 18/25. Dubon is shaping up to be a pretty good player for the Giants. Given the low serial number on the autograph, I'll pay a little closer attention to him in the future.
Let's move on to a real baseball card tragedy of 2020...
******
#3 - 2020 Bowman's Best
Another set that I traditionally like, but don't often buy. I was really happy with the 2019 box I picked up a year earlier, as you could tell by my glowing review. I hadn't even seen any images of it before I decided to buy a box again this year. High end cards of the 2020 Draft Picks were a huge draw for me again. Throw in the autographs and how could you go wrong?
Uh... About those autographs...
To be fair, I was warned ahead of time. Due to a shitty mistake from Topps, boxes from the case of Bowman's Best at the LCS were opening up with ZERO autographs per box. He said that he knew of 4 boxes that were hitless, but that didn't necessarily mean that a box I'd buy wouldn't have autographs inside. The thought of all the boxes from the case having none, but one box would be absolutely filled with autographs, crossed my mind briefly. And I would find that box! No, that wasn't my deciding factor. None of that was. I just wanted some 2020 Bowman's Best. If I didn't get any hits, so be it...
Well, I didn't.
But since I was expecting nothing and got nothing, I didn't feel let down. Disappointed to spend the money for what I got, but have only myself to blame. Although, the cards are really nice!
Besides, I needed Royce Lewis's new mutton chop sideburns! And a really nice Max Meyer Marlins card! Plus a bunch of other prospects I'm glad to add to the upcoming 2020 binders.
Speaking of the Marlins, Starling Marte gets an updated card for Miami, when his Topps Update only went as far as Arizona.
Yoshi Tsutsugo on a very nice Purple Refractor, numbered 91/250
And a Refractory insert of the Rockies top Draft Pick.
His base card was also in the box.
One of this year's recycled insert sets are the Franchise 2020 Die-Cut Refractors. Which first appeared in 2000 Bowman's Best, in Silver form. Like Robert Pauson. There is also a Gold flavor, which are serial numbered out of 50. Boston's Jeter Downs is 30/50. Not to imply liking any Boston player besides Matt Lugo, I kinda want to see Downs make it big. Just so Boston Red Sox fans have to cheer for a guy named Jeter. Then I realize that since I don't like the Yankees, it really doesn't matter...
Another recycled design from 2000. I don't even know what kind of parallel this is. And it looks like Emerson Hancock is making a pitch to become a player I collect. I've always liked the Mariners, and they look to be setting up some nice talent down the road. So I think we may be looking at a new Mariner to follow...
Yeah, this box would have been better with autographs, but I did like what I got.
******
Honorable Mention - 2020 Topps Museum Collection
This Miguel Sano relic is the only card I picked up from 2020 Topps Museum Collection. It looks really nice and is numbered 42/50. But packs were just too much for my tastes. Stuff like this is always a strong consideration to add when I find it.
******
#2 - 2020 Panini Chronicles
Even though I don't collect Basketball or Football cards, I've seen some of the stuff Panini produces for these sports, and feel kind of jealous. Likely because they can't use logos, Panini doesn't make as many different baseball sets. So what would some of those very attractive designs look like if they did make a baseball set of them? That's what Panini Chronicles is for. Instead of going through the effort and expense of making a number of more full size baseball sets, they took the typical stars and rookies and spread them out over 25 brands, with just a few cards from each set. Factor is some low odds on nice hits, and you have a novel approach to solving a problem that exists only in my mind.
Opening packs of Chronicles brought a new angle to fun of ripping packs. Going into any pack, you don't know what players you're going to get. That mystery is what keeps you coming back for more. Now there's an added surprise of what BRANDS you're going to get in that pack. A cool innovation that got me into a product I wouldn't have normally bought.
For example, if Panini made a full size set of Certified, it would look like this:
But since they don't, Chronicles has about 25 different Certified cards, so you could see what they'd look like if they did.
I don't need a 150 card Panini Status set, so just give me a few key players in that style.
This is a set for people that are only after the biggest names. So just make that, and give out multiple parallels of each. Just like you'd do if you actually made a 250 card set of Panini Mosiac.
Crusade are incredible cards in person, as are the colors shown off on Obsidian cards. Neither of these scans do justice to either cards.
Nor this whatever parallel of an Optic Contenders Ronald Acuna Jr. It's serial numbered 61/99, and once again, looks a lot better in person.
Chronicles themselves are indeed a brand in Chronicles. While it's kind of a stupid design, even a product filled with high end cards, you have to have plain common type stuff. And to further his case for a prominent place in my player collections, I pull a Jacob deGrom Green Parallel, serial numbered only 1 of 5.
Despite the high per/pack price, Chronicles was a lot of fun to open. Getting cards from any number of lines that don't exist on their own was exciting. Something you didn't often get from packs these days. Hits were easy to find and low serial numbers were prominent on the good stuff:
Both Madison Bumgarner (#8) and Tim Anderson (#18) Spectra Relic cards are limited to just 25 copies of each.
And of course there are plentiful autographs to be found, most of which are numbered fairly low. You get your typical selection of rookies and top prospects:
Like Yohander Mendez of Texas (12/50) or Bobby Bradley of Cleveland (83/99).
There's also autographs of solid MLB regulars and up and coming stars:
Like Zach Davies of the Padres, who's now a Cub thanks to the Yu Darvish trade. Panini didn't bother to serial number his signature. However, Eloy Jimenez's brick-like Spectra on-card signature is numbered 2/49. As much as I don't want to see the White Sox doing well because I'm trying to root for the Twins, Chicago is assembling a group of players that I like. Guess if the Twins continue refusing to win a playoff game, I'll be cheering for the White Sox to knock of any team from Houston, New York or Boston.
******
Since I wasn't buying retail cards much in 2020, I acquired a great deal more low-level relic and autographed hits than I normally do in a collecting year. Thanks to products like Panini Chronicles, I decided that I'd rather have these cards in Top Loaders, than in albums.
And that's where all the 2020 hits have gone. I've also been going through the wall of card albums and pulled out minor hits from other years, and given them the Top Loader treatment. Also leaving plenty of gaps in those albums that need to be addressed when I get around to doing that. This idea has also highlighted another collecting problem that showed up in 2020.
In addition to cards vanishing from retail big box stores, there's been a noticeable shortage of supplies. Top Loaders have been increasingly harder to find, especially in the thicker sizes. Penny sleeves have also become scarcer this year. I'm really hoping 2021 marks a return to the old days of collecting, like it was all the way back in the golden days of 2019, but I think this is the new normal.
I can only hope 2021 nets me as awesome of new cards as 2020 did.
******
That reminds me, before I get to number one on my 2020 Baseball Whatever, I have one more honorable mention to go before the top spot.
Honorable Mention - 2020 Fairfield Re-Packs
The inevitable happened in the world of Fairfield Re-Packs, late in 2020. The incredible value of 100 cards (plus a random unopened pack) for $5, was cut down to 80 cards per box, for the same price. Sucks, but it makes sense. The Fairfield Football Re-Packs are already only 50 cards, so Baseball was bound to follow suit. Even though it raises the per card price from $0.05, to $0.0625, it's still the best deal in boredom killing available at the Walgreens.
Fairfield must have exhausted that run of Junk Wax singles that was in the last few 100 card boxes I found. They were getting to the point where I was keeping less than 25% of each box, with the rest going into the garbage. However, the 80 card boxes have contained a lot better cards. As in 2 cards from 1990 Fleer, instead of 17. Plus a lot more scattered cards from 1997-2005, which are the some of the least represented years in my collection.
Not too mention the significant percentage of new Twins, Expos and Rockies cards I've added to the binders this year, coming from Walgreens. Hoping 2021 sees more Fairfield Re-Packs at the old corner drugstore, because for the money, these are by far the best value in collecting.
******
And the number one 2020 Baseball Card Set (according to me) is...
#1 - 2020 Stadium Club
2020 Stadium Club was the set I most anticipated this year. It didn't disappoint and it didn't overjoy. It was exactly what I expected it would be. And during a year where the unexpected was the norm, I was overjoyed that Stadium Club didn't stray from what I was most looking forward to collecting.
For that reason, it's number one on the Whatever.
The photos. It's as simple as that. I love seeing interesting pictures, and Stadium Club include quite a few special ones amongst the more standard action and posed shots. How did Topps find a picture of Randy Johnson actually looking small?
You see overhead pictures of pitchers fairly often compared to how many overhead shots of catchers.
Keeper, even if it's not a Rockie.
Couldn't find $3 million for this guy??
Yup.
A couple of posed shots from those late 1980's Costacos Brothers posters. Will Clark in his Talking Heads sized suit, and Mark McGwire's half of an old Costacos Brothers poster.
Well, at least one from the same photo shoot.
I pulled the McGwire card from a pack, before I saw if Jose Canseco made the set. If Topps included him, using his side of the poster is just a no brainer right?
Nope...
Such a Topps move.
At least this is an interesting picture of Canseco that I've never seen before.
He looks almost small, wonder if this is 1986?
The Twins were well represented in the set.
My biggest gripe with Stadium Club remains the pointless colored foil parallels. I wish Topps would cut out the plentiful Red Foils altogether. I can't use them in my set and they're too common to have any extra value.
The Nelson Cruz Black Foil is nice, but a little too similar to the regular Silver Foil. So they're not really needed either. The Ryan Zimmerman Blue Foil has a little more significance, as it's serial numbered 10/50. Those can stay. You don't always see blue foil stamping on cards.
But there's a case where the Red Foil has significance...
If it's autographed.
This one gets a serial number of 39/50.
Interesting note about this Brusdar Graterol in that he signed a card of him as a Minnesota Twin. Meaning these cards had to have been signed before he was traded to the Dodgers, just before Spring Training.
Who he is clearly shown with on his Stadium Club base card. Making the autograph even more special than it's serial number would imply. The only way to get this Twins card would be the autographed version! Also gives you some perspective on the timeline for when Topps prints the cards and gets them ready for (what was) a July release.
Another autograph pulled from packs I bought, is the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year. Very happy with this one. I did see a bunch of autographs from the boxes I bought in an effort to complete the set (only missing 6 cards now!). Most of them were typical rookies that wont see much time in the big leagues. I did get a couple established Major League regulars in Max Muncy and Victor Robles.
But no Mike Trout...
I did get a Dylan Cease Orange Refractor (numbered 89/99), that looks so much better than the scan. The splashing Gatorade fits perfectly with the orange tinted refractorness.
And that pretty much wraps it up.
2020 was a strange year for collecting. For the first time in many years, I spent more at the local card shop than retail, because there was no retail. That's okay. I'd rather my money goes to that card store than any Targets or Wallmarts. Had a large percentage of my (too large of a) card budget gone to retail stores, I wouldn't have pulled anywhere near as cool of cards as I did in 2020. All I have to do is look back at the 2019 cards, and compare what I kept to what I threw away. That ratio is far different in 2020. I'll still be throwing a bunch of it away, but what I'm keeping is a whole lot better.
Still, if I had to choose one image to summarize card collecting in 2020, it would be this:
May 31, 2020. Riverdale Targets, Coon Rapids, MN.
******
Did anyone actually read all of this?
Comments
Post a Comment