2021 Topps Silver Pack Top Whatever

I went to my second card show at the Valley West Shopping Center, in Bloomington, MN, a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the guy with all those great 50 cent boxes wasn't here (or didn't bring them) this time. The guy with the 2020-2021 singles was back, and I knocked off 12 more 2021 Stadium Club cards I needed. And between several tables worth of quarter boxes and dollar boxes, I came away with some stuff that I really liked. Nothing that I will retire off of, but more of the harder to find common inserts from the last 20 or so years. 

Which brings me to the subject of this post. 

So far, none of the 2021 card releases have impressed me a whole lot. But I've been somewhat surprised by my affinity for 2021 Topps Silver Pack cards. Only two packs of them were opened by me, both coming from that 2021 Topps Series One Jumbo box I ripped back in February. (The one that lost to 1954 Bowman, in a head to head match-up.) Since that disappointing waste of money, I've been buying singles of the Silver Pack cards, any time I run into them. Luckily, the fine folks at Pal's Sports Cards, the LCS currently supplying my habit, keeps getting more of these each time I go back to the store. 

Kind of surprising that I took to these cards this year, over any of the last four. 1986 is the weakest of the Topps designs given the Silver Pack Chrome treatment. I have to say the 1987 design (2017), 1983 (2018), 1984 (2019) and 1985 (2020) cards all look nicer than the 1986 design. However, the 1986 design was one I really liked when I first started collecting. Something about the black border and the font used in the team name, that appealed to me. So these are a fun flashback.

Recently, I was looking at all the 2021 Topps Silver Pack cards I've purchased, and decided they needed their own Whatever. Even though it's too early in the year to say this particular collection is complete. I don't intend it to be. I'm probably going to keep buying these cards whenever I find them, and 2021 Topps Update (Series 3) wont even be out for a couple more months. I'm also picking up the previous years Silver Pack cards with an increased frequency now. I'm crossing my fingers that 2022 Topps will honor the 1988 set.

Whatever...

Here are the...

  Top 79 2021 Topps Silver Pack Cards I Currently Have:

(Listed based solely on how much I like the card, monetary value not a deciding factor.)

#79 - Roger Clemens

I don't like Roger Clemens. And I don't like the Red Sox. 

I doubt there will be a card in this set that I like less than this one.

#78 - Monte Harrison

Harrison ranks this low only because Topps chose orange for the Marlins name. Orange is not a good color for the Marlins. Had they gone with blue, this card would look more appropriate, and a whole lot better. Probably move it up a minimum of 10 spots on the Whatever! 

Monte himself is not helping my case with the multiple red coverings on his arms...

#77 - Tucker Davidson

Braves rookie starting pitcher that's currently injured. I don't like the Braves at all either, but I’m indifferent on Davidson. Although the name Tucker will always hold him back in my collection. 

#76 - Ian Anderson

Braves rookie starting pitcher that's also currently injured. I still don't like the Braves, but he's a better prospect than Tucker. And Ian is a much better name.

#75 - Ha Seong Kim

Heralded free agent signing from the Korean Baseball Organization, last Winter. His transition to the Major Leagues hasn't gone very smooth, bringing a low average and on base percentage, mixed with little power and marginal speed. Probably not what the Padres were looking for as a middle infielder. Especially with all the middle infielders they've brought in during the 2021 season, to make up for Kim's lack of production. However, this card is very brown. And that's exactly what the Padres are going for these days. 

#74 - Isaac Parades

I seem to attract Parades inserts. He's at least a decent looking prospect.

So there's that...

#73 - Dane Dunning

Dunning appears to be well on his way towards establishing himself as a decent middle of the rotation starter. More importantly, we have our first terrible Photoshoppery in the 2021 Topps Silver Pack set. I'm not sure which White Sox uniform was altered, since it doesn't look like they took out each of the individual pinstripes. Betting it was one of the mid-1980's throwbacks, with the "digital" SOX across the chest. Problem being, that poorly placed Rangers script is too small and too high. Imagine how bad that jersey would look if he was standing up, facing the camera...

#72 - Mickey Moniak

While he's still young and could turn it around, it's looking a whole lot like the first overall pick in the 2016 Draft isn't going to be anything close to a superstar. It's also not helping his development by spending valuable playing time riding the bench in Philadelphia. Only getting 5 plate appearances a week, as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. A batting average in the low 100's shows that he's simply overmatched right now.

#71 - Michael Conforto

These cards look a lot nicer with the parquetflooringfractor effect over green grass, rather than brown infield dirt. 

#70 - Andres Gimenez

Since I'm not a Conforto fan, I'll rank his former Mets teammate slightly above him. Must have been too late to Photoshop a Cleveland uniform onto him.

#69 - Jack Flaherty

Awkward non-pitching pose here. Maybe a Topps photographer caught Flaherty dancing?

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Let’s take a break from the Whatever to cover some of the stuff I picked up at the Valley Square Shopping Center!

The last time I was at this card show, my focus was on Twins, Expos and Rockies from 1997-2004. Since the guy that had those boxes wasn't here, I ended up focusing on Twins and Rockies from 2009-2021. Because there were few Expos card printed during these years. These came from a variety of tables, with bulk discounts at differing price points. I'll get to the stuff from my three favorite teams later. For now, take a look at stuff I picked up from the other 27 (hmmm...). 

The first batch of miscellaneous singles from various card show tables. 

Leading off with a Quaker Chewy Quisenberry! An 80’s oddball that surprisingly has logos. Shows how tight MLB got with their licenses over the last 35 years. That Pearson, Bichette, Guerrero Bowman Chrome Talent Pipeline card was only a quarter, as was the Matt Olson Refractor that I picked up in honor of Super A's Fan Rob in New Mexico. Plus Eddie Matthews as a Houston Astro??? All of these came from the quarter boxes, with the exception of the Victor Victor Mesa autograph. Oh, and those three 2021 Select hits came from a wax box I split with my mom. The Luis Garcia patch is a Gold Prizm, numbered out of 10. Definitely not 25 cent cards...

A few years back, the Marlins signed Victor Mesa Jr. and Victor Victor Mesa, after they defected from Cuba. There was so much Victor going on there, I immediately became a fan of both. Unfortunately, neither of Victors have developed into the top prospects that Miami was hoping for. Regardless, I'm still interested in a Victor Mesa Jr. autograph...

Whatever...

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#68 - Brailyn Marquez

One of the Cubs top pitching prospects, Marquez has only made one Major League appearance, yet has multiple cards in every set this year. His career totaling a whopping 2 thirds of an inning, where he gave up 5 runs. But that was in 2020. So far, his 2021 has all been in the minor leagues. He's only 22, and the Cubs are clearly rebuilding, so he may get another shot soon. 

#67 - Spencer Howard

Something I really like about these cards is how the image pops out of the background. The darker the image behind the player, the nicer looking the card gets. Howard was traded to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline a few weeks ago. Philadelphia continues to mortgage their future in an effort to provide backup for a desired Bryce Harper led playoff run. There were reports that the Phillies were most interested in trading for Byron Buxton at the July deadline, but they didn't have any prospects that interested Minnesota. Howard wouldn't have gotten this done.

#66 - Willson Contreras

The Cubs catcher has a nice looking card. It probably would have ranked higher if he wasn't a Cub...

#65 - Mitch White

Grass, dirt, grass. Looks great on a card of a relief pitcher I don't care about, on a team I actively hate. Even that wasn't enough to drag this card any lower!

#64 - Jorge Soler

Soler had a massive 2019 season for the hapless Royals, posting a .922 OPS, while playing in all 162 games. And then to follow that career year up, he did nothing in 2020. His 2021 season was shaping up to be even worse than nothing, and was traded to the Atlanta Braves for next to nothing. Well, not like the Royals were doing anything but nothing this year.

#63 - Keston Huira

He looked so good in 2019, and has looked so not good ever since. He lost his second base position last offseason, when the Brewers signed Kolten Wong. He lost his first base position earlier this year when he stopped hitting. Then he lost his Major League paychecks as Milwaukee has sent him back to AAA Nashville multiple times in 2021. Now 25, I wonder if he has a future in Milwaukee, or if the Brewers sell low on him this offseason. 

#62 - Kris Bubic

Heheheheheh... Boob Itch...

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The second batch of miscellaneous singles includes more of the dollar cards, than the 25 centers. 

Including Bowman parallels of former Rays prospects Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman, both traded to the Twins in mid July, for Nelson Cruz. The Daxton Fulton, Nick Bitsko and Taijuan Walker autographs came from a different dealer. He had several boxes of recent hits, most individually priced. I found quite a few that I wanted, including a couple really nice Rockies, that I'll show later. He offered up "The more you buy, the more I discount!" phrase, as I flipped through the boxes. Which made me choose more of his cards than I would have if he was charging the number on the label. I was rewarded with close to a 40% discount when the final total came in. I was very happy with his table!

And I was planning this story even before adding that Robin Yount. That was just a coincidence. I was actually disappointed in the lack of 2021 Topps Silver Pack singles available here. That was one of the brands I was looking forward to finding more of, but there were surprisingly few of them here today.

Whatever...

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#61 - Mark McGwire

Well, at least he's not with the Cardinals...

#60 - Rickey Henderson

Old Man Henderson is back on a nice looking card!

#59 - Matt Olson

I'll always buy a decent priced Matt Olson card in honor of Super A's Fan Rob!

What do you think?

With the possible-to-likely move of the Athletics, due to their stadium resolution looking shakey at best, I offered the idea to Rob that the team should be allowed to move, but they have to keep their name in the new city. And I don't mean Athletics! In three years, Rob's going to be rooting for the Las Vegas Oakland's! 

#58 - Ryan Mountcastle

Earlier this year, I drew the Orioles in a group break. This was the best card I took home. Baltimore sure has a lot of commons on their team...

#57 - Robin Yount

Here's where that Yount card fell on the Whatever. But I think I may have ranked this card too low. The more I look at it, the more I like it. And I'm definitely not a Brewers, Milwaukee, or Yount fan. 

#56 - Devin Williams

Yount should have ranked above Williams. Too bad the guy making these lists is too stubborn to make needed changes once the order is set.

Someone should fire that guy...

#55 - Luis Patino

The centerpiece in the Blake Snell trade. I was really disappointed the Twins didn't try to put an offer in for Snell, last winter. Once I saw how Snell pitched in 2021, I'm pretty glad they didn't. However, Patino looks like he's going to be pretty good, pretty soon. Again, the Padres overall theme of brownness works well on these cards.

#54 - Yordan Alvarez

I'd like Alvarez so much more if he didn't play for Houston. I keep hoping they'll trade him to the Rockies.

But they never do...

#53 - Bryce Harper

Topps has developed a habit of putting interesting or wacky photos of Harper on his cards. And this one? Wow, that's boring. I don't think he's ever had a Topps base card that looked this dull. No crazy shoes? No weird action hair? No angry looking intimidation face? Not even one of those sweet powder blue throwback uniforms? 

Very disappointing...

#52 - Andrew McCutchen

I'll even rank McCutchen higher than Harper, even though I really can't stand the Phillies creme alternates...

#51 - Mookie Betts

Mookie should be ranked lower than this. While it is a better looking card than Bryce Harper, it's just him running against a solid brownish-gold background. A nice contrast against the white uniform, but nothing special. Still in the lower half of the Whatever. Where a former Dodger and Red Sock should always be.

#50 - Francisco Lindor

Seems like 2021 will be the last cards referencing the Major League Baseball team from Cleveland as the Indians. Next year, they get to be Guardians... Meh... I don't hate it, but I definitely don't like it. And I get the idea behind the name change. I actually don't have an issue with why they're changing identity. Baseball is a business, and a high profile one at that, so if ownership believes this is the best move for the team and the city, then you should change the name. 

Personally, I would have gone with Spiders. It's different, has a history in the city, and would lead to some incredibly cool marketing campaigns. Even as a metaphor for the ballclub itself. Spiders are small, Cleveland is a small marker team. Despite their size, spiders scare a lot of people. Despite their market, the Indians have scared a lot of teams over the past 25 or so years, due to their overachieving nature. Typically, spiders are relatively harmless, except for the ones that can kill you! The more I think about it, that's exactly how I'd sell that name to Indians fans!

"We're going to name the team after some old statues on a bridge!"

Uh... Okay... It's your team...

I guess...

Then there's this HORRIBLE Guardians logo. This CAN'T be the final design? Right? This is a rough thumbnail sketch, where you quickly scribble out 20-30 ideas, and develop the better ones from there. What could possibly be worse than this? The third grader just learning how to draw angles and perspectives, needs to be fired for coming up with this. 

I hate it more each time I look at it!

Congratulations Cleveland. You went from the most "offensive" logo in MLB today, to THE WORST LOGO IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS next season.

Please tell us you're only kidding!

#49 - Trea Turner

At least the Nationals don't bother me.

Wait, Trea Turner is now a Dodger. Well that sucks. 

See, now I'm getting upset again... I need to rank a better option next...

#48 - Miguel Cabrera

This works. Don't really care about the Tigers, but I've been a big Miggy fan since listening to the 2003 World Series, while sitting in my car in Dr. John's driveway. Waiting for him to get home from wherever he was, writing in my notebook, while smoking cigarettes to stay warm. Now he's days away from his 500th Home Run, and fairly close to 3,000 career hits. The only player to hit a Triple Crown in my lifetime and a no doubt first ballot Hall of Famer. 

#47a - Paul Goldschmidt

I'm starting to be over the powder blue throwbacks. Seems like nearly every team has one these days. (None as bad as the Rangers, with the white letters.) The Cardinals get a slight pass for going with St. Louis across the front. But still...

#47b - Paul Goldschmidt Purple

Guess I didn't hate this card so much that I picked up the purple variant, numbered 75/75. 

How did he steal 32 bases in 2016?

#46 - Manny Machado

Less brown, more camouflage!

#45 - Corey Seager

Guess the Dodgers trading for Trea Turner means Seager will be allowed to leave Los Angeles via free agency. Wonder where he goes, and how much it'll take to sign him?

I know a team that's likely looking for a shortstop...

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Zero competition for plucking Rockies singles out of the quarter boxes! 

All these great Bowman Chrome Refractors of failed Rockies prospects, including Riley Pint. Drafted 4th overall just a few years ago, then retired out of nowhere about a month ago. Just looking at this selection of a decade's worth of poor player personnel decisions by Dan O'Dowd and Jeff Brdich, and where the franchise is today, I don't know how they get out of the hole they've dug.

More Rockies awesomeness, including a fist full of Arenado inserts, a Trevor Story autographed dual relic and a Todd Helton triple relic. Those are the only two cards here that cost me more than a quarter.

Should have scanned those.

Whatever...

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#44 - Leody Tavares

I haven't seen many televised games from the new Rangers ballpark in Texas. I watched very little of last year's World Series, since I just didn't want to see the Dodgers win. But what I have seen of the Rangers whatever-it's-named stadium has appeared very dark. Lots of -but yet, not enough- artificial lighting on top of a ballpark. I was immediately reminded of that when I saw Leody's Silver Pack card.

43 - Luis Garcia

Speaking of cards that look really dark, this is one of the better contrasts between image and Parquetflooringfractor pattern in the set. Hopefully Garcia turns into a decent player, so this card can have a little significant in the future.

#42 - Austin Meadows

You can barely see the catcher behind the Meadows, while the umpire blocks out a good percentage of the card. I like this.

#41 - Jesus Luzardo

The Jesus Lizard slithered his way down to Miami, to evolve into a Marlin. A decent return for a partial season of Starling Marte. Who Oakland really needed after losing Ramon Laureano to PED suspension. (But he didn't do it...) I half expected the 7 Foot Hippie to be traded at the deadline as well. Speculated on the possibility of Puk ending up a Twin, in a rumored deal for Nelson Cruz. That didn't happen, as Cruz ended up going to the Rays for two promising pitching prospects, in Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman. And there's Meadows, who is now Cruz's teammate!

#40 - Eddie Murray

Nice Murray photo from the era this design is based. I'm not an Orioles fan, but this card is probably ranked too low.

#39 - Justin Verlander

Just as Verlander would be, if this weren't an Astros card. In fact, it should be ranked lower than it is, based on its Astrousity. Maybe placed between McGwire and Boob-Itch...

#38 - Randy Arozarena

Arozarena hasn't come close to matching the insane numbers he put up in the last month of 2020. But I don't think anyone could have expected that pace to continue. However, he is the type of player that could learn a lot from playing with Nelson Cruz for two months. Look at what he mentorship did for Miguel Sano over the last two and a half seasons... Well, that's probably not the best example...

#37 - Kris Bryant

Good thing he's still a Cub here, because I can't get used to seeing Bryant as a Giant.

#36 - Alejandro Kirk

Catchers should be short, pudgy and powerful. Kirk is all three. I like this card.

#35 - Dylan Carlson

Picked up the Cardinals top rookie outfield prospect for only a buck! This card is also ranked too low because it looks like Carlson is leaving a parquetflooringfractored jail cell. But it's not the 2021 Topps Silver Pack card of a current Cardinals rookie outfield prospect that I need...

On August 12, 2021, rookie Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar hit his first Major League Home Run, off a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher that I don't remember the name of. Topps, you have one mission. If the 2021 Topps Silver Packs from 2021 Topps Update (Series 3) does not contain autographed versions from one Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Nootbaar, I riot! 

#34 - Keibert Ruiz

Trading Trea Turner (and Max Scherzer) will get you the Dodgers top catching prospect. He looks pretty short, pudgey and powerful as well, but is rated far above Kirk. Time will tell...

#33 - Shane McClanahan

McClanahan's performance this year has definitely been better than the former left-handed Cy Young Award winner he replaced in the rotation. The smallest market team in baseball needs to have rookies that can step up and replace a player like Blake Snell, once they get too expensive and they're inevitably traded for prospects. You keep thinking that one of these years the Rays wont be able to continue beating the Yankees and Red Sox, but they always find a way. Even with one of the lowest payrolls in the sport. McClanahan was a key factor for that in 2021. A better factor than Snell was to the 2021 San Diego Padres.

#32 - Ozzie Albies

Yeah... A Brave... (When are they changing their team's name?) But I kind of liked the background.

Not this much though. I ranked it too high.

#31 - Ronald Acuna Jr. (Series 1)

Here's Acuna, running with his mitt, ready to take that cake out of the oven. Again, a card rated way too high. Did I suddenly forget that I hate the Braves? 

#30 - Jose Garcia

I've been confusing Jose Garcia with Luis Garcia (Nationals) on cards, all year. I got an autographed ____ Garcia card from 2021 Stadium Club, numbered to 25. But I can't remember which Garcia it was. I can vividly picture a middle infielder, wearing a white and red uniform. Which could still be either team. However, I liked JOSE Garcia's Silver Pack card about 13 spots more than LUIS Garcia's.

#29 - Jose Altuve

The paquetflooringfractornessed background moved this highly despised player up into the twenties on the Whatever. No Astro should have ever made it to the 20's of any Whatever.

#28 - Nick Madrigal

Trendy rookie was having a great season until an injury ended it in June. Then he was traded to the Cubs at the July trading deadline. Surprising move, but it brought the Sox Kimbrel, just in case Hendriks wasn't enough to get the job done.

#27a - Mike Clevinger

For such a simple photo, there's a whole lot going on with this card. You've got some of the longest hair in the game, the pinstriped Padres pajamas and those weird blue and light blue fancy sleeves. Too bad for San Diego that he had to come down with a severe case of Tommy John Surgery, and missed the season. The Padres really could have used him...

#27b - Mike Clevinger Green

Just as I decided the 2021 Topps Silver Pack collection needed 100% more Clevinger! Found in the form of a green variant, numbered 24/99.

#26 - Nate Pearson (Gold variant)

Have to go with a Gold Parallel here, since I haven't picked up his base card. Given the colors in the photo of this card, it's nearly impossible to recognize the gold border. Probably just the scan that made it blend together. Still looks good to me. Hopefully he can recover from injuries and ineffectiveness...

That would be 42/50, if you're scoring at home.

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The quarter boxes weren't very well stocked with Expos. Makes sense since they were featuring over 90% cards that were issued after the team left Montreal. Turn on the blur filter!

Realized once I got home that I bought that Tim Raines Quaker Chewy Granola Bars card a few months earlier. But it was only a quarter. As was the Moises Alou 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection. A duplicate I'll gladly add for 2 bits. The rest of these were all needs and all just 25 cents.

Except the card in the lower right corner. The dealer that sold me a 1995 Classic 5-Sport Vladimir Guerrero autograph at the last show, recognized me walking by. He got my attention and said he brought another Vladimir Guerrero autographed Expos card, I might be interested in. This one coming from 2016 Finest, and is numbered out of 150. Really should have scanned that card, this blurry picture does it no justice.

Okay, I scanned it. And it rules.

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What a coincidence!

#25 - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Yeah, the powder blues are getting a little old. Although the Blue Jays are at least an appropriate team to wear them. Maybe the Royals too. But for a card of one of my all time favorite player's son, this card seems pretty dull. Just wait until next year, when the Yankees reveal their powder blue throwback uniforms!

#24 - Chipper Jones

Okay, I'm officially suffering from Atlanta baseball amnesia. Not only did a Brave make the top 25, but it's even Chipper Jones. That's just not natural. 

Oh, and Braves, if you're looking for a new identity for your team, might I suggest the Atlanta Crackers? 

Just like the Cleveland Spiders, there is historical significance between that name and Atlanta baseball. From everything I've read about Georgia's current and past political slant, Crackers is the perfect term for you!

Think MTG isn't an Atlanta Cracker?

#23 - Ketel Marte

Can't explain why I like this card. The color? 

He's a Diamondback, so that certainly isn't winning him any bonus points.

#22 - Charlie Blackmon

The first of only two Rockies in my 2021 Topps Silver Pack collection. I'm looking for the Trevor Story, in hopes that it uses the same photo as his 2021 Topps 1986 35th Anniversary card (which these are based from). The photo on that card shows a bunch of creepy large Rockies player heads in the Coors Field seats. I'm sure Topps went out of their way to NOT show the fake cardboard fans attending the Covid games in 2020, but the Story card has them. And I need it parquetflooringfractorized!

#21 - Randy Johnson

I'm so used to pulling cards of 1990's and early 2000's stars, I sometimes forget that they're not still playing. Wonder what kind of numbers Johnson would put up today? As in if he never stopped pitching...

#20 - Bo Bichette

Overall I think Topps could have done a better job in choosing photographs for this set. There's a lot of them that are slightly blurry. Perhaps that was to harken back to 1986 Topps, and the low grade card stock they were printed on. But this is 2021. And these are Chrome cards. They should look better. 

Nothing against Dante's kid. He's cool.

#19 - George Brett

See what I mean about the Royals being allowed to wear powder blue throwbacks? George Brett would look wrong in any other uniform. And parquetflooringfractorized Comiskey Park? All day, every day!

#18 - Christian Yelich

The American Family Insurance logo makes this card for me. Because shortly after writing this, I saw an American Family Insurance television commercial, featuring Yelich playing Little League baseball. He was representing a kid daydreaming about hitting a big home run, as his father drove him to his Little League game. That's a cute premise and it made sense in this context. The thing that bothered me about the ad, is when the commercial ended. The father drops his son off at his game and just leaves. As the advertisement fades out, an overhead shot of the field is shown. The game is going on below and almost no parents are around the field, watching their kids play. I guess every parent of these kids had something better to do?

Now, I don't believe that American Family Insurance causes bad parenting, or anything like that. But given their chance to write this scenario, wouldn't it have been better to show a large collection of parents supporting their children playing the game? Where was super insurance dad going that he could only chuckle softly at his kid daydreaming about success in his big game, instead of actually spending time with his son? Cheering him on at a game that was obviously important to his kid! This fool "lovingly" mocks his son with a smug chuckle, and is daydreaming himself, about being away from his kid.

I think we all know he was late for the titty bar...

#17 - Noah Syndergaard

The blue jersey and backdrop make this card for me. Hopefully Syndergaard will come back from Tommy John Surgery and dominate. Perhaps even stay healthy enough that the Twins can sign him after next season. We're going to have a lot of openings on the pitching staff...

#16 - Hank Aaron

I have zero problem ranking Hank Aaron this high on the Whatever, despite the high Atlanta Braves content. Although it would be even higher if he were a Milwaukee Brave on this card. Topps should only do that in the future. Hank Aaron can only be shown as a Milwaukee Brave. Unless it's on a card that shows him breaking Babe Ruth's Home Run record.

#15 - Tyler Stephenson

Catcher's gear on cards always gets my attention.

And of all the catcher's gear on display in this set, Stephenson wore it best.

#14 - Kyle Lewis

The 2020 American League Rookie of the Year reminds me of Byron Buxton. Both in overall talent and potential, right down to his bad luck with injuries. Hopefully for Lewis's sake, he's able to shake this curse and go onto a productive career. I say the same thing about Buxton every offseason. This will be the year he plays in 150 games!

And it never happens...

#13 - Ke'Bryan Hayes

Speaking of injuries, Hayes missed a good part of 2021, and is still getting back on track. So it wasn't the blow away rookie season we all wanted. I'm still rooting for the guy. After all, I need a Pirate to collect. Hayes seems like a good one. Mainly because it was from this set, I saw zero problem with dropping $35 for this Hayes card. I've also had a knack for pulling some decent Ke'Bryan hits as well, from an autograph in 2021 Donruss, to this just last week:

9 of 10! And I only bought two hobby packs of 2021 Allen & Ginter from the LCS! Though, I'm stunned by the terrible cutting job Topps did on this cloth piece. Straight lines are difficult! And that solid, bland red frame is one of the least inspiring things I've ever seen in an Allen & Ginter product.

#12 - Fernando Tatis Jr.

If Tatis has to move to the outfield on a permanent basis, I'll feel kind of bummed out. I like him at short, and the defensive pairing with Machado is a good defining feature for the Padres. This is one of the sharpest cards in the set.

#11 - Ichiro

Seeing Ichiro cards in any set is always welcome. As the game shifted over the past 20 or so years, with most batters embracing the 3 true outcomes (Walk, Home Run or Strikeout), Ichiro was a throwback to the game of 100 years ago. Combining speed and an incredible batting eye, Ichiro could line base hits all over the field. He amassed over 3,000 Major League hits, despite playing his first nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. Between Japan and America, Ichiro totaled 4,367 base hits. Over 100 more than Pete Rose (4,256), who has the most hits in Major League Baseball history. Something no one would have ever predicted when he signed with Seattle for the 2001 season.

#10 - Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani briefly crossed paths with Ichiro in 2018, and never pitched to him in a Major League game. But Ohtani's impact on the game may end up being even greater than Ichiro's contributions. I've been hesitant to jump on the Shohei bandwagon, because I wasn't sure he could come back from Tommy John Surgery, while still hitting at a high level. What we've seen in 2021 is that with careful monitoring of his pitching appearances and innings, he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball. And at the plate, he's been one of the best hitters in baseball. 

And that's NEVER been done before. 

So yeah, he's beyond passed all of my expectations. Can he do it yearly for the next decade? Who knows? Ask me in 2031. But as of today, there is no denying that Shohei Ohtani has made a huge mark on the game. And the hobby. I'm extra jazzed that his unbelievable performance this year came after I bought an autographed Ohtani card, just before Spring Training started. At the time, I wrote how his accomplishments through 2020 were enough that I needed his autograph. Significant enough that even if he never played another game (at that point), the price I paid for it was worth it, because of what he'd already done.

Anything on top of that is gravy. Rich, thick, powerful, dominating gravy. 

So glad I bought that card!

#9 - Roberto Clemente

This particular Clemente was still just a little better than the Silver Pack Ohtani.

Sorry, it just is...

#8 - George Springer

Longtime Houston Astros outfielder Photoshopped into a Blue Jay! I love seeing that cheating Astros team being broken apart, and painting over one of their jerseys is an extra symbolic gesture of goodwill. Not a great Photoshop job by any means, but the sentiment is there.

#7 - Mike Trout

It's annoying that two of the biggest hobby names play for the Angels. I've never liked the Angles. Now I find myself buying Trout's and Ohtani's because I want their cards. I just wish they were on a different team. If I ran the Twins, I'd be phoning the Angels and seeing if they wanted to trade Trout and Ohtani for... Let's see... How about Michael Pineda and Jake Cave? That makes sense, and I bet the Angels would even throw in a couple hundred million to make the money parts work. 

Let's make this happen!

#6 - Larry Walker

Saved by making the Hall of Fame, Topps is finally interested in making Larry Walker cards again. It's nice to see. So far, Walker and Blackmon have been the only Rockies I've found from 2021 Topps Silver Pack. Since the quality Rockies content of this Whatever has been lackluster overall, I'll show off another card I picked up at the LCS. The same day that I bought the Allen and Ginter pack, with the KeBryan Hayes silk card inside:

From 2021 Topps Archives Signature Series. Coincidentally another Allen & Ginter card, that Todd hastily scribbled on. Still awesome, even if no one would ever know what it's supposed to say.

#5 - Ronald Acuna Jr. (Series 2)

Damat! More Braves! I hate that I ranked this card this high. Again, nothing against Acuna. He's one hell of a played. Just that A on his hat... Either way, I think that when you combine all aspects of this card, it's really nice. The parquetflooringfractorousity over the colors in the photo, with Acuna's white uniform standing out. I really like this card, and I shouldn't.

#4 - Kirby Puckett

What happened in 2021, that Topps can start printing Puckett cards again? Several years back, I read a story about the lack of Puckett merchandise on the market. For whatever legal reason, after Puckett's death, only Mitchell & Ness are licensed to use his name on jerseys. (As of 2017.) Which explains why the Minnesota Twins could not sell Kirby Puckett jerseys or memorabilia. Whatever that situation was, it also kept him off Topps cards for many years. I can't recall many issued between 2006 and 2020, other than a few Panini cards here and there.

Whatever happened, it's really cool to see Puckett cards again. I hope to see more in the future. I'd even kind of like a throwback Puckett Twins jersey, if those are made available some day. Perhaps made by someone other than Mitchell & Ness. I've felt let down over the years with their "authentic" replica jersey's having poor reproductions...

#3 - Juan Soto

I like this photo, and the background behind it. With all the hype that Ohtani, Tatis, Guerrero and Acuna have received this year, Soto has been left out. Sure, he's had a down year (as did all the Nationals), but his numbers haven't been terrible. He's still quite young, so I can't imagine the hobby giving up on him yet. Perhaps with his self-created down market, I'll be able to pick up some quality Soto's on the cheap? I'd have zero problem with that. But his bat is heating up now, Soto has the highest OPS in baseball after the All Star Break. So maybe I'm too late...

#2 - Luis Robert

Lou Bob at number 2? He plays for the Chicago White Sox... I like the background a lot. Good color that fits the parquetflooringfractorable treatment. I actually liked this card so much that I bought two copies at $8 a piece. Helps that he's an incredible talent. With a slight case of Byron Buxtonitis that could prove troubling to his potential. I wont go nuts buying his cards, but I wont look to get rid of any of them either.

******

Before I announce the number one 2021 Topps Silver Pack card that I currently own, let me drag this out even more, by highlighting the Twins cards I picked up at the show! If you're dying to know who beat everyone else on this Whatever, you can just fast forward through my self indulgence...

Out of this grouping, I paid $3 for the 1969 Topps Bob Allison, and the Byron Buxton came from one of those Topps National Trading Card Day packs. (I also got a Mike Trout from the same pack). None of the rest of these cost more than a dollar, while most were a quarter. There's a Kyle Gibson gold parallel in there!

More variety to add into the Twins binders. I've been after a Stephen Gonsalves autograph for a while, because his signature was really nice. But that Bowman's Best card has probably the worst signature of his that I've seen. I will upgrade at some point, but this is good enough for now. There's even another 2021 Topps Puckett insert for good measure.

Another big bunch of random Twins. This photo has some of the higher dollar Twins cards of the day. I paid a whole dollar for that 2016 Byung Ho Park Bowman Chrome Refractor, and I'd do it again! Breaking the bank, I paid $5 a piece for the Randy Dobnak autograph and the Nick Gordon Bowman Briefing Refractor. It's an Orange Refractor, numbered out of 25, so that seems justified.

As mentioned earlier, the table with all the 2020 and 2021 sorted singles for sets was here and in the same dark back corner of the show. I came away with only twelve needed 2021 Stadium Club cards for my set, so I added one autograph to make me feel like my "pack" had a hit inside:

Love that photo, and it's an interesting chicken scratch autograph. I should have scanned it, this picture almost looks fake. How can that rookie card logo stand out through the penny sleeve and Top Loader, so much more than any other element on the card did. Just like everything else Twins related that I bought, it was a lot of stuff I really liked, but nothing I felt I needed to scan individually.

Whatever...

******

Okay, that's enough of a delay...

And the number one 2021 Topps Silver Pack card that I currently own...

#1 - Jose Berrios

Symbolic choice to honor his years of service to Minnesota? Not completely... First I'll talk about the card itself. It's that blue jersey, matching up with the blue scoreboard behind him. Classic Topps' Pitcher Face adds to that. So it would already be highly ranked even without the Twins significance. 

Moving beyond that, Berrios has been Minnesota's best pitcher for years now. He was a draw for fans, and started the only Twins game I've made it to this season:

If you look closely, there he is on the mound against Oakland. Berrios and the Twins did win this game. 

One of the few we have won this year...

But he made it clear that he wanted to test Free Agency, after the 2022 season. Which is entirely within his rights to do. He's hinted at wanting a top dollar multi-year contract that I don't think Minnesota was comfortable handing out. Since he's never been an elite starting pitcher, I can see the Twins point of view in not wanting to pay him $140 million plus, over the next 6 or 7 years. As the July 2021 trade deadline approached, the market developed into benefitting sellers greatly. The Twins had a bidding war for Berrios on their hands. A couple of hours before the clock struck, Berrios was on his way to Toronto (after rumors of interest from the Padres, Mariners, Mets, Giants, Phillies and Dodgers).

Fans were upset. Understandably so. But as I commented to a bunch of whining ignorant Twins fans on a trade thread comment board: "How many playoff games have the Twins won with Berrios and (Nelson) Cruz?" The answer is of course, ZERO. The Twins have no shot of making the playoffs this year, and with their biggest trade chip at his most valuable peak, it made sense to pull the trigger now. No matter how much it hurt. You just hope the return pays off.

Simeon Woods-Richardson and...

Less than two weeks after I pulled this card out of a surprise Walgreens Mega Box, one of the top prospects in the set is now a Minnesota Twin! (Well, a Wichita Wind Surge...)

For me anyways, this softens the blow...

Whatever...

******

As I was finishing up this story, news broke that Fanatics reached an agreement with MLB and the MLB Players Union, to produce baseball cards. Leaving Topps completely out in the cold, in a move they never saw coming. This new agreement doesn't take effect for another year or two (details are sketchy and speculative at this point), but it could -and probably will- mean drastic changes to the hobby as we've known it all our lives. For now, I'm not thinking much about it. By the time everything takes effect, who knows what the market will look like. 

No matter what happens, it will be different. 

And Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Daihatsu Mars Wonka Nootbaar just keeps on hitting!