A Last Look at 2010 Topps

In anticipation of the launch of the 2011 set tomorrow, I thought I would take one last look at some of my favorite shots from last year's set.  (Actually I just hope I get the chance to pick up my box tomorrow, because there is a helluva blizzard starting up outside!)

US-28 - Bill Hall



Perfect timing by the photographer, getting the ball right on the bat.  Man am I glad the Brewers don't have his contract on the books anymore.

US-169 - Ryan Ludwick

The classic "Safe?...Please?" look

117 - David DeJesus



I wish cards like this said on the back whether or not he made the catch.

214 - Matt Kemp



Ditto for Matt Kemp.  This looks like it probably sucked 2 seconds later.

53 - Craig Counsell



A hometown favorite, he still turns a pretty double play!

227 - Josh Thole



I love the dirt flying up in this shot.  The look on his face is exactly why I only slide feet first.

234 - Tampa Bay Rays Franchise History



Awesome job capturing that great moment of jubiliation after the final out.

US-113 Brad Ziegler



OWWW!!!  I've seen a lot of cards where the pitcher's arm is bent funny, but this one makes me think Mr. Ziegler has an appointment with Mr. Tommy John in his future

143 - Omar Vizquel



Two things - one, how is this man still playing? Two, how can he still have ups like that at age 43??

237 - Brew Crew Knockout



We need to see lots of these this year.  It's so cool to be collecting again in a time when the Brewers have, you know, actual star players.

220 - Randy Johnson

 

I just love the image of all 6 feet 10 inches of Randy Johnson sailing through the air.  Of COURSE this card had to be horizontal, it wouldn't fit any other way!

 

And finally, my absolute favorite card from the set, and one of my new all time favorites:

 

1 - Prince Fielder

 

 

I was watching this game live when it happened and it was one of the coolest celebrations ever, and I'm not just saying that as a Brewers fan.  I'm glad Topps didn't wimp out and pass on this shot after so many people around the league were bitching and moaning about the Brewers showing up the Giants, no class, blah blah, blah...like most people, I get annoyed when pro athletes are mugging for the cameras after doing nothing (like making a routine tackle), or worse, doing it when their team is losing. But come on - Prince had just hit a walk off home run in front of the home crowd late in what had become a disappointing season for the Brewers......Geez, just let them have a little fun out there!!

 

Equally funny was that the next time the Brewers had a walk off hit (I think it was like a week later) the team just disappeared into the clubhouse in seconds, no celebration, lest they get some other people's panties in a bunch.

Trade with Collector's Crack

Yesterday I got my cards in the mail from cynicalbuddha over at Collector's Crack!

I sent him a handful of cards he needed from 2010 Topps Baseball, 2010 Topps T206, 2010 National Chicle, and 2009-10 Champ's Hockey, along with some Topps T206 minis and some cards from 2008 UD Masterpieces for his team and player collections.

In return, he came through big time on my 2010 Topps Baseball needs!  Between Series 2 and Update I needed a total of 77 base cards, and he came thisclose to finishing off the set for me, missing just 4 from Series 2 and only 1 from Update.  He also put a significant dent in my want list for the Vintage Legends, Turkey Red, and Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert sets.

Thanks CB!  Go Packers~!

Red Hot Rookies

I finally received my 2 Red Hot Rookies cards - Mike Stanton and Carlos Santana:

These are really sharp looking cards.  I love the red and yellow border, it's a look you don't see very often.  The fact that they are also refractors adds to the effect nicely.

"Hey, it's-a me!"

I redeemed a few more Topps Million Card Giveaways today.  One of them provided an interesting moment - the 1977 Topps Astros Team Card:

My first thought was how it is quite a sight to see that many of those Astros uniforms all grouped together in one picture.  But then I noticed the guy in the bottom row, third from the left....



I had no idea Super Mario was a ballplayer before embarking on an exciting career in the field of plumbing!

I decided I had to figure out who this guy was, but despite looking all over the rosters of the 1976 and 1977 Astro teams I could not find a picture to definitively ID our hero in orange, yellow-orange, and puke-orange.  My best guess is that it may be reliever Gene Pentz:



I dunno....the mustache doesn't look dark enough.....

Assuming it was Pentz, I looked up his numbers - going by the stats he appears to have been a solid relief pitcher.  In 104 games appearances he want 8-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 191 Innings, and also had 116 strikeouts and 7 saves.  It appears his career was cut short due to injury in just his third full season in the majors.

2010 Topps Baseball Update Series Box Break

Just when I thought I had wrapped up the 2010 baseball card season....

Having been away from the hobby for a while, I assumed sets still had just a Series 1 & 2, so imagine my surprise when I learned that I had a THIRD full set to collect if I wanted to complete the Topps 2010 set!

I debated wether to buy the regular box or the jumbo pack box - in the end $55 made a lot more sense than $90, though the 2 additional hits and extra cards in the jumbo box would have been nice....

My box contained:
Set completion: 254 of 330 (77%).  No duplicates, for the base set or insert sets (not counting the Topps Attax cards), so good job on collation Topps!

(As an aside, I'm sure I'm not the first person to comment on this over the years, but the way cards are collated these days drives me nuts.  Sure it's nice to get no duplicates when I buy a box, but when I then buy a pack from another box and get the same 7 "random" cards in the exact same order as another pack, to the point where ALL 5 of the packs I purchased in addition to the box were ALL DUPLICATES, it is frustrating....)

The highlights:

Obviously his buzz cooled off considerably after the injury, but it's still nice to pull card #661:

My rookie refractor:

The box promised one autograph or relic, and I was pretty pleased with the one I got.  Sure they're manufactured bat barrels, but still - it's Rajah~!

There was one other nice pull - one of the short print parallels:

I'm not sure what the rarity is on these things, but either they are very rare or my luck has been terrible.  I went through 2 whole boxes of Series 1 and a box of Series 2 without pulling a single one.  I finally got one (Tris Speaker from Series 2) in a random pack I bought, and now this is my second one.  I haven't pulled any of the "pie in the face" short prints either!...

On the whole this was a pretty good box.  I'm a big fan of the Cards Your Mom Threw Out and Vintage Legends inserts, so I was happy to learn those were extended into the Update Series.  I also got a chuckle from one of the More Tales of The Game cards, seeing as I was in attendance at the infamous All Star Game Tie.  :)  Hopefully I can at least finish off the 2010 base sets before moving on to whatever Topps has planned for their 60th anniversary set!