2010 Topps

I swore I wasn't going to do this anymore. I knew I was just setting myself up for getting mad. I saw the new packs of 2010 Topps in Target the other day and after staring at them for a couple of minutes was able to walk away without buying a pack.

I swore I wasn't going to do this anymore. I was walking around Target today after lunch. (I go to Target a lot....) I saw the new blasters of 2010 Topps. I picked up a box to see how many cards were inside and noticed on the side of the box that each box contained one patch card. Having never owned a patch card, and really jonesing to open some packs of cards, I knuckled under and bought a blaster.

I opened the box while sitting in my car in the Target parking lot. I dumped the packs out, found the pack that had the patch card, opened it up, and...and...and.....HOLY FREAKING MOTHER OF ALL THINGS HOLY! AN AL KALINE PATCH CARD.


Right then I knew that I was going to let Topps off easy this year. This is one of the sweetest relic cards in my collection. But then I started opening the other packs....and....and...and...

Well, nothing worth writing in all caps about, but this is a really nice product. The base cards look great and there are some great inserts too. So here's my 2¢ on 2010 Topps. (Actually my $60. I went back to Target after work and picked up two more blasters.)

THE GOOD

1. This is easily my favorite Topps design since 1991. Not coincidentally both feature the team logo prominently on the card. After years of flat designs, these cards pop. Very clean and colorful. I likey.

2. There are some honking cool inserts, the best of which are the parallels printed on the same stock as the Heritage cards. (Check out the old Topps logo on these. Nice.) Topps should have released these as a separate set altogether.

3. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out. A fifty+ card insert set reprinting various cards in Topps history. My favorites of the ones I got were a '59 Bob Gibson, '61 Roger Maris, '65 Juan Marichal, and a '74 Dave Winfield. I also got reprints of a '53 Jackie Robinson and a '60 Carl Yastrzemski, but they're not a part of that set. I'll have to investigate.

4. Babe Ruth. Three different insert cards. One called History Of The Game, one called Tales Of The Game, and a Turkey Red card. All three look awesome. I will never bitch about getting cards of HOFers, especially when they replace 37 different Kenji Johjima cards. (Sorry Topps, I'll never get over 2007...)

5. Combo Cards and Checklists. Topps killed two birds with one stone by putting the set checklists on the back of the Combo Cards and making them a part of the base set. Nicely done.

6. Franchise History. I'm not really sure what these are but the four I got look pretty cool. One of Rickey Henderson from when he was an A, one of Tom Seaver throwing out the first pitch at the last game at Shea Stadium, and a couple showing both the Red Sox and Marlins multiple World Series banners hanging in their stadiums. Very cool.

THE BAD

1. Once again this is not the set for set builders. Not if you want to build one for less than the amount of a car note. The three blasters contained 243 cards total. I ended up with 137 base cards. I haven't sorted them yet, but after doubles I'm guessing I ended up with about a third of the set for $60. I'm betting you could drop a couple of bills and not finish Series 1, and that's fucking absurd.

2. Topps Town. Is it an insert card? Is it a game piece? Whatever it is, it counts as a card in the pack. There appear to be 25 silver cards and 25 gold cards. I realize that Topps Town is geared for the kids, but since that's the case why put them in the boxes for the adults? Put them in the single packs that retail for $2. And don't put one in every pack either. I'd give up every one of these I have for a couple of the parallels.

3. SP cards. Or alternates, or whatever they're called. I got one of Walter Johnson, which I would gladly trade for the Hank Greenberg, but this is unnecessarily gimmicky. Why not just add them to the set so that everybody can enjoy them? For the first time in a long time Topps has released something worth spending money on. There's no need for this goofyness anymore.


THE RESEARCH

I got on the web trying to find a checklist so I could post the Tigers team set and insert cards, but I couldn't find one anywhere. I was able to find a checklist of the 25 SPs, but not a complete list of anything else. So for now I'll list the Tigers I got or know about and then I'll fill it in as I find out more.

The 2010 Topps Detroit Tigers:
1b Hank Greenberg (SP)
68 Brandon Inge
84 Nate Robertson
119 Wilkin Ramirez
171 Justin Verlander (either AL wins or strikeout leaders)
254 Edwin Jackson
293 Brent Dlugach
309 Gerald Laird

For inserts I got the parallel card of Edwin Jackson on the Heritage stock, a card of Justin Verlander called "When They Were Young," and a Topps Town card of Miguel Cabrera.

MAYBE (and I can't stress maybe enough...) Topps isn't going to be so Mickey Mouse after all. I give this release a big thumbs up. I like what I see so far, even if building a set is going to cost a small fortune.

If there are any team set collectors out there wanting to swap insert cards drop me a line. I've got about a hundred or so and I would love to put together a Tigers team set of the parallel cards. I've also got patch cards of Bob Gibson and Evan Longoria if anybody has a Hank Greenberg they'd like to swap.

And dadgum, that is one sweet Kaline card.....