First Impressions: 2024 Topps

 

It's a miracle! For the first time that I can ever remember, my local Wally World had the latest base set out on the shelves, and on the day of release! I actually got to open cards on Valentine's Day, and it was happiness. The set design has been getting a lot of positive buzz, so I'm happy to bring you my first impressions of 2024 Topps Series 1!

 

#203 Chas McCormick 

The honor of the first card goes to Astros outfielder Chas McCormick, and what a great way to kick things off! gravity-defying catch? Check. Dirty uniform? Check. Interesting background? Check!

Like I said, the design has been getting a lot of good reviews, and I agree. Now that I see the cards in hand, they're great. The neon has some slight foiling to it, which gives it a shiny quality. I feel these cards would have been better if the border was all black, but I don't hate the two-tone look. I love the neon diamond behind the team logo too.

 

#287 Miles Mikolas

#83 Keaton Winn (RC)

#255 Andrew Vaughn

#266 Alec Bohm

#315 New York Power (CL)

#114 Jose Ramirez

 

Topps continues to include a fair amount of horizontal cards, which is perfect for a great slide like this one!

 

#90 Oneil Cruz

#127 Ha-Seong Kim

#66 Jordan Westburg (RC)

#131 Eduardo Rodriguez

#342 Maikel Garcia

#244 Tyler Soderstrom (RC)

#320 Daniel Bard

#157 Trent Grisham

 

I'll be glad when these City Connect uniforms are a thing of the past. Some are OK, but some just don't look good to me (Sorry Padres fans). At least Grisham has a sweet mustache!

 

#295 Henry Davis (RC)

#36 Prelander Berroa (RC)

#267 Kenley Jansen 

 

My first Red Sox card of 2024 goes to their All-Star closer. I always enjoy it when the player pushes past the border, giving the card more dimension. One thing I have noticed is that not every card does this when their is ample opportunity to do so. (The above McCormick and Ramirez cards, for example).

 

#120 Edwin Diaz

#179 AL Home Run Leaders (LL)

#165 Chicago Cubs (TC)

#129 Adbert Alzolay

#79 Seth Brown

#167 Blue Jays Unite! (CL)

#HRC-12 Freddie Freeman - Home Run Challenge insert

 

Home Run Challenge cards are back again. I've never played the game in all the years Topps has done these.

 

#ATT-2 Julio Rodriguez - All Topps Team insert

An interesting insert to say the least. I'm not sure how I feel about Rodriguez being shaded the Mariners' colors, and is that supposed to be an "OF" behind him? If so, that is the weirdest "F" font I've ever seen.

 

#SMLB-21 Shohei Ohtani - Stars Of MLB insert

#SMLB-24 Pete Alonso - Stars Of MLB insert

Ugh, these again... The epitome of bland uninspired inserts...

 

#334 Ryne Nelson

#4 Logan Webb

#209 Johan Rojas (RC)

#302 Jake Rogers

 

Compared to the fronts, the backs are surprisingly plain. No black to pair with the white, no neon element, nothing that ties to the design on the front. It's weird. Points to Topps for the readable card numbers, but the stats seem harder to read than ever. (Maybe I'm just getting that old...)There seems to be a fair amount of open unused space on these cards as well.

 

#49 J.P. Crawford

#207 Luken Baker (RC)

#328 Patrick Wisdom

#210 Gleyber Torres 

That's the pack, the first of what I hope will be many many more! What are your first impressions?