It's official - I'm old. At least that's the impression Topps seems to be giving me. I was fortunate enough to find the latest offering from Topps, and my real first impression was I might need bifocals. Let look at a pack, shall we?
#5 Julio Urias
The honor of the first card goes to Mr. Urias. As far as the design goes, I really like the 70th Anniversary stamp, and the parallelograms aren't nearly as obnoxious as I first thought they would be. But Dear Lord those names are insanely hard to read! It's bad enough that they're so small, but slanted too! This really bothers me, and torpedoes any positives I have to say about the look.
#11 Max Kepler
#186 Luke Voit
#268 Johnny Cueto
#67 Clayton Kershaw
#231 Dane Dunning (RC)
Let's look at the back. Or I guess I should say, let's squint at the back.The use of the parallelograms behind the team logo is better utilized than they are on the front. Other than that, it's a standard Topps back. I'm sure there is something interesting written on this card, but I can't find my magnifying glass.
#270 Mitch White (RC)
#249 Trent Grisham (FS)
#182 Eduardo Rodriguez
At least I got a Red Sox card for my troubles! I find it amusing that Topps chose to omit 2020 from his statistics. Rodriguez didn't pitch at all last year due to Covid related heart issues, so hopefully he will be good and healthy for the upcoming season!
#233 Dansby Swanson
#T52-2 Miguel Cabrera (1952 Topps Redux insert)
In a completely new and innovative concept, Topps is making an insert set based off of the classic 1952 set design! I will say I prefer this than last year's Turkey Red set, but I am curious why Topps wouldn't celebrate their 70th Anniversary with the 1951 red and blue backed cards.
#25 Sixto Sanchez (RC)
#271 Luis Castillo
#241 Anthony Rizzo
#22 Pedro Severino
#9 Max Fried
I'll be honest, if the world was normal and cards were plentiful at our retail outlets, I would probably skip buying any more of this set and just hold off until Heritage comes out. As it were, this will likely be my only choice for awhile should I have "The Itch" so maybe a few more packs may be forthcoming.
Lucky you were able to find a pack. I agree, you may have to get 'em while you can because who knows when the next pack would be available?
ReplyDeleteAt least you got a Kershaw and a Rizzo.
ReplyDeleteOh they not only reprinted '52, but they did '51 Current All-Stars, '86, 1 player for each year of the 70, the first and last card of significant players, reprints of regular and high end star cards, and cloth patches of significant rookies. All on top of Archives and Heritage. Topps has officially run out of ideas and has become nothing but recycling.
ReplyDeleteReally like how Topps is honoring the 1952 set. And the 1986 set. And putting old pictures of cards on other cards. Impressive stuff.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed with the "70" diecut inserts. I thought they looked cool in pics, but when I grabbed one in a pack it was flat and dull.
It's not you. The font is too tiny and Topps makes it worse by italicizing the names. Terrible. I dont think I'd buy any packs even if I could find them(haven't looked though)
ReplyDeleteHopefully Eddie is okay and ready to go for Boston this spring. That heart issue of his sounded scary.