(Think of this post as a 2016 Topps movie with an overdubbed director's commentary.)
(I've been severely lacking blogging inspiration lately.)
(Sorry for another prolonged hiatus.)
(Dad supplied my first taste 2016 Topps for me the other day in the form of a blaster and some loose packs.)
(He's actually been working a side gig at his local Target lately.)
(He gets to straighten and stock the card shelves: one of his jobs was to -- you guessed it -- put out the brand-spankin'-new 2016s earlier this week.)
(I checked my local Target on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday earlier this week to no avail.)
(Apparently the pimply-faced teenagers who work there can't be bothered.)
(I may be in the minority, but I'm glad reprints are back.)
(Although it does feel odd pulling a reprint of a card from 1997.)
(I think Topps reads my blog.)
(Why else would there be insert sets devoted to Wrigley Field and position players pitching?)
(Is this a dream?)
(Stadium Club is infiltrating Flagship now.)
(I mean that in a good way.)
(Because holy heck are these nice cards.)
(Base cards? Eh.)
(Not a fan of the clouds or the fractured team logos.)
(Plus I'd rather baseball cards not look like my high school Graphic Arts projects.)
(I sucked at Graphic Arts.)
(The backs are almost exactly the same as last year's.)
(Parallels are back and as average as ever.)
(The rainbow foils are barely even rainbowy, and the gold parallels now have a honeycomb effect due to the lack of borders in 2016 Topps.)
(Topps needs to take a step back, and I mean that literally.)
(Like the past few years, way too many zoomed-in game-faces in this year's Flagship.)
(Also not a fan of the return of the pointlessly-foiled FUTURE STARS headers.)
(But there were good cards.)
(I still enjoy Gatorade-shower shots.)
(As voted by fans, Mr. Trout is Card #1 in 2016 Topps...and I can't think of a better Card #1 in recent memory.)
(I wonder if Pat Neshek -- a noted collector -- has ever pulled a card of himself?)
(Also, I'm pretty sure that's the first card of Chase Utley as a Dodger.)
(The horizontal team/combo cards are superb this year.)
(A couple other personal favorites of the horizontal variety.)
(Topps could use more "hero" shots like the Cueto.)
(Card. Of. The. Year.)
(I'm calling it now.)
(VERY glad I pulled it on my own, because -- thanks to the national attention this card has been getting -- it's selling for highly inflated figures on the secondary market.)
(That's about it.)
(Thanks for reading/watching/looking/consuming.)
(I'll be back with more complex thoughts if/when this blogging funk ever washes over.)
Good stuff Nick! Glad to see you back. That's a great 'Wizard' card!
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back. I was wondering if we were going to be graced (cub pun) with your presence before your bday.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta be happy pulling Mr. Cy Young and the very cool Rizzo.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick! This is the year for those Cubbies. Has to be! Great overdubbing, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to buy me a jumbo box of these next week in your awesome country!
ReplyDeleteThose Perspectives inserts are absolutely incredible. I might have to buy a complete insert set for the first time in my life!
Great writing, Nick.
Nick J.
Berger's Best, Perspectives & wacky packages/baseball mash-up previews will be the only cards I will collect from this otherwise uninspired design. The buybacks are a step up this year with the tiered stamping. Some of the photography is noteworthy, though not so much so that I would feel compelled to fork over as much as one red-cent on this borderless rubbish.
ReplyDelete(A diferencia de Nick de cajas del diez centavos, no me gustan estas tarjetas con perspectivas...)
ReplyDeleteAw, crap... Hold on, I've got the Spanish audio track going. Where's the freakin' button... Ah, here it is.
Unlike you and pretty much everybody else out there, I'm not grabbed by these Perspectives cards. They're OK, but like most of these cards, they leave me a little cold.
...But maybe, like pretty much everything with this set, I wonder if I need to walk away from these for a while, get Heritage out of the way, and then come back to me. Maybe with no expectations these cards will grow on me a bit.
Funny thing; I realized just now that I like the "First Pitch" cards better than the base cards, even though they're very similar in design... Maybe because there's less going on?
I feel like you whispered that whole post.
ReplyDeleteThis year's base cards are okay. They don't offend me, but the design is very "TV" to me...which isn't good.
I'll also always ring the bell of "fewer inserts". Some of these are just pointless.
Love the reprints!...but don't dig the blurred backgrounds and close shots...
ReplyDeleteI've got the schwarber you're looking for, hit me up on twitter, @stetsonaw and I'll PWE one your way!
ReplyDelete