For the first time I can remember, Flagship has fallen by the wayside with me this year.
Aside from the
Jose Bautista bat flip, there hasn't really been a single memorable card in either the Series 1 or 2 checklists. From what I can tell, Topps has put almost no effort into photo selection for (what is supposed to be) their premier brand. Flagship, to me, had fallen stillborn from the presses here in 2016.
But then came Update. I've bought a hobby box of this set nearly every year since I broke back into the baseball card market about a decade ago. It's my little way of partaking in a end-of-year celebration, a party which got underway upon the arrival of my box in the mail last Saturday.
The usual Update excitement swept over me since I've always had something of an unabashed attachment to this brand, though I must admit I wasn't expecting much given how mundane Flagship had been this year.
For starters, my box did something I thought was darn near impossible: it got me semi-excited over a jersey card.
Though I obviously have to root against him in this year's Fall Classic, Andrew Miller is one of my favorite current ballplayers. As luck would have it, Miller's "event-worn" (Topps' words) All-Star Game workout jersey card fell out of a pack about halfway through the box.
The fact that I own part of a mustard-yellow jersey is both neat and horrifying at the same time.
Unlike
the blessed box of Update I opened last year, I didn't have a whole lot of luck with the parallels in 2016.
Though I can't complain too much with Kershaw and Stanton here, these two rainbow foils turned out to be the only parallels I needed out of the entirety of the 36 packs I opened.
Guess there's always 2017 Update.
Update's inserts line up with most of what Flagship has been this year: boring.
The all-Ichiro, all-the-time "Chasing 3K" set is a carryover from Series 2. I'm all for more Ichiro cards, but devoting an entire 30-card insert series to a single player (even Ichiro) is incredibly redundant.
I don't have much to say about the "Franklin" set except that I
really hope sponsored baseball cards don't start becoming a thing in this hobby.
I'm not sure what Topps' obsession is with 3,000-hit milestone this year, but the "3,000 Hits Club" insert set is yet another uninspired effort.
The "Fire" series, on the other hand, is overinspired (is that a word?) and looks like something I produced in the Web Design class I almost failed my senior year of high school.
The popular "First Pitch" checklist remains the only notable insert series in Update.
These are all welcome additions to the binders -- and the story of young card collector
Brady Kahle warmed my heart -- but the best of this bunch has to be Aubrey Plaza, an actress best known for portraying
April Ludgate(!) on
Parks & Recreation.
Admittedly, I didn't get into
Parks & Rec until a few months ago thanks to a recommendation from a friend, but April quickly became my favorite character because...how could she not?
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As is the often case with this low-end collector, however, the base cards are why I keep returning to Update.
For whatever reason, Topps chose to trim Update's checklist down to just 300 cards, as opposed to 350 for both Series 1 and 2. The silver lining there is that I managed to pull every single base card I needed from my box without having to resort to the secondary market for stragglers.
I don't know whether it's the rose-colored glasses I wear when it comes to Update or not, but this year's brand certainly seems like a grand departure from what we saw in Series 1 and 2: 2016 Update is
inspired.
It's so well-rounded that it took many trials and tribulations to make a Top 16 list in honor of the best of 2016 Update (though I did cheat a little along the way).
Honorable mention
-- 2016 Topps Update #US-223 Jose Fernandez AS
RIP.
#16 --
2016 Topps Update #US-266 Willson Contreras RC
Here's my first card of a guy who is quickly becoming one of my new favorite Cubs.
I was really hoping Topps would go with the rare C/OF designation due to Contreras's anachronistic versatility in the field, but it's still a fine card of the young star.
Also, it was only a few days ago that I noticed he spells his first name with two L's.
#15 --
2016 Topps Update #US-138 Kyle Schwarber RD
Here's another fantastic card of a young Cubs backstop, though the inclusion of it in 2016 Update is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Schwarber's debut came in mid-June of 2015, so I'm not exactly sure why he's getting a spot in the Rookie Debut subset here in 2016 over a year after the fact. Confusion aside, however, I love the catcher/ump combo shot, which you don't see too often these days.
I'm rooting for Schwarber more than any other Cub on this year's World Series roster for the sheer fact that I can't even believe he's out there in the first place.
#14 --
All-Star Game awards
Hoisting the hardware always makes for fun baseball cards.
#13 --
2016 Topps Update #US-15 Wilson Ramos AS
The impenetrable barrier between player and fan.
#12 --
2016 Topps Update #US-238 Alejandro De Aza
A play at the plate
and special "42" jerseys?
I must be in heaven.
#11 --
2016 Topps Update #US-42 Andrew Miller
Year in and year out, I come back to Update for the (often) first cards of players in their new uniforms.
Here's the first we're seeing of the aforementioned Andrew Miller in his new Cleveland garb on cardboard.
#10 --
2016 Topps Update #US-145 Aroldis Chapman
The Update factor is especially sweet when it comes to new hometown guys.
I still have mixed feelings about seeing Aroldis Chapman in Cubs pinstripes, but the fact of the matter is that the Cubs did need bullpen help for the stretch and Chapman certainly provided that at the deadline this year.
And he's darn fun to watch pitch what with those 103-MPH fastballs and all.
#9 --
Dugouts!
Dugouts are an often ignored space when it comes to cardboard, which is a shame because they can provide a candid look at the game you won't often see on other baseball cards.
Whoever was in charge of selecting the photos for 2016 Update seemed to recognize that.
#8 --
Memorable moments
Update, to me, is a final flourish for the baseball season.
It hits the shelves right around the time the postseason is in full swing, and is really the last
big set of each calendar year. Update's Highlights subset always hits the mark on some of the more memorable moments of the season.
Glad to see Bartolo's dinger made the cut.
#7 --
Cameos
Before last year, Update's All-Star cards had been a tad stale: the guys depicted on the cards looked like any average Joe on the street.
I noticed in 2015 that Topps began to include more cameo-laden All-Star shots in Update, which I absolutely loved (though I seemed to be in the minority there). The trend has continued here in 2016, and I couldn't be happier.
Because how often do you get to show Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts,
and Salvador Perez on a single baseball card?
#6 --
All-Star jersey presentations
Here's another carryover trend I noticed beginning with last year's Update.
I think these jersey presentation shots add a fun new angle to the All-Star subset (even if the jerseys themselves were God-awful). It's also a great way to give guys who didn't end up playing in the Midsummer Classic (like Steven Wright) proper All-Star cards.
Like the cameos, I hope these make a return in 2017 Update.
#5 --
2016 Topps Update #US-225 Tim Lincecum
I said it when I tracked down his Heritage High Numbers issue and I'll say it again: Tim Lincecum looks just plain wrong in an Angels jersey.
Which, of course, made this card one I
needed to have.
#4 --
2016 Topps Update #US-196 Mark Trumbo
My exact thought upon first sight:
Now THIS is a baseball card.
#3 --
2016 Topps Update #US-285 Kenta Maeda RD
Here's a rare card that commemorates a pitcher's feat at the plate.
I can't imagine many hurlers have hit a home run in their big-league debut, but Kenta Maeda did exactly that on April 6th of this year.
Put the curtain call together with the exuberance of the Dodger fans in the background and you have one memorable baseball card.
#2 --
2016 Topps Update #US-199 Brandon Moss
Jesus.
The Arch. The Coca-Cola ad. The city skyline. The centerfield batter's eye. The bleacher crowd. The retired numbers of Cardinals greats. The framing of a random fan on the giant Busch Stadium scoreboard.
My God, what a card.
#1 --
2016 Topps Update #US-254 David Ortiz AS
I don't know if I'm like a lot of other collectors, in that if I see a photogenic moment happen during a baseball game on TV -- like a close play at home or a diving catch -- my immediate first thought is:
That should be a baseball card.
When I saw David Ortiz tip his cap to the roaring crowd in San Diego this year, I had the same thought.
That NEEDS to be his All-Star card. Like the moment itself, it would've been a perfect tribute to one of this generation's all-time greats.
It's good to see that Topps was on the same page.
I think the fact that I was able to create this list at all is a testament to how great Update is this year, and how much it skies over the lackluster efforts we saw in Series 1 and 2.
Once again, Update is king of the postseason.
