Taking back Update

So we meet again, Update.

You hurt me last year. Oh the great memories we had, my tradition of purchasing a hobby box of you basically every year since 2007. And then you turn on me like that. God, I wasn't sure if I'd ever take you back. I've tried to push it out of my memory -- the lack of guys in new uniforms, the ten thousand short prints, the sheer pointlessness of it all -- but still I wondered if things could ever be the same between us.

Maybe it's the romantic in me, or maybe the power of nostalgia: whatever it was, I decided to give you another chance, and there I was, hemming and hawing, finally giving in and order a box of your newest effort at the last minute.

I might as well show this first, since some people darn near pulled a muscle freaking out about me not posting my relic from Update boxes I've purchased in the past.

So here it is: a Jose Abreu All-Star Game jersey...woo.

Here's the first one of those Silver Pack thingies I've gotten to open, since the seller I bought this box from was nice enough to include it with my purchase.

Not a bad pack at all, considering I needed three of the four cards in there (not pictured: Randy Johnson), plus '83s look slick with a chrome design.

The new inserts in Update (Storybook Endings, Don't Blink) aren't anything special and the carryovers ('83s, Salute) aren't radically different.

Still, it was neat to get a Satchel Paige from one of the first packs of the box since it's not every day I pull Satchel Paige cards (or St. Louis Browns cards, for that matter).

I usually have bum luck when it comes to pulling parallels I need, but this year's Update break seemed to shift the narrative -- all these fit into my many player collections.

Also, Hyun-Jin Ryu hot box!

That's better, Update: one SP per box is a lot more exciting than the obnoxious seven or eight I pulled last year (and another dude I collect!).

But let's get down to the heart of the matter here, Update: are you gonna give me my base set back?

The base set with guys in trade deadline uniforms? The base set with new rookies? The base set that so often gives baseball season its rightful last hurrah?

Are you gonna be Update again, Update?

Short answer: you're getting there, and for now, that's all I ask.

Sure, there's still unneeded gimmicks, like short-printing cards of late waiver-wire deals in their new duds (just release the set a couple weeks later, Topps -- we can wait!). But by and large, 2018 Update once again feels like the Update I've loved for so long. I had no regrets about buying a hobby box of it this year, because unlike 2017 it was just plain fun to open and collect.

First cards of dudes like Cole Hamels and Cameron Maybin on their new teams and coveted rookies of the Botes and Acunas of the baseball world: that's why I love Update.

More first cards of guys on new teams (I'll give Topps a pass on picturing Bautista as a Met even though he actually finished 2018 with the Phillies), which is and should be the main calling card -- because the set is called Update after all.

The first and last cards in the 2018 Update checklist, and quite the bookends at that.

I still think there's way too many All-Star cards in Update -- guys who didn't play in the game shouldn't get a card -- but if Topps isn't going to change that, the least they could do is make said All-Star cards as good as they can be.

And if this page is any indication, there's a nice crop of shots from this year's Midsummer Classic available in 2018 Update.

Mini-collection hits here, and I don't think it's purely hometown bias in saying that the Davis and Engel are two of the nicest cards in this year's set (I mean just look at them!).

More terrific photography, including that Culberson which is fantastic but at the same time triggers my slight claustrophobia.

The combo cards from 2018 Update are a big ball of fun, which is a surprise because these have gotten quite dull over the last few years of Flagship.

And heck, this might've been my favorite card of the whole darn box.

If the 5'5" Jose Altuve and 6'6" Aaron Judge are any indication, baseball is indeed a game for everyone. It's kinda like Update itself. Chances are every collector can find something they like in this set, even if it's far from perfect. It's made for anyone and everyone, for one and for all.

So yes, Update, I forgive you -- just please do me a favor and don't break my heart ever again, okay?