Odds and ends

I've been on a bit of a roll lately.

At times, I can flip through one of my binders a dozen times and not come up with anything to write about. As most bloggers will tell you, that feeling is a bit aggravating.

Luckily, though, I've found myself coming up with post ideas left and right lately. I know it's going to end sometime, but I'm enjoying the ride thus far.

Hopefully, I didn't just jinx it.

I've had a few things happen within the last couple weeks that just didn't fit in with anything else.

Some "odds and ends", if you will, ones that will serve as the basis for this post.

It's pretty much old hat by now, but I'm sure most of you are aware of Adam Greenberg's dramatic comeback to the bigs. A comeback that landed him an appearance in 2013 Topps.

I saw Greenberg's tragic first at-bat live back in '05. I remember it pretty vividly.

While I was ecstatic to see the Marlins give him an official at-bat in the bigs, I couldn't help but wonder what was stopping the Cubs, Greenberg's original franchise, from doing so.

It's not like they were playing for anything in October.

Unsurprisingly, I fell victim to another "impulse buy" once the news of Greenberg's one at-bat with the Marlins broke.

Up until a couple weeks ago, I hadn't had a card of his in my collection. I needed to rectify that.

Immediately.

I nabbed a copy of Greenberg's 2002 UD Prospect Premieres "extended rookie card" (whatever that means) on Sportlots for under a buck, including shipping.

Safe to say, I'll be chasing his 2013 Topps issue.

Even though its release is about five months away, I'm already looking forward to it.

As luck would have it, the A's got eliminated from the playoffs after I confessed my "bandwagoning" to the franchise.

It wasn't the end of the world, though.

I could still root for the Nationals and Orioles.

Then, the O's got knocked out of the postseason, much to the dismay of quite a few bloggers around the blogosphere.

As a result, my hope was with the Nationals.

Before I had to leave for a school project last night, I caught the Nats' three-run first inning.

That was a good sign.

Once I got home, I saw that the Nats were holding onto a 7-5 lead. (Only later did I find out that they blew a 6-0 advantage.)

Most of us probably know the rest. Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma are my new least favorite big leaguers.

By booting the Nats from the playoffs, the Cardinals virtually made this postseason worthless to me.

I don't have much interest in seeing Tigers-Yankees or Cardinals-Giants matchups. I guess I'll be rooting for the Giants by default.

There's always next year, I guess.

But enough of my rambling about the playoffs.

Let's get back to cardboard.

Some of my readers might remember my promise of a "Top 100" list from a few weeks ago.

It's been a blast going through my collection and listing cards that I'll be considering for the "Top 100". However, I've still got a ways to go before I trim the list down to a hundred cards.

If I had to guess, I'd look for the "Top 100" to debut on the blog around this time next month.

Today, I thought I'd update a few of the "ground rules" for the project.

Initially, I said that no player will be able to make more than two appearances in the countdown.

That won't necessarily be true.

Multi-player issues will not be counted towards the standard "two-card rule" that I mentioned. Should the above masterpiece make the "Top 100", it will not count toward Berra's or Robinson's other two spots.

I'd say there's a decent chance that you'll see this one on the list.

As I stated before, this "Top 100" list will only be comprised of cards from 1981 to the present.

Otherwise, vintage would make up about 95 percent of it.

One fairly obvious conflict I overlooked is the topic of reprints. Most of those are post-1981, after all.

Still, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the "competitors" if reprints were allowed in.

If they were, I'd have to put all of the neat little tobacco reprints I've accumulated over the years somewhere on the list.

As a result, I've decided to completely omit reprints from the countdown. Most recent issues can't be expected to compete with something as awesome as this reproduction of "The Georgia Peach".

Don't worry, though...

Fan Favorites are still fair game.

While they may look and feel like reprints, they are nothing of the sort. I'd bet that you'll see a few of these in the "Top 100", whenever the time comes.

I'm glad that I decided to take on the endeavor of creating this countdown. It's always nice to be working on a little project off to the side.

It'll be quite the display of "odds and ends".

My collection is pretty much based on them.

So is this blog, for that matter.

Outside the lines

I'm not sure how manager cards were received back in the day.

I doubt kids got too excited over pulling cards of Sparky Anderson or Don Zimmer. I know I never got too thrilled when I saw a name like "Jim Tracy" staring back at me from inside a pack of baseball cards.

Still, they should have their place in the hobby. Managers have more control over the outcome of a baseball game than in any other sport.

You'd never know that judging from recent checklists. The last few series of flagship have omitted them all together.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

On the one hand, manager cards can feel like "filler" at times. I'd much rather see bench guys like Tony Campana or Nick Punto get a spot in a flagship checklist over Terry Collins.

However, there's a part of me who really wants to see former players-turned-skippers like Robin Ventura and Kirk Gibson in a flagship set once again.

If the last few years have been any indication, Heritage is quickly becoming the only source for manager cards in the hobby.

They're a great reminder that there's more to the game of baseball than just the nine guys on the field.

The "pipeline" goes far beyond just managers, though.

To date, I only have about a half-dozen umpire cards in my collection.

While they're not that high on my priority list, the few I have are certainly a pleasure to own. Topps' inclusion of the late Eric Gregg in their Fan Favorites checklist was a nice move on their part.

Truthfully, I doubt we'll see umps get any part of the spotlight these days.

Even so, I'd like card companies to sprinkle in an ump card here or there, just to let us know that they still exist.

That's all I ask.

Sometimes, baseball cards can stray a little too far "outside the lines".

Cardboard just doesn't mesh with suit-and-tied individuals, after all. I'd be immensely disappointed to pull a card of some front-office guy.

As one of their many "gimmicks", Topps included autographs of general managers in this year's Update series.

Perhaps even worse are those Bowman scout autos from a few years back. (They're also pretty touchy about them, apparently.)

I'd say commissioners are the "best" of the group, pretty much by default.

I guess I'd like to see a card of Bud Selig sometime down the road. He's the only commissioner I've known during my life around baseball. If "Happy" Chandler gets a card, Selig should get one.

It wouldn't be any great tragedy if he didn't, though.

As with managers, announcers play a more vital role in baseball than any other sport.

Between visits to the mound, foul balls, and hitters adjusting their batting gloves for the 800th time, there's quite a bit of time to fill during the course of a ballgame.

Because of that, the viewer relies on the announcer to make those gaps entertaining.

In that area, I feel that things have taken a turn for the worse.

Maybe it's just in my head, but from what I've seen, the subpar/plain bad announcers in the game are starting to outweigh the good ones.

I understand that almost every announcer is a "homer" to a certain extent, but some guys take it to the absolute extreme. I hate that more than anything else.

Although I'm rooting for them in the postseason, the few Nationals games I've watched haven't been fun. Same goes for the Yankees, at least as far as the latter part of that sentence goes.

And please, please, please don't get me started on Hawk Harrelson.

Thankfully, there are still a few bright spots left. I've always looked forward to hearing Mike Krukow and Duane Kupier whenever MLB Network picks up a Giants game. Gary Matthews is always an enjoyable listen during Phillies games as well.

Perhaps I'm biased because of my fandom, but the Cubs' "Len and Bob" have always been near the top of my list. (Although that might just be a side effect of listening to Hawk Harrelson on a regular basis. Literally anything else would sound good after sitting through a game with Hawk.)

I've heard enough of the late Ernie Harwell to know that he belongs in the ranks of the greatest announcers in history. I've always considered myself lucky to own this beautiful Topps Gallery issue of Harwell.

It's a masterpiece.

Of course, there's one name that should always come up when talking about baseball announcers.

Vin Scully.

As far as announcing goes, no one can even hold a candle to Dodger games. It's like witnessing a wonderfully-crafted work of art for three hours.

All that makes me even more surprised that Scully has barely even been recognized in the hobby. I can only find record of a single card of his, one that I don't yet own. And he had to share the spotlight on that one.

Seriously, Topps. 

Just give us a card of Scully already.

To say he deserves it is a gross understatement.

I'm not saying that every manager, umpire, or announcer should get a baseball card. That would be crazy.

I'd just like to see them get a little recognition in the hobby. Maybe just to shake things up a bit. 

After all, a lot happens outside the lines in baseball.

Into the Sunset, Pt. 7: Nomar Garciaparra

It's official.

I have jumped on the Oakland A's bandwagon.

I've been rooting for them all year. They've got that "underdog" factor that I've come to like so much.

Their ninth-inning comeback against "Papa Grande" and the Tigers last night easily took its place among the best finishes I've ever seen. (The Tigers already have a bad taste in my mouth, given that they knocked the hometown White Sox out of contention.)

I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw Coco Crisp knock home the winning run. Even I was surprised that I was showing such emotion for a team like the A's, one who I never paid much attention to before this year. (Save for the whole "Moneyball" thing.)

So, yes, I'll admit it. You can call me a "bandwagon" A's fan, if you want.

Given everything I've seen from them lately, though, I have a feeling this postseason is going to transform me into a true A's fan in the years to come.

Only time will tell.

Out of my newfound "pledge" to the A's, I thought I'd devote this "sunset" installment to a recent fan favorite who finished up his career in Oakland.

The great Nomar Garciaparra.

Most fans probably remember him as a Boston icon. Perhaps some others associate him with his later Cub and Dodger years.

Few, if any, baseball fans remember his time with the A's. I'd bet that the fact that he played in Oakland comes as news to a few people reading this post.

He finished up his illustrious career with the A's in 2009, hitting .281 over the course of 65 games that year.

I've never specifically set out to collect Garciaparra. He's never been that high on my radar.

Still, I'd rate the above Fleer Tradition issue as his "peak year" of cardboard. To date, it's the only card I have that depicts a Red Sox player sporting a "throwback", a rare sight. (It's a former dime box find as well.)

There's probably quite a few people out there who have Nomar-based player collections. I'd have to guess that the "meat" of those come from Nomar's days in Boston, where he had thousands upon thousands of cards issued each year.

I'm almost the polar opposite.

I get the most pleasure out of seeing Garciaparra in an A's jersey.

SP Authentic kicks off Nomar's "sunset" countdown.

A perfect example of a set that I neither like nor dislike. In most cases, it merits a general "meh" from me.

This one is no exception.

Meh.

Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee is easily one of my favorite recent sets.

The all-time greatest "one and done" issue, in my view. Relatively cheap packs, simple designs, just an overall great effort.

Still, this Nomar is one of OPC's rare misses.

Looks like the photographer caught him a bit off-guard there.

Another "meh" set for me has always been Sweet Spot.

They've had some decent offerings, but nothing I've ever gotten exorbitantly excited about.

This one would definitely rank on the higher end of the Sweet Spot spectrum. I actually kind of like this design. The bottom of the card does actually feel a bit like an actual seam on a baseball.

Couple that with a great in-action shot of Nomar in Oakland and you've got one fine piece of cardboard.

Well done, Sweet Spot.

Well done.

I have no idea how or when I acquired this card.

To my knowledge, these "Update" cards out of '09 Upper Deck only came from those combo "fat packs" that UD used to sell.

I never bought one of those. Surely I must've traded for it, although I have no recollection of that happening.

It's odd how some cards can just "sneak" into your collection like that.

I'm sure glad this one did, though.

Until I pulled and scanned Nomar's "sunset" cards for this post, I'd never noticed that he wore #1 during his time in Oakland.

A little detective work shows that he actually wore numbers 1 and 5 with the A's. That can be explained by the mid-season Matt Holliday trade, as he wore #5 during his brief tenure in Oakland.

Although I'm a huge fan of horizontal cards, this one is the runner-up in this countdown.

There's a good reason for that, though.

How could a mini not take the top slot?

Although my first "sunset" post stated that inserts and parallels wouldn't be considered "official" contenders in this theme, this Nomar is a rare breed.

It's the rare case of a mini that's actually part of the base set.

I still have no clue what "extended" minis are, but they apparently found their way into packs of 2009 Goodwin Champions. The Nomar is one of those.

Unlike A&G and Gypsy Queen minis, these don't exist in full-size form. The mini is all you get.

I can't decide if I like that tactic or not.

Either way, I'll admit that this is one cool card. Clouds in the background make everything better, especially when it comes to cardboard.

Perhaps it could've been better with a sunset backdrop on a "sunset" card.

Now that would be cool.

Heritage

Occasionally, I'll have some crazy ideas when it comes to my collection.

Things like, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool to collect this sometime down the road?"

Most of the time, I shrug it off and forget about it fifteen minutes later. I tell myself, "Your collection is wacky enough as it is."

However, a couple of those "crazy" ideas have stuck with me. That's how my obsession with cards featuring pitchers at the plate got started.

A couple weeks ago, I found myself wandering through my Rays and/or Devil Rays binder for the umpteenth time. I stopped when I came across the Rocco Baldelli section.

I always do.

You see, most of my family's heritage lies in Italy. It's something I've taken a lot of pride in over the course of my life. The culture, the history, the food...everything.

But especially the food.

Just saying the name makes me seem a little more Italian by the minute. (With or without the typical Italian hand gestures.)

"Rocco Baldelli."

That's when the crazy thought popped into my mind.

How neat would it be to start a collection of Italian ballplayers?

Only a handful of actual Italian-born guys have played in the bigs throughout the course of history (including current Mariners prospect Alex Liddi), but surely there's enough Italian-American players to fill a collection.

Once I looked at the actual list, I knew it would be a Herculean task, should I decide to chase it.

I'm not ready to make a commitment just yet, but it's definitely on the table for future consideration.

In a lot of ways, though, I think I've already started.

I give Topps a ton of credit for managing to squeeze that name onto this piece of cardboard.

In terms of today's players, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is probably my favorite of the Italian-American category. He actually had a pretty good year, although you'd never know it given all the other drama that went down in Boston.

His last name is what first sucked me into collecting his cards. For one thing, it's the longest last name in big league history.

Even more than that, though, "Saltalamacchia" loosely translates to "jump over the car" in Italian.

There's your fun fact of the day.

This is one of the best cards I own.

Not just because it's vintage. Not just because it's from 1959, one of the better efforts in Topps' long history.

And not necessarily because it features Rocky Colavito.

More accurately, it's because it features "Rocco" Colavito, one of the more "pure Italian" names you'll ever see.

Colavito's rookie card lists his first name as "Rocco", but that one is a tad out of my price range.

I'm the proud owner of a '58 Topps Colavito, but he'd apparently already earned the nickname "Rocky" by then.

For whatever reason, Topps reverted back to "Rocco" for his '59 issue.

If I do ever decide to officially start collecting cards of my fellow Italians, this would definitely be one of the centerpieces.

Downtown Chicago is actually home to the Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame.

I've never been able to make the trek down there. One day, though. One day.

A few of my friends got to go there for a field trip during my junior year of high school. I envied them.

Not surprisingly, my friends told me that most of it was dedicated to the "Yankee Clipper" himself, Joe DiMaggio.

A man who, ironically, nearly wound up playing in the Windy City.

There's no denying that "Joltin' Joe" is the quintessential Italian-American sports icon. You probably didn't need me to tell you that.

Still, one card stands above the rest when it comes to honoring my heritage.

One that comes from an unlikely source.

Mark my words.

You will see this card somewhere in my "Top 100" rankings. Probably quite high on the list as well, if I had to guess.

I don't know if there's such a thing as a "perfect" baseball card.

For me, though, this one borders dangerously close to being that "perfect" piece of cardboard, even though these "World Baseball Classic" inserts barely get mentioned in the hobby.

Italy's roster for the '09 WBC featured big-leaguers such as Nick Punto and Jason Grilli (Mike Piazza was the hitting coach), but Topps eventually chose Mr. Catalanotto to represent the nation.

Given that he enjoyed a solid 14-year big league career, I think it was a fine choice.

Thanks to this card, Frank Catalanotto will always represent the country of Italy in my collection.

An unlikely "cardboard hero".

What I've shown here is just the tip of the iceberg. With names like Tony Conligliaro, Sal Bando, and Tony Lazzeri, it's safe to say that Italians have definitely made their mark on the game.

For a lot of us, our collections honor something that is near and dear to us. Our favorite team. Our favorite player. Our favorite sets.

So, I ask, why not our heritage?

Like I said, I don't know if I'll ever actually sit down and decide to chase this project. I doubt I'm even the first one to have come up with this idea. 

At the least, it's something to consider. 

I'm a convert

This past Sunday marked the ten-month anniversary of my blog.

It's hard to believe it's even been that long.

These last ten months have easily been the best in my collecting "career". There's no question about that.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I was highly active on trading forums and the like before I found out about this whole blogging thing.

Don't get me wrong. I met a few great people and made tons of great trades during my time on the forums. My collection wouldn't be where it is today without them.

Let's be honest, though.

In just ten short (yet long) months, I've learned that the blogosphere has an entirely different way of doing things. As I've come to find, it's easily the best way.

It should come as no surprise that I've spent less and less time on my trading forum as a result of this blog.

A few weeks ago, I decided to temporarily remove myself from the forums. Maybe, just maybe, I'd just gotten slightly burnt out with trading on there.

I figured I'd get back on once Topps Update came out and make a few swaps, just like I'd always done.

Update has come and gone.

Apparently, so has my time on the trading forums. I'll never fully be able to return to my pre-blogger self, as I've quickly realized in these past few days.

That's definitely a good thing.

While I did make a few trades, I just didn't feel the same tug that I once felt whilst swapping cardboard with other forum members.

I guess a few trades with the great people of the blogosphere will do that to you. Nothing can match our way of doing things.

It's just an entirely different culture here.

On a trading forum, card number 46 from 2012 Topps Update is just another ordinary piece of cardboard.

But in the blogosphere, it's a thing of beauty. One of the things that has made me a "convert" is the fact that this blog has become an outlet of sorts, one where I can fully voice my thoughts on anything and everything cardboard.

Here, I can say that Moyer's 2012 Update issue might just be my new favorite card of the year. And people actually listen.

As you might guess, the main focus of a trading forum is, in fact, trading. Not a whole lot of discussion goes on around there.

I'm not trying to demean anyone who happens to be a part of a trading forum, by any means. For certain collectors, it's a perfect universe.

However, as I've come to find, I'm no longer one of those people.

Why?

Two words.

"Book value".

It's the name of the game on the forums.

For a good six or seven years, Beckett was my Bible as a card collector. If I pulled a neat new card, I immediately ran to my Beckett to see what it was "worth".

That was even the case with my "keeper" cards.

Before I became a blogger, I tended to look at the above Hamilton "rookie" as a card with a decent book value, one that just happened to be of a guy I collect.

It was the wrong perspective to have. Very wrong.

These days, I look at it as an awesome card of Josh Hamilton, one that captures the beginning of his inspirational resurgence into the game of baseball.

To those who might ask what Beckett thinks of it, I have just one response.

Who cares?

Before I started this blog, I tended to think of my collection as the be-all, end-all of collections.

I didn't do the whole set building thing, so why would anyone else do it?

My collection isn't focused on one team or player. Who could possibly want to devote their entire collection to just one franchise?

Again, it was the wrong approach to this hobby. A little arrogant, too, as I'm starting to realize.

One reason I've become a "convert" to the blogosphere is because of the vast diversity of all the respective blogs and collections.

Maybe it's a post on what happened in last night's Orioles game. Or a post about a few Blue Jays cards. Or maybe even a post about Ron Cey. (I decided to start a whole new player collection of "The Penguin" as a result of the blogs.)

That diversity is something to be appreciated, not questioned.

I literally have no idea what I'm going to read from one day to the next.

It's a pleasure.

The main reason I've become a "convert" is a fairly obvious one.

Becoming a blogger has inspired me to take a closer look at my collection.

Before I started writing, I'd looked through each of my binders on a great deal of occasions. Surely I'd already seen everything there was to see.

Nope.

Writing on a daily basis has forced me to analyze my collection regularly, always on the hunt for that new theme topic or post idea.

I'm still finding new things.

I've owned this card of a young Jose Valverde for as long as I can remember. Yet, before this afternoon, I'd never noticed the backdrop for this shot.

The beautiful Wrigley Field. How that slipped past me all this time, I'll never know.

As if that wasn't enough...doesn't it look like "Papa Grande" is giving the finger with his right hand, at least at first glance?

It took me a couple seconds to realize it was his index finger.

Here I was thinking this was just another ordinary base card.

It just goes to show that sometimes beauty can come from the most unexpected places in this hobby.

It's the same thing with the blogosphere.

Even though I'd read people's praises for it in the past, I never thought it would ever change my way of collecting. I'd just write one, maybe two, posts a day and I'd be done with it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

As I'm sure we all know, that hasn't been the case. Blogging has captivated me in a way that's a bit hard to describe on a sheet of online paper.

Simply put, it's changed my view on the hobby for the better. I don't know how long I could've kept up with the whole "book value" charade, anyways.

The blogosphere has indeed "converted" me into an entirely new way of collecting. One that has me enjoying the hobby a whole lot more.

I'll always be thankful for that.

Mondays with Hoyt, Episode 19

1963 Topps #108 Hoyt Wilhelm

You may have noticed a couple changes I made to the blog recently.

I've decided to semi-retire my "Cardboard Masterpieces" theme. With my mega "Top 100" project in the works, I don't want to give away too many of the finalists. A handful of them have already made appearances within the "Masterpieces" theme.

It may return in the future, but it'll be on the back burner for the time being. 

Secondly, I've decided to add my "Mondays with Hoyt" posts to the "theme bar" at the top of the blog. All the "episodes" are now there for your convenience in case you're interested in reading any of my past Monday posts.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to this week's episode of "Mondays with Hoyt".

As is the case with most newly-released sets, Topps Update is quickly making its rounds across the blogosphere. I was glad to hear that my take on the set helped convince a fellow blogger to delve into a hobby box of his own.

Update has always been one of those sets that I specifically mark on the proverbial "card calendar". In fact, near the beginning of the season, I remember thinking, "Before I know it, I'm going to be buying my box of Topps Update."

The baseball season goes by too darn fast, doesn't it?

As I mentioned in my review of the product, I've always had a deep desire to get those first cards of guys in their new uniforms.

At times, I've wondered why exactly I have this need. What is it about a new uniform that makes a card so much more awesome?

Judging from what my collection has showed me over the years, I'm starting to think it's one of those innate parts of every collector.

Topps' "Traded" subset made its debut in 1974. However, I currently own a few homemade "Traded" cards from before then.

My copy of Jim Bunning's 1969 Topps issue has the word "Pirates" scratched out and replaced with "Dodgers" scrawled across the bottom of the card, documenting his late-season trade to Los Angeles that year. Most likely the work of an enthusiastic, baseball-loving kid of the era.

One of my more interesting card show finds was also "updated" in a similar fashion, at least eight years after the card was originally released.

However, my favorite from the "homemade Update" series is my copy of Hoyt's 1963 Topps card. To be honest, I have no idea how or when the card fell into my hands. It had to be one of the first vintage Hoyts I ever owned.

Some kid of the '60s was apparently eager to update Wilhelm's trade to the Windy City after the 1962 season, one that would begin Hoyt's six-year tenure with the White Sox.

And maybe that kid was as big of a Hoyt fan as I am. 

This card has shown me that the need for "updating" has always been a part of the hobby. It has always been an integral part of collecting cardboard, no matter the era.

In lots of ways, maybe we're not all that different from the collectors that came before us.

2012 Topps Update: A tradition continues

For the most part, my collection is based on sheer randomness.

Sometimes, I'll come back from a card show and have no clue as to why I bought a few of the cards I did.

Although I do take the time to neatly organize and file all of my cardboard, it can be madness at times.

That's why I need a little consistency to balance everything out.

One of the reasons I've come to love Topps Update so much over the years is because it brings that stable presence to my collection.

For a collector such as myself who bases their collection largely by team, seeing some of my favorite players in their new uniforms on cardboard is one of the most simple joys in the hobby. Update takes care of that joy every year.

Topps Update brings the idea of consistency to my collection on a more personal level as well.

I've bought a hobby box of the stuff every year since 2007.

The above picture is an "update" in itself, as I know there's shots of me holding up my 2010 and 2011 Update boxes around here somewhere.

I'm not one of those people who have the budget to bust box after box of baseball cards. Update joins Series 1 as the only boxes I've opened this year. (The Series 1 box was a birthday gift.)

In a way, that's a good thing. It keeps the joy of busting a box pure and, most of all, fun.

Breaking the seal off of my shiny new box of 2012 Topps Update continued my annual tradition around these parks.

As it turned out, those 36 glorious packs had a lot in store for me this year.

One of the first packs I opened yielded this Chipper Jones short-print.

Given that he recently played his final big-league game, I picked the perfect day to pull it. The trade market proved to be a fantastic place to take this one.

It's a fun card, but it's already been swapped for a nice pile of this year's '87 minis.

I'll take that over a gimmicky short-print any day.

Even though they're a bit out of my price range, I've always enjoyed these silk cards.

In fact, there's a good bet that you'll find my only "keeper" one of the sort high up on my Top 100 list, whenever that time may be.

Unfortunately, the Ziegler isn't a "keeper" for me.

It's still a pretty nice piece, though.

The front of every Update box advertises that each one contains a "hit" of some sort.

This was my hit. A sticker autograph.

It's a good thing I don't buy these boxes for the "hits".

Those are all fine and good, but let's get on to the cards I'll actually be keeping for myself.

In a rare twist of fate, one of my bigger "hits" from the box actually turned out to be a great find.

Like the silk cards, my budget isn't vast enough to acquire as many of these black parallels as I might like.

Still, I've take 'em where I can.

Luckily, my box yielded a black parallel of new Angels reliever Jason Isringhausen, one of the players I was most looking forward to seeing in his new duds. (Numbered out of just 61 copies.)

I even managed to pull the base card of "Izzy" for good measure.

Back when 2012 Topps debuted in January, I thought it was a bit odd that Topps decided to omit the numbered gold parallels.

Especially in a year which the "gold" theme seemed to be emphasized so much.

The "gold sparkle" parallels have been there from start to finish. They're back in Update.

As it turns out, Topps decided to give the gold parallels the "Cognac treatment". Update packs will include numbered gold parallels all 990 cards from Series 1, 2, and Update, similar to last year's "liquorfractors".

I'm a huge fan of the gold parallels, but even I think that's a bit of overkill on Topps' part.

The Golden Moments, Golden Greats, and '87 Mini insert sets all make their triumphant returns in Update.

The minis were the only ones I was happy to see. I was sick of the Golden Moments/Greats after my first blaster of Series 1.

In my view, Update's 1987 minis are the best of all. One of the best aspects of the original '87 Topps set was the rainbow-ish "Future Stars" labels that accompanied the likes of Bo Jackson.

Staying true to the original, Topps included the colorful designation on today's "future stars", such as Bryce Harper and Yu Darvish.

That alone made the minis one of my favorite parts of the box.

Making their debut in Update is the "Blockbusters" insert series.

I knew I'd love these from the moment I first heard about them. I've always had a weakness for newspaper-themed inserts, such as Topps' "Year in Review" set from a few years back.

Plus, big franchise-changing swaps are among my favorite aspects of baseball lore.

Although I wouldn't classify Ramirez-for-Eovaldi as one of "The Biggest Moves in Baseball History" just yet, it's still safe to say that these are a couple nice pieces of cardboard.

Even with those big, ugly trademarks.

For a "low-end" collector such as myself, the base cards are the meat of the box.

It's the reason I've bought Update so consistently over the last six years.

As I mentioned before, it's a great chance to see some of your favorite players in their brand-new uniforms. (Although I still don't understand why Topps had to give the short-print treatment to Youkilis as a White Sock or Thome as an Oriole.)

For my money, base sets don't get any better than Update.

This year was more of the same.

Although he's not in my binders, Shawn Camp's first card as a Cub is an absolute masterpiece. I'll be keeping this "throwback" in my miscellaneous "cool" pile for now.

Binder or not, I could never bring myself to let this one go.

A fantastic shot of one of my favorite players in-action.

This is the type of photo I'd love to see on more cards. Now that I think of it, there aren't a lot of shots that depict a close pickoff play.

If this one is any indication, that needs to change.

Another fine example of Topps' increased focus on photography in 2012.

Design-wise, it's pretty much been an average year. The "surfboard" doesn't stand out all that much.

Yet in terms of the photos, it's far and away been the best year to be a fan of flagship. Topps definitely succeeded in that realm.

Plus, Update gave me my new favorite card of Giancarlo Stanton in the process.

As usual, the "Home Run Derby" cards are back in Update.

Granting a horizontal issue to this year's Derby winner was a nice touch on Topps' part.

That doesn't change how ugly those jerseys are, though.

Update's All-Star subset makes a return in 2012 as well.

I've noticed that these are starting to take up bigger chunks of the checklist, given that so many players end up being nominated to the All-Star team these days.

Still, these have always been a welcome sight in Update over the years.

After all, the All-Star game is a special time for baseball fans.

Recently, I've been more lenient in letting rookies into my binders.

Cespedes has been in since I first saw him on Opening Day. He's quickly become one of my favorite players to watch.

After a bit of deliberation, I decided to "induct" D'Backs prospect Trevor Bauer into my collection as well.

One look at his awesome long-toss routine made sure of that.

Rookies and All-Stars are cool and all, but let's get to the best part of Update.

Guys in their new uniforms.

Although Jonny Gomes has quickly become one of the leaders of the up-and-coming A's, he hadn't had a card issued with the franchise until Update came along.

This was easily one of my favorite pulls from the box. It's a prime example of Topps' new emphasis on photography. (I'm still trying to figure out what Gomes is holding in his left hand.)

This is the type of shot that only the game of baseball could provide.

Although I've been rooting against them all season, I have to admit that the Tigers played a heck of a game this afternoon.

Easily one of the best ballgames I've watched all year.

I'm still getting used to the sight of Brandon Inge in an A's uniform, given the ties he's had to the city of Detroit during his career.

The Dotel is a record-setting card. The Tigers are the thirteenth team Dotel has played for, the most in baseball history.

While the uniform has changed, Dotel's "uncardogenic" self evidently hasn't.

Here's a couple of this year's biggest deadline deals in their new uniforms.

Although he probably didn't live up to expectations during his time in Anaheim, I'm still excited to have a card of Greinke as an Angel, my favorite non-Chicago sports team.

Going into my box of Update, there was one card I was really hoping to pull. Had I not gotten it, I might have labeled the entire box as a disappointment.

Luckily, about ten packs in, this fell out.

My very first card of Ichiro as a New York Yankee.

It'll be my first issue of his that won't take its place within my Mariners binder.

Going into this year, I figured I'd get my same fill of Ichiro cards showing him in that familiar Mariners jersey. However, the baseball season had other plans.

To put it lightly, Ichiro getting dealt to the Bronx proved to be one of the most shocking moments of my baseball life.

In time, I'm sure I'll get used to seeing Ichiro in uniforms other than the Seattle blue-and-white.

For now, though, anything else just looks out of place.

Still, it's a historic day for my collection.

Overall, I'm definitely satisfied with this year's Update product.

I've heard countless stories of some collectors having cases of "buyer's remorse" after purchasing a couple boxes that weren't all they were cracked up to be.

That's never been the case with this set. It's always given me everything I could ever want from a set of baseball cards.

Topps Update is as consistent as they come.