A Couple Thoughts on 2013 Topps Update

Among the sets that I look forward to the most, Update is right up there, and always has been. Since my early days of collecting I always looked forward to year end sets with rookies and traded players with their new teams. This years Update really doesn't do much for me at all though.

Postives: From what I have seen Topps did a really good job with selecting photos for this years set, lots of throwback and alternate jerseys. Yup, that's the list.

Negatives: My biggest complaint this year is the checklist, focusing on the Rockies because that is who I collect, 5 out of the 11 base cards are "new" or updated (first Rockies flagship cards) players. Part of this is because of the 4 All-Star cards, which do little for me, but that is more personal preference, I really don't need 2 more Michael Cuddyer base cards. As for the other players, Christian Friedrich has been on the DL all season and has not thrown a pitch in 2013, his rookie card is in last years update so I really don't see the point in including him (Michael Pineda also fits this category). Reid Brignac was let go by the Rockies in May, signed with the Yankees, was let go by them in June, then spent the rest of the year with the Rockies AAA team on a minor league deal, yet he has a card in update, as well as a Silk parallel for some bizarre reason. The worst is Rafael Betancourt, who had a card in Series 2, and has another card in Update with a very similar photo. And how did they not include Munenori Kawasaki, I am not even Blue Jays fan and I am pissed off by this.

Acetate Appreciation: 1996 Select Team Nucleus

A 28 card insert set from 1996 Score Select, featuring 3 of the top players from each team. Pretty boring design on a multi player card. The thing that stuck out to me was Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette combining for 107 homers and 335 RBI in a strike shortened season, led by Bichette who hit .340 with 40 bombs and 128 driven in, sending the Rockies to their first playoff appearance.

Check Out My Rockies (Oct 2013)

After a recent COMC package arrived, I thought a few cards deserved to be highlighted here. First off this Will Swanner Bowman Black Collection from ebay via the COMC Mailbox service. Just a beautiful card on thick stock, numbered to 25, featuring a Rockies catcher. I may have overpaid for this, but for such a nice looking card, it doesn't hurt that much.

Zistle Trade #13

Just a quick post to document a trade over Zistle.com, one of the few trades I have completed that didn't have to cross an International border. The usual Rockies, catchers and randoms, in exchange for some 2013 Topps Series 1. Some Pacific Online cards with a nice Kirt Manwaring play at the Plate, and a Larry Walker from Donruss Originals, which must have been their version of Archives.

Quite Possibly the Best Catcher Mem Card Ever

Playoff's Absolute Memorabilia product was responsible for some of the best Mem cards I have seen, featuring relic cards of Hall of Famers and weird stuff you don't usually see, like the game used mask card I showed a few months ago. This John Buck is now, by far, my favorite mem card. What more could you ask for as a collector of catcher cards, the only thing missing is a piece of his cup, which I am glad is absent. The peice of shin guard is even all scuffed up. Kinda makes you wish more than one company made MLB cards to come up with new and different ideas.

Acetate Appreciation: 1994 Studio Editor's Choice

The oldest baseball acetate card in my collection comes from the 1994 Donruss Studio line. These were inserted at a rate of 1:36 packs, or one per box. The 8 card set is designed to look like a film strip, a pretty obvious idea for acetate cards, but one not widely used. These cards scan very nicely, but don't look as good in person, the whole card is clear as opposed to the player photo being solid like on most acetate cards. This leads to a really washed out look on the card and make it really dull. It adds to the feel of being a photo negative, but makes for a pretty boring card.

A 2x3 PWE

Plain White Envelopes don't show up here very often, but a much welcomed one arrived the other day from Jeff at 2x3 Heroes. A couple 2013 Topps Series 2 to check off the list including a Gold Tulowitzki Chasing History, I really love how this design works on the vertical cards, the horizontal versions don't do much for me, but the vertical ones are among my favorite inserts of 2013. Justin Morneau goes into my small, but growing, Team Canada collection, along with a few base for the set, this package along with a few others that just arrived leave me 21 cards short of the set. A big thank you to Jeff for helping me out with my Series 2 list.

As exicted as anyone has even been over a MLB Showdown card

Aaron Ledesma, an easy forgettable player, who played in 284 MLB games from 1995-2000, best known for being a bench player for the expansion 1998 Devils Rays. A player with 49 cards in the Beckett database with a total value of $80.15. A player who spend two months with Colorado, playing in 32 games, starting 3, before being DFA's in June of 2000. This was the player that was at the top of my want-list since I started this blog over two years ago. A card from a set that I hate, MLB Showdown with its rounded corners and generic playing card back. A card I am sure I hate for taking so long to track down, or love now that I finally have a copy.

The reason for this being so high on my list is this is the last card I needed to "finish" my "One of Every Rockies" collection, or at least be up to date until 2013 Update comes out. It's hard to call a common base card of a player no one remembers from a set that no one cares about a "white whale", but there is no small satisfaction in adding this one to the collection and striking it off the want-list.

Jhoulys Chacin Mini Plate Mailday

I don't really collect Topps Mini cards, but finding a printing plate of one of the more underrated pitchers in the National League for less then $9.00 shipping is something I will usually jump on.

Jhoulys Chacin just finished 2013 with a 3.47 ERA, which moved him into first place in Rockies history with a 3.61 career ERA, passing Ubaldo Jimenez who had a 3.66 ERA with Colorado.

2013 Topps Chrome 2nd Box Results

Box number two was a little kinder than the first box. Most of the big rookies were in this one with a
Hyun-jin Ryu refractor, Wil Myers 1972, and base cards of Puig, Gattis, Arenado, Jose Fernandez, and Myers. Pulling a Tulowitzki die cut is always nice for a Rockies fan. The color consisted of two Sepias and a blue Melky Mesa. I had actually heard of Darin Ruf, so that a step up my from first box's autos, but the second auto is a redemption, numbered to 499 of a Reds prospect that will probably go on eBay.

My two box total put me at 145 of 220 (with 4 dupes), leaving me 75 cards short of the base set. The decision I have to make now is to either track down the rest of the set, or just use them as trade bait. Another box would bring me close, but I pre-ordered these and got them for just over $60.00 a piece and they seem to be around $80 right now, which is more than I want to spend.

2nd Box Totals:
Base: 74 (No Dups, 34% of base set)
Refractors: 8
X-Fractors: 4
Sepia: 2
Blue: 1 (Melky Mesa)
Autograph: 1 (Darin Ruf)
Autograph Refractor: 1 (Tony Cingrani)
1972 Chrome: 2
Connection Die-Cuts: 2
Dynamic Die Cuts: 1

2013 Topps Chrome Box 1 Results and Review

Anyone who was jealous of the two boxes I posted yesterday, probably won't be after reading the next few posts. I will start with the base cards, I have read about some bad coalition in this product, but my box had zero duplicates, which is always a positive for someone who started collecting in the late 1980's, but one box still puts you at about 1/3 of the set. I am actually a little disappointed in the base set, I really liked the 2013 Topps flagship design, but it looks kind of drab with the chrome replacing the white. That being said, the refractors look amazing, other than the X-Fractors which I am not sold on. The Black parallels are stunning and might be my pick for the best looking design/parallel of 2013.

The inserts didn't really do much for me either, Topps did a good job with the 1972 style cards, but I am not really a fan of that set, so that is more or a personal taste issue. The Dynamic Die-Cuts are a nice design, and the Connection Die-Cuts seem like they are designed specifically to annoy people trying to put them in pages or penny sleeves.

The autographs look good with the on card auto's, but I pulled two duds in Jeurys Familia and Alfredo Marte. Out of my 96 cards the highlight is either the Tyler Skaggs Black Refractor or a Bryce Harper X-Fractor, which is pretty depressing. No Puig, Jose Fernandez, Gattis or Nolan Arenado, not even a base. I think this might be a combination of me expecting too much and getting a weak box, but I am pretty disapointed by this one.

Below is a full list of what I pulled:

Base: 75 (No Dupes) (34% of the base set)
Refractors: 8
X-Fractors: 4
Black Refractor: 1 (Tyler Skaggs)
Sepia Refractor: 1 (Jim Johnson)
Autograph: 1 (Alfredo Marte)
Autograph Refractor: 1 (Jeurys Familia)
Connection Die-Cuts: 2
Dynamic Die Cuts: 1
1972 Chrome: 2