You'd think that after the release of Topps Update that no Topps sets would be released again until Flagship comes out in February. Well, that wasn't the case this year as Topps surprised many collectors with the revival of the Topps Gallery set which was released in the late 90's and the early 2000's.
Topps Gallery was and is an art based set. The cards are created to look like pictures and the borders are the frames. This was produced as a Wal-Mart exclusive, much to my dismay considering the Wal-Mart closest to my house doesn't even sell baseball cards. However, I was out of town to celebrate Thanksgiving and while many people were running around like crazy on Black Friday, I strolled into a Wal-Mart that wasn't very crowded and bought 3 value packs of Topps Gallery.
Pack 1:
#35 Antonio Senzatela
The first card may be of a player who is kind of meh to me, but this is one of the better-designed cards of these 3 packs. This reddish-pink seats in the back seem to be from the Reds' Great American Ballpark which would make sense for the Rockies to play at often enough to get a picture of. The white borders with silver writing really blend in and let the color of the card pop. It really feels like the original Topps Gallery.
#117 Aaron Judge
2 cards into the first value pack and I already pulled a Judge rookie. Yes, this card may not have the value of Judge rookies when they were pulled in June or July, but he was just unanimously named the AL Rookie of the Year, so it's definitely a great card to get.
#99 Randal Grichuk
#E-8 Matt Carpenter
These Expressionists inserts are tough cards to get, appearing on average, once in every 36 value packs. I pulled one of veteran Matt Carpenter that featured some fabulous art by Dan Bergren. I really applaud Topps for including such a uniquely designed stamp for the word Expressionists along with the stunning blue background.
#MP-11 Mookie Betts
On the other hand, the Masterpiece insert set is far more common, appearing about once in every 2 value packs. They have a very similar design to the original Donruss Diamond Kings cards that include 2 pictures of the player, one in action and one portrait view. These cards are much easier to obtain and do more for me than the Expressionists cards.
#83 Aledmys Diaz
#65 Aaron Nola
Here's a look at the card backs that very similar to the original Gallery backs that include the player's stats by month of the previous year that was so distinctive in the original Topps Gallery set.
#26 Yu Darvish
Here's my very first card of Yu Darvish on the Dodgers, which will probably be my last. I doubt they are eager to bring him back after 2 World Series losses.
#150 Max Scherzer (Gold Canvas)
Each value pack includes 2 Gold Canvas cards. The first I got is the 3-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer. After another fabulous season, could we be hearing whispers of him joining the Hall of Fame?
#29 Taijuan Walker (Gold Canvas)
#137 Ichiro
It's always great to get new cards of Ichiro, who is a free-agent currently Could we see him return to Seattle and end up mentoring Shohei Ohtani, who could also end up joining the Mariners?
#102 Chris Davis
The final card of the value pack is Chris Davis, which features my some of my favorite art included on any of these cards.
Pack 2:
#69 Blake Snell
More fantastic art by Mayumi Seto, who I believe designed all the base cards. I'm really starting to dig this set.
#MP-28 Paul Goldschmidt
Another nice Masterpiece card of another player that I collect.
#34 Clayton Kershaw, Gallery Heritage
Topps Gallery is yet another set that paid tribute to a past set this year with their Gallery Heritage inserts. This one shows today's players in the recognizable 1951 Bowman design before they were owned by Topps.
#HOF-18 Ivan Rodriguez
As you can probably guess, the HOF stands for Hall of Fame and this insert set shows off Hall of Famers with a Gallery-style twist on the design. It looks pretty good, but the color and looks of the border remind me a bit too much of the 2016 MLB Debut inserts from Flagship. Still, these are not bad.
#132 David Price
I know I should be excited about my first Red Sox card of the purchase, but the only thing I can get excited about regarding David Price is his potential opt-out in 2018.
#40 Josh Donaldson
#57 Jameson Taillon
Every other card in this set seems to have a beautiful and colorful design besides this Jameson Taillon card, and I don't like that at all.
#102 Ty Blach
#59 Khris Davis (Gold Canvas)
This is the perfect example of the Gold Canvas actually working well with the card. An unintentional gold and green combo for an A's card could merit at least an honorable mention on my Top 25 A's cards list.
#110 Chris Sale (Gold Canvas)
Now here's a Red Sox player that I can get excited about, even after his less than spectacular 2nd half.
#87 Kevin Kiermaier
In my opinion, it should be him, Kevin Pillar, and Jackie Bradley Jr. up for the AL Gold Glove for CF year after year. How Lorenzo Cain and Byron Buxton snuck into the race is beyond me.
#49 Jharel Cotton
Pack 3:
#9 Amir Garrett
#130 Nolan Arenado
#143 Cody Bellinger
Wow, the 2 Rookie of the Year winners cards being pulled in 3 value packs, how lucky am I? That's another reason why I really like this Gallery revival. Also because the card art is stunning. This is my 2nd Bellinger rookie with the other one being from Heritage High Number. I like this one a lot better, though both of them are pretty great.
#20 Evan Longoria
#MP-16 Brian Dozier
3 packs, 3 Masterpiece insert cards.
#18 Miguel Sano, Topps Gallery Heritage
The 2nd Twins insert of the pack happens to be yet another one of these Gallery Heritage cards. I think I'll be seeing a lot more cards of him after his successful 2017 season where he learned how to balance power with accuracy and lead his team to a Wild Card appearance.
#HOF-6 Hank Aaron
But my favorite card of the purchase was none other than my favorite player of all-time, Henry "Hank" Aaron.
#15 Yoan Moncada
This may have been a big deal 8 months ago, but Yoan Moncada cards nowadays aren't worth what they once were.
#104 Reynaldo Lopez (Gold Canvas)
#114 David Dahl (Gold Canvas)
#109 Mitch Haniger
This is the 10th rookie I've pulled in these packs, gotta love 2017 Topps products.
#53 Kenta Maeda
The last card of the last pack is of Dodger's ace Kenta Maeda.
Overall I was very pleased with the attention to detail Topps showed in creating Topps Gallery. I loved it so much that who knows, I may even buy more.
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