2018 Topps: Blaster Box Recap

As I mentioned earlier, I decided to go to Target yesterday and pick up a blaster and 1 individual pack of 2018 Topps Series 1. I showed each card from the pack in yesterday's post and today I'll be showing the cards I pulled in the blaster box.

Because the blaster has 101 cards in it, I won't be able to show every one of them simply because it will get a bit repetitive and it would take a while to scan 101 cards. Instead, I'm going to give a quick recap of some of the cards I pulled, starting with my favorite base cards.

There's no denying that the photo quality in 2018 Topps is magnificent. Some of the shots look good enough to be in Stadium Club (Sabathia). While some feature incredible unique images (Hamilton). I also noticed that Topps cut back on some of the boring batting pictures and instead went for some much better image choices, a decision that's not only going to make Series 1 better but ultimately Topps Chrome and Opening Day.

Another favorite card of mine was this Clayton Kershaw league leaders card. I haven't seen a card with such a dark night background in so long that I actually thought this was a black parallel at first. Dodgers and a night card? Sounds like a dream for Night Owl (by the way the Greg the card is yours if you want it).

As I move on to the insert sets, I suppose I'll start with the only one that I really didn't like, Opening Day. These were super common (1:2 packs) and confused me from the start. First of all, the fact that the set is called Opening Day is puzzling considering Topps has a set called Opening Day that these would fit better in. If that weren't enough, the design is pretty bad and all of these different rectangles end up making the cards look like towers that a kid would build in pre-school. I don't see why we need something this overly-complicated on a baseball card. Can we just stick to something simple?

Topps also decided inserts weren't enough this year and decided to put slightly rarer insert parallels in packs. I still don't like the Opening Day inserts, but getting colored parallels that match the players' team colors like a black Moncada parallel and a blue Bellinger is pretty cool. On a side note, I'm very excited that I'll finally be able to collect Judge and Bellinger in a much easier way this year now that they're not rookies and their cards won't be going for as much as they did last season.

Even though I was apprehensive about Salute returning in this years' Topps set, I have to say that I don't mind what Topps did for their sophomore edition of the insert set. The 2 inserts shown above are both Mother's Day cards with very interesting card backs about both Berrios and Bregman's performance on Mother's Day 2017. 

The final Salute insert that I pulled was a Memorial Day Jean Segura which gives me the chance to point out my 1 complaint of the set. I can't fathom why Topps would decide to include the name of the Salute subset like Memorial Day just to cut it off in not 1, but 2 different lines. Instead of cutting it off twice, include the position and mention Memorial Day on 1 line and remove the unneeded extra line. Despite this issue, I'm actually impressed with Salute this year, and would not be opposed to collecting some of it. 

I also pulled 2 different Longoria inserts that are going to end up being some of his last cards on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Opening Day insert card of him is okay, but what I was really impressed with was the Superstar Sensations insert, the lone card I pulled from this insert set that features one of the best and most colorful designs I've seen in a while. If I had to collect an insert set from Series 1 in addition to the '83 set, it would certainly be Superstar Sensations.

Considering that I bought this blaster box at Target, I was expecting to pull a few of these Derek Jeter exclusive cards in addition to the one I pulled in the single pack. I ended up pulling 4 more Derek Jeter inserts, including a nice blue parallel commemorating his 1st career hit. Some of the other cards pay tribute to Jeter's 2006 AL MVP runner-up, his 3000th hit, and winning the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year award.

Speaking of awards, the insert set that debuted in 2017 made its return to 2018 Series 1 with a new and improved set. These inserts fall in 1:8 packs and are no longer a retail exclusive. The 1 insert I ended up getting was one of the better ones on the checklist, that being the 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve.

In addition to pulling the Mookie Betts insert in the individual pack, I also pulled 4 more of these retail-exclusive Legends in the Making inserts that I am considering adding to my want list very soon. I pulled 3 more cards of players I collect (Rizzo, Arenado, and Benintendi) as well as a blue parallel of Wil Myers that looks incredible. I absolutely see what Topps is trying to do with these inserts and I really feel that they executed this insert set well. Even though they have a similar design and concept as the Superstar Sensations, I appreciate Topps including a couple of inserts that are able to stand out and be a bit more colorful than the typical modern card.

However, my absolute favorite insert set from 2018 Series 1 is, without a doubt, the 1983 set. Topps seems to have done well with the 1987 insert set last year because they decided to do something similar to that with a 100-card 1983 insert set in Series 1. They absolutely nailed the design and I really like that they stamped the cards like they did last year. However, one thing that made the 1987 insert set so great was the cardstock they used that helped me enjoy and collect the set as much as I did. I wish they'd do a bit more for the cardstock in the 1983 insert set, but considering how nice these cards look and how everyone I've seen open them seems to enjoy them, I really can't complain about the cardstock.

The last of the inserts I pulled was a Bryce Harper Home Run Challenge card. The challenge is basically another promotion Topps is running this year like last years' card giveaway. Basically, there's a code on the back that I can scratch-off and that I can enter on Topps' website. I then choose a date I think Harper will hit a home run (I can choose any date and I think I'll choose opening day because of how well he's done on the opening day games in the past). If Harper hits a homer on the day I choose, I automatically win a parallel of this card and I'm entered into a contest to win a trip to the 2019 Home Run Derby as well as another contest to win prizes. I really like this promotion, but I wish Topps would make these cards a little easier to get so more people could enter instead of making them 1:36 packs.

The Players Weekend commemorative cards featured a pretty cool patch that I enjoyed, however, I can't say I was thrilled to pull a card of Mets pitcher Jacob DeGrom. Granted I've never had much luck with these Topps blaster patch cards (I've pulled David Wright and Warren Spahn in the past), but I still wish I could've gotten something a bit more exciting than DeGrom. Still, it's far from a bad card and is available for trade if anyone wants it.

Overall, I have to say that I think Topps did a pretty good job with Series 1 after opening this blaster. Granted I still miss borders and the set is far from perfect, but they did improve the base set while including some interesting insert sets that peaked my interest (the ones I will definitely collect are the 1983 and Legends in the Making). There were so many inserts in the set, which is good considering how many base cards you usually get in Topps Flagship. The set had some very strong aspects that I hope to see Topps build upon throughout the year.