3 New Kimbrel's From Once a Cub

After discovering that I had begun a super-collection of Craig Kimbrel, Matt from Once a Cub graciously sent over 3 cards that I needed for the Kimbrel Collection that brought my total up to 90 different cards. As you can see at the top of the post, they featured 2 cards of Kimbel on the Braves and 1 of him on the Red Sox,

Just in case it's a little hard to tell, the 2017 card of Kimbrel is from the Topps Factory Set. A small difference occurs on the front of the card where you can see the Topps logo in white writing instead of silver foil that we typically see on Topps cards. Other than that, the front looks pretty similar to the Topps base card, but another noticeable difference occurs on the back.

The bright-colored backs (which Topps chose not to bring back in 2018 for whatever reason) include a number different from number 309 that are included on Kimbrel's Topps base card. Instead, the number in its place is BOS-10, meaning this is the 10th card in the Boston Red Sox Factory Team Set. I believe these sets are sold all together at stores close to where the team plays, so a store near me would most likely have the Red Sox factory set this year.

Like the Red Sox Factory Set card that is shown above, Kimbrel's 2014 Topps Atlanta Braves Factory Team Set card features the same noticeable differences from the base card, like the Topps logo being white instead of silver foil.

As well as the back including the number ATL-1 symbolizing that this is the 1st card in the Braves 2014 Factory Set. These card backs are just way less interesting than the colorful 2017 backs. The 2017 Topps base set had mixed opinions, but it seemed most collectors liked the colorful backs and felt they made the set way more interesting, so the fact that Topps removed them for 2018 makes zero sense.

This card may look nearly identical to the one above, but the obvious difference is the NL logo on the lefthand side of the card. This shows that this card is not a Topps base card or a Braves Factory Set card, but rather part of the 2014 Topps NL All-Star set. This set is also produced yearly in addition to the team sets, and are typically available at most Target and Wal-Mart stores. 

The back shows the number NL-15 in the top showing that it is from the aforementioned All-Star Team set, but other than that, it includes the same information as the other card which is understandable, you wouldn't want to change up what people have become used to.

Thanks so much for the cards Matt! I'm incredibly pleased to see the total rise up to 90 thanks to these 3 new cards.