Mission Accomplished

When I bought 3 Craig Kimbrel cards at the show earlier this week, I technically had 100 different cards of Kimbrel. However, my 2nd package from Sportlots had not come yet in the mail, so while I knew these 4 were on the way, I didn't have 100 cards in my possession quite yet.

That changed a couple of days ago when this final Sportlots package came in the mail, containing the 4 cards that would bring the total from 96 to 100 different cards in the Kimbrel Collection. The 4 cards are all from 2018 Topps because I wanted to be able to collect Kimbrel cards as they are released so I don't fall too far behind. I'm going to show off these 4 new additions today. 

The first card is actually a rainbow foil parallel which isn't very noticeable in this year's Topps. The only thing that makes the card look more like a parallel when scanned is the glow in the background. Other than that, it really looks like a base card. Nevertheless, it's a new card of Kimbrel and a parallel of the base version that was available for a pretty good price.

The next card is from the MLB Awards insert set and commemorates Kimbrel winning the 2017 AL Reliever of the Year award. The card has a very modern look, much more so than last year's insert set.  The bottom of the card features a bit of a bizarre design with all the slashes and lines, but it works with the modern theme. It's still great to have this card because it honors Kimbrel for winning the award in the first place, verifying how good he really is.

The next card is also an insert, this one is from the 35th Anniversary insert set for 1983 Topps. Another part of my Kimbrel-themed Sportlots order was the black parallel of this very card, numbered to 299. Now that I have the base version in hand, I'm able to give my full and complete thoughts on the card, which I absolutely love. The picture chosen is very unique and is one that we don't usually see on cards. And while the blue and red around the image may be a bit safe for Red Sox colors, I appreciate Topps' effort to replicate the set as best as they can.

The final card is also a parallel that is a bit more noticeable, but still subtle compared to last year's parallels. Topps continued with what they've done in the last 15 years or so with the gold parallels, serial numbering them out of the year of the set. In this case, the Kimbrel card is numbered 560/2018. I love the image they included on this card and have yet to get tired of it despite seeing the image on 3 different cards. I like it so much that I wouldn't mind seeing it on Opening Day and Topps Chrome later this year (take notes, Topps).