Action Time

One of my favorite parts of the 1972 Topps set, which is my favorite set of all-time, is the in-action cards. About 40 of these cards were given to players in addition to their base cards to show shots of the players during an actual game. This included fielding, pitching, hitting, and even more. Granted, these types of photos have become increasingly popular in cards today, but the cards really stood out in sets like 1972 and quickly became collectible cards.

They returned in the 1982 set, a decade later, and to my knowledge, have not been in a Topps set other than 1972 and 1982. They looked just as good in this set as they did in 1972 and given how well they looked in the '72 set, Topps decided not to make any huge changes but rather focus on the action-image standing out. I guess they weren't as popular in the eyes of collectors back then as they are now, because why else would Topps quit putting them in sets.

Now you may be asking why I had action cards on my mind. Well, there is a reason and it involves the best example of a modern equivalent to the in-action cards.

In recent Topps Heritage sets, Topps has included these action-image variations that switch it up from a Spring Training shot to an actual in-game photo on the Heritage cards. I got a few of these from Topps Heritage last year, but the Kris Bryant remains my favorite by far. I mean, how can you beat this picture on a baseball card. The moment the baseball world changed forever is immortalized on cardboard and it looks absolutely stunning.

Oh yeah, and I also pulled one of these action-variations in this year's Heritage set after biting the bullet to open one final box.

In that final box was a card I couldn't believe I actually pulled. I somehow struck pure gold and hit the SP action image variation of Shohei Ohtani, possibly one of the greatest pulls ever. Who knows if he'll even turn out the way scouts expect him to or not, but this card is beyond anything I've ever pulled. My jaw absolutely dropped to the ground when I pulled this simply because I didn't know what else to do. It's kind of like pulling a card of Judge back in June of last year or finding a card of Eric Thames during his hot-streak last April. Who knows if Ohtani will thrive in the MLB or become an enormous bust, I just know that this card, at least right now, is incredibly special and yes, is up for trade or for sale if anyone wants it. Because as cool as this card is, I'd much prefer a haul of Red Sox or player collection cards to take its place.