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Thursday, May 31, 2018

My Graded Cards Part 2

A couple of months ago, right before I attended my first Mansfield card show, I did a post showing all of the graded cards in my collection. It must've been fate or something because that post became outdated the next day when I purchased 3 graded Red Sox cards at that show to bring the total up.

A few months later, I discovered another few graded Red Sox cards that I had no idea were part of my collection. My guess is my dad got them at a card show that I wasn't able to attend since we get so few graded cards I would've definitely recognized them.

Given all the cards, both new and newly discovered along with another graded card I have yet to show off from the card show before last, I've decided to do a part 2 to my graded cards post. I assume this will need to be updated in another 5 months just as it is being updated now. I may never have gotten one of my cards personally graded, but I have bought a decent number of graded cards in my lifetime.


I'll start off by showing the graded cards Red Sox players unbeknownst to me were part of my collection. Specifically, I'll begin with Nomar Garciaparra. I have no clue why my dad would buy a card of Nomar Garciaparra considering that neither he nor I, or many Red Sox fans like him all too much. Topps just thinks that we like him and therefore, they take every opportunity they can get to put him into combo cards with other Red Sox Legends.

The graded card I have of Nomar is from the 1994 Four Sport set. It's actually a gold parallel which I assume is why his name on the card has a gold border around it. It's not too bad of a card when you get a good look at it. However, I said before that Nomar is not my favorite player so it's hard to get too excited about a card when you don't like the guy on the card in the first place. Still, I can't imagine my Dad paid too much for this card. So for that, I think it was worth getting.

The next couple of graded cards are of a guy who still isn't super popular as a player, but my dad and I are actually huge fans of his. That player is Manny Ramirez, and the two cards we found of him are both from 90’s Bowman sets. The first of which is from 1992 Bowman and is a base card showing Manny in street clothes instead of in his jersey. Bowman did this a few times in their 1990’s sets and while it isn't my favorite thing I have to say that they do give off a rather good charm that could only be pulled off in the 90’s.

The second of the two graded Manny Ramirez cards is actually quite similar to the first one. It too is from 1992 Bowman, however, it’s card number is different from that of the first one. Furthermore it's not just a base card but in fact a gold foil parallel. The value of 90s cards is not my forte, so I'm not too sure what this card is worth compared to the base card. Still, it's pretty cool looking even showing Manny in the same clothes that he wore in the first graded card I showed of him from ‘92 Bowman.

Now, back to the topic of the Mansfield show since I said that I bought a few graded Red Sox cards at that show just a day or two after I did my first graded baseball cards blog photos. I was originally only going to get one great chart and that was to be of Jackie Bradley Jr. 1 Bradley card quickly became 2 which later became 3 total graded cards as I soon found myself buying one of Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts which I’ve shown above. The card that I got of Xander was his 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter rookie card which I got for a very good deal, nearly half off the original $10 price.


The other two Red Sox cards I bought at that Mansfield show we're both of Jackie Bradley Jr. The first of them being a prospect card from 2012 Bowman while the second one is a rookie refractor card from 2013 Topps Finest. I decided to go after Bradley's cards because even though his offense hasn't been too great this year and wasn't that great in 2017, his defense is the best in baseball almost without a doubt. just look at the catch that he made a couple days ago while approaching the triangle at Fenway Park. If that's not enough look at his robbing of Aaron Judge’s home run last year on Sunday Night Baseball. He brings something defensively that nearly no other player in baseball is able to do. therefore if you can only hit around .230 or .240, so be it.

The final graded card I have to show is also a prospect card. I mentioned earlier that I bought a graded card to card shows ago that I have yet to show off. I was originally going to save it for top five cards post but I decided that now is as good a time as any.

The card itself is pretty awesome. A 2012 Bowman Prospect card of superstar shortstop Carlos Correa. However, the price that I got it for is almost better than getting the card in the first place. That's because I paid just $5 for this card when the dealer had it priced at $10. I can only assume he gave me such a hefty discount because I had bought over $20 worth of dime cards from him that exact same show. Even so, a discount like that is something that doesn't come along too often and while I may not be someone who chases graded cards all that often I can certainly appreciate a good deal when it comes along.








Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Frankenset Page 8

I think I've finally found a rhythm with posting these frankenset pages as well as an audience of people who enjoy the posts as well as a couple of the cards I've chosen for the pages. It's a pretty fun post series to do, and one that will go on for quite a while since my 666-card frankenset is equivalent to 74 pages, or 74 frankenset page posts.

After I finish, who knows what I'll end up doing with the set. I could make a countdown of my favorite frankenset cards or try to find even better cards for the set and continuously improve it with update posts once or twice a week.

Actually, that 2nd idea is one I could definitely see myself getting into. A frankenset that's always changing and updating seems like a really good idea.

Anyway, it'll be a long time before I finish these frankenset page posts, so for now, here's the 8th page in the set.

#64 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter National Pride Francisco Liriano
We're officially nearing the point in the frankenset where the insert cards are starting to become less and less common. A couple of pages from now, we won't be seeing inserts like this National Pride Francisco Liriano. Once we get to card 100 it's pretty much just all base cards from there, though there are parallel cards still to come.

#65 2003 Fleer Tradition Update Coco Crisp
This card is from Coco Crisp's first stint with the Cleveland Indians which lasted from 2002-2005. His second stint was a brief stay on their 2016 AL pennant-winning season. He only joined the team in late August, but he hit a critical home run in game 3 of the ALDS against my beloved Red Sox, which proved to be the game-winner as well as the series-clinching swing.

#66 2013 Topps Archives Tim Hudson
The more closely I look into it, the more I realize how respectable a career Tim Hudson had. He's a 4-time All-Star, even making it in his age 39 season back in 2014. He finished runner-up in the 2000 AL Cy Young award and his performance even garnered some MVP votes that same year. Additionally, he also has over 220 wins and over 2,000 strikeouts.

#67 2004 Bowman Heritage Don Larsen
Larsen's original 1955 Bowman card also had the number 67 and looked exactly like the re-made card featured in the 2004 Bowman Heritage set. I'm guessing they chose to recreate some cards of actual players from 1955 to put in the Bowman Heritage set almost 50 years later.

#68 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game Kirby Puckett 
First a 1955 Bowman remake and now a 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game card? Page 8 of the frankenset is shaping up to be one of my favorites as it features cards from 2 of my favorite sets of all-time. I absolutely love the '04 Greats of the Game set. The players included in the set are chosen very well not to mention how stunning the set design truly is.

#69 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen Blue Frame Josh Donaldson
Josh Donaldson is at the top of my list of players I should start collecting given how often I see his cards at the show or in packs that I open. In the same realm as Donaldson are players like Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber. All 3 of these players have won either MVP or Cy Young awards, and I have enough cards of them that it's only a matter of time before I just start up player collections for all 3 of them.

#70 2014 Topps Heritage Paul Konerko
I've always absolutely loved this 2014 Topps Heritage card of Paul Konerko. For starters, the 1965 set is one of my all-time favorites. Secondly, the light blue background and the bright white White Sox jersey is a pretty great combo. Even with some tough competition, this would have to be my favorite card on the page.

#71 1994 Fleer Ron Tingley
This card could very well be my 1 and only card of Ron Tingley. But if it is, then at least it's an absolutely incredibly card that could truly not have captured a better moment for a catcher's baseball card than right when he's attempting to tag the runner out at home.

#72 1989 Swell Baseball Greats Bucky Dent
The red-striped White Sox jerseys from the 70's were as perplexing as they are completely awesome and a perfect way to wrap up the 8th page of my frankenset. 












Tuesday, May 29, 2018

A $20 Bill and Some Great Results: Card Show Recap #10

Against my better judgment, I went to the baseball card show this past Sunday as a way to treat myself for the long weekend. With that being said, I've spent way too much money on cards as of late so I knew I had to set a limit. Therefore, I decided to walk into the show with a $20 bill. I didn't bring anything else so I wouldn't have any ways of going crazy at the show like I have in the past.

I didn't really have the time to go through the dime bins and find 200 cards, nor did I want to put 200 more cards away anytime soon. So, I went to my favorite vendor at the show, but instead of looking through dime bins, I went right for his stacks of Red Sox cards as well as other insert cards that were scattered around the table.

He had 4 stacks of Red Sox inserts/parallels/rookie cards lined up in a row on the table, so I began looking through them. I didn't always find cards I needed in these piles, but this time was a different story. Instantly, these 2 Dustin Pedroia chrome cards jumped out at me. The first is a refractor from 2012 chrome while the 2nd is a prism refractor from 2017, both of which were going for $1 each. 

Also within the Red Sox stack was a card that ended up being a need for my 2018 Topps Heritage set. Now that I have this Chris Sale New Age Performers card, which was going for just a quarter more than the Pedroia cards, puts me over halfway to completing the insert set with just 11 cards to go. Additionally, the Chris Sale Tarot of the Diamond insert at the top of this post is one of my favorite cards I've gotten in a while. It's my first insert from that set, but I guarantee it will not be the last.

However, it wasn't all Red Sox cards. In fact, I picked up a couple Best Cuts inserts from 2017 Bowman's Best of 2 players I collect in Hank Aaron and Jeff Bagwell. The Aaron is the base insert card, but the Jeff Bagwell is actually an atomic refractor insert parallel, which I know is somewhat of a rare card. I don't know much about the 2017 Bowman's Best set, but I was able to snag this card for $3 when I'm pretty sure it's fairly rare, so I'm quite happy about that.

After picking up a couple non-Red Sox cards, I resumed where I left off in the Red Sox stacks. I did this by selecting a couple cards of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski that each cost me about $1. The first one is an insert from 2001 Topps American Pie, but I'm not too sure what the one on the right is. The card number is 142, but I had no luck finding it on COMC. No matter what, I'm still a big fan of the card design since it resembles some kind of Topps Finest set to a degree.

Although his batting average has been casually dipping for a couple of weeks now, I'm still going all-in with my attempt to collect as many cards as I can of Rafael Devers. That's why I paid $2 for this 2017 Bowman Platinum prospect card. He's picked it up at 3rd base defensively (for now), so all he really needs to learn is how to become a better contact hitter. On the bright side, the 21-year old already has some postseason experience which is something that will definitely set him apart from other young players.

I also sprung for a 2017 Topps Gallery rookie card of Andrew Benintendi since I'm also looking to collect as many cards of him as I can, rookie cards in particular. Unlike Devers, Andrew Benintendi is currently playing exceptional baseball. In fact, he came a double shy of the cycle not once, but twice in the last 3 games (Saturday and Monday). He and Moreland are currently the best left-handed hitters the team has, so he has a fair amount of pressure on him to rise to the occasion.

With $5 left in my budget, I wanted to find something special, so I turned my attention to the section where the dealer keeps cards from new releases. I had narrowed it down to 2 choices; a Shoehi Ohtani rookie card from 2018 Bowman or...
This gorgeous Ben Zobrist autograph from 2018 Topps Tier 1, yes they were really the same price.

I'll take any chance I can to get autographs of players from the 2016 World Champion Cubs team, let alone the World Series MVP himself. Tier 1 was released just 4 days before I went to the card show, and the card is even numbered 79/110. Nothing against Ohtani, but I'd rather take an auto of a guy who ultimately won the Cubs their first World Series in over a century over a rookie card of someone who hasn't even played 1/3 of a season.








Monday, May 28, 2018

Special Announcement

The Ernie Banks card that's shown at the top of this post happens to be an exclusive giveaway card from the 2008 National Sports Collectors Convention. The reason I chose to show this card today is that it ties back to a very special announcement I'm about to make.

I'm incredibly excited to say that I will be attending the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention this summer in Cleveland, Ohio.

To be fair, I've had an idea that I was going for quite a few months now, but I wanted to wait until it was completely confirmed. Well, my dad and I are ordering the tickets right after I finish this post, so that's definitely the confirmation I'm looking for. 

I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for at the show, and I don't want to make a list of goals until right before I go. So, I thought I'd take some time today to describe what it's going to be like as well as any opportunities I plan to take advantage of or things I'm looking to do in Cleveland.

First things first, I'm definitely looking to pick up some autographs while I'm there. The National is known for having some of the best players in baseball history attend, so I'm certainly going to try and snag an auto or 2 depending on the prices. Legends such as Ricky Henderson, Rod Carew, and Brooks Robinson will be there as well as current players like Indians pitcher Corey Kluber and Angels slugger Albert Pujols.

Also, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and the Angels are in town for a 3-game series against the Indians, and I already got tickets for Friday's series opener. Who knows? Maybe Ohtani will even be on the mound. That's sure to make all the major collectors in town go absolutely nuts no matter how well he's pitching come August. 

Like I said, I definitely want to pursue some guys for autographs though I'm not sure how expensive it is to get their signatures. I assume it's relatively pricey which is why I've narrowed down my choices to 4 players that I'd like autographs of over all others.
If need be, I can condense the list down to 3, but I'm currently planning on getting autographs of Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Ivan Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson. I specifically decided to go for players from different eras in baseball history. Kaline and Gibson represent the 60's and early 70's while Rodriguez and Johnson are from the 90's and 2000's. There also all players I collect and players that I do not have autographs of yet, hence why Johnny Bench and Wade Boggs are not going to be on my radar since I've already gotten their signatures. 


According to the National's website, Bob Gibson and Ivan Rodriguez will be signing on Friday

while Randy Johnson and Al Kaline will be signing on Saturday. This will allow me to split up the 4 players I desire autographs from into 2 separate days. I certainly wouldn't be able to get 4 or even 3 autos in 1 day, so despite the chance that this list could change, I'm hoping it doesn't since this seems to work very well for me right now.

Finally, at the end of my 3 days at the National (Thursday-Saturday), I just want to be able to bring home some insanely special cards. For example. this Reggie Jackson book numbered to 99 from 2017 National Treasures. This isn't just my first NT card, but it's my first book card as well. I'm hoping for a lot of firsts at the National along with maybe a completed set. I have all the intentions of completing 1972 Topps before I go to Cleveland, so maybe 1975 Topps could be on my radar while I'm there.

Regardless, I really just want to have an incredible time, get some autographs, and bring home some awesome cards for the collection. That's what I'm looking to do when I attend the National over the summer. 








Saturday, May 26, 2018

Soxumentary Cards 21-40

After how much fun I had creating and receiving my first 20 cards of the Soxumentary set, I went ahead and created cards for games 21-40 of the 2018 Red Sox season. I eventually started to fall a bit behind, which I had a premonition would happen, so I took advantage of staying home sick on Monday to complete the 2nd set.

Unlike the first set, the 2nd Soxumentary set is way more like what their season is going to look like. The first set included 17 wins and just 3 losses. Now, we have 12 wins and 10 losses. They may have gone a bit downhill, but you can't stay 17-3 forever. Plus, the team had some very exciting things happen over these 20 games that I am thrilled to have captured on cardboard.

Let's start with the wins, shall we? Boston pulled off some exciting wins over this 20-game span, the most exciting of which being their 4-3 win over the Rays to avoid the series sweep. It included backup-catcher Sandy Leon hitting a go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the 8th, hence why he's the one on the card. 

The other wins came thanks to the Red Sox power bats, particularly J.D. Martinez and of course, Mookie Betts. Combined, these 2 are hitting.343 with 33 homers and almost 80 RBI. Without them, the Sox wouldn't have half the wins they have today. 

In addition to their hitters, the Sox starting pitching hasn't let them down. At least, Chris Sale hasn't, anyway. Sale has had numerous sensational starts and is closing in on 100 strikeouts as I speak. In fact, he's just 4 K's away from that milestone. Along with him, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez have also been pitching very well this year.

Of course, there will still losses to make cards of, which wasn't all that fun. In spite of how well they've been playing, the Sox have still suffered some pretty bad losses. Mostly, it's been the games where the starting pitchers have struggles which can't really be undone. Even if the team scores many runs like they did in the game above (the card on the right). The Sox scored 6 runs in that game, but their pitching allowed 12 runs against the Rays.

Finally, throughout games 21-40 of the year, whether they won or lost the game, the Sox had numerous highlights that I was able to put on these cards.

The first of these highlights came at the hands of Chris Sale, who else? Sale pitched 9 innings against the Blue Jays in which he struck out 15 batters which are tied for his career-high. Despite all of this, Sale was still unable to get the win, and the Sox couldn't pull off the win in this game, either as they lost 5-3 on a walk-off in Toronto.

The 2nd highlight was thanks to Craig Kimbrel, meaning there was definitely a save involved, and there was. Kimbrel got his 300th save a couple weeks ago when the Red Sox took on the Rangers in Texas. He became the fastest player to reach this milestone by notching 300 saves in 330 save situations.

Finally, the last of the highlights is not so much a true highlight, but more of a special moment. This card, commemorating the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays, could very well be his final Soxumentary card, coming far earlier than anyone could have expected since he was DFA'd yesterday. I'm still bitter about the whole thing, but in the end, I understand why they did it. With that being said, I may have to create a custom Hanley card or cards on the app, just as a way to commemorate his time with the Red Sox. 

Friday, May 25, 2018

Top 5 Cards: Dustin Pedroia

Earlier today, Red Sox first baseman and designated hitter Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment, thus ending his time as a Boston Red Sox player. This was done in order to create roster space for Dustin Pedroia who is coming back from an injury and is expected to start tomorrow.

Like most baseball fans, I was shocked by this move since it seemed to come out of nowhere. Granted, Hanley had a bad month of May but he was stellar to start the year. It seems bizarre that they'd give up on him so quickly, but it does make sense.

Boston has their outfield all set, Benintendi, Bradley Jr, and Betts. J.D. Martinez spends most of his time at DH, and Mitch Moreland is a gold glove caliber 1st baseman. Therefore, there was no place for Hanley at 1st if you have Moreland, and his offense wasn't good enough to have J.D. rest or move to the outfield. It just didn't work.

Now, I don't agree with the move, but like I said, it makes sense. So, I thought I'd connect this back to Dustin Pedroia who will take the field tomorrow for the first time this year. To celebrate, I've decided to show off my 5 favorite cards of Pedroia out of the 60 in my collection. 

#5 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen
Dustin Pedroia is a Red Sox fan-favorite, through and through. While his numbers have slumped in recent years, Red Sox fans absolutely adore Dustin Pedroia, not to mention he's made numerous remarks about how much he loves playing at Fenway. That is all very evident on Pedey's 2012 Gypsy Queen card which shows him absolutely pumped up after hitting what looks to be a home run given the blurred out cheering fans in the background.

#4 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Sliding Stars
Yes, I realize the first 2 cards are from the same set and the same year, but I guarantee I put Pedroia's Sliding Stars insert card from 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen on this list for a reason. For much of his career, Pedey was known for his speed. He has 5 15+ steal seasons to his name. But more so than that, he's a very smart baserunner. On this card, Pedroia is seen sliding into home plate at some ballpark that I can't seem to recognize while another Red Sox player appears right behind him. After reading the back of the card, I discovered it was from a May 29th, 2011 game against the Tigers.

#3 2012 Topps Archives 1968 3D
Topps Archives is known for choosing various small sets from different years of Topps and making them insert sets in their sets. Case and point; the 1968 3D cards which appeared in the 2012 Topps Archives set despite 1968 Topps not being one of the sets chosen for the 2012 product. 3D cards are some of my favorite types of cards, and since they're not made all too much anymore, I jump at any chance I can get to add 3D cards to my collection. Overall, they were very well done in the 2012 Archives sets, though I've never seen the original '68 3D's so I can't know for sure.

#2 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Heads Up
The Heads Up cards were part of each year of the revived Goudey set that Upper Deck put out from 2007-2009. Out of all 3 of the Heads Up card designs, 2009 is no-doubt my favorite simply because they're actual full-size cards. I totally appreciate the little comics and blurbs written on the card, so I want to see as many of them as possible. Making the card full-size instead of mini, and the various things Upper Deck chose to write about for their 2009 Goudey set not only helps the '09 Heads Up cards be my favorite of the bunch but also helps this card to #2 on my list.

#1 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Black Mini Parallel
Since he's been with the Red Sox for over a decade, Pedroia has been a major part of the rivalry between the Sox and the Yankees. One thing about the rivalry is that it's really not captured on cardboard as much as it should be. This mini card does capture the rivalry very well as it shows Yankees player Alex Rodriguez and the subject of this top 5 cards post, Dustin Pedroia. Better yet, it's a black parallel which is numbered 21/199 on the back of the card.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Best Topps Set By Decade

The most interesting thing about the Topps flagship set is the evolution of the product. Think about it, the set has changed with the times going from the iconic 1952 set all the way to the present day "wave" set in 2018. Through it all, each decade seems to have brought its own style of cards. For example, the 70's were all about color while the 2010's sets were based off more sleek designs, eventually leading to borderless cards.

All in all, each decade of Topps flagship has brought with it sets that continue to stand-out year after year. Each and every decade with the possible exception of the 2000's, has created a set that has remained one of the most iconic in not just Topps history, but baseball history as well.

This is why even though I've done a top 10 Topps flagship sets list a while ago, I've had a couple opinions change since then. Furthermore, I like the idea of approaching my favorite Topps sets by decade more than in a top 10. So, here are my favorite Topps sets by decade. We begin with the 1950's. 

I realize that 1956 Topps is a very well-liked set by many bloggers, and don't get me wrong, I do like the set quite a bit. But the card size kind of ruins it for me. I prefer the standard size cards over the larger vintage cards from some of the 50's sets which is part of the reason why I chose 1959 as my favorite set from the 50's. Additionally, it takes the best parts of the '58 set but includes actual images instead of just putting a player in front of a red or green or yellow background. I like seeing grass, dirt, and sky on my cards, and you get that with '59 Topps while still including the unique colors like yellow and pink that made 50's cards so special.

Since making my top 10 Topps cards list, the main change I've made is regarding the 1960 Topps set. I originally placed 1962 Topps above it, but since then, I've realized how much I truly love 1960 Topps, enough to rank it as my favorite Topps set from the 60's. The only all-landscape card set in Topps history certainly has a lot going on. A headshot of the player, player name in 2 different colors, a logo, a black and white photo next to the headshot, and finally, the team name a position along with the continuation of unique color combinations. Yet, the best part would have to be that there somehow isn't too much going on. In fact, there's just enough to make this the busiest Topps set of all-time, and definitely one of the best.

There wasn't a whole lot of debate for the 70's. After all, 1972 Topps is my favorite baseball card set ever made, probably because I've been collecting it for so long that I've grown to love each detail of the set more than that of any other set. The photos included in the set are pretty great considering they are from the 70's, the color choice for the photo border and the team name text never fail to disappoint. Once again, colors like pink and light blue and every color in between make their way into this 787-card set. It's hard to imagine, but I think I'll like the set even more once I collect the final 8 cards that I need.

In the decade where Fleer and Donruss joined the game, oddball sets were everywhere, and the junk wax era had begun, Topps didn't have a ton of incredible sets especially when you consider what they had put out the decade before in the 70's. However, their one main bright spot is a pretty big one in 1983 Topps, a set that takes the classic and fun colors from the 50's-70's and modernizes it to make it fit for 1983. It even takes a page out of 1960 Topps' book by including not 1, but 2 photos of the player on each card. Only a handful of sets have done that, and even fewer have been able to pull it off. To me, 1983 Topps pulls it off.

I don't know 1990's baseball cards at all. In fact, it's the only decade in which I cannot recognize any set by year, probably because there's just way too many 90's baseball cards to keep track of, even if we're just talking Topps. However, the early years of the 90's created 2 well-done sets in 1991 and 1992. Only 1 could be chosen, so I went with the 1991 set that included some of the greatest photos to ever make it to a baseball card. Don't believe me? Search for Wade Boggs' and/or Benito Santiago's cards from the set. Then you'll see what I'm talking about.

The 2000's were when Topps truly went for modern and never looked back. Yet somehow, there's nothing too modern about the 2008 Topps set. It' just a well-done product that doesn't have too much going on nor does it have to draw too much attention to itself. My favorite part, which happens to be everyone else's as well since the set is rather minimal, are the colorful letters above the Topps logo. Like it's done for most Topps sets, this detail includes different colors depending on the team. However, I think red and blue works best, especially when the photo is taken in front of the ivy like it is for Carlos Zambrano here.

Yes, even the 2010's have produced a stand-out set, and that set is 2015 Topps. The thing about this set is that next to 1972, it was the easiest choice for this post. In fact, other than 2015, 2018, and maybe 2017, I don't like any of the Topps Flagship sets from the 2010's. This is what I meant at the beginning of this post. How did we get from the iconic 50's sets to here? The low-points of the 2010's (2012, 2014, 2016) compared to the low-points of, say, the 1960's really sheds light on how much this set has changed. Still, if Topps could make a set like 2015 every couple of years, they'd have people talking for decades to come.