Undoubtedly one of the most interesting releases year after year, Allen & Ginter was released a couple of days ago on Wednesday. The 13th Allen & Ginter set features a unique set design similar to the uniqueness of last years' frame design. I guess they figured if the entire set was going to include white borders, they'd have to make the set more interesting than, say, the 2016 set above.
Allen & Ginter has always been a set I've gone back and forth with. I like the concept along with the inclusion of retired players, something that not every set has nowadays. However, I can't say I'm too fond of the non-baseball cards in the base set. I understand the inserts, although I'm not jumping up and down to collect them, the base cards kind of ruin it for me. After all, I'm here for baseball cards, not non-sports cards.
In honor of the 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter, a set I will eventually find cards from at the National, I've decided to rank my top 5 favorite Allen & Ginter sets of all-time.
#5 2014 Allen & Ginter
The more simplistic 2014 Allen & Ginter set designs allows for something that not many other A&G sets have. The ability to use more interesting images that take up more space than the standard and common headshot found on many A&G cards. I do realize just how simple it is, but I must say I am a fan of it. For starters, I like the font used for the team name along with the little details included around it. Also, while I'm not a fan of Topps forcing their brand name on every card, I do like the way they do it here. By using a well-chosen font and including the city where Topps originates, Brooklyn, near the set name at the bottom.
#4 2017 Allen & Ginter
As I said at the beginning of this post, Allen & Ginter has consisted of more exciting set designs as of late. The intriguing 2018 set design and the frames included in the 2017 set helped me get more into the Allen & Ginter set after the 2015 and 2016 sets which did little to excite me. The frames also take up just the right amount of space, so that not every single card is the same. The fonts are nice, the frames are a perfect fit. Everything about this set blends together awfully well.
#3 2006 Allen & Ginter
I'm not one of those people who gets too into the "first" of something. I know a lot of people are big fans of the first of something ever made, like the first Topps set in 1952. However, I have to make an exception for 2006 Allen & Ginter, the first set in brand history. The base design is incredibly minimal, probably the most minimal set I've seen that I still like. I must say how much I love the color choices of the set such as the green shown above, the sky blue, and even the yellow. Sometimes the yellow, but definitely not always.
#2 2011 Allen & Ginter
This may be a bit of an oddball pick, but I'm really such a huge fan of the 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter set design. The main part that draws my eye in a very positive way is the bottom of the card. The various designs around the team logo and the Allen & Ginter name are well-designed and include colors that work exceptionally well together. While the image quality certainly could be better, this set has way more things going right for it than it has things going wrong. It definitely conveys a strong attention to detail at the hands of whoever designed the set, and that's something I truly appreciate.
#1 2012 Allen & Ginter
One of the greatest examples of a set with such a minimal design becoming such a fantastic product is my favorite Allen & Ginter set ever made, the 2012 set design. The border design takes on an ancient feel as I believe the sides are supposed to be pillars, and the bottom of the design helps the Allen & Ginter name appear like it belongs on the card. While all of this is happening, the photo of the player is positioned perfectly with a ton of space for action images, headshots, or anything else you may want. While other A&G sets either have a good set design or good images, 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter has both. That's why it ended up as my favorite Allen & Ginter set of all-time.
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