Highlights From Round #2 of Gallery

It may not bring the most value as far as Baseball card releases are concerned, but Topps Gallery, nevertheless, remains one of my favorite products to rip, year after year.

I opened the first of 2 blaster boxes a couple of days ago in a full recap on the blog, breaking down each pack card by card and sharing my thoughts on what I pulled.

Now, I'm overviewing what came out of blaster box #2, but in a recap instead. Whereas I listed each card I pulled last time around, I'm only overviewing a select few today.

The magnificent artwork and various techniques, no matter the year, remain consistent for every Topps Gallery release. From the super-realistic shot of Christian Yelich to the abstract background of Jonathan Villar's card, the artists' different styles are quite evident.

2 of the cards in the photo above (Harper and Villar) were done by artist Dan Bergren, an artist who I recognize from past Gallery sets for his more abstract approach to the cards. I also admire the work of Kevin Graham who created Yelich's and Guerrero Jr's cards.

I don't have much to do with the world of art aside from Topps Gallery if I'm being honest, so I appreciate that the set introduces something that I know very little about into my world.

As far as I'm concerned, the release of 2020 Topps Series 1 will spell the beginning of my Fernando Tatis Jr "super collecting" days, for the 20-year old will no longer be considered a rookie upon the set's release.

Thus, I'll finally be able to buy individual Tatis Jr cards online without breaking the bank rather than counting on pulling them from packs. I did, however, have nice luck with blaster box #2, for I pulled his base card and the artist proof parallel.

Injuries may have limited his rookie campaign, but Tatis has already established himself as one the most well-rounded players in Baseball at just 20 years old.

If he keeps it up, he could outshine both Alvarez and Alonso as the top rookie from this year's class.

These Gallery Heritage inserts seem to run at 1 per blaster box with Trea Turner coming out of blaster box #2.

Even though he just played a part in leading the Washington Nationals to their first-ever World Series victory, I know practically nothing about the 26-year old. I just recall him being very well thought of back in 2016 when he, along with Corey Seager, was a rookie.

Since then, however, I haven't heard all that much about Turner, though the artwork remains magnificent.

Of course, no matter what kind of Baseball card purchase I make, I'm always on the lookout for how many Red Sox cards I ended up with. In the case of this blaster box, I'd say I did pretty well, landing a Mookie Betts base card and a J.D. Martinez high number SP.

Both cards are brilliantly designed and have their strong points, but the attention to detail used by the artist of Martinez's card (like the shine on the helmet) elevates it to a slightly higher level.

But the Red Sox mojo didn't end there as, like is the case for all inserts, I pulled one of the Master & Apprentice cards out of my 2nd blaster; it just so happened to feature Ted Williams and Mookie Betts, a picturesque duo of Red Sox outfielders.

This artwork differs from that of the base cards and while I don't necessarily prefer it, I like how it contributes to the wide variety of styles in this set.

Now, I have to decide whether the card will go towards the Williams or Betts player collection.