Moving Forward

Yesterday's frankenset post signified a change in my blog content. After 7 recap posts highlighting my pickups from The National, it's time to move forward with my collecting as we reach the middle of August.

At this point in the Baseball card collecting year, new products are being released left and right, but I'm trying to swear off buying cards until at least Labor Day when I might ease back into things with a trip to the show.

This is also the time, I've noticed, where the views and comments on my blog usually decrease. This is understandable since many people take their vacation around this time of year.

Since I've been so occupied with recapping The National, I haven't had any time to share what I've done across the 12 days that I've been back. 

 

For starters, I went to the Red Sox game on August 6th, my 2nd trip to Fenway Park this year. Though I had a memorable experience and amazing seats, the game, at least from a Red Sox fan's perspective, wasn't too great. The Sox lost to the Royals 6-2 in a matchup that Boston seemed destined to lose from the start.

Continuing with the theme of moving forward, I've used my free time over the last 12 days to do some serious organization in my Baseball card room. I started by simply putting the cards from The National away in their proper boxes and binders, but I have accomplished so much more since then.

I've created new binders, decluttered the card counter, purchased more empty boxes for extra storage, and taken better care of my oversized cards by keeping them in a binder together. 

Most significantly, I've completely reorganized my Red Sox and Cubs team PCs by giving them clean sheets, new binders, and changed the format of these collections so that the organizational system makes more sense. 

This brings me to the subject of today's post, a surprise package from Night Owl Cards that I received soon after I returned home from Chicago. This is actually my first look at the 2019 Topps Big League set, though I recognize the blue parallels from last year.

While the Bogaerts and Betts cards will go to their PCs, Eduardo Nunez's Big League parallel will fit perfectly in the new Boston Red Sox PC that I'm almost finished organizing.

Basically, the new system, in addition to providing new (much-needed) sheets, organizes the sets by brand, then by year, so all the Topps Flagship Red Sox sets are together in one binder which is where these 2 cards will be heading.

All the Bowman, Donruss, Fleer, Upper Deck, and any other sets that I can't think of right now are together as well and are chronologically organized. As for oddballs or sets that I only have 1 card from, those are together in a miscellaneous section of one of my binders.

A significant portion of this surprise package, however, consisted of set needs for 2015 Topps and its various insert sets. Night Owl has supplied me with a reasonable number of cards from this set over the last couple of years, so it stands to reason that most of what I'm missing is Dodgers base cards.

Thankfully, he covered that part of the set too and sent me enough Dodgers base cards to where I think it could be an entire team set. With all these Dodgers now in-hand, 110 cards are standing in my way of completing the greatest Topps Flagship set of the decade.

As you can see, I'm moving forward with my collection in many different ways following an unforgettable experience at my 2nd ever NSCC show. Similarly, the Boston Red Sox are trying to move forward despite an unexpectedly tumultuous year.

The starting pitching has been a huge disappointment for Boston this year, particularly former Cy Young award winner Rick Porcello, club ace Chris Sale, and, of course, their bullpen with an astounding 22 blown saves.

The Red Sox have the best offense in baseball, thanks in large part to Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts. While they haven't come close to playing at the level they did last year, there's still some hope of the Red Sox sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

After all, things are different once October rolls around.

Want List Pickups; Big and Small

Given that my Baseball card want list is roughly 6 pages long, it often appears unlikely that I'll ever complete certain base or insert sets that I've been piecing together for years now, like 1976 Topps, for instance.

Besides my player collections, the want list exemplifies virtually everything else that I collect, from the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set to the last 3 (almost 4) sets of Topps Heritage, and everything else in between. 

The problem is; with multiple different sets to focus on, it takes longer to complete the products on the want list. It's somewhat frustrating for somebody as impatient as myself, but the wait is most definitely worth it when I place that final card of the set into its respective sheet.

On the occasions when I can't find everything that I'm looking for at the Baseball card show or for a fair price online, trading with other bloggers has become my go-to option for checking cards off the want list. 

All it takes is leaving the list on my blog and initiating some trades with fellow bloggers as well as viewers. If not for the generosity of my trading partners, I'd be much further away from completing the sets on my want list.

Recently, I completed a trade with Greg of Night Owl Cards in an effort to acquire more cards from various sets on the want list. 

The package arrived in the mail earlier this week, a few weeks after we finalized up the trade, but honestly, that wasn't the end of the world. Thanks to Greg's generosity, I've made progress towards completing certain sets.

For example, the 2015 Topps set which has maintained the title of my favorite Topps base set of the decade in light of the somewhat recent release of 2019 Topps Series 1. To me, 2015 Topps is a much-improved version of the 1990 Flagship set.

My decision to start collecting this set was based on the fact that I had already accumulated a couple hundred of the cards, mainly through Fairfield 20-pack repack boxes. Now, I'm only 121 cards away from completing the greatest Flagship set of the century. To put this into perspective, I'm roughly 83% of the way there.

The color-centric borders are paired with equally impressive photography to create a set that remains quite difficult to beat. The attention to detail is evident, leaving many of the cards, like Jose Quintana's, looking as if they belong in Topps Stadium Club. 

Even though the cards are fairly common pickups, it'll still be very rewarding to complete this product after almost 3 years of piecing it together.

Much like the standard frankenset posts that I post roughly once a week, I'm also in the process of creating an Allen & Ginter mini frankenset that I'll likely create a series for once it's finished. I have 350 spots in the checklist, meaning I'm encompassing base cards and SPs, and I've already filled somewhere around 1/3 of the spots. 

When I initially began this project, I debated on adding Gypsy Queen minis and thus having an Allen & Ginter and Gypsy Queen mini frankenset, allowing me to complete the set faster. However, Greg has sent me minis for the frankenset on multiple different occasions, and because of the cards that he's sent me, I'm determined to keep this frankenset exclusive to A&G mini cards.

This Stephen Piscotty mini was likely my favorite of a group that encompassed both Baseball players and non-sport individuals as well. A&G minis aren't typically something that dealers sell individually at Baseball card shows, and they don't turn up too often in the dime bins, so it seems likely that I'll be counting trading and COMC to get this frankenset completed.

The older Topps sets are where I begin to run into trouble when it comes to completing sets, though my completing of 1972 and 1975 Topps last year has made me more confident in my ability to complete 2 other 70s products, those being 1976 and 1979 Topps.

The main issue with completing 1979 Topps lies with how many cards I need to track down, not necessarily many major name rookies or high-number veterans. The checklist consists of around 720 total cards, and I've managed to complete roughly 1/3 of the set over the last couple years. 

Like A&G minis, I don't see too much of this set at the card show, but that doesn't mean I won't be looking when I (hopefully) head to the Mansfield show tomorrow.

The 1976 Topps set is a similar story, though the 660-card checklist is definitely less daunting. Even though it's not as widely-loved as some of the other 70s sets, '76 Topps ranks in the top 10 of my favorite Topps sets of all-time without a doubt. 

Despite my best efforts, I understand that it's going to take a while before sets like '76, '79, and 2015 Topps are completed, but if I've learned anything, it's that completing a set of cards is an incredible goal to accomplish, no matter what the product is. 

As long as I keep trading and buying a reasonable number of cards from the sets that I'm piecing together, I should be able to complete at least 1 major set of cards from my want list this year. 

Ranking Topps Sets by Decade; 2010s

The time has finally come. I have officially reached the final part of my ranking Topps sets by decade series that I started a couple of weeks ago. Today, I have finally arrived at the 2010s.

With 2019 Topps Flagship set to be released at the end of January, we're soon to have another decade of Topps Flagship sets completely in the books. Thus, it's become time to access the entire time period as to the quality of Topps Flagship products that it has released.

Truthfully, the 2010s have produced some of the worst Topps sets of all-time. However, we've also seen some brilliant Topps sets developed in this decade as well.

Unfortunately, the endless modernizing of their products, large sets, and poor designs tend to outweigh some of the better sets from this decade. Plus, we still haven't seen 2019 Topps in-hand yet so my opinion could alter slightly after this set is released.

Speaking of 2019 Topps, I've decided to leave the set off the list for the very reason I listed above; we haven't seen the cards in-person yet. We don't know what the card backs look like nor do we have a sense of what cards will look like for different players and teams. 

I can always add 2019 Topps onto this list a month or so from now, but for the time being, it's best that I leave it off and stick to the 9 sets released so far this decade.

#9 2012 Topps

An unfinished mess with too much foil is the best way I can describe 2012 Topps. It's truly one of the worst Topps sets I've ever seen. Yes, even worse than the disaster that was 2016. While 2016 at least had a complete design, 2012 Topps has a little oval in the bottom left corner and that's it. The foil circles around it don't make much sense and the bland photography takes up way too much space. Even a minor detail, the rookie cup trophies, are too small. There's really not a whole lot to like about this set.

#8 2016 Topps

When there's smoke, there's fire, and when you have some smoke and cut-off logos, the result is an infamously bad Topps Flagship design. Both the top right and bottom lefthand corners are filled with smoke not to mention the box that has the player's name as well. But if that wasn't enough, Topps felt the need to cut-off every team's logo, leading to one of the most frustrating and mindboggling sets in Baseball card history.

#7 2010 Topps

Unnecessarily big team names and not much else is the way I'd describe 2010 Topps which, up until today, I didn't even know included the players' position in tiny text in the bottom left corner. In addition to foil names (ugh), the set features gigantic logos that take up far too much space. I don't think Topps could do anything to this set to make it more interesting, so they just created the most mediocre and unmemorable set possible, and it worked.

#6 2014 Topps

2014 Topps is just so harmless that I felt obligated to place it towards the middle since it's neither a great set nor a terrible product. With the white borders, the team logo, and small bits of color throughout the card, 2014 Topps manages to blend in with all the other 2010s products. It's still not that great of a set, but there are far worse and far better products out there.

#5 2013 Topps

Although it came before 2014 Topps, the 2013 set is almost an upgraded version of the subsequent product. With simple and well-executed card backs and a clean front, 2013 Topps is a nice product by 2010s standards. There's just the right amount of color, though I could always go for more, and the logo takes up just the right amount of space. Take notes, 2010 Topps.

#4 2017 Topps

Call me a villain, but I don't think 2017 Topps was all that bad. The slanted silver design wasn't my favorite feature, and I still miss borders, but at least we had improvement from 2016 Topps. Overall, I really like the sleekness of the silver and wish it took up more space and wasn't slanted at such an angle. There are no cut-off logos, everything is the right size, and cards like the Mookie Betts one above feature some eye-catching photography across the entire set.

#3 2018 Topps

Despite my feelings about 2017 Topps, neither it nor 2016 were that well-received. It took one of the simplest sets in Topps history before a Topps Flagship set was declared to be a nice looking product. That set was 2018 Topps, and it finally proved that Topps could pull off a respectable, borderless Flagship product. 

The pictures are great, but the detail I like the most is the little slide that holds the logo at the bottom of the card. It does a nice job of complimenting the team colors as do the bars with the player name, position, and team name as well.

#2 2011 Topps

If you spotted an image like the one on the Joe Mauer card above in a Topps Stadium Club set, you'd be impressed, big time. For whatever reason, 2011 Topps was like its own Stadium Club product with fantastic images spread out throughout the entire set, including unique photos that you don't usually see in a Flagship set. The base set design is also pretty well-done, but the main thing to take from 2011 Topps remains the fabulous photo quality.

#1 2015 Topps

While I was forming the final list, I gave no second thought to which set would end up at #1. To me, it wasn't even a debate, 2015 is far and beyond the best set from not just the entire decade, but the 21st century as well. Finally, Topps listened to what we wanted, and after white-bordered average sets for quite some time, 2015 Topps came along and brought with it all the color you could ever ask for.

Moreover, the 2015 Topps Chrome set was one of the best in years with gorgeous chrome cards resulting from this Flagship design. I'm currently in the process of completing this set, and I can't wait to see how colorful the binder sheets will be when I finish it off.