2019 Topps By the Numbers

Now that I've finished sorting the cards from my hobby box of 2019 Topps, I can move onto a very interesting aspect of card collecting; the numbers behind the cards.

Whenever I open Baseball cards, whether it's as small as a value pack or as large as a hobby box, I instantly take notice of how many cards I pull from each team.

There's always been an element of the numbers that has intrigued me. What causes us collector's to inevitably pull dozens of cards of teams we don't care about only to miss out on the team that we collect?

With all that being said, I haven't really done an extensive count like this when opening an entire box of cards, so I decided to change it up with the release of 2019 Topps Series 1. After all the cards were pulled, I began sorting them into piles by their respective team and taking count of how many cards I pulled from each team, including base cards, parallels, inserts, and more.

For comparison's sake, I also took notice of the number of parallels, inserts, and cards of players I collect just to see how well I truly did with my hobby box of 2019 Topps Series 1.

I'll go down the list of all 30 teams, beginning with the 4 clubs tied for the #1 spot.

Boston Red Sox -15 cards

No gigantic surprise here, but nevertheless, it's awesome to have my favorite team at the top of the list, something that doesn't always happen for me. Mookie Betts' league leaders cards and the recent success of the team likely caused there to be so many Sox players on the checklist. 

Granted, the World Series cards do help, since, without the 3 that I pulled, the Red Sox would fall a few spaces down on the list.

Los Angeles Dodgers -15 cards

Another result that wasn't too surprising since the Dodgers were right up there with the Red Sox in the World Series last year and have enjoyed immense success with their 6 straight division titles. The results have made sense so far, for the best 2 teams in Baseball should have the most cards in a given set.

Washington Nationals -15 cards

The 3rd team with 15 cards was definitely the most surprising of the 4 teams on top. After all, the Nationals didn't even make the playoffs last year and didn't have any league leaders cards besides Max Scherzer or a ballpark card that I pulled, for that matter. I suppose there's no reason for this other than the fact that Topps threw a ton of Nats players into the Series 1 set.

Los Angeles Angels -15 cards

Cleveland Indians -14 cards

New York Yankees -14 cards

All 3 of those teams are clubs I'd expect to see near the top, though it is a little surprising to see the Angels all the way at the top given that I pulled 1 Trout and 3 Ohtani's, leaving 11 spots for other, lesser-known Angels players.

Toronto Blue Jays -12 cards

St. Louis Cardinals -12 cards

Chicago Cubs -12 cards

Topps seems to be constantly jumping from team to team, creating a ton of cards from that particular team throughout that time frame. For example, 2016 and 2017 saw an unbelievable number of Cubs cards being produced. Now, it appears Topps has moved back to the Yankees who are, once again, one of the best teams in Baseball.

Kansas City Royals -12 cards

Seattle Mariners -12 cards

Atlanta Braves -11 cards

San Francisco Giants -11 cards

Baltimore Orioles -11 cards

Cincinnati Reds -11 cards

It's definitely surprising to see the Atlanta Braves down so far on the list, especially since they have the same number of cards as some teams who placed 4th or 5th in their respective divisions last year, including the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds. 

You'd think, as division champions, that I would end up with more Braves cards than I did.

Oakland Athletics -10 cards

Arizona Diamondbacks -10 cards

San Diego Padres -10 cards

Philadelphia Phillies -10 cards

Texas Rangers -10 cards

Colorado Rockies -10 cards

Detroit Tigers -10 cards

Minnesota Twins -10 cards

Chicago White Sox -10 cards

With nearly 1/3 of MLB teams falling at the 10-card mark for my hobby box break, I'd say 10 would be the average number of cards pulled for each MLB team. 

The 9 teams that ended up with 10 total cards are somewhat expected, middle of the road clubs who typically receive an average amount of spots in set checklists.

Houston Astros -9 cards

At first, when I only counted 9 Houston Astros cards, I had to double-check to make certain that I didn't miss any cards. When the count was confirmed, I was and still am incredibly shocked. Even with Alex Bregman being in Series 2, it seems almost impossible to end up with only 9 cards of the 103-win Astros in a hobby box break.

Tampa Bay Rays -9 cards

This is what I'm talking about. I ended up with the same number of Astros cards as Tampa Bay Rays cards and that's a stat I'm not used to hearing whatsoever. Albeit, Blake Snell's monster 2018 season helped the Rays by providing me with 2-3 cards of the 2018 AL Cy Young award winner.

Pittsburgh Pirates -9 cards

Miami Marlins -8 cards

Milwaukee Brewers -7 cards

Wait, I thought winning the NL Central in 2018 would mean bigger things for the Milwaukee Brewers instead of leaving me with just 7 cards in a hobby box break that delivered well over 300 total cards. 

I pulled 2 cards of the 2018 NL MVP, Christian Yelich, and that still didn't stop the Brewers from being tied for dead last on my list.

And just in case you couldn't remember what team I've yet to mention, here's the club tied with the Brewers for spot #30.

New York Mets -7 cards

Keep in mind, 2 of the 7 Mets cards that I pulled feature their immensely talented ace, Jacob deGrom.

Inserts -16 cards

There certainly aren't as many inserts as there have been in years past, but I'm someone who happens to prefer quality over quantity. If this years' insert cards happen to be an improvement over last year, which I believe they have been then I'm okay with pulling fewer insert cards compared to what I have pulled in the past.

Parallels -14 cards

While I didn't get as lucky as I would've liked with insert cards, I had some excellent luck with how many parallels I pulled, 14 of them, to be exact. Continuing with this post's theme of numbers, that's 1 parallel card for not even 2 total packs.

Players I collect -56 cards

And if there was any doubt that I wouldn't come up with many cards of players I collect, my hobby box netted over 50 cards for my player collections, consisting of both past and present players. Nearly 1/5 cards I pulled was a guy that I collect, and I'd consider that fairly impressive.

At least, as far as numbers go.

It's About More Than Just the Hit

For the first time maybe ever, I opened a hobby box of cards without being overly concerned about what my hit would be. There's 1 autograph or relic card guaranteed in a hobby box of 2019 Topps Series, but it's usually a standard jersey relic which isn't too exciting. 

This forces me to appreciate every other card I pull to make up for the boring hit, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I was able to enjoy the entire box, not just the 1 hit.

In fact, I'll show the hit right away so I can move on to the rest of the box and the awesome photos, in particular. It's a black jersey swatch of Yoan Moncada, part of the Major League Materials set that Topps features every year. The card is already on eBay. Moving on.

This is what it looks like when more attention is paid towards the photos featured across a Flagship set. Thankfully, I saw way fewer "traditional" and "boring" pictures and more exciting cards like the 2 above, a couple of my favorites. 

These pictures, especially the Segura, could even pass for Stadium Club photos. Seeing them in Series 1 is pretty refreshing since I've gotten so used to Topps using the same style of images on almost every single card.

Why chase down throwback uniform variations in other sets when Topps features them in Flagship as base cards? Seriously, it's awesome to see all these old-school uniforms, especially when so many of them feature the classic black and gold Pirates uniform and cap. 

The Josh Harrison and Adam Engel cards also feature awesome action shots, so I'm getting 2 awesome things in 1 card as far as I'm concerned.

Can we talk, for a minute, about how awesome this years' Future Stars cards look? I feel like I'm back in the late 1980s with how colorful and fun the rainbow letters are, and there are no irritating pixels present to take away from the design (I'm talking about you, 2018 Topps).

Not to mention, Topps chose the best possible photos to include on these 2 Future Stars cards. The bright and bold jerseys match perfectly with the rainbow words at the top of each card.

Also, look what we have for team cards this year; gorgeous ballpark shots encapsulating the beauty of the MLB ballparks with just one photo. While I'm going to do my best to avoid the eventual inclusion of Tropicana Field, these 4 stunning ballparks, especially Bush Stadium, look incredible and replace the previous attempt at "team" cards that never failed to disappoint me.

I feel like Topps definitely took a page from the success of 2018 Topps Big League when creating this years' Flagship set. If Topps isn't going to go back to the standard team cards that were featured for decades than these ballpark cards are the next best thing.

I don't think I've ever talked about base cards in a box recap post for that long. Thank you, 2019 Topps.

The insert cards in 2019 Topps Series 1 are okay, though there are a few sets that I could definitely do without. I don't need to see any more Baseball cards of another Baseball card, especially when all they do is recreate a card we've seen a dozen times or promote the Topps Now set. 

Sure, these cards are a couple of PC hits, but I could definitely do without them.

I recently featured a card just like this on my top 5 cards post of Mariano Rivera. It's a pretty epic tribute for when Rivera broke Trevor Hoffman's record and became the all-time saves leader.

As for the insert set, it's designed to pay tribute to 150 years of professional Baseball, hence why it's called 150 Years of Professional Baseball. It's split up into 3 equal parts; greatest moments, greatest players, and greatest seasons. 

The insert set checklist also consists of 150 cards which seems incredibly excessive even given Topps' desire to pay tribute to 150 years of pro Baseball. It's also been announced that this set will carry over into Series 2, so get ready for, likely, another 150 of these cards that fall at 1:7 hobby packs.

This year, Topps is also honoring the 1984 Topps set throughout Series 1, 2, Chrome, and Update. Out of the 3 sets they've done so far ('87, '83, and '84), the 1984 design excites me the most in terms of Topps recreating it. Don't ask me why, but I don't think Topps will burn me out on 1984 like they've done with '87 and '83 in previous years.

While I'm still not too crazy about the rainbow foil parallels, I must say that they look multitudes better than they have in previous years. I used to detest them, especially in 2017 Topps, but not anymore. Now, they almost look like previews of what 2019 Topps Chrome will look like.

Surprisingly, the gold parallels in 2019 Topps (1:5 packs) are more common than the boring 150th Anniversary parallels (1:6 packs which I've neglected to showcase in today's post). 

Apparently, the odds are pretty difficult in hobby jumbo for any type of parallel, yet I came across 5 in my standard hobby box, and the one not shown is James McCann. Granted, I didn't hit any huge names besides Lindor, but if nothing else, the parallels improved this year as well. 

I didn't understand the need for the swirls on last years' parallel designs in both Flagship and Chrome. I still don't comprehend why Topps didn't opt for more standard parallels cards, and while the "disco" parallels from 2019 aren't ideal, like the rest of the set, they're certainly an improvement from years past.

Because SP image variations were excluded entirely from hobby jumbo boxes, I ended up with 2 in my standard hobby box though I don't think I could've landed 2 players that I have less interest in. This is the only part of this years' set that I don't like all that much since there are many examples of base cards with more exciting pictures than the ones featured on these rare SPs.

Breaking away from the traditional parallels that we usually see, Topps Flagship features unique numbered cards such as Mother's Day Pink, Independence Day, and the Memorial Day camo parallels, one of which I landed in my box break.

Numbered 8/25, I didn't end up with a huge name, but a low-numbered rookie card is a low-numbered rookie card nevertheless. Daniel Ponce De Leon, especially as a member of the Cardinals, looks a lot like former Red Sox relief pitcher, Joe Kelly.

One of the coolest insert sets in 2019 Topps Series 1 is the Evolution set, highlighting change from past to present-day and featuring subjects like uniforms, equipment, and ballparks. On the front of this card is Ebbets Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played before moving to Los Angeles. On the back is a pitcher of Dodger Stadium, their current home.

However, the 150 years stamp on the front makes this an insert parallel since clearly, a small, barely noticeable stamp is all that is needed for an insert parallel nowadays. Regardless, the 150 years stamp means the card is numbered out of 150 on the back, and although I don't remember the exact pack odds, I know these cards are pretty hard to come by.

This Eddie Rosario card might be one of my favorite cards from the entire hobby box break, a title I don't usually award to a base card. I may like it even more than the Moncada relic because of how refreshing it is to see creative photos featured in Flagship. 

Move over standard jersey relics, I'm starting to prefer fun photography over the same jersey swatches.

A few years ago, you would never see a card like this in a Flagship set. Last year, a card like this would be a short-print variation card. Now, in 2019 Topps, cards just like the Rosario card above are featured continuously throughout the set as base cards, not SPs.

It's awesome to see all of these improvements, especially since the production went up this year, meaning more base cards and fewer inserts per pack.

While 2019 Topps Series 1 is far from perfect, I can definitely tell that Topps has worked to improve the Flagship set in numerous ways, from better photos, an improved design for parallels, and, of course, an exciting new base set, and as long as Topps continues to produce Flagship sets at this level, we won't have to see another 2016 Topps set ever again.

(Technically) My First Pack of the Year

If you count the silver pack that I opened yesterday as an actual set and not just a promotion than I suppose that quick pack opening would claim the title of the first pack I opened of the year. 

However, if we're going strictly off of sets and not counting promotional items than I suppose I'm actually opening my first pack of cards of the year today with my first 14-card pack from 2019 Topps Series 1 hobby.

Topps changed the number of cards per jumbo, hobby, and retail packs as well as blaster packs, hanger boxes, and likely value packs as well. This is likely due to their increasing of production of the Flagship set, resulting in fewer cards per hobby and jumbo box than there were in years past.

The difference wasn't too big of a deal for me, and I've been eager to get my hands on this release for months now. This year, I went for a whole hobby box of the set for a very good price at my LCS where, in previous years, I've simply purchased a couple blasters at the very most.

I'm trying to make the 24-pack hobby box last as long as I can since it's not every day that I get to open new packs of cards. Therefore, I'll be saving the full box recap for tomorrow while opening pack #1 today, allowing me to give my complete thoughts on the set design, photography, card backs, and more. 

It's always somewhat of a big deal to see whose card I pull first from Series 1, and I happen to remember the last couple years though not much before that. Here's a quick list of the first card pulled from the last few years.

2017; Andrew Cashner

2018; Adieny Hechavarria

And the first card pulled from 2019 Topps is...

#150 Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge! As you can tell from my 2017 and 2018 first cards, I'm not too used to pulling big names with my first card of a Series 1 pack. I had pretty great card collecting seasons in the years where I pulled some middle of the road names, so I'll be interested to see what 2019 has in store for me now that I've pulled Aaron Judge as my first card of the year.

#183 Freddie Freeman

As for the set design, I like it a lot more than I originally thought I would. Many people have pointed out how the cards are reminiscent of the 1982 Topps set which is something I definitely notice as well. 

With that being said, there are a few unique elements that help 2019 Topps stand on its own. Some, like the stellar photo variety, are great. Others, like the last name being on top of the first, don't really make much sense

#77 J.D. Martinez

The card backs are definitely one of the strongest points of the entire set. With full career stats making a return for the first time since 2016, Topps is relying less on the head-scratching social media usernames that they still feel the need to include. Instead, the dynamic card backs somewhat resemble the fronts while also reminding me slightly of the backs from 2018 Topps Big League.

#188 Matt Davidson

The half borders are definitely better than no borders, so Topps is at least making progress by steadily improving the design after the disaster that was 2016 Topps. I still don't quite understand why Topps can't just leave the picture alone and not have a weird disco pattern underneath the border, but I'll give them a break for improving on the Flagship set once again.

#50 Mookie Betts

Just like last year, I landed 2 different Red Sox cards out of my first pack of Topps Series 1. While this year features the 2 best hitters on their 2018 World Series team, Martinez and Betts, last year featured an insert of Mookie as well as a card of starting pitcher Rick Porcello. 

So far, Judge, Martinez, and Betts have come out of the first 5 cards of the pack. It's looking to me like 2019 will be a great year for card collecting.

#324 Logan Morrison

One thing I instantly took notice of was the improved quality and creativity with the photos on many of the cards so far. While past years would feature the same, boring pictures time and time again, I'm already seeing more landscape cards and more unique images than I have seen in many years. 

Pack #1 wasn't a fluke, by the way. The rest of the box features even more incredible and creative shots.

#220 Alex Colome

As I mentioned earlier, the card backs are truly something special as they feature just the right amount of color, less than 2017 and more than 2018. Full stats are back, finally, but my one issue with the card backs is the same concern that I have about the fronts. I'm struggling to see why the last name would be placed above the first. Simply put, it just doesn't make much sense.

#51 Michael Brantley 150th Anniversary Parallel

To celebrate 150 years of professional Baseball, Topps, among other things, is featuring 150th-anniversary parallels that can be found in 1 in every 6 packs. The gold foil Topps logo and the 150 years stamp are the only differences between this and a base card. 

Nothing for nothing, but either go full out with a gold foil design or something special with these cards. Otherwise, don't bother with a parallel that's merely a stamp in the bottom left corner.

#216 Bring It In

And just like that, we're back to base cards. Last year, I could open 10 or 12-card packs and expect 2 or maybe even 3 inserts or parallels. Now, the cards per pack, at least for the hobby packs, have been increased to 14, yet only 1 parallel card was found in the pack. 

I understand their need to produce more of the set, but it's unusual to only find 1 insert or parallel in a 14-card pack. I can't help but wonder if it's the same for retail as well.

#331 Cesar Hernandez

This year, the Phillies cards feature a new logo, the blue liberty bell with the Phillies team name in front. The new logo looks like a near-perfect fit on the cards and is definitely an improvement over the insignia they'd been using in past years. 

Also, notice the excellent image on this card. If nothing else, Topps is stepping up their game as far as the pictures go.

#239 Christian Yelich League Leaders

This is the 3rd year in a row that Topps has included individual league leaders cards rather than a combo card with the top 3 in major stat categories for each league. The more I think about it, the less a fan I become of the individual league leaders cards. 

It just doesn't seem all that necessary, for example, to have 3 different cards for the 2018 NL batting average leaders. Last time I checked, it worked out just fine when they were all combined onto 1 card.

#296 Lewis Brinson

The Marlins are another team to feature a new logo on their 2019 Topps Series 1 cards. Considering the total rebuild that the franchise is going under, I suppose they need something to excite the fans they have remaining. I personally didn't have a problem with the old logo, but I suppose I'm partial to the new one as well.

#337 Mychal Givens

I don't have anything to say about Mychal Givens. I don't have anything to say about this card either. Moving on to the 14th and final card of the pack.

#200 Jacob deGrom

2018 AL MVP, 2018 NL MVP, and the 2018 NL Cy Young award winners all in my first pack from 2019 Topps Series 1. Things appear to be looking up in 2019, and it's not just thanks to the cards I pulled in my first pack.

The design is definitely an improvement over the 2018 set which basically put you to sleep after 1 pack. Topps has been gradually making the sets better since 2016 by featuring better photographs, borders, and a cleaner design.

One thing I'm certainly excited for is 2019 Topps Chrome. These cards look awesome, and I'm stoked to see the chrome versions come late July or early August.

Let the Festivities Begin

Well, it's finally here. After months of anticipating the release of 2019 Topps Series 1, I finally made my first purchase of 2019 Baseball cards in the form of a standard hobby box earlier today at my LCS. 

Included with the box was a silver pack, the promotion that Topps has been rolling out for the last few years with the purchase of a Series 1, 2, or Update hobby or jumbo box. 

Since Series 1 jumbo has been a letdown so far in terms of what its produced and the pack odds, I went for a regular hobby box instead, where I'm guaranteed 1 autograph or relic. Plus, I still receive 1 of the silver pack cards with my purchase compared to 2 for a jumbo box.

Truth be told, I haven't even busted the seal on my hobby box yet so today's post will be solely for the silver pack cards. I'll probably take this weekend to open, recap, and sort the cards I pull in a couple blog posts before getting settled for the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Since this is the first time I've ever opened a hobby box of Topps Flagship, the silver pack I received is also the first of the hobby-exclusive packs that I've ever opened. However, I've watched enough YouTube videos to know what to expect. I'll be getting 4 cards with chances of a colored parallel or even an autograph with the 4th card in the pack.

This year, Topps is paying tribute to the 1984 Topps design, so in addition to the '84 insert set, the silver pack cards are also in the 1984 design, though they feature a particular chrome refractor that I believe is called a mojo refractor, but don't hold me to it.

Without further adieu, let's see what I get out of my first ever 4-card silver pack.

#T84-30 Darryl Strawberry

Just because I've never opened a silver pack before doesn't mean that I haven't found past promotional cards in the dime or quarter bins. With that being said, it's a completely different story to actually pull these cards from packs. 

Not to mention, the cards actually scan surprisingly well, and they look awesome in-person. Darryl Strawberry isn't a guy I collect, but that doesn't make this picture or the refractor any less stunning.

#T84-14 Bo Jackson

Nice! 2 cards in and we have a player I collect, featuring an exceptional photo as well. Bo Jackson is often represented in these type of products like Archives and other throwback sets, but it's weird to see him in the 1984 Topps product considering that his first Topps card was technically in 1986. 

The powder blue uniform looks absolutely awesome and is undoubtedly the proper choice for this card. Moreover, the pink background behind the headshot of Bo is another specific detail that I'm quite fond of.

#T84-7 Corey Kluber

All the card backs say the same thing, a quick blurb about the '84 set and how 2019 is the 35th anniversary of the product, so I opted not to include photos of the card backs in favor of the awesome refractor photos on the front. Kluber is another guy who I collect, so I'm 2-3 as far as that goes. His card, like the first 2, is truly well-done, and you can tell that Topps put in an exceptional amount of effort to perfect these promotional cards.

#T84-50 Cal Ripken Jr.

While I was unable to land any serial numbered refractors or autographs, I landed cards of 3 players I collect from my first ever silver pack opening, so I'm incredibly pleased about that. For one reason or another, the Cal Ripken Jr. card might be my favorite despite the awesome uniform that Bo Jackson is wearing on his card. Something about Ripken and 1984 Topps causes the 2 to work so well together, and the result is an awesome way to end the pack.

I realize that today's post was short, but I only recently got the box in-hand and I really want to take my time with both the box break and the post I write on it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to open my first ever box of cards from 2019. Wish me luck.

My Initial Thoughts on 2019 Topps

With the release date of Series 1 just 2 days away, the 2019 Baseball card collecting season is almost underway, bringing with it a wave of new set designs, including Topps' most popular set, Series 1.

I usually stay away from Series 2 because it's released around the same time as preferred products such as Allen & Ginter and Stadium Club, but Series 1 is a completely different story. After going roughly 2 months without an affordable product being released, Topps kicks off the new collecting year with a product that has continuously featured a wide variety of base cards, inserts, and parallels.

I can't say for sure what I think of the set design until I have the cards in person, but the product certainly appears to be better than 2016 and 2017 and if nothing else, more exciting than 2018 Topps. 

The team name and position are a bit too small for me, and I'm not too crazy about the players' last name being above their first name. It just doesn't make sense. However, a preview of card #1, Ronald Acuña Jr, on Topps' Instagram, revealed that the card backs could feature a career's worth of stats, not just from the past few seasons.

First and foremost, borders are (half) back. With a design fairly reminiscent of the 1982 Topps set, the borders cover roughly half of the card. Thanks to the return of borders for the first time since 2015, we're able to have much better parallels for not just Topps Flagship, but Topps Chrome as well.

One of my major issues with 2018 Topps was how the parallels and refractors seemed to block almost the entire background on every card. This time, it looks as if the parallels are designed so they don't take anything away from the rest of the card.

One of the major promotions that Topps appears to be running in 2019 is the 150th anniversary of Professional Baseball. With Aaron Judge and Babe Ruth sharing the cover of Series 1, Topps seems to be bridging the gap between old and new with the Series 1 set. 

I'm not sure if the gold stamp and the gold Topps logo are the only differences between the 150th-anniversary parallels and the base cards, but I am certain that Topps will have to do better in order for me to be impressed with their efforts in this product.

Side note, but I'm really excited about ballparks being included within the 2019 Topps base checklist. This idea was tested out in the 2018 Topps Big League set, and I was instantly a big fan since it's been far too long without ballpark cards in sets. Forget some random rookie pitcher from the Padres, let's see a card of Wrigley Field for a change.

For the 3rd year in a row, Topps will be featuring another one of their previous sets, once again from the 1980s, as a giant insert set that will likely be stretched out across Series 1, Series 2, Chrome, and Update. 

I didn't have a problem with 1987 Topps going into 2017 nor did I with 1983 Topps last season, but something about the redundant and unnecessarily-large insert sets took away from my enjoyment of the original product. Hopefully, Topps doesn't ruin the incredible product that is 1984 Topps for me in their 2019 sets.

I don't really know anything about some of Topps' Series 1 insert sets like Greatness Returns, but I'm just happy that we're finally rid of Topps Salute. As if 1 giant, continuous insert set wasn't enough, Topps Salute featured mediocre designs and truly lacked personality. I'll take a few of these smaller insert sets over a gigantic Salute set any day of the week.

As I previously stated, Topps' main promotion for their 2019 Series 1 set is the 150th anniversary of Professional Baseball. In addition to the 150th-anniversary parallels, there's a humongous, 150-card insert set that's divided into 3 groups, featuring the Greatest Moments, Greatest Players, and the Greatest Seasons in MLB history.

Based on the brief glance I took at the insert set, it appears to feature a ton of Red Sox and Yankees players. Shocking, I know. I'm not sure if each of the cards will look like the Greatest Moments Jackie Robinson card above, but I'm more excited for the card backs and what's being said about the moment, player, or season rather than the insert set design.

New releases are always fun, but when it's Topps Series 1, the first set of the year, there's an added sense of excitement. With only 2 days to go until release day, I'm excited to see what these cards end up looking like in-person before I can truly assess what I think of 2019 Topps.