Time to Rip

For months on end, I've debated whether to permanently keep or rip my 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter box loader rip card of Cubs superstar Kris Bryant, one of the coolest parts of my collection that, for whatever reason, I haven't shown on the blog before today.

Truth be told, I came across this rip card in a hobby box of '19 A&G that I brought back with me from the 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. I'd spent some time looking at the set overview on Cardboard Connection and was dying to pull either one of these or the autograph relic book cards.

Of course, the player on the rip card plays a huge role in deciding what to do with it. Mike Trout's have sold for upwards of $300 on eBay whereas guys like Clayton Kershaw have been around $120.

I, however, had no plans to sell the Bryant; I'd either keep it as a collector's item or rip it and reveal 3 mini cards inside, including the possibility of wood 1/1s and red ink autographs.

The back of the box topper explains all the possibilities that this rip card could entail. Of course, most of the breaks that I have seen have landed just 2 SSP minis in addition to the 1 guaranteed stained glass card.

However, with Bryant's as well as the Cubs' stock plummeting and his future in Chicago largely unknown, I came to the decision, after months of deliberation, that taking the gamble was my best bet.

If nothing else, I told myself, the stained glass card is something totally unique that could make it all worth it, since I truly don't have anything like it in my collection.

The checklist is very strong, featuring the 100 premier players out of the 300 spots, and while Max Scherzer wouldn't have been my first choice, he's probably the best pitcher I could've pulled.

I certainly wouldn't have wanted Cole or Verlander, and unfortunately for Clayton Kershaw, his poor postseason performances have made him less of what he used to be in the eyes of some collectors.

Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are currently in a battle for the best pitcher in baseball, but with Scherzer having more experience and Cy Young awards under his belt, I'd give him the nod for now.

While the stained glass mini was to be expected, I had no clue what the rest of the rip card would entail. Virtually every break that I've seen has delivered 2 SSP minis, and I was hoping for something a little more special out of mine.

Unfortunately, 2 SSP minis are exactly what I ended up with, but at least I got 2 big name Hall of Famers out of it. Sandy Koufax and Ryne Sandberg, despite being vastly different, are 2 pretty terrific names.

I'm not sure what these are currently going for online, but even though I didn't have the greatest luck by any means, I don't regret my decision to rip the box topper. Kris Bryant's future is widely uncertain whereas these 3 players' legacy, even with Scherzer still playing, is more set in stone.

If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

Since the brand's revival in 2014, Topps Stadium Club has become a favorite among Baseball card collectors, specifically bloggers who are encapsulated by the minimal base design and gorgeous photography.

Frankly, it's hard to believe that Topps has already released 6 Stadium Club sets since they brought the product back. Even though we generally know what to expect from the release year after year, even as far as the checklist is concerned, Topps never fails to blow me away with the sheer caliber of the images.

The Stadium Club set design, although not the focal point of the product, is essential to how the cards look and how the beautiful photographs are utilized. This year's design is a step up from the 2018 version, for the text doesn't interfere with the images whatsoever.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'd be opening an entire hobby box of 2019 Topps Stadium Club, something that's become a bit of a tradition for my Dad and me to do. 

We may not have landed any major hits or valuable cards, but Stadium Club is one of my favorite sets solely because of the photography, not for any other reason.  It would be nice to land a big-name autograph, but that's not my priority when it comes to this release.

In case you haven't heard, there are no black and white photos in Stadium Club this year, something that may or may not continue in subsequent releases. My initial pack didn't deliver any old-time players, but I'm pleased that I was able to pull a couple of cards with black and white photos that have been enhanced into full color.

Babe Ruth and Johhny Mize are the 2 standouts out of all the players I landed who played in the pre-war era, the other being Honus Wagner. Topps' designers already have to enhance the quality of pictures of guys like Ruth, so I can only imagine what it's like to turn that photo into a color image.

A reasonable number of my 250 player collections include stars from the 70s and 80s, players that appear in Topps Stadium Club each and every year. While Eddie Murray hasn't been in an SC checklist since 2016, the other 3, especially Rickey Henderson, have appeared consistently since the brand's revival.

The Sandberg image is a beautiful shot of Wrigley from the 1980s while the 2 Orioles (Murray and Robinson) have banners in the backgrounds of their respective cards. I'm not sure if the pictures are from Opening Day, the World Series, or possibly the All-Star game.

Speaking of Murray, I love that he makes an appearance on Rickey Henderson's card, for cameos like that aren't too common as far as Baseball cards are concerned.

Finally, we have the players of today, paired with unparalleled photographs from all different angles of the ballpark. Unlike Topps Flagship, for example, Stadium Club goes beyond the typical photos for batters and hitters as well as the repetitive angles for each and every shot.

Instead of showcasing Chris Sale during his windup for the 100th time, let's use a shot of him with his cap off with Fenway Park in the background. Let's use a traditional photo of German Marquez but instead zoom out, using an angle that we rarely see.

This is the mindset behind the masterminds of Stadium Club, a product that truly breaks the mold and goes out on a limb. Not to mention, these gambles virtually always pay off. 

I've always been critical of Stadium Club's inserts, both from a conceptual and design standpoint. Rarely has Topps combined a brilliant and/or unusual concept with a visually appealing design as far as Stadium Club inserts are concerned. 

Even though they're far from perfect, I notice that Topps has improved the appearance of the SC inserts, if nothing else, from 2018 to 2019. Though the theme behind the cards is redundant, the Power Zone inserts look fabulous this year.

Warp Speed is brand new to the 2019 set. While the previous insert had an okay concept and an effective design, the opposite is true for the Mookie Betts card above. The design is average, but I appreciate the idea of having an insert set dedicated to the fastest players in the game.

Previously a Stadium Club insert set from the 90s and early 2000s, Beam Team has been a fundamental part of the revived product since 2014. The top hitters in Baseball are consistently featured in this insert set where the odds of pulling a card are 1 per hobby box.

Because of how uncommon they are, I certainly wanted my Beam Team card to be a player that I collect, so I was pleased when Jose Altuve appeared in one of the packs. Even though there's a lot of room for improvement, Stadium Club's inserts, especially Beam Team, have improved significantly in 2019.

Speaking of 1 per box. you also get 1 chrome card in every box of Stadium Club, a criminally underrated aspect of this set. The base cards are beautiful as is, and they are further enhanced with the chrome card stock, even though the checklist is limited to around 100 cards or so.

I'd be lying if I said that Justus Sheffield was one of my top choices from the Stadium Club Chrome checklist, but I suppose it could've been worse. Although the logo isn't included on the card, he is a rookie, so I might be able to sell this online depending on how he's doing with Seattle.

New to 2019 Stadium Club is the oversized box toppers, another 1 per box element of this set. Like the chrome card, Koufax wouldn't have been my #1 choice, but I have no problems with pulling his oversized card. 

After all, he's a legendary Hall of Famer even though I don't collect cards of the 3-time Cy Young award winner. This pull may give me the motivation to start collecting Koufax cards, or I might sell or trade it to somebody else. 

For now, however, I'm just going to appreciate how brilliant it is, on Topps' part, to use oversized base cards as box toppers for this set.

I'd be lying if I said I was shocked that I didn't land any big name autographs in my box. They may both be on-card rookie autos, but there's not much to say beyond that. 

I've never heard of Adam Cimber before in my life, and I like to say that I follow Baseball pretty closely. Chance Adams, on the other hand, had some upside going into the 2019 season and was somewhat considered to be a ROY finalist, but I don't think he's living up to his hype.

At this point, the only thing I can do with these 2 rookie autographs is what I typically do with my hits; store them safely in my relic card/autograph box and hope for the best.

And because I don't want to end this post on a negative note, here's an awesome card of Vladimir Guerrero.

Topps Stadium Club rules.

Lost and Found

A common theme for this week seems to be stumbling upon cards that I had forgotten about over some period of time, likely due to how unorganized my collection can be. On Tuesday, I located some vintage oddballs from last years' National which appears to be the gift that keeps on giving.

It's not uncommon for something like this to happen but finding cards that I don't remember all too well or fear that I had lost highlights how much progress I still have to make with the organization of my collection. 

I finished a complete organizational overhaul of my player collections, both online and in boxes, last summer. I'm not sure how I'd do it for the rest of my collection, but it's something that needs to be done.

The reason for that is what I found in some miscellaneous card binders today, a reasonable selection of cards from 1961 Topps. Last Spring, I told myself I was going to start collecting the vintage set, but I didn't make significant progress until The National where I found a bunch of discounted cards from the set.

I don't think it'll be time to go too out of my way for cards from '61 Topps until I'm around halfway or more done with the product. With Juan Marichal's rookie card and Mickey Mantle's base card still missing from my set, it won't be a cheap Flagship product to complete.

But anytime you have a small stack of old cards turn up from binders, no matter who the players are, it's always a step in the right direction towards what can be a difficult and expensive process; completing a vintage Topps set.

One of my favorite parts of the 1961 Topps set is the highlights subset that pays homage to greats from the first 60 years of the 20th century who accomplished impressive feats. I'm not sure what the rhyme or reason is behind these cards, but a design like this would look excellent in one of those overpriced Topps Throwback Thursday sets.

This particular card is for Harvey Haddix who pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as the Pirates lost that game, but he went on to win the iconic 1960 World Series the following year.

The next card I found to go towards my 1961 Topps set commemorates the year 1903 when Christy Mathewson, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, struck out 267 batters, quite an impressive total at the time. 

With a career 2.13 ERA and 373 wins, Mathewson certainly ranks in the top 5 of greatest pitchers to ever play the game. It's a bit harder to compare pitchers than it is hitters, but regardless, I'd put Mathewson in the top 3 or 4 with Walter Johnson at the #1 spot.

It's hard to imagine a player hitting much better than .350 in Baseball nowadays, but Rogers Hornsby hit a staggering .424 with the Cardinals back in 1924. It was a career high for Hornsby who would capture 7 batting titles on route to a .358 career batting average. Certainly, a card paying homage to one of his greatest seasons is worthy of a spot in the subset checklist.

However, my finds certainly weren't limited to just the Baseball Thrills cards, but I was able to find some top-tier base cards as well to help me on my way to completing the 589-card set. For most of Topps history, cards ending in 5 or 0 meant the player was one of the best in Baseball at the time, a good sign for me when I found Warren Spahn's card #200 in a random binder sitting on my shelf.

While we're talking about cards ending in 0, I should point out that I found another major card for my set, #120 of Spahn's teammate, Eddie Mathews. Granted, neither of these cards are in excellent shape,  but that's not what I'm going for with this set anyway. Simply completing a product as old as 1961 Topps would be a huge accomplishment, and I'll take any help I can get, especially if that help is 2 new cards of Hall of Fame players.

Even though I dedicate resources towards completing certain vintage sets, I don't typically worry about condition, and I've only once felt the need to upgrade a card, and that was a 1972 Topps in action card of Roberto Clemente, a card with enough creases to fall apart.

With that being said, I'm all for upgrading if a find a card in better condition within my collection, and that's exactly what happened today with this combo card of Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres called Dodger Southpaws.

As you can tell, there's a pretty big difference in terms of centering when comparing the new card on the left and the old one on the right. Although quite simple, I've always loved the 1961 Topps combo cards in particular, and the Koufax and Podres card would have to be one of my favorites. 

Because of that, I'm glad that out of all the cards, this one got an upgrade.

Now, all that needs to happen is for me to find a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle in a similar fashion, and I'll be well on my way towards finishing off this set.