Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Archives 3D

This is the first 2012 Topps Archives insert set I’ve completed – the 3-D insert modeled after the 1968 test set.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Before the insert card craze of the 1990′s, Topps was experimenting and testing new technologies 30 years prior.  Topps pays tribute to 4 classic inserts featuring active and retired stars.”

This insert is designed like the test-issue 1968 3-D set, featuring 25 stars of today, utilizing life-like 3D technology.”  This is another tribute to a past oddball set.  The 1968 3D cards are pretty expensive to find, but is a cool set.

Here’s my previous post comparing the current set with the old set.  The set has a white border with a yellow player name and a pink oval with the team name.  The cards have (naturally) a 3D effect, and are blank-backed and unnumbered like the 1968 cards.  The old set had 12 cards, this year’s version has 15 cards.

Set composition:  15 cards, 1:8

Hall of Famers: None – only current players.

How I put the set together:

6 cards from two hobby boxes

1 card from a trade

1 card from a card show

6 cards from Check Out My Cards

1 card from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set:  This and Deckle Edge are my favorite insert sets from this product.  I like that Topps produced these cards in the same size as the 1968 versions, unlike last year with Topps Lineage when they did a 3-D set in the standard size.  I like the set size, too – 15 cards is attainable, even though these are only 3 per box.

Card that completed my set:  Al Kaline

I picked this card up from a Sportlots purchase I made on Black Friday.

Highest book value:  Mickey Mantle

Best card (my opinion):  Roberto Clemente

A good action shot, but I like this card the best because Clemente was actually in the original test set.

I also think the Cabrera, Ruth and Kemp are good photos that go with the 3-D design.

My Favorite Reds card:  Joey Votto

He’s the only Red in the set.

Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Heritage Then and Now

This is the third of the “standard” insert sets in 2012 Topps Heritage that I’ve completed.  After this, I’ve still got the “New Age Performers” insert set (1 more card), the Stick-Ons and the JFK variations (1 more card as well) to finish up.  Plus a few SPs still as well.

Info about the set:

Set description:  ”10 cards comparing statistical performances of a player from 1963 and a current star”.  The front shows the 2011 Major League leader in a specified category next to a player who was in the top 10 in the same category in 1963.  The reverse shows the MLB top-10 in that statistic for both years.  The players’ names are in a black box with yellow writing and a star saying “63 Then” and “Now 12″.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:15 odds.

Hall of Famers:  8 players – every retired player in this set is a Hall-of-Famer, however, Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax are featured twice.

Koufax, Aaron, Yastrzemski, Marichal, Killebrew, Spahn, Mathews, Aparicio

How I put the set together:

4 cards from 2 hobby boxes

4 cards from trades

1 cards from Check Out My Cards

1 cards from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set:  Like a few others, this is one that returns each year for Heritage.  This set gets limited by the older players Topps signed to be part of the Heritage brand.  Still, Topps got almost every single leader from 1963 into this set.  In fact, they got all but two – they put Carl Yastrzemski on the average card instead of Tommy Davis.  Davis had the highest average in the majors, but Yaz was the AL batting champion.  And Warren Spahn is on the Shutout card instead of Koufax (whom they could have used as he was on two other cards).  Willie Mays would have been a cool option in the set, but he didn’t lead in any traditional stats in 1963.

Two things I don’t like here.  First, I hate when they don’t number sets – these are “lettered”.  Second, Topps used the same photo for the current players as the base card.  I wish they’d have either a) used a second photo, or b) copied both – meaning they’d use the photo from the older player’s 1963 Topps card as well.  I do like how putting the cards next to each other in the scan below creates an optical illusion as if the cards are slanted.

Card that completed my set: #TN-MV – Juan Marichal / Justin Verlander

I got the last card from Sportlots last month.

Highest book value: TN-KK – Koufax / Kershaw, TN-KV – Koufax / Verlander, TN-AK, Aaron / Kemp

Mickey Mantle isn’t in this set (and neither is Jeter from a current player standpoint), so all of the cards book for fairly similar amounts.

Best card (my opinion): #TN-MB – Eddie Mathews / Jose Bautista

The photos on this card are both very good.  The card with Aaron and Kemp is also really nice.  Kershaw and Kemp – Dodger Cy Youngs – is also cool.

Best Reds card: None in the set.  Kind of depressing they couldn’t get a league leader in either year.

Here’s the Statistic associated with each card and where the 1963 player ranked in the majors in that stat if they didn’t lead (and who actually did lead if they weren’t first):

• TN-AB – SB:  M. Bourn / L. Aparicio (he tied for the major league lead with Maury Wills)
• TN-AK – RBI:  M. Kemp / H. Aaron
• TN-KB – HR:  J. Bautista / H. Killebrew
• TN-KK – ERA:  C. Kershaw / S. Koufax
• TN-KV – K:  J. Verlander / S. Koufax
• TN-MB – BB: J. Bautista / E. Mathews
• TN-MS – IP:  J. Shields (Verlander was the league leader, Shields was 2nd – not sure why Topps passed over Verlander) / J. Marichal
• TN-MV – W:  J. Verlander / J. Marichal (tied with Koufax for the MLB lead)
• TN-SL – IP:  C. Lee / W. Spahn (2nd behind Koufax)
• TN-YC – SHO:  M. Cabrera / C. Yastrzemski (2nd behind Tommy Davis)

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage Venezuelan

The main theme of Topps Lineage in 2011 was the insert sets – and this is the another one I’ve completed.  I think it’s the fourth one.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Topps updates a tradition begun in 1959 with these 25 Spanish language variation base cards.”

That was the sell sheet wording.  These cards aren’t really the greatest representation of those Venezuelan sets – they are in Spanish, but like the regular Lineage cards, they don’t have stats on the back.

Set composition:  25 cards, 1:12 hobby odds

Hall of Famers: none, as the set is only current players

How I put the set together:

4 cards from my two hobby boxes

17 cards from Sportlots

2 cards from trades

1 card from COMC

Thoughts on the set:  Other than the base set, Lineage was a great idea.  But this is the least cool set of the insert sets.  The only difference from these cards and the base cards is that the backs are in Spanish.  This kind of compounds the negative that I (and everyone else I’ve read) has about the base set – no stats only write-up.  There were some differences between some of the Venezuelan sets from back in the day that Topps could have incorporated here and they didn’t.  I give this set a D – if it wasn’t that I just want to complete a master set of this product I wouldn’t have chased this.

Card that completed my set:  #TV12 – David Price

I got this from a Check Out My Cards purchase in December.

Highest book value:  #TV1 – Derek Jeter

Jeter is usually #1 when he’s in an insert set with only current players.  Pujols is 2nd here.

Best card (my opinion):  #TV3 – Felix Hernandez

Topps should have done a Spanish theme player-wise here, but they didn’t.  What about getting retired players and getting Dave Concepcion, Luis Aparicio, Ozzie Guillen, Andres Galarraga, Omar Vizquel in there?  Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, Johan Santana, Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera – all guys who are Venezuelan and could have been great options for an insert.

King Felix is the only Venezuelan player in this set, so he gets my “best card” here.

My Favorite Reds card:  No Reds in this set.  Adam Dunn is in the set, but when he played for the Reds I wanted to trade him just about each and every year he was there.

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage Stand Ups

The real point of Lineage was the insert sets – and this is the third one I’ve completed.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “These colorful die-cut cards, patterned from the 1964 set, are designed to be displayed when folded.  Twenty-five current stars as well as reprinted cards featuring players from the original set will be included.”

That was the sell sheet wording.  Well – they ended up doing twenty cards of current guys and 5 cards of retired players who had cards from the 1964 Stand-Up set.  But they didn’t do reprints – they did new photos.  Which was pretty cool.  The cards feature a photo of the player against a solid background with yellow on the top and green on the bottom.  You could fold the top down and stand the card up due to the die-cut outline of the player photo.

Set composition:  19 cards, 1:6 hobby odds

Hall of Famers: Brooks Robinson, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax

The first 20 cards are current players, the last 5 are retired players.  All 5 of those guys are in the Hall, and all 5 had cards from the 1964 set.

How I put the set together:

3 cards from my two hobby boxes

14 cards from Sportlots

4 cards from trades

4 cards from COMC

Thoughts on the set:  Other than the base set, Lineage was a great idea.  This set is cool – I love the throwback nod to an oddball set.  I also like that this one is only 25 cards, as opposed to the 50 cards that some other Lineage cards are.  The breakdown between old and new players (20 new / 5 old) is pretty good, too, though I kind of wish they’d just do one or the other.

Card that completed my set:  #TS5 – Tim Lincecum

I got this from a Check Out My Cards purchase in November.

Highest book value:  #TS23 – Mickey Mantle

The Mick is always #1 when he’s in the set…

Best card (my opinion):  #TS25 – Sandy Koufax

I like the shot of Koufax here – he’s following through on a pitch and it seems to go well with the design.

My Favorite Reds card:  #TS14 – Joey Votto

Votto-matic is the only Red in this set.

 

 

 

 

 

Completed insert set – 2010 Topps When They Were Young (and one of my new favorite cards!!!!!)

A look back at some of your favorite players when they were little kids!  Well – not your favorite players, but at least some Little League photos of some current major league players!

This was an insert exclusive to Series 1 from Topps 2010.

Info about the set:

Set description: “Featuring current photos of Major League Stars as Little League, High School, or College players.”

Or, in the case of Ortiz, as a 4-year old pointing at a camera saying “I will break you A-Rod”!

Set composition: 18 cards, 1:6 hobby odds (series one)

Hall of Famers: None – only current players.

How I put the set together:

4 cards from the hobby box

2 cards from an eBay insert lot

2 cards from a card show

7 cards from trades

3 cards from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set: Cool idea.  Decent player selection – A-Rod, Ortiz, David Wright, Verlander, Yadier Molina and Johnny Damon are the notable players.  But on some level, I kind of like that.  Good design that sort of copies the 1980 Topps set.  I do like that Topps put a current photo down in the lower right-hand corner – what good is the photo of them as a kid if you can’t compare it to the picture from today?

The backs are fairly interesting reading:

• Aaron Poreda went to the same high school as swimmer Matt Biondi.
• A-Rod was the Gatorade National Student Athlete of the Year.  Presumably for his work in chemistry.
• Brian Roberts grew up in Chapel Hill – because his dad was the coach of UNC.
• Clint Sammons and Jeff Francoeur were on the same high school team in Georgia.  I know, I have never heard of Clint Sammons either.
• David Wright played on an AAU team that also included BJ Upton, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Zimmerman.  Wonder who played third?
• Gordon Beckham’s dad was a quarterback for South Carolina.
• Russell Martin lived in Paris as a youngster before moving to Canada, where he went to the same high school Eric Gagne went to.  I wonder how many players from the same Canadian high school were ever teammates in the majors (as they were in 2006).
• Cody Ross has a favorite player – Ken Griffey Jr. – after whom he named his dog

……..

Wait a minute?  He named his dog Griffey!!!!!!!!!!!

He stole my dog’s name!!!  This is definitely a surprise addition as one of my favorite cards ever!

Card that completed my set: #WTWY-RM – Russell Martin

I got this in a Sportlots purchase at the end of November.

Highest book value: #WTWY-AR – Alex Rodriguez

About 4 bucks currently.

Best card (my opinion): #WTWY-CR – Cody Ross

Ortiz was a pretty easy selection before I read the back.  Most of these cards show a) a mediocre player, and b) a picture from little league.  Ortiz is a) a pretty significant player historically, and b) a cool picture of him as a youngster.  It’s like he’s saying – “watch out, dude.  Someday I’m gonna break the curse of the Bambino.  And, yeah, that means I’m bowling over you, A-Rod, you sweater-vest-wearing fellow-steroid-taking d-bag.”

But it doesn’t top the Cody Ross dog-named-Griffey card.

Best Reds card: No Reds in the set.

Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Mound Dominance

I just finished up another of the smaller insert sets from this year’s Topps product – Mound Dominance.

Info about the set:

Set description: “Celebrating the greatest pitching performances of all-time”.  This set basically replaced Classic Walk-offs from series 1.  The cards are designed horizontally with a picture of the pitcher to the left and a green 9-box of the strike zone to the right with the team logo in the center.  The set discusses a dominant individual pitching performance from each of the 15 hurlers.

Set composition: 15 cards, 1:8 hobby odds

Hall of Famers: 9 - Tom Seaver, Sandy Koufax, Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersley, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller

Unlike that classic walk-offs set from s1, this set is skewed toward retired players – there are only 4 current players in the set.

How I put the set together:

5 cards from my HTA Jumbo box

10 cards from trades

Thoughts on the set:  Another good idea.  And I give Topps a pretty good grade for player inclusion, too.  Including Armando Galarraga is actually thinking outside the box a bit.  I like the nod to his should-have-been perfect game.  I also like the inclusion of Phil Niekro for his 2-hit shutout at the age of 47.  The design is kind of neat, too, with the strike zone.  And they got a lot of the best pitching performances out there.  Here’s some of the ones I’d have considered adding:

Consecutive scoreless innings

• Orel Hershiser – 1988.  You could even tie this one to a specific game – he pitched 10 scoreless innings in his last outing of the year to break the record (by that last inning) held by this dodger…
• Don Drysdale – 1962.
• Whitey Ford – 1961.  In a 5-game win over the Reds, Ford broke the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings (29-2/3) held by…
• Babe Ruth – 1918.  The Sultan of Swat actually pitched 29-2/3 through the 1918 World Series.

Strikeouts

• Kerry Wood’s 20-k game should have been included, especially since he was still an option contractually when this set came out.  It’s possibly the most dominant pitching performance ever.
• Clemens and his 2 20-k games.
• Randy Johnson and either of his 19-k games or his perfect game.
• Tom Cheney and his 21 k’s in 16 innings in 1962.

No-hitters

• Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter in Coors Field
• Catfish Hunter’s perfect game where he went 3-4 at the plate
• Harvey Haddix’s 12 perfect innings in 1959 (when he’d eventually lose 1-0 in the 13th)
• Ummm – Don Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series?  This is the biggest oversight in this set.
• Back-to-back no-hitters by Johnny Vander Meer.  The second biggest oversight in this set.
• Fred Toney and Hippo Vaughn pitch a double no-hitter in 1917.

World Series

• Jack Morris 1991.  The third biggest oversight.
• Christy Mathewson 1905.  Three shutouts in the World Series?  Ummm – put him in!
• Mickey Lolich 1968.  Outdueling Bob Gibson to get 3 wins in the series – another great option here.

Other

• A 58-pitch shutout by Red Barrett in 1944

Card that completed my set: #MD-7 – Roy Halladay

I got this card in a recent trade with a reader of my blog, Hans.

Highest book value: #MD-8 – Nolan Ryan

Pitchers tend not to have nearly the “Beckett value” that position players have – but Nolan Ryan is the clear exception.

Best card (my opinion): #MD-10 – Armando Galarraga

As I mentioned above, I’m happy this event got a card here.

My Favorite Reds card: #MD-1 – Tom Seaver

Easy choice as it’s the only one.

Here’s the list of these cards - and the year when the dominance happened.

• Tom Seaver (1978).  No-hitter.
• Justin Verlander (2007).  No-hitter.
• Sandy Koufax (1963).  15 strikeouts in the World Series.
• Jim Palmer (1966).  Shutout in the World Series at the age of 20.
• Dennis Eckersley (1989).  4 pitches to close out the 9th inning of a WS sweep.
• Bob Gibson (1968).  17 K’s in World Series.
• Roy Halladay (2010).  No-hitter in the NLDS – one of 2 in postseason history.
• Nolan Ryan (1981).  His 5th no-no broke the record he shared with Koufax.
• Phil Niekro (1986).  Hurled a shutout at the age of 47.
• Armand Galarraga (2010).  Lost a no-hitter on a bad call by Jim Joyce on the last play of the game.
• Warren Spahn (1960).  15 strikeout no-hitter at the age of 39.
• Bob Feller (1936).  15 K’s at the age of 17.
• Jon Lester (2008).  An inspirational no-hitter after coming back from cancer.
• John Smoltz (1991).  Shutout in Game 7 of the NLDS to send the Braves to the WS.
• Dwight Gooden (1984).  11-K 1-hitter at the age of 19.

Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Classic Walk-Offs

Topps had a pretty cool insert set in series 1 that I recently completed – Classic

History of the Game is an insert set in 2010 series 1 as part of the “Baseball History” line of inserts.

Info about the set:

Set description: “Celebrating the greatest walk-offs of all-time”.  The cards are designed horizontally with three different picture frames of the player in his walk-off homer moment.  Sometimes Topps used the same photo all 3 times (see the Bench) sometimes they use 3 different shots.  The one in the top left is a color photo, while the other two are gray / sepia toned.

Set composition: 15 cards, 1:8 hobby odds

Hall of Famers: 4 - Bill Mazeroski, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench, Mickey Mantle

The set is skewed toward current players for what has to be contractual reasons – the 4 players above are all of the retired players in the set.

How I put the set together:

5 cards from my HTA Jumbo box

2 cards from some HTA Jumbo packs (which I bought to do the redemption)

8 cards from trades

Thoughts on the set:  This is a really cool idea.  Like many insert sets Topps does, I love the idea, but am a little nitpicky with the execution.  Having a set focused on some of the bigger walk-off home runs?  Great idea.  Not having Kirk Gibson, Joe Carter or Bobby Thompson in that set?  That’s blowing it for sure.  Like some of these sets, I’ll show you what I would add.  I’m going to make this a little different – as opposed to replacing a few cards, I’d actually double it and make it a 30-card set.  Which means I need to find 15 homers to add!

There have been two home runs to end a World Series.  Only one (Mazeroski) is included in this set – obviously this has to be included.

• Joe Carter – 10/23/93 off Mitch Williams of the Phillies.  Touch ‘em all Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life!

There have been four homers that sent a team to the World Series.  Only the one hit by Magglio Ordonez  in 2006 was included – and since that completed a 4-game sweep, while the others were in do-or-die games, I’d have to say it’s the least dramatic.

• Bobby Thomson – 10/3/51 off Ralph Branca of the Dodgers, NL Tiebreaker Game 3.  The shot hear round the world.  There have been articles, books and documentaries written about everything regarding this home run – from the mystery of where the ball ended up to the fact that all 3 New York teams were the only teams in the “playoffs” that year.  The most famous homer in baseball history somehow didn’t make it into a set about walk-off home runs.
• Chris Chambliss – 10/14/76 off Mark Littell of the Royals, ALCS Game 5.  Chambliss couldn’t complete the walk-off since the Yankee fans mobbed the field – he later was escorted out to touch home plate by the umpires.
• Aaron Boone – 10/16/03 off Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox, ALCS Game 7.  Aaron Bleeping Boone!

That’s four I’ve added.  There have also been quite a few very notable World Series walk-off home runs that weren’t series clinchers – I’ve added the ones I’d include below.

• Tommy Henrich – 10/5/49 off Don Newcombe of the Dodgers, World Series Game 1.  The first walk-off homer in World Series history was off Don Newcombe and gave the Yankees the early series lead.
• Eddie Mathews – 10/6/57 off Bob Grim of the Yankees, World Series Game 2.  This isn’t the first walk-off you think of, but it tied the series 2 games apiece in what would be Hank Aaron’s only World Championship.
• Kirk Gibson – 10/15/88 off Dennis Eckersley of the A’s, World Series Game 1.  This is probably a top 5 in the most famous home runs of all time.
• Kirby Puckett – 10/26/91 off Charlie Liebrandt of the Braves, World Series Game 6.  We will see you tomorrow night!
• Chad Curtis – 10/26/99 off off Mike Remlinger of the Braves, World Series Game 3.  This has less to do with the homer and more with how Curtis shunned Jim Gray after the game.  Gray had gone pretty much attacked Pete Rose the game before trying to get him to admit to betting on baseball – it put a big damper on the All-Century Team celebration for anyone watching it.  Regardless of the fact that Rose was guilty as sin, it was inappropriate from Gray and the response from Curtis was awesome.
• David Freese – 10/27/11 off Mark Lowe of the Rangers, World Series Game 6.  We will see you tomorrow night (again).  This probably got left out because of timing issues as the set was in series 1 of the next year.  But they should have got it in there.

That’s 10 total, so I’ve got 4 more to add.  I’d also include the following:

• Gabby Hartnett’s “Homer in the Gloamin’” as darkness descended upon Wrigely Field in a 1938 game against league leading Pittsburgh – basically, if he hadn’t hit the homer, they would have replayed the entire game.  Instead, it vaulted the Cubs into an eventual National League pennant.
• Ozzie Smith’s “go crazy folks, go crazy!” homer – which was only the 14th of his career and the first he’d ever hit from the left side of the plate!
• Robin Ventura’s “walk-off grand slam single” in the 1999 NLCS.
• Ted Williams’ walk-off home run in the 1941 All-Star game.
• Chris Hoiles “ultimate walk-off”, where he hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on a 3-2 count with his team down 3 runs.  This is the only time this has ever happened.

Card that completed my set: #CW-7 – Mickey Mantle

I got this card in a recent trade with the Dutch Card Guy.

Highest book value: #CW-7 – Mantle

Best card (my opinion): #CW-1 – Bill Mazeroski

A walk-off World Series game 7 homer – the only homer that rivals Thomson’s as the biggest home run in baseball history.

My Favorite Reds card: #CW-5 – Jay Bruce

Beats out the Bench card.  I’m sure when Bench hit his in the 1973 LCS, it was a big deal.  But the Reds had already been to 2 World Series in the previous 3 seasons; clinching the division for the Reds for the first time in 15 years was a big deal for more recent Reds fans.

Here’s the list of these cards - and the year when the walk-off happened.

• Bill Mazeroski (1960).  Game 7 of the World Series – the only in history.
• Carlton Fisk (1975).  Game 6 of the World Series, in extra innings.  But they didn’t win the series the next night
• Johnny Bench (1973).  Game 1 of the NLCS.
• David Ortiz (2004).  Game 3 of the ALDS, to complete a series sweep.
• Jay Bruce (2010).  To clinch the division for the Reds after 15 years without a postseason berth.
• Mark Teixeira (2009).  Game 2 of the ALDS.
• Mickey Mantle (1964).  Game 3 of the World Series.  This was Mantle’s last World Series, and it broke Babe Ruth’s record for career Series blasts.  He would hit two more in the series, though the Cardinals would prevail.
• Alfonso Soriano (2001).  Game 4 of the ALCS.  Gave the Yanks a 3-1 series lead.
• Rafael Furcal (2004).  Game 2 of the NLDS.
• Jim Thome (2007).  September, well after the White Sox had been eliminated.  But this was Thome’s 500th career home run.  A cool addition if you ask me.  And if you’re reading this blog, I’ll assume you did.
• Magglio Ordonez (2006).  As mentioned above – this one clinched a 4-game sweep to send Detroit to the World Series.
• Scott Podsednik (2005).  Game 2 of the World Series.  He’d had no homers in the 2005 regular season, but Podsednik put the White Sox well on their way to a sweep.
• David Ortiz (2004).  Game 4 of the ALCS.  A much bigger walk-off for Big Papi – this one kept the Red Sox season alive.  They never looked back after it, becoming the only team to come back from a 3-game deficit.
• Derek Jeter (2001).  Game 4 of the World Series.  Mr. November.

Completed insert set – 2012 Gypsy Queen Glove Stories

The next “standard” baseball insert set I’ve completed from 2012 Gypsy Queen is the “defense-oriented” set.  Like Wall Climbers from last year, now there’s a set called Glove Stories.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Images and stories of spectacular fielding plays”.  This set features 10 current and retired fielders with oil painting photos showing off an incredible defensive play.  The cards have a brown border with the “Glove Stories” phrase across an arched top.  The player’s name and team are in a box in the bottom of the picture, and the 2012 “Gypsy Queen” logo is at the bottom part of the border.

Set composition: 10 cards, 1:6 odds

Hall of Famers:  Just 1 for now – Willie Mays.   Jeter and Griffey are future locks, however.

How I put the set together:

6 cards from my 2 hobby boxes

4 cards from trades

Thoughts on the set:

Like the Moonshots set – I like whenever insert sets have a specific, legitimate theme better than just anything that Topps can throw good players in the set.  I like the fact that this focuses on defensive plays – that’s different.  I wish they’d have gotten Brooks Robinson and Roberto Clemente into the set – Hall of Famers with notable defensive plays who are in the base set.  Ozzie Smith, too.  I’d also have included the play Mark Buehrle made on Opening Day last year.

Card that completed my set: #GS-BR – Ben Revere

I got this card in a trade with Anthony from Baseball Card Locker.

Highest book value:  #GS-DJ – Derek Jeter

Jeter’s card is valued a little more than Mays or Griffey…

Best card (my opinion): #GS-WM – Willie Mays

But I’d take the most notable defensive play in history.

My Favorite Reds card:  There are none.

Completed insert set – 2012 Gypsy Queen Moonshots

I completed my second insert set from 2012 Gypsy Queen through a recent trade - Moonshots.  This set is sort of like Home Run Heroes from last year, except it focuses on a specific home run, not season(s) leading the league.

Info about the set:

Set description: “Featuring all the top home run hitters”.  The description Topps gives on the sell sheet is not as specific as the set itself.  The set features retired and current players; each player depicted hit a specific home run that is discussed on the back.  The front has a purple / maroon border with the Gypsy Queen logo in the top left and the “Moonshot” in a banner across the top.  The player name and team are at the bottom.  The picture shown is not necessarily from the home run discussed on the back.

Set composition: 20 cards, 1:3 odds

Hall of Famers:  8.  Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Ralph Kiner, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey

How I put the set together: 

12 cards from 2 hobby boxes

6 cards from trades

2 cards from a card show

Thoughts on the set:  I’m always happy when there is something specific that ties a set together.  Not just “Great Ones” or something like that.  Including guys based on a specific home runs is very cool.  What I do wish they’d have done is matched the picture up with the home run discussed on the back.  They picked one of two appropriate home runs for Reggie Jackson, using the homer he hit in the Tiger Stadium All-Star Game (the other being his 3rd homer in Game 6 of the ’77 World Series).  But he was with Oakland when he hit that homer, and the picture on the front shows him with the Yankees!  Albert Pujols is featured as an Angel, and when this set came out, he hadn’t even played a game for the Halos yet.  The same for Prince Fielder with the Tigers.  Also, they didn’t number the insert sets in 2012 – they used the player’s initials.  I hate that!  Still, I do like this set overall, and the design definitely works.  ”A” for the idea, “C” for the execution.

Card that completed my set: #MS-MM – Mickey Mantle

I got this card in a trade from the Daily Dimwit.

Highest book value: #MS-MM – Mickey Mantle

Best card (my opinion): #MS-MM – Mickey Mantle

A clean sweep for the Mick.  Like Reggie, there are two appropriate home runs for this set (actually, Mick may have more, but there are 2 that come to my mind).  The homer not featured – is the first tape measure shot, which came at Griffith Stadium against the Senators on April 17, 1953.  That ball cleared the left-center bleachers, barely touching an ad sign for Natural Bohemian beer (which I discussed in a previous “Saturday Suds” post ).  It apparently landed what was measured 565 feet away, which is why it gave birth to the phrase “tape measure shot”.

The homer that is featured on the card came on May 22, 1963 against Bill Fischer of the KC Athletics.  This one barely missed becoming the only ball hit out of Yankee Stadium.  It struck the top of the facade in right field – and was reportedly still rising when it did so - and careened back to the outfield.

My Favorite Reds card: There are none.

Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks

This is one of the “standard” insert sets in 2012 Topps Heritage, though this one has (for the most part) nothing to do with baseball – it honors the 1963 “year in the world”.  They do this every year with Heritage.

Info about the set:

Set description:  ”10 world news moments from 1963.”

The set has a white border with a pennant in the top left saying “News Flashbacks ’63″.  The person featured is in the top right, and there is a green circle in the bottom with wording describing the event depicted.

Set composition: 10 cards, 1:12 odds.

Hall of Famers: There aren’t any baseball players in this year’s version, after Jackie Robinson was included in last year’s.

How I put the set together:

4 cards from the 2 hobby boxes I bought

1 card from a retail blister (the ones with 3 packs and 3 black parallels)

1 cards from Sportlots

4 cards from trades

Thoughts on the set: I think they’ve done this each year for Heritage – and I think it’s a good idea.  The point of Heritage is to honor a past Topps set – and having an insert set that also shows what happened in the world is great!

The things I’d change – they are the same I said when I finished off last year’s set.  First, I’d number the cards in chronological order – they don’t even “number” them this year, they alphabetized them.  I hate that.

Also, there are some other things that could have gone in this set – though I think they did a pretty good job with the content.  Things Topps could have considered:

• Iron Man debuts in Marvel Comics Tales of Suspense.  Marvel also released its first ever X-Men comic.
• The Beatles release their first album Please Please Me
• Lawrence of Arabia wins Oscar for Best Picture
• Buddy Rogers wins the first WWF championship belt after the WWWF splits from NWA
• Medgar Evers is murdered in Jackson, Mississippi by Byron De La Beckwith – who wouldn’t be convicted for another 30 years
• ZIP Codes are introduced in the United States
• The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens its doors in Canton, OH
• I left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett was song of the Year

Aside from the Beatles, and maybe Iron Man (both of which probably pose rights issues for Topps), I don’t even know if I’d really change anything from what they did include – the above are just ideas.  The zip code thing is actually featured as a cartoon on the back of each card.

Card that completed my set: #NF4 – Valentina Tereshkova

This was one of two cards in a trade from Reader Mike just before I moved to Chicago in early September.  I waited to open the package until early October; the month delay is standard for me right now.

Highest book value: #NF-JK, NF-JKE – John F. Kennedy

The 2 cards of the US President carry a little more weight than the rest of the set.

Best card (my opinion): #NF-A – Alcatraz

I love the mystique of Alcatraz – it’s intrigued me ever since Sean Connery did “the Rock” with Nick Cage.  I still wish they had continued the show from last year.

As I did last year – I thought it would be fun to take a look at each of these cards and what they represent.

NF-A – RFK order closure of crumbling Alcatraz: Alcatraz, in need of millions of restoration dollars to remain a viable prison, was ordered closed by U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in 1963.  On March 21, the last convicts were removed from “The Rock”, which, for three decades, had housed some of the country’s most notorious offenders.

NF-JK – The end of “Camelot”:  America wept as one on the afternoon of November 11, 1963, when President Kennedy was shot and killed during a motorcade in Dallas.  With wife Jacqueline by his side in a roofless limo, the popular 46 year-old died soon after being struck by two bullets from the high-powered rifle of Lee Harvey Oswald.

NF-JKE – “Berliner” JFK pledges German freedom:  Some 120,000 Germans witnessed a landmark speech by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963.  With the words “ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”), Kennedy pledged United States solidarity with the citizens of West Germany, and hailed their nation as a symbol of freedom during the Cold War.

NF-MK – MLK’s “Dream” awakens a nation: From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, Dr. King delivered some of the most compelling and influential words in U.S. history, when he told the world “I have a dream today.”  The 17-minute call for equality among races helped animate the Civil Rights movement.

NF-MKI – MLK’s Letter “The Negro is Your Brother”: A letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in August of 1963 “The Negro is Your Brother” (also known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”) implored Americans to wait no longer for an end to discrimination.  ”This ‘wait’”, he wrote while incarcerated for demonstrating, “has almost always meant ‘never’”.

NF-PP – Conclave convoked: Paul to lead Church:  Five years after becoming a cardinal, Giovanni Montini of Italy was chosen to succeed John XXIII in leading the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Paul VI on June 21, 1963.  His election during the ’63 conclave was not a surprise, as he Montini was long-seen as a leader in ministering, teaching and administering.

NF-PS – Beloved landmark bites the dust:  Considered an architectural masterpiece when it was built 53 years earlier, New York City’s Penn Station was demolished amid considerable protest, beginning in October 1963.  The nine-acre station (named for the Pennsylvania Railroad) was leveled, in part, to make room for Madison Square Garden.

NF-UA – Feds vs. Gov as U. of Alabama integrated:  On May 16, 1963, a federal district court ordered the U. of Alabama to admit African-American students Vivien Malone and James Hood.  Governor George Wallace blocked their admission by standing in the front of the doorway on June 11, but ultimately lost his battle to keep the school a whites-only institution.

NF-UC – Cuba closed to American Travel:  After embargoing trade with Cuba in 1961 and ’62 during a nuclear arms crisis, the U.S. went a giant step further on February 8, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy prohibited American citizens from traveling to the island country.  JFK also made commercial and financial transactions illegal.

NF-VT – Pioneering Cosmonaut First Woman in Space:  Tereshkova, the daughter of a Russian tractor driver, turned her early parachuting experience into a role in her country’s cosmonaut program.  On June 16, 1963, she became the first woman in space.  Aboard Vostok 6, Valentina orbited Earth 48 times on a 70-hour mission – a journey that made her a Soviet hero.