Completed master set – 2011 Topps Lineage

I finally knocked the last part out of the master set fo 2011 Topps Lineage.  After finishing up the ’64 Giants Box Topper set back in August, I finished up the 1975 mini parallel set last month.

Info about my base set:

How I put the set together:

• 153 cards from my first hobby box
• 41 cards from my second hobby box
• 1 card from a Group Break
• 5 cards from trades

Card that completed my set: #194 – Cal Ripken ASR (I picked up the last card in a trade from Napkin Doon – 4 years ago!) – see picture below.  I’ve had this set completed for a while – but it took me 4 years to wrap up the 75 mini parallel set.

Lineage 75 minis – different photos

I mentioned in my last post that Sandy Koufax had a different photo on his Lineage 1975 Mini compared to his regular Lineage card.  That seemed weird for a parallel card – so I went through the set to see how many other times that occurred.  I found 15 cards.  I wonder why Topps did that.  Probably will never know – but here are those 15 cards next to their regular counterparts.  This excludes photos that are just cropped differently.

*****************************************

*****************************************

*****************************************

*****************************************

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage 75 minis

I just finished up a few posts for completing the 1990 Topps Batting Leaders set.  That was a challenging set to finish up – but not as much as this set.  Normally, I wouldn’t consider collecting a parallel set – but I’m a sucker for anything “retro”.  Now, the 2011 Topps Lineage set was a great idea – but the execution was a bit off.  The card backs, which are the same as the base Lineage set, are atrocious.

For reference – I did a post on the guys in both the original 1975 set and this set.  See that here.

Since this is a parallel – I’m going to do the post in the same manner as I do a base set (i.e. – there’s more information below!

Info about my set:

How I put the set together:

• 153 cards from my first hobby box
• 41 cards from my second hobby box
• 1 card from a Group Break
• 5 cards from trades

Card that completed my set: #197 – Andre Dawson

This was his card from the All-Star rookie subset – though for the Lineage mini cards, Topps didn’t include the ASR trophy on the card.

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage Giants

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago – I’m almost done with the 2011 Topps Lineage “Master set”.  I’ve completed every standard insert set, and now I’ve finished up the last box topper set that was made in the design of the 1964 Topps Giants card set.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Featuring 20 of today’s stars, these cards mimic the original 1964 Topps Giants design and postcard size.”  Like all of the Lineage inserts, this is a tribute to a past oddball set.  The 1964 Giant cards were issued as a 60-card set in their own packs in 1964, and are actually still fairly affordable options given how old they are.  Here’s my previous post comparing the current set with the old set. he jumbo card set measures 3-1/8″ x 5-1/4″.  The set features a color portrait with a baseball in one of the bottom corners containing the player name, team and position.  The backs of the cards feature a black and white photo of the player with a newspaper style write-up.

Set composition:  20 cards, 1 per hobby box (2011 Topps Lineage)

Hall of Famers: None – only current players.

How I put the set together:

• 2 cards from my two hobby boxes
• 8 cards from and eBay lot
• 10 cards from Sportlots/COMC

Thoughts on the set:  I love this set.  I liked the idea of the Lineage set back in 2011, except some of the execution wasn’t great.  This was a set where Topps got it right.  Unlike the Heritage version of this set that came out a couple of years later, this set is reasonably attainable.  You get 1 per box, so it’s been a tough set to complete, especially since it’s jumbo cards.  But the cards can be found for a couple of bucks, and even the Jeter I found for less than $10.

Card that completed my set:  TG-8 Ichiro

I got Ichiro’s card from Sportlots about a month ago.  For whatever reason, I got renewed focus this year to finish the Lineage sets and have been buying cards up where I could find a reasonable price.  This was the last of a few purchases in 2014 that made this set complete!

Highest book value:  TG-5 Derek Jeter

Jeter is generally the most valuable of any current player.

Best card (my opinion):  TG-9 Miguel Cabrera

To me this one is hands down the best picture, and the back was pretty neat.  The newspaper style write-up described how Cabrera came back from a couple of days off for the birth of his daughter to hit 3 homers in one game for the Tigers.  Jason Heyward’s write-up was about the home run he hit in his first major league at bat.  That was pretty memorable, but the picture for Cabrera’s card is way better.

My Favorite Reds card:  TG-7 Joey Votto

He’s the only Red in the set.  I miss three years ago when he was close to being the best player in baseball and the Reds seemed very capable of making a World Series run.

Other tidbits: Ultra-pro makes 4 card sheets that fit these fairly well.  As you can see – not perfectly, because they will move around in the sheet a bit.  But it means I don’t need to take them out of the sheets to scan them in!

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage Cloth Stickers

Some 3 years later, I’m getting very close to completely wrapping up the 2011 Topps Lineage “Master set”.  This is the last standard insert set, and on some level I guess I could say I’ve completed a master set.  The other things I’m chasing are the boxtopper set of 1964 Giants (which I should be done with soon) and the 75 mini parallel (which I’m 90% there – about 20 cards to go).

This one is one of my least favorite sets from Lineage.  It’s the Cloth Stickers insert set, which is loosely based on a test Topps set from 1972.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Modeled after the 1972 test set, these brightly hued fabric cards display 50 subjects on the Lineage base card design, and unlike the original are actual stickers.”

Like the other insert sets in Lineage, this is a tribute to a past oddball set.  Or in this case a test set that was never distributed.  Though Topps had a full-blown cloth sticker set in 1977 that was widely distributed and probably more in line with what this set really is.  Here’s my previous post comparing the Lineage set with the older sets.  Regardless, Topps used the same design as Lineage, just with a cloth front that could peel off as a sticker. It’s actually more like a partial parallel.  At 50 cards, it’s one-quarter of the base set – so I’d probably argue that’s what it is anyways!  The set has a mix of retired and current players, just like the base set does.

Set composition:  50 cards, 1:12 (2011 Topps Lineage)

Hall of Famers: 24. Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken Jr., Whitey Ford, George Sisler, Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Duke Snider, Reggie Jackson, Al Kaline, Eddie Murray, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Ryne Sandberg

How I put the set together:

• 4 cards from my two hobby boxes
• 3 cards from 2 different group breaks
• 7 cards from trades
• 1 card from the 2013 National Convention
• 35 cards from online (Beckett, COMC, Sportlots)

Thoughts on the set:  As I mentioned, it’s loosely based on the oddball Topps set from 1972.  But Topps just used the base Lineage design.  It would have been cooler to do a different insert set with the 1972 or 1977 design (or even do a different year with no provenance in Topps-cloth-sticker-history – maybe 1978).  Since, it’s one-quarter the size of the regular Lineage set, and the picture, write-up and design elements are all the same as the base set, it’s really a partial parallel.  It’s not a bad set, but 50 cards is way too much.

Card that completed my set:  TCS-48, Ryne Sandberg

I’ve been 1 card short of finishing this for over a year.  Sandberg was unusually tough to track down; it was always too expensive compared to other cards in this set.  I eventually broke down and paid too much from a Beckett dealer because I’ve been so close to wrapping up Lineage.  I paid 2 bucks for this card plus shipping.  And it wasn’t even a dealer where I bought a bunch of other stuff.  Still – I’m glad to cross this off the list!

Highest book value:  TCS-6 Cal Ripken Jr.

Apparently at some point in recent years, Ripken became the most valuable guy you could find in a set.  At least according to Beckett.  For as long as I could remember, this had always been Mickey Mantle.  But that’s not the case; Ripken books at higher than anyone else.

Best card (my opinion):  TCS-1 Sandy Koufax

Monte Irvin was my favorite card from the base set, but his card didn’t make it to the cloth set.  I like the Koufax card the best out of the cards that did make it.  Hank Aaron’s card is pretty cool too.  Both of their photos seem to go well with the Lineage design, which is hard to do.

My Favorite Reds card:  TCS-47 Tom Seaver

Joey Votto and Johnny Bench are both in the set, but I like the Seaver card the best.

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 (2011 Topps Lineage)

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 (2011 Topps Lineage)

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 set – 2011 Topps Lineage

I’ve done posts on a bunch of insert sets I completed in 2011 – but this is actually a completed base set.  It’s not my favorite set of the year, but at 200 cards with no SP’s, Topps Lineage certainly was a doable set.  I actually like the design on the front.  But the card backs, as many people have pointed out – are atrocious.  This set is more about the inserts – but to be honest, it’s great to have a base set that I can cross off the list.

One thing I found interesting about this set – for the retired players, it seems like the king of “this picture was displayed on an earlier Topps card”.  Some of the many examples I noticed – the Mantle card is the same picture as his Topps 60 card, the Willie McCovey ASR card is a cropped version of his 1961 Topps card, and I know I’ve seen Tom Seaver’s Reds photo somewhere other than this set.

Info about my set:

How I put the set together:

• 153 cards from my first hobby box
• 41 cards from my second hobby box
• 1 card from a Group Break
• 5 cards from trades

Card that completed my set: #194 – Cal Ripken ASR (I picked up the last card in a trade from Napkin Doon) – see picture below

Set composition: 200 cards – 48 retired players, 142 current players, 10 All-Star Rookies

Out of the ASR subset – 6 are retired players, 4 are current

Player with the most cards in the set: 10 players – 2 cards

Each of the players in the All-Star Rookie Team subset have 2 cards.

Johnny Bench, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Cal Ripken, Chipper Jones, Ichiro, Andre Dawson, Andruw Jones, CC Sabathia, Tom Seaver

First Card and the Hundreds: #1 – Sandy Koufax, #100 – Babe Ruth, #200 – Tom Seaver ASR

Highest book value: #13, #194 – Cal Ripken

Most notable card: #1 – Koufax (see above)

This isn’t a base set that has any intention of having a notable base card – so for this, I’ll pick the #1 card.  Sandy Koufax being signed as a Topps sponsor was a pretty big deal this year, and he was in just about every set where Topps included retired players in 2011.  I thought he was most appropriate.  Also, this card is kind of interesting because it’s clearly photo-shopped (Night Owl posted on this a little while ago – I spent about 5 minutes trying to find the exact post then gave up).  Koufax has a Brooklyn cap on, but it’s obviously a game in LA’s Chavez Ravine.

Best card (my opinion): #158 – Monte Irvin

The background in this photo is awesome.  It’s just an all-around awesome card in general.

Second best card (also my opinion): #1 – Sandy Koufax

Wrong hat or not, this is a really cool photo with the edge of the stands in the background and the sky in the other side as Koufax gets ready to hurl one of his many strikeouts.

Best subset card: #196 – Ichiro

It was either this or the Johnny Bench where he’s squatting.  Those were the only 2 cards that I thought had pictures that were pretty cool.

Favorite action photo: #190 – Bert Blyleven, #76 – Roberto Alomar

Cool shots of the two newly inducted Hall-of-Famers.  If Topps is gonna include retired players, it’s good to see these guys start getting some love.

Favorite non-action photo: #158 – Monte Irvin (see above)

The background in this photo is awesome.  It’s just an all-around awesome card in general.

My Favorite Reds card: #33 – Tony Perez

Like the Ichiro above, this also beats out the Bench ASR card for my selection.  I just like this shot of a younger “Big Dawg”.

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage 3D

Here’s another Lineage insert set I’ve completed – and this one may be my favorite (except for the 75 mini set – which I hope to complete some day, but I don’t think that will happen soon).

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Designed after the revered test-issue 1968 3D 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, but this year’s version has 25 cards.

Set composition:  25 cards, 1:12 (2011 Topps Lineage)

Hall of Famers: None – only current players.

How I put the set together:

• 4 cards from my two hobby boxes
• 2 cards from trades
• 1 card from a blaster
• 6 cards from Check Out My Cards
• 12 cards from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set:  Despite some flaws, I like this product, and this is my favorite insert set.  I like that this one was only 25 cards; it was a challenge to collect it, but unlike some of the other insert sets that are 50 cards, it’s not impossible.

Card that completed my set:  Joey Votto

This is one of 2 cards I got picked up from a Sportlots purchase.

Highest book value:  Albert Pujols & Derek Jeter

Best card (my opinion):  Troy Tulowitzki

This is the best action shot and has a good background, which lends well to the 3-D effect.

My Favorite Reds card:  Joey Votto

He’s the only Red in the set.

Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Lineage Rookies

The real point of Lineage was the insert sets – most of which are fairly large and quite difficult to complete.  Except the Rookies set, which is only 19 cards and comes 4 per box.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “Twenty 2011 Rookies displayed on cards featuring the standard 1980’s rookie design.”  As with the other Topps Lineage products, this set is in tribute to an older oddball set from the past.  The design mentioned is also the same that was on the All-Star Glossy inserts.  There is a yellow oval with the year at the top, a red, white and blue banner with “Rookies” at the top, a white border and the player name in yellow at the bottom.  The Rookie sets these cards pay homage to started in 1987 as a 1-per card insert into jumbo packs, continuing for a 5-year stretch until 1991.  Starting with Jose Canseco as the big name, finishing with Frank Thomas.   They were 22-card inserts the first 3 years, then 33 cards in 1990 and 1991. 

This year’s version actually has 19 cards – 20 were originally intended, but card #15 was not released.  My guess is some player was going to be included but didn’t get the call up to the majors like Topps has expected.  While the earlier sets contained rookies from the previous year, this year’s set contains players who are rookies in the 2011 season.

Set composition:  19 cards, 1:6 hobby odds (2011 Topps Lineage)

Hall of Famers: None – only current players.

How I put the set together:

• 8 cards from my two hobby boxes
• 1 card from a group break I bought on eBay
• 5 cards from trades
• 5 cards from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set:  In general, I like this product because of the throwback to older oddball Topps sets.  This is probably not my favorite design – but I’m definitely glad they included it.  I wish some of the other sets were more like the size of this one – as opposed to a bunch of 50-card insert sets!  Also, since this product came out a little later in the baseball season, I wish they could have gotten surprise rookies like Mark Trumbo and Ivan Nova into the set.

Card that completed my set:  #TR1 – Freddie Freeman

I got this in a trade from reader Kyle at about the same time I bought the 5 cards from Sportlots.

Highest book value:  #TR8 – Craig Kimbrel

We’ll see if this holds up.  The other Rookie of the Year – Jeremy Hellickson – is a starter and I think will have more staying power.

Best card (my opinion):  #TR2 – Chris Sale

This is easily the best action shot from a set that doesn’t have many

My Favorite Reds card:  #TR4 – Aroldis Chapman

The only Red in the set.