cut it out, topps

for the first time since 1977, i do not plan to purchase any packs of topps flagship. the reasons related to design and checklist have been well documented by others, so i won't rehash that here. i don't even really care whether or not i complete the dodger team set to be honest. i have picked up a few singles from sportlots and ebay to feed some of my mini-collections, and will continue to do so as i see fit.

one dodger card that i purchased in this fashion is the dodger team card

the reason i targeted this card is because it is one of the few (only?) to show cutouts in the stands. in fact, the two cutouts to the left of the "topps 70" logo are nomar garciaparra and former gm ned colletti. both are currently part of the dodger broadcast/analyst team.

cutouts were such a huge part of the 2020 season - i watched most dodger games, and seeing mary hart during every pitch was a very real thing - and i don't understand why topps seems to be going out of their way to avoid showing them on cards. there is the white sox team card and a juan soto short print that shows him holding a cutout, but those are the only other cards with cutouts i've seen. even the topps now cards from last year seemed to eschew cutouts and masks. i had thought that some of that was that the photographers were not in the camera wells, so the angles of photos were more field-focused rather than set with "fans" in the background, but now i am not so sure that it wasn't intentional for whatever reason.

the only other dodger cards i've added are those of steve garvey and clayton kershaw. i think the 1986 inserts look fine

kind of hard to screw them up. 

i did see that shohei ohtani is featured on the 1978 topps design in one of the insert sets, but i am not seeking that card out since i've limited my master 1978 topps effort to players from that era. maybe archives will come through this year in a way that flagship just doesn't.