i ordered two boxes of 2020 topps big league at the end of may. i wasn't sure if the release date would stick, and it was almost immediately updated from june 5 to june 19. i was very pleasantly surprised when i received a notice from my dealer on june 20 that the boxes were in hand and they were on their way to me.
what began as an inexpensive way to open some packs turned in to a more than expected experience. i really like this set. i've opened both boxes and there were zero duplicates. none. i fell 15 cards short of completing the set which is not bad. i was actually shorted one card - i wound up with 359 cards instead of 360 (18 packs per box, 10 cards per pack) - and the insert per pack ratio was greater than 2. i wound up with 74 inserts, including the orange parallels.
i sorted the first box as i went, so i can only show you the first pack of the second box
nico hoerner was the last card in the pack and thus the one that had its back scanned.
many have already highlighted the positives of this set, so i won't go in to much detail. i just think it is refreshing. it reminds me of 2009 upper deck o-pee-chee (a set that i completed) as well as some of the recent topps total offerings. there is some airbrushing (like that trent grisham card above), but also some players with legitimate photos of them in their new 2020 uniforms. if you have any mini collections, this set will deliver. there are players holding hardware, throwback unis, lurkers/cameos, plays at the plate, plays at the wall, bat flips, bat sleeves, walk-off celebrations, a pitcher covering first, and for me - a couple of double play turns, memorial patches, and a tatooine card. i didn't see anybody hanging out at the bat rack, but there are some dugout coat hooks on christian yelich's card.
opening these boxes was fun and not at all frustrating. thanks topps!
From the sound of it I should have went the two hobby box route like you did. I couldn't resist the blue parallel cards inserted in the blasters and I ended up with tons of repeats for my set build. I still need to sort them all, but I should have some duplicate Dodgers if that Orange Vogelbach still needs a home!
ReplyDeletei went looking for some blue parallels but came up empty, so i understand the allure! orange vogelmonter is yours for sure. would appreciate dodger dupes of course.
DeleteTwo Aquinos in a week? Goodness!
ReplyDeleteyes - most unexpected.
DeleteI think we need more of this type of product to return us to our roots, but that is not what is keeping everyone in business. I jumped on a Will Smith auto as soon as I saw it. Loved the red, white & blue design. I think because I didn't see a lot of them from the prior year, I was worried I would miss out. Turns out, it might have been the first (of probably many) that hit ebay. Oh well, it was less than $15 delivered, so it's not like I went broke buying it. Hopefully Smith has a solid career and $15 remains a fair price. I too loved the 09 OPC set, but I discovered it well after the fact. In fact, I think it was you that turned me on to it with that 3 player, super colorful jersey card featuring all Dodgers. After seeing your post, I had to have that card and it took a while to find one at a fair price to me, but I own it and several others from the set now.
ReplyDeleteThose jersey cards are great!
DeleteVery cool set. I'm tempted to buy a box... but will probably just apply that money towards picking up a complete set (or preferably a master set).
ReplyDeleteA sound approach!
DeleteI'm still on fence with the design but I haven't seen them in person yet. Great pull with that auto and amazing that you had no duplicates. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I was really surprised and grateful to receive no doubles
DeleteI didn't realize Carrasco was part of the Award Winners subset. I like they included Comeback Player Of The Year awards!
ReplyDeleteI agree about including that award. Firemen of the year or whatever the closer award is now were also included.
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