it's time to spot the difference!

with series 2 out, we are at the point in the year where i can post the annual "spot the difference" writeup comparing the topps factory team set to the flagship releases. i suppose there was a chance that i would have to wait for update again this year, but topps was not averse to getting a shohei ohtani card on to the mainstream series 2 checklist and so here we are.

first, i want to show you how the sets are packaged this year

same sort of hanger/blister packaging as always, but they (thankfully) reduced the size of the plastic blister. last year it was ridiculous. they also resumed printing the checklist on the back

which is much appreciated. however, i bought this set online and didn't really need to see the checklist to make up my mind and i haven't been in any retail settings where these are on display to peruse the checklists of other teams. still, i like that it is there.

speaking of backs, the guaranteed difference between these cards and their flagship counterparts is the numbering on the back

man, i really like the backs of clayton kershaw's flagship cards.

ok - here we go, with flagship on the left and the team set on the right!

lad-1 mookie betts

it's the same, but the factory set is easier to read when scanned (as usual) due to the lack of foil. 

lad-2 andy pages

just like last year, the team set does away with the future stars designation. otherwise, the card is the same.

lad-3 kiké hernandez

same.

lad-4 james outman

same

lad-5 yoshinobu yamamoto

no more future star, but otherwise the same.

lad-6 tommy edman

at first glance, it sure seems like they are the same. however, after last year, i know to check the positions and sure enough, edman gets a position variation on his team set card. he went from being a ss-of to a 2b.

lad-7 freddie freeman

no reason to change freeman's position, so we are back to the same.

lad-8 tyler glasnow

same.

lad-9 teoscar hernandez

here we go! i am pleased that topps changed up the photo on teoscar's card only because the photo used on flagship cost some collectors some money early on. you can't have a ssp parallel of some dodger cards showing them "dancing" (although teo is not dancing) and then use a similar photo on one of the base cards. buyer beware, of course, but not the best move by topps. that said, i like the photo on the flagship card and my only issue with it is that it would have been suitable for one of the ssp versions. at any rate, i am happy to have one photo variation in the team set.

lad-10 clayton kershaw

back to same.

lad-11 shohei ohtani

same, although i could have used ohtani's series 2 pitcher base card. in fact, here it is

i like that topps is giving him two cards so we get the different stats on the back, but there wasn't much point this year since he didn't pitch at all last season. for the record, i am not considering this any sort of variation.

lad-12 will smith

same.

lad-13 chris taylor

same.

lad-14 miguel rojas

well, i may be jumping the gun. maybe miguel rojas shows up in update, but for now, this is a bonus dodger card and i love it.

lad-15 river ryan

same.

lad-16 justin wrobleski

same.

lad-17 michael kopech

same.

for what it's worth, this checklist features an almost complete reset from last year's, with 11 new players featured. gone are walker buehler, tony gonsolin, max muncy, austin barnes, brusdar graterol, bobby miller, emmet sheehan, jonny deluca, miguel vargas, michael busch, and gavin lux. some of those were omitted for obvious reasons, and some just gave way i suppose. muncy is the biggest question mark for me; seems like he should have been included this year.

there was only one dodger in series 1 omitted from the team set (hunter feduccia), but there were 11 dodgers featured in series 2 who didn't make the cut for the team set. i've shown the cards of feduccia, along with series 2 dodgers austin barnes, max muncy, ben casparius, kirby yates, landon knack, roki sasaki, hyeseong kim, bobby miller, and blake snell previously, but here are the flagship cards for the others - michael conforto

edgardo henriquez

and joe kelly

the other dodger card i needed to complete my series 2 team set was a checklist featuring teoscar hernandez

not only does the card feature hernandez and the field for the 2024 home run derby, it featues a ton of fans. that's a lot of people on one card. i wonder why nobody told pete alonso that his pose was inconsistent with the others (as are teo's and jose ramirez's for that matter).

as for the differences between flagship and the team set, there is really just one significant change in terms of dodger cards (teoscar hernandez) plus what is as of now a bonus dodger card (rojas). not sure if two cards make the set worth it for the casual collector, but for a team collector like me, you bet it does!

i have been keeping a running list of these posts, and have now updated the list below. 2016 and 2018 are partial set posts, and there was no team set issued in 2021. otherwise, click and enjoy!

2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

2017
2018

2019

2020

2022

2023

2024

maybe i will see you next year with another edition of spot the difference!