Topps Series 1 returns for 2012 with a celebration of the greatest Golden Moments of Major League Baseball. Last year the theme for Topps Baseball was all about diamonds. This year's theme is gold, and who doesn't love gold?
Hobby Configuration: 36 packs per box. 10 cards per pack.
2012 Topps Series 1 Baseball Product Highlights:
- 330-card base set (265 veterans, 30 rookies, 10 league leaders, six award winners, five Record Breakers, four World Series Highlights, ten active stat leaders).
- One autograph or relic card per hobby box
- Base set parallels: Golden Moments (1:4)
- 1987 Topps Minis (1:4)
- Golden Moments (1:4)
- Golden Greats (1:4)
- Classic Walk-Offs (1:8)
- Gold Stndard (1:6)
- Gold Futures (1:6)
- Timeless Talents (1:6)
- Golden Giveaway Codes (1:6)
Base:
A 330 card set including veterans, rookies, league leaders, World Series highlights, award winners, record breakers, and active stat leaders. Even though I didn’t pull any, there are some great Short Prints including Gatorade showers, mascot, and dugout variations. There are some great action shots of players celebrating or chasing after a fly ball. It makes the cards stand out more since it’s not just them standing there waiting for a ground ball. I didn’t really enjoy seeing certain players in former uniforms that they no longer play for and it could bring up bad memories for certain fans like the Dodgers. I don’t know anyone who would want to pull a Andruw Jones card in 2012 with him in his Dodgers uniform. I did like the highlights from the World Series that were featured. It’s a nice reminder for collectors to recognize the key moments in the recent postseason.
Design:
The design slightly changes year after year but I enjoy the new look. The base cards are simple with not too much information on the front of the card and there’s a nice border with the team colors around the photo which was missing from last year’s set.
The Golden Moments parallels look better in person. It almost looks like the players are popping out of these cards with the shiny gold all around them.
The best looking design has to be the Classic Walk-Offs. There are three pictures on the front of the card with only one of them being in color. The team logos stand out since the entire card has a grey background.
I know this product is all about Gold but Topps could’ve come up with another name for this Golden Moments insert. It’s the same name they used for their base parallels. There could have been more added to this set. The bottom of the card looks like they ran out of ink but are good for autographs. Not really a big fan of this design. I enjoy the back of the card more since there are more colors and the stories are amazing.
Gold Standard inserts remind me of the Panini Gold Standard product. They almost have an identical design. This set recognizes the greats that have accomplished a milestone like 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, or 5,000 strikeouts. If you look closely at the coin, there’s an inscription of which close they joined during their major league baseball career. It’s a little difficult to see the faint writing of the milestone in the background. There are two black boarders on this card that make it more appealing.
The Gold Futures set has a lot going on when you first look at it. The bright team color makes the card standout. The black border almost reminds me of the Bowman set. Not many cards have the player’s jersey number on the front anymore and Topps does a nice job to include that for these future stars. That also helps because the average baseball fan might not know about these young stars.
The set that doesn’t really make sense is the Timeless Talents. It pairs two players from the past to the present. They have an American feel to them since there’s red, white, and blue on the front. I don’t really see the need for dual player inserts anymore. Some of the pairings don’t even make sense like Chase Utley with Dustin Ackley or Jose Bautista with Frank Robinson. It’s a little too early to compare some of these players to Hall of Famers.
The Golden Greats set is a 75 card set, but the strange thing about the set is that they only recognize 15 players. That means each player has 5 different cards. The card would look better with a foil medallion like Topps used in the Gold Standard set. The yellow fake coin isn’t doing much for the card. It’s good to read about the amazing stories some of these greats had especially since most of us weren’t around to witness them.
I’m not a big fan of mini cards but the 1987 mini cards is my favorite set. The cards have the original 1987 backs and were executed well. They also don’t include any retired players.
There is a chance to receive more prizes with the Topps Golden Giveaway and Prime 9 Home Run Legend programs.
On a weekly basis, Topps will announce the “Prime 9 Home Run Legend of the Week." Collectors holding the corresponding Prime 9 Redemption card for that week (each card is denoted by a Week number (1, 2, 3, etc.) can bring the card to their local participating HTA store and redeem it for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor. {More Info}
For more information about the Topps Golden Giveaway visit:
http://golden.toppscards.com/.
- Find special code cards inserted 1:6 packs!
- Every code unlocks a golden chance to win prizes!
- Unlock exclusive die-cut cards, unlock ONE OF ONE gold-embedded die-cut cards, unlock golden digital coins to collect and win prizes!
Topps added some new hits included World Series rings and pins. They did a great job with these because it's not your average jersey or autograph card. The card is really thick and they took their time making each and everyone of these. This is a Mike Schmidt 1980 World Series Pin numbered out of 736.
Fun:
Topps Baseball is always a fun product to open. There are 36 packs to open and many base, parallels, and inserts to collect. I enjoy reading the stories on the back of the cards when I get some free time. It educates me on the history of the game. It's a product for kids and adults to enjoy.
Value:
You know what to expect from Topps Baseball every year. It's an affordable product and with a chance at autographs of Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, and Albert Pujols it has to make anyone intrigued. There is another program beside the Prime 9 Home Run Legend and Golden Giveaway. The Gold Rush Wrapper Redemption which ends on February 29th.
FINAL RATINGS
Base - 5/5
Design - 4/5
Fun - 5/5
Value - 4/5
Total - 18/20
What I liked about the product?
There are many incentives that come along with Topps Series 1 including the Gold giveaway codes which give collectors a chance to win more prizes. Walk-offs are one of the most exciting parts of the game of baseball and Topps did a great job by including classic walk-offs this year. The 1987 mini cards were executed well and would be a nice looking set once completed. A chance to pull a World Series ring or pin rather than the typical jerseys and autographs is great for collectors.
What I didn't like about the product?
There are a few things that just don't look right. Andruw Jones in a Dodgers uniform, Vladimir Guerrero in a Expos uniform, and Johan Santana in a Twins uniform shouldn't be pictured in 2012. I understand that Topps is doing active leaders but none of those players play in those respective leagues anymore. The timeless talents set doesn't really make sense with some of the pairings. Chase Utley is still playing and Dustin Ackley hasn't really accomplished much in his one year of playing professionally. It's too early to start comparing some players like Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp to Hall of Famers like Frank Robinson and Willies Mays. The last thing was the names of some of the sets. They were almost identical to past products from other card companies.
I will be giving away some of the cards in future contests.
I'd like to thank Topps for giving me the opportunity to review this product. For more information on all their products, visit them at
www.topps.com.
