Top 10 & Bottom 5 - 2013 Topps Update Hanger Pack

Monday, 21 October 2013

Last week I started this feature with a repack which showcased  a variety of sets and designs.  This week I am going modern with the newest release upon the masses, 2013 Topps Update.  The 2013 set has me very confused.  It is one of my favorite Topps sets of the 2000s, but it is also the flagship set I have purchased the least amount of since I got back into collecting.  It has one of the best designs of the 21st century, but it also has some of the worst photos as well.  My use of the term worst will not appeal to some because for some people they are great photos.  For me, they are not very good at all and in some cases they are really bad.  I did get one example of that phenomenon in this package and you can judge whether I am fair or unfair in my assessment.  Just like last week's (and every week's) installment, I am going to begin with the bottom 5.  Let's get started.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

#5) Postseason Heroes #PH-19 Jim Palmer

This is not an indictment of Jim Palmer in any way because I have nothing against him.  This is more of a shot at this particular insert set in general.  It has no meaning to me in any way and the use of retired players in all of these insert sets has become overused and tiresome to say the least.

#4) #US251 Aaron Harang

Let's now have an appearance from a player that could easily be the title character of the Walking Dead.  He really does look like a zombie.  If you don't believe me check out this card.  Harang spent about 5 days this season as a member of the Rockies purely on paper before being traded to Seattle, but that is not the reason for his inclusion.  The reason is he is now a member of the Mets, so this Update card needs updating already.

#3) #US89 Michael Pineda

Why is this man that has not made a single big league pitch in TWO! full seasons on a 2013 Update card.  What exactly are they updating here?  It is stupid that there are several dozen worthy players that could have been included in this set, but Topps chose to give Pineda a card in Update again.

#2) #US173 Reed Johnson

This is the card that I was referring to in my first paragraph.  I really do not like these multiple player cards being used as a solo base card.  Other offenders this year I have seen are Brandon Inge, Ryan Ludwick, and even the great Todd Helton in his probable final Topps card among many others.  I like the photo and I think this would make an excellent Braves team card should they ever bring those back.  However, a solo base card should focus on the individual.  This one is not AS bad because Johnson is the person in the middle, but there were other photos of just Johnson that could have been used here.

#1) #US254 Brian Wilson

How do you make the most despised (in my opinion) baseball player of the last few years even worse?  You move him from Hated Team #1 to Hated Team #2.  Normally moving him from my least favorite team to my second least favorite team would improve his standing, but no.  Simply because the Dodgers have regained their rightful place at #30 on my team hierarchy.  

My only happy statement for this section is that I did not get any of the 745 Yasiel Puig Update card variations in this pack.  Okay enough of these guys, let's get to the good stuff.

THE TOP TEN

#10) Making Their Mark #MM-33 Starling Marte

This is the only insert out of 4 that I received in this pack that features a current player.  Just for that this card deserves a spot in the top 10.  But irregardless of that, this is a good card.  I like the MTM "crest" along with the basic, yet somehow complex, design.  Marte is also a good young, although he is probably one of the worst baserunners in the league among speedsters.

#9) 1971 Topps Minis #TM-27 Stan Musial

Now I railed a little earlier about the many retired players being included in the insert sets.  I am going to keep that stance, but this is a great photo of one of the greatest players of all time.  If it had been included in a set like Archives then it would be much higher on this list though.  As far as the 71's go my question is, what happened to the 1972 minis?  

#8) #US278 Jose Alvarez emerald parallel

In 1989, a guy like Alvarez with a fairly boring photo and not much of a chance to be in the majors for much longer would have been quickly put into a box or a page and forgotten about by me.  After all according to the back of this card Alvarez is only 511 wins away from tying Cy Young's record of 511 wins.  Of course this is 2013 and this card now stands out because it has been Bedazzled by Topps.  If you don't think the Bedazzler and baseball have anything in common then you obviously haven't seen this advertisement yet.

#7) #US230 Scott Kazmir

One of my favorite stories of the 2013 baseball season has been the complete resurrection of the career of Scott Kazmir.  This guy looked like a great player 6-7 years ago in Tampa, but the wheel just kind of fell off in 2009 and then came a couple of bad years with the Angels.  In 2012, Kazmir was plying his trade with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, which also famously served as Roger Clemens comeback team in 2012.  Kazmir came back strongly with Cleveland this year and if he is not the AL Comeback Player of the Year then they should just stop giving that award out.

#6) #US219 Pedro Alvarez

Normally I am not a fan of cards which do not feature either a baseball cap or a batting helmet.  I don't care to see a player's expensive hair cut on a card.  However like the Musial card above, there are room for exceptions in my worldview.  There is one reason I love this card and that is the appearance of the gold baseball which only comes out of hiding for each player's last out of the HR Derby.  I'm sure it has been shown on a card before, but I don't remember seeing it.

#5) #US91 Prince Fielder gold parallel #0310/2013

I mentioned above that Puig has many variations in this set.  Not to be outdone, Prince Fielder appeared three times in this particular pack for me.  First with this gold parallel (which I still love), then with the base version of this card, then with his base All Star card.  Normally that would bother me and I would go a rant about the 100 middle relievers that didn't get a card this year, but I actually like this card.  The thing I love about this card is the "Fruit Stripe" batting glove that Fielder is sporting.  I would pay many dollars to get a relic card featuring that glove.

#4) #US189 Kyle Lohse

The idea of the throwback jersey for me is a double-edged sword.  Part of me is really cynical in knowing that the only reason we keep seeing these jerseys pop up every year is so teams can sell them and continue making obscene amounts of money off the backs of fans.  The other part of me just wants to be happy that I am seeing one of the best uniforms of all time on this card.  The Brewers "baseball glove" logo is the best of all time and this Harvey's Wallbangers era uniform is right up near the top as well.

#3) #US22 Carlos Beltran

This card is included on this list for one reason alone and that is the fantastic photo.  I believe every color ever thought of, with the exception of yellow, is included in this picture.  Not only that, but it is also an underused angle as well.  This is just a great card.

#2) #US247 Casper Wells

I mentioned earlier during my assessment of Aaron Harang that I am not a fan of an Update card that still needs updating.  This Casper Wells card is another example of a card that needs updating because he ended the year as a member of the Phillies.  Much like my other exceptions, the photo on this card was just too awesome to ignore.  The concentration on his face, the appearance of a towel bar, and the low camera angle are good, but what makes this card great is the faces behind the cage.  They look a little spooky and this is the perfect time of the year for that.

#1) #US206 Reid Brignac Wal Mart blue parallel

This is my only Rockie so naturally it is number one, but it is also my first ever card of Reid Brignac as a Rockie.  He nearly fell into the category of a Update card needing an update, but after he was traded to the Yankees in May he was released a couple of months later and rejoined the Rockies AAA club.  Therefore, he is still a Rockie and now he is forever a Rockie in my binder.  He is one of 4 Rockies (Oswalt, Ottavino, and LeMahieu are the others) that got their first ever Colorado card in this set.  That brings the current total to 332 different Rockies appearing on a solo Rockies card.  By the end of this week, I will have 329 of them.

I was surprised that I only pulled 1 Rockies card because the Rockies do have a heavy presence in this set.  I am thrilled with pulling the Brignac because it is the first ever retail parallel I have pack pulled for my team.  That is so much more satisfying than just buying it.  I am probably going to go with something less modern next week, but I do have to say I enjoyed this pack more than I expected to.

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Top 10 & Bottom 5 - Super Value Pack #1

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

I have been sporadic at posting to say the least since my grand return to the blog.  The major reason is because I am still working on the 2013 Quarry Unlimited set, but I have also been trying to come up with some new feature ideas as well.  Today will show off the first of the new features.  I call it Top 10 & Bottom 5.  In this series, I will be opening something: a blaster, a box, a repack or something related to cards.  After opening I will pick out the top 10 cards and the bottom 5 cards and show them off.  Okay so it's not exactly cutting edge stuff here, but I think the bottom 5 will really add to the concept.  Not only will everyone see what I like, but what I don't like as well.

The first thing I am going to open is a Super Value Pack rack pack.  I'm sure you guys have seen these at your local big box store for $5.  Earlier this year, I bought one and was not completely turned off so I decided to press my luck again.  It was worth it as you will soon see, at least to me.  But first let's start off with the bottom five, from "best" to worst.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

#5 (tie) 1988 Topps #350 Will Clark & 1999 Pacific Crown Collection #135 Jose Offerman

Try as I might I couldn't decide between the worst of these two.  Jose Offerman is a much less likable player, but I had never seen nor owned this card plus he is with the Royals and not the Dodgers.  Will Clark is not one of my favorite players and this is one of my least favorite of his cards and he is with the Giants.  I call that a tie.

#4 1995 Upper Deck #383 Al Martin

The bottom four in this pack were all damaged in one way or another.  The least objectionable of the damaged cards was this Al Martin which only had a couple of dinged corners.  It is a decent photo of the guy that replaced Barry Bonds in Pittsburgh.

#3 1996 Fleer #146 David Hulse

It's hard to see but there is a good sized crease in the upper left corner of this card featuring the outfielder I most associate with Texas.  The appearance of the teal Brewers uniform would have put this card in the bottom 5 even without the damage.  It is at #3 only because I did not this card before today.

#2 1989 Topps #103 Tim Birtsas

What's worse than a nearly forgotten relief pitcher from one of the most overproduced sets of all time?  The answer is a nearly forgotten relief pitcher from one of the most overproduced sets of all time that is severely damaged AND a card of which you already have 4 copies.  Double ugh.

#1 1990 Donruss #123 Eric Yelding

It will take a lot to be worse than the previous card, but the speedy Eric Yelding is just that.  Not the card itself, it is a decent looking rookie card of a player that was productive for a few years.  What's makes this the worst card out of the pack can be summed up with two words:  WAX STAIN.  Wax stains are much worse than any other damage because an unchecked wax stain can spread to other cards.

Enough about the bad stuff, let's check out the good of which there was a lot in this pack.

THE TOP TEN

#10 1985 Donruss Highlights #54 Vince Coleman

The #10 slot was difficult to cut down.  I also consider a 1994 UD Tom Henke with a cool throwback and a 1994 UD Randy Tomlin where his face just has to be seen to be believed.  But in the end I chose this card of "Vincent Van Go" from the mostly forgotten (but highly missed by me) Donruss Highlights year end box set.  I also needed to showcase a Cardinal that I like for some good luck tonight in Game 3.

#9 1990 Swell Baseball Greats #38 Sal Maglie

The early 90s brought out a bunch of smaller companies printing cards of players from years gone by.  Some were very good like The Conlon Connection, others were comparatively mediocre.  This Swell set is probably closer to mediocre than good, but it is cool to get, I believe, my first card of Sal Maglie.  In this pack, I also got Carl Erskine and Ken Forsch from this set.

#8 1990 Pacific Baseball Legends #3 Luke Appling

The most successful company that started out making these "old-timers cards" is Pacific.  Eventually they got their license and produced 9 years of some of the most imaginative cards in history.  However, here they were basically drawing Hall of Famers.  Either way, Luke Appling is one of the greatest players of all time and I got his card for a nickel.  Money well spent.

#7 1999 Topps #345 Barry Larkin

As we get closer to the modern era, here is the first of two cards of the most recent HOF inductee Barry Larkin.  I am on record as saying that the 1999 Topps set is bad, in fact I called it the worst flagship Topps set in history.  In spite of the design problems I have with the set, this card does have a relatively good visual appeal.  Gotta love the flip downs.

#6 1997 Bowman's Best #30 Barry Larkin

The second Barry Larkin card comes in at #6 with this entry from the 1997 Bowman's Best set.  I don't have very many non-Rockies cards from 1997, so that automatically makes this card good.  Secondly, it is a Larkin card that might make be useful as trade bait.  Which makes it that much better.

#5 2010 Topps Chrome #134 Justin Verlander

Speaking of useful trade bait, here's Justin Verlander.  This card is from the most irritating sets of all time due to the "pringling" effect of the cards.  That being said, it is still a modern card of one of the most dominant pitchers around today.  Here's hoping he can beat the Red Sox in Game 3 after the garbage that happened last night.

#4 1981 Fleer #147 Rowland Office

Where to begin with how much I like about this card.  It's Rowland Office, so we have to begin with the 'fro which is present, but quite frankly it gets overshadowed.  The dominance on this card is the outfit Office is wearing.  It appears to be some type of rubber button-down shirt over top of a pre-Rockies purple T-shirt.  The only thing that would have made this perfect would have been a flipped up collar, but it is still pretty snazzy.

#3 1981 Fleer #148 Ellis Valentine

Next up is another entry from 1981 Fleer, the very next card in the set for that matter.  Ellis Valentine was a pretty good slugger for several years in the late 70s/early 80s, but his inclusion on this list is purely for that fantastic photo.  Early 80's Fleer is (rightfully) mocked for bad photography, but they got a good one here.  This card has to be close to a record for the sheer amount of recognizable faces in the shot.  Fantastic card.

#2 1993 Donruss #752 Armando Reynoso

This card is the only Rockies card that I pulled from the pack.  Actually it is the only Rockies card that I have pulled from any of the three packs that I have opened.  So why is it only sitting at #2 on this list.  Simple, I already have the card.  But it is still deserving of a high spot on my countdown.  When I opened the pack I knew it would take quite a bit for this to not be #1 despite being a dupe, but lo and behold I found one that I actually collect.

#1 1981 Fleer #45 Clint Hurdle

Coming in at #1 is this 1981 Fleer card of the future (and former) manager of the Rockies.  Earlier this year, I listed my Mountains to Climb in 2013.  One of my goals was to start player collections for every Rockies manager in history.  I have been a bit lax on that goal, but there is still time to get rolling with it.  This card may just be the kick in the pants I need to get it set up.

When I first purchased this pack, I expected the usual mix of "overproduction era" cards, but I was pleasantly surprised with the mix in these packs.  I got one earlier this summer that had a nice chunk of 1980 Topps.  This one had some 1981 Fleer, 1983 Fleer, and lots of mid to late 90s cards.  There were some overproduction era cards, but not a lot.  Overall, this was an extremely good buy for $5 and a lot of fun to go through.  I will be opening one of these packs again soon.

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