I had heard a rumor that the retail packs were in Target's in some locations so after hitting the gym I took a spin over to mine and sure enough I could see Albert hanging on the pegboard in the distance. It was glorious, even if it is only Topps Series 1 and even if I swore off packs. Without further delay I give you a sneak preview of the cards. I opened 4 packs, and have 4 more to go but I wanted to get everything scanned so we will start with these.
Pack One:
Hideki Matsui
Ricky Romero
Casey Blake
John Lackey
Mickey Mantle Gold parallel
Cincinnati Reds
Chris Davis
Freddy Sanchez
Oakland A's Franchise History
Tony Gwynn - The Cards Your Mom Threw Out
Manny Ramirez ToppsTown
Million Card Giveaway Code Card
Pack 2:
SF Giants Franchise History
Tim Hudson
Curtis Granderson
Adam Dunn
Miguel Tejada ToppsTown
J.A. Happ
Jason Bay
Ricky Nolasco
NL ERA Leaders
Wade Davis RC
Cy Young Peak Performance
Dizzy Dean Target Red Back (12 in a Series of 45)
Pack 3:
Andy Pettitte
Pedro Feliz
Brian McCann ToppsTown
Jair Jurrjens
Garret Anderson
Cliff Lee
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Omar Vizquel
Jonathan Papelbon
Neftali Feliz
Aaron Poreda - When They Were Young
Baseball Invented - History of the Game
Pack 4:
St. Louis Cardinals
Ichiro
Daniel McCutchen
Eric Brynes
Will Venable
Chris Snyder
Aubrey Huff
Luis Durango RC
Nick Johnson
ALBERT PUJOLS ToppsTown
Jim Palmer - The Cards Your Mom Threw Out
Babe Ruth - Tales of the Game
I must say that for a small sampling of packs there were a great deal of inserts in there, and I like some of them. The photography isn't bad on the cards, I do think the team names are too big, and I don't like the new RC logo, though I am glad it is smaller. 1 gold parallel out of the first 4 packs is a decent number, and the little Dizzy Dean card is delightful. Even though I swore off the packs, I figured I would have to get a sample of new products for review, and to see with my own eyes. If I don't pick up any packs at all, I won't have anything to trade and that would suck.
Overall opinion from a small sample: B+
Thanks for posting this. I will be heading to Target soon =)
ReplyDeleteLooks good - I can't wait to add a Hamilton 'When they were young' to my collection. :)
ReplyDeleteDid Topps print the odds on the wrapper?
ReplyDeleteI will NEVER forgive my mom for throwing away my '86 Topps Tony Gwynn card.
ReplyDeleteAll the odds are on the wrappers. If you want I can scan a wrapper for the post of the rest of the packs later tonight. LMK
ReplyDeleteThanks for whetting my appetite. Might actually cross the border to Buffalo this weekend and check out the Target there. God I'm pathetic...lol
ReplyDeleteA scan of the wrapper would be great. I need the odds for the 2010 Topps wiki article.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, stop back around 11 or so. It will be in the next post.
ReplyDeletenice lookin cards. Did you redeem the million card giveaway code?
ReplyDeleteWow! What variety. Oh boy. I'm so excited.
ReplyDeleteThis is almost as good as Opening Day in baseball!
you said a lot of inserts, and it looks it. How many cards per pack and how many of them are inserts?
ReplyDeleteis this a set builders nightmare?
The team names are large, but they don't really get in the way of the picture and from what I've seen so far in the limited amount of cards that I've seen, the pictures are still pretty large. I like what I've seen so far. I can't wait until the jumbo boxes arrive.
ReplyDeleteCanuck, 12 cards per pack. Packs with relics contain 9 or 10 cards as stated on the wrapper. Most packs had 9 or 10 regular cards with one or two inserts and the ToppsTown. Not a nightmare at all.
ReplyDeleteTopps redemption site for the million card giveaway does not allow you to enter codes until February 15th.
ReplyDeletewww.toppsmillion.com
I busted 14 packs and didn't get many Yankee base. But I did get a bunch of Teixeira cards.
ReplyDeleteShameless promotion
What an awful picture of Mantle.
ReplyDeleteWhat's he performing? Swan lake?
He's reaching up to get the ball. He streeeeetching.
ReplyDeleteThe new RC logo makes me laugh. It looks like they changed it just so Topps can show that only they can use the league logo, and look more official-er than anyone else with their own non-licensed RC logo.
ReplyDeleteMLB sez, "This is the REAL one!"
I don't know if I'm collecting the set yet, but I will buy as many packs as it takes to get that Dizzy Dean card.
ReplyDeleteThat's a must-have.
Looks great can't wait to get my Hobby & Jumbo boxes...
ReplyDeleteThat Oakland A's franchise history card w/Rickey is pretty sweet! It was a nice surprise, as I didn't know he was going to be on it. Something else for me to look out for in the new set.
ReplyDelete