Wednesday, July 25, 2018

2018 Topps Stadium Club Review - Is it time for Topps to make Stadium Club their flagship product?

With the release of 2018 Topps Stadium Club Baseball, the iconic baseball card manufacturer has made a contender for their new flagship product. With a focus on premium images, the action shots bring the photography to the forefront of baseball card collecting.


Upon its debut, collectors raved about the quality look and feel of 2018 Topps Stadium Club. They immediately hailed it as the release of the year, as the crisp image selection far surpassed the standard Topps issue. Immediately, aficionados questioned whether Topps would be served better by making Stadium Club their annual focal point.



Imagine the anticipation for the first series of baseball cards for the year if they were in the striking mold of Topps Stadium Club. The high quality photography alone would draw interest from a young generation looking for something exciting to grab on to for the upcoming season.

Experienced enthusiasts will swiftly recall Topps Stadium Club’s early 1990s debut and its immediate ascent to the top of the sports card ranks. The glossy UV coated cards were well unlike their cardboard predecessors, as we marveled at the full bleed photos and made them the centerpieces of our collections. Twenty-five years later amongst the sea of Topps releases, Stadium Club remains a coveted force many of the same reasons.


One upgrade Topps made to the base set in recent years is the addition of retired Hall of Famers and legends to its ledgers. Looking at the likes of Jackie Robinson and classic black and white photography or Bo Jackson memorialized in a photo similar to his 1987 Topps card, Stadium Club has went to great lengths to captured the essence of both the past and the present in its set.


The inserts are bountiful in this release, as each box guarantees two on-card autographs, only further adding to the appeal of 2018 Topps Stadium Club. The Members Only subset returns, serving as a nod to their 90s counterparts, and the Chrome inserts (1 per box) are a slept on bonus for those who purchase an entire box.


Should collectors chase after 2018 Topps Stadium Club amongst the robust palate of Topps releases this summer? Absolutely. With a heavy focus on top-notch photography, 2018 Topps Stadium Club is all about the experience, a vivid one that puts fans nose-to-nose with the action. What are you waiting for, jump right in here.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Rare footage of David Cone pitching in the 1986 Puerto Rican Winter League All-Star Game

Fresh off of his rookie season with the Kansas City Royals, David Cone went to the Puerto Rican Winter League (Liga de BĂ©isbol Profesional Roberto Clemente) to further hone his skills. By the end of the winter season, Cone was a champion, saving Game 6 of the Caribbean Series for Caguas en route to their title.

David Cone in the 1986 LBPPR All-Star Game / Joe Towers
Joe Towers (@joetowerscards) recently posted footage of Cone pitching in the LBPPR All-Star game, flashing the eventual brilliance that led him to five World Series championships and the 1994 American League Cy Young Award. Only a few short months after this appearance, the Royals traded Cone to the New York Mets, which put him right in the middle of the baseball spotlight for the incumbent World Series champs.


Click here to read more about David Cone and his later brush with baseball immortality.


Thursday, July 19, 2018

2018 Topps Archives Signature Series Active Player Edition Review - A chance at a modern day marvel

Topps opens the door for collectors to have a chance to get up close and personal with today's superstars via the release of 2018 Topps Archives Signature Series (Active Player Edition). Each box features one on-card autographed buyback from over 65 different active MLB players, including the likes of Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Mike Trout.

2018 Topps Archives Signature Series / Topps
As the recent netting regulations at MLB parks have made it even more difficult to obtain an autograph before a game, Topps Archives Signature Series gives fans and collectors a guaranteed chance at a signed card from an active player without having to wade through packs of base set cards. This quick hit will attract many who don't want the hassle of sifting through boxes or spending hundred of dollars at a stadium hoping they can slide a baseball card through a slit in the netting during batting practice.

The full review of the box as well as the ensuing hit are featured in the video below. For more baseball card reviews and interviews, subscribe via YouTube at - http://www.youtube.com/Examinebaseball


Wednesday, July 18, 2018

2018 Baseball Treasure Review - A diversion from the typical baseball card collectible

When it comes to sports memorabilia, copper, silver, and gold are usually associated with colored parallels in a Topps’ baseball card products; however, 2018 Baseball Treasure provides collectors with an opportunity to score a MLBPA licensed coin minted in a precious metal. Thirty of the top MLB players are included in this heavy-duty set.

2018 Baseball Treasure Packs
The coins come encased in a thick card that has the player’s name, team, and jersey number on the front, with similar info on the back, which allows the minted design to jump to the forefront. Each pack contains one of these cards, with the majority being of the copper variety. A deeper dive into the product could yield one of the .999 pure silver coins (1:432 packs) or an ultra rare gold Aaron Judge coin (52 in total).

Baseball Treasure gives different entry points that allow a wide range of fans to get their hands on the coins. On their website, coins are available in quantities as small as three packs, and options go all the way up to a 432-pack case, pretty much guaranteeing one of the silver coins at those levels.

2018 Baseball Treasure Coins
The three packs opened for this review drew copper coins of Justin Bour, Paul Goldschmidt, and Yoan Moncada. Each coin presented well in their cards and look like they would make a perfect display for a work or home office desk in a proper holder.

Baseball coins are not a new product, and while collectors looking to get into 2018 Baseball Treasure as an investment are probably better served putting their money into a mutual fund, a few packs would give most aficionados an interesting conversation piece that is a diversion from traditional baseball cards.

Monday, July 16, 2018

2018 Topps Inception Baseball Review - A striking shift for Topps baseball

For baseball card collectors who are looking for an intrigue filled chase have to go no farther than 2018 Topps Inception. The single-pack boxes serve collectors with a dynamite design and impressive looking autographed cards that are far distinguished from many of Topps’ previous releases.

2018 Topps Inception / Topps
Opening the dark colored boxes, one immediately gets the vibe of the charcoal marbled motif of the base set, which creates a mysterious, yet attractive backdrop for each card. The 100-card base set features a mix that tilts towards the top rookies in Major League Baseball. Each base card is thicker than your typical Topps release, further signaling the enhanced quality of this product.



The box provided for this review also yielded two parallels, which range in typical Topps fashion in both color and quantity. The varying colors in the backgrounds of both parallel cards in this pack enhanced the eye appeal of the cards in this series.


While the base cards and their parallels make up the majority of the seven-card pack in each box, the true champion of each box was the autographed card. The autographed relic card that came in this box just popped in a variety of exciting ways. The red (/25) parallel of this card made the sticker autograph on the card stand out due to the stark contrast from the background. While I am normally not a fan of sticker autographs, in this case, the combination worked to perfection. When you add in the multi-colored relic, and the throwback uniform in the photo, the signed card in this box was truly a gem.

2018 Topps Inception Anthony Banda Autographed Relic / Topps
With 2018 Topps Inception, the storied baseball card manufacturer attempts to present collectors with an option that goes beyond your typical single hit product. The combined attention to detail on the base cards with the striking autographed insert cards pushes Inception to the forefront of this segment of the baseball card market.