Last Year's Opening Day (Part 1: Commons)

I didn't get a chance to write about last year's blaster of 2018 Topps Opening Day, and my plan was to squeeze in at least one post before 2019 was launched.

For some reason, I thought 2019 Topps Opening Day was releasing on Tuesday, March 19th. Turns out, it came out a few days ago. What can I say? I'm behind. It wasn't until last night that I got my first pack of 2019 Heritage.

2018 Topps Opening Day #34 Billy Hamilton

The plus side of that delay is that I've had this awesome card staring up at me from my side table all year, an amazing action shot that a lot of people picked as their favorite from the 2018 "waterslide" design. That could be why I waited so long; I didn't want to put this card in the binder yet. Billy Hamilton is one of not many guys who still steals bases, and the speedy outfielder can clearly make it to the wall with time to spare. There's no weird cropping, no intrusive design, no smoke effect obscuring the brilliant red backdrop of a Toyota banner.

This is full-bleed at its best. As usual with Opening Day, there isn't even any foil to distract you. Even the color-coding at the bottom works well for the Reds.

2018 Topps Opening Day #104 Nomar Mazara

Nomar Mazara's card is somewhat similar. The red banner is for State Farm rather than Toyota, and Texas' outfielder is a whole heck of a lot more relaxed than Hamilton while preparing for this catch. It's still technically an action shot; it just didn't become a hobby-wide favorite. I also like the way the Rangers logo is nestled at the base of the waterslide as if it just rolled right down it.

2018 Topps Opening Day #26 Javier Baez

A lot has been said about blurry backgrounds in recent years, but the backgrounds are clear enough on a few of these shots to make out the advertisements that companies shell out big bucks for. CVS Health has a spot on the Green Monster in Boston, which we can see behind a leaping Javier Baez, the Cubs second baseman who has the best tag application in the game. This double play card even has two cameos. Mookie Betts, last year's AL MVP, is #50 on the Red Sox, and I believe that is Baez' fellow middle infielder Addison Russell backing up the play.

I'm not 100% sure on this one, but I think this is from the bottom of the 8th on April 29th, 2017. Betts began the inning with a leadoff single, but was forced out at second on a Hanley Ramirez grounder to short. Looks like the Russell-Baez duo did their best to turn two, but didn't quite get it done. That makes this a double play attempt card, which is somehow a little bit more awesome.

It ended up not mattering, as Mitch Moreland grounded into one of his very own right after this play, although Baez wasn't involved in the 3-6-3 play. The Cubbies ended up winning 7-4.

2018 Topps Opening Day #92 Robinson Cano

This set is just a year old, but already lots of players are moving around. Billy Hamilton will be a Royal this year, and Robinson Cano is back in New York, this time on the Mets. Still, I've always liked the Mariners colors, and their sea-green waterslide looks even more like something you'd see in a waterpark than some of the other colors in this set.

Unfortunately for Cano, Topps kind of jinxed him with their write-up. We're told that he's eclipsed 30 doubles in a season for 13 straight seasons, something no one has done besides Stan Musial, and Cano has the distinction of beginning that streak in his rookie year. His suspension-shortened 2018 campaign only led to 22.

2018 Topps Opening Day #103 Rougned Odor

I found quite a few Rangers in this blaster, and this one caught my eye thanks to it being a unplanned bat barrel shot. All eyes, including Rougned Odor's, are on the ball he just hit, but the photographer managed to snap a lucky shot of Odor routinely letting the bat slip out of his right hand. It's an easy shot to pose, but a lot of things have to line up perfectly to get it on an action shot. I'd bet that anyone with a bat barrel mini collection won't have too many action shots in there.

2018 Topps Opening Day #82 Rhys Hoskins (RC)

Lots of 2018 Home Run Derby participants appeared in this blaster. Rhys Hoskins performed quite well, even making it to the second round. He had plenty of Major League playing time in 2017, so I'm not quite sure why Topps chose to only give us his 2017 minor league stat line on the back. The power hitter will be playing alongside Bryce Harper this year, and this young player is only going to get better.

The black patch you see on Hoskins' right sleeve was worn by all Phillies in 2017, honoring Dallas Green, the manager who led the Phillies to their first-ever World Series championship in 1980. Green passed away shortly before the 2017 season.

2018 Topps Opening Day #24 Kyle Schwarber

Hoskins was doing great in the Home Run Derby until he reached Kyle Schwarber in the second round. Schwarber hit a whopping 21 shots in his allotted time, edging out the 20 that Hoskins launched out of Nationals Park. He's the epitome of a power hitter, being able to hit home runs on top of the scoreboard, but being a bit, ah, lacking in the defensive department. Let's just say that Kyle Schwarber probably won't be winning any Gold Gloves.

When you look at it that way, the question of whether the National League should have a DH becomes an intriguing one. Madison Bumgarner's home runs are quite impressive, and it would be a shame to see that go away. But instead of framing the DH question around "Should pitchers have to hit?", asking "Should guys like Kyle Schwarber have to play the field?" might give you a different answer. I, for one, was not a huge fan of having Matt Holliday in left field.

2018 Topps Opening Day #71 Aaron Judge

Back in Fenway Park, we come to 2017's Home Run Derby winner, Aaron Judge. A recipient of the Topps Rookie Cup, not to mention the AL Rookie of the Year, Judge looks like he hit one a long way into the Boston night, as backup Red Sox catcher Sandy León looks on. Judge certainly earned that award, as he led the league in Home Runs, walks, and runs scored, the first rookie to lead all three categories, as Topps tells us.

Aaron Judge is sure to have tons of Topps cards in the future, and I'd bet a lot of them will show him inside Fenway Park.

2018 Topps Opening Day #3 Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant hasn't been in a Home Run Derby in a while, not since 2015. The 2016 NL MVP and man who made the final out of the 2016 World Series absolutely just hit one here, trotting around the bases as an opposing infielder and an umpire stare at where it probably departed Wrigley Field. Bryant looks about as cool as can be with these shades on.

He can have fun, too. He, his wife, and Anthony Rizzo just put together a hilarious Newlywed Game-esque skit called "Bae vs. Ballplayer". Rizzo knows Bryant's January 4th, 1992 birthday by heart, and that checks out on the card back.

2018 Topps Opening Day #52 Justin Verlander

I also like pitchers. There's a big outfield banner on this card too, for National Car Rental, but it doesn't pop as much as the red ones. It's my first card of Justin Verlander as an Astro, a late-season trade Houston made that was instrumental in the team winning their first-ever World Series in 2017.

I don't usually refer to the "acquired" statistic on the back, but once in a while I'm curious. This trade with the Tigers took place on August 31st, 2017, extremely late in the season, and may have influenced MLBs recent rule changes for 2019. The waiver trade deadline that the Astros and Verlander benefited from will be taken away, putting a hard stop on all trades on July 31st. Not that this will affect JV, but September call-ups are also greatly reduced, as rosters will expand to just 28 players instead of 40. That will make it a lot tougher for prospects to get playing time, but should make pennant races more fair, as potential contenders won't be getting a bunch of free wins against quasi-Triple-A clubs at the end of the season.

2018 Topps Opening Day #59 Corey Seager

Corey Seager squared off against Verlander plenty in the 2017 World Series. He hit a home run off of him in Game 2, one of the many games that was more or less a Home Run Derby but with running the bases. In this card, he's at home in Dodger Stadium, and some of the yellow seats in the first deck are visible behind him.

I ran across a good tidbit about those seats recently. The seats are a different color in each deck of the stadium, and they're meant to represent the ocean and the beach. I'm sure all the Dodger bloggers out there knew that, but it was news to me.

The card back has a few more fun facts, telling us that Corey's game-winning hit on June 10th, 2017 was his first walk-off RBI at any level. There's a slight error on Topps' part in that they said it happened in the 10th inning, but it was really just the 9th. No matter, walk-off hits are awesome. I saw the basketball equivalent of one earlier this week, in fact. I got tickets to my first NBA game since 2005, and saw the Dallas Mavericks play the Denver Nuggets. It was a close game, probably closer than it should have been, but star Nugget Nikola Jokic hit a buzzer-beater to beat Dallas 100-99. It happened way at the other end of the arena, but watching that shot land was amazingly thrilling. It's just so sudden, and doesn't have the relatively long wait associated with it like a home run or a Hail Mary where we're waiting several seconds for the ball to land.

2018 Topps Opening Day #186 Kyle Seager

Kyle Seager, Corey's older brother, got a card in 2018 Opening Day, and it has a clear view of the Mariners 40th Anniversary patch. They and the Blue Jays entered the American League in 1977. They're not really that much older than the Rockies and Marlins, who just wrapped up their 25th season. But I was born after '77, making the Mariners seem like ancient history.

Mariners fans aren't going to have a whole lot to look forward to this year, with Cano and Edwin Diaz shipped off to New York, and Kyle Seager out until around June due to a surgery he just had on his hand. Seattle isn't even letting Felix Hernandez pitch on Opening Day.

At least they're scheduled to get a hockey team in the early 2020s.

2018 Topps Opening Day #40 Raimel Tapia

There were one or two Rockies in this blaster, and I picked Raimel Tapia, who had a pretty good card. There's a lot of sameness in the full-bleed photos that just show players in their batting stances, but Tapia isn't wearing a helmet following whatever play just occurred, and there's an unusual view of the foul pole and stadium construction in the background. My first instinct told me this is Miller Park where the waterslide is (how appropriate would that be for this set?), but I'm not sure that's right.

A bit of Googling led me to PNC Park, home of the Pirates, and this large walkway ramp matches a few of the many Pirates cards I found in 2017's Opening Day blaster. That would date this photo to either June 12th or June 14th, 2017, the only games Tapia played in during the Rockies' visit to Pittsburgh that year.

2018 Topps Opening Day #132 Walker Buehler (RC)

Up until now, I've only shown vertical cards. I wouldn't say there was a shortage of them in this blaster, just none that really caught my eye. And I think Walker Buehler, who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, is going to be one to watch. That is, assuming he can stay healthy. This card points out that the Dodgers drafted him knowing he would need Tommy John surgery, and they're handling him delicately this Spring Training. Also on the card back is his twitter handle @buehlersdayoff.

There are still the inserts to cover, always a great part of Opening Day. The actual Opening Day for the 2019 season is not far off. Officially, it's March 28th, the earliest ever, but the Mariners and Athletics are playing two games in Japan on the 20th and 21st, which will technically count as regular-season games.

I hope that my annual Opening Day blaster isn't far behind.

Eight Clubby Nights: A Stadium Club Hanukkah (Night 2)

The first night of Hanukkah is kind of a big deal. It's usually the night when you might dig out the grater or food processor and begin the messy (but worth it) project of making potato latkes. You're reminded of the tradition in a religion that's steeped in tradition, and there's even a special third prayer to say that night, rather than just the usual two. Sometimes, the gift given on the first night is a bit bigger than the subsequent seven.

But once the sun sets a second time, and you start increasing the number of candles in the menorah, you can start doing fun things with all the different colors. My personal favorite is to save up all the blue and white ones until the final night and alternate their colors, and there's usually a night in there where you burn through your less favorite colors all in one go. You especially have to watch out for the red ones, because they have a tendency to drip like crazy.

You're still just getting started by the second night, and our second pack from this festive blaster of 2018 Topps Stadium Club represents just cards 6-10 of this theme. There is plenty yet to come.

2018 Stadium Club #135 Chance Sisco (RC)

Unlike the rookie in last night's post, Chance Sisco's early career looks a lot more promising. His .181 batting average this year needs quite a bit of work, but he's only 23 and already has experience in two seasons. Unfortunately, those two seasons both saw the Baltimore Orioles finish in last place. 2017 wasn't so bad, as a 75-87 record is generally good for about third or fourth place outside the AL East, but this year's 47-115 record took its place among the historically bad teams in baseball history.

There are usually some orange candles in your standard box of Hanukkah candles, so it's appropriate that we have a nice mix of color so far in these packs. Green is a rarity, but there's plenty of it behind Sisco as he holds his catcher's gear on a sunny day.

I'm always a fan of commemorative patches, and the one on Sisco's right sleeve marks the 25th year of Camden Yards, celebrated in 2017. It kicked off a flurry of construction of retro-classic ballparks around the league, including my beloved Coors Field.

2018 Stadium Club #19 Garrett Richards

Red candles are unavoidable during Hanukkah, and they tend to burn themselves out ten minutes before the rest, just because they drip so much. And Garrett Richards is dripping with red in this posed spring training shot, right down to his glove. I always thought gloves that weren't black or tan were pretty weird, especially the red ones. Probably because Mitch Williams wore a red glove, and he seemed like the oddest player on a 1993 Phillies team filled with odd players.

In little league, I was generally a middle infielder, that is, during the innings I wasn't way out in right field. I was definitely not a pitcher, and a knowledge of pitch grips and pitch paths remains one of the weaker areas of my baseball fandom. Richards, who will likely miss the 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, shows us his version of the four-seam fastball.

This card has it right. He pitches at an ace level when healthy. Unfortunately, a healthy pitching arm has been elusive for Richards, as has command. Even when he went 13-4 in 2014, he led the AL in wild pitches, something he's done twice since then, including in an injury-shortened 2018. Still, the San Diego Padres have enough faith in him to sign him to a two-year deal, looking forward to 2020.

2018 Stadium Club Special Forces #SF-KB Kris Bryant

This pack's insert arrived one card earlier than last night. New for 2018 is the Special Forces insert set, or at least it's new since the brand's 2014 resurgence. Mid-'90s Stadium Club still surprises me, so this could very well have been a subset in past years. It's generally busy, and doesn't rank among my favorites as Topps insert sets go.

Kris Bryant, who was 2015's NL Rookie of the Year and 2016's NL MVP, appears exceptionally sharp on this photo. Printing technology has come a long way. It's more or less the difference between SD and HD video, and has progressed about as quickly. We even get to see Bryant's monogrammed blue and red batting gloves. There are Hanukkah colors all up and down this card. The back is pretty plain, and replaces the usual paragraph with a series of bullet points. "Serious quickness for a 6-foot-5 man", Topps opines.

Inserts are inserts, but it's definitely not as awesome as the Instavision parallel I pulled of Bryant last year.

2018 Stadium Club #163 Ryan Zimmerman

Now that's the way you do a horizontal card. I'm not sure exactly when this is from, but it likely shows Ryan Zimmerman triumphantly leaving the batter's box after what appears to be a walk-off hit of some kind. Most likely it's a homer; because that #11 you see on Zim's back also happens to be the number of walk-off home runs to his name, second only to Albert Pujols among active players.

Things were a little confusing when Jordan Zimmermann pitched for the Nats, but his ancestors did Ryan the courtesy of adding an extra "N" to the family name to avoid needing first initials. Ryan went by "Zim" on his Player's Weekend jersey, matching that sign in the stands, but he just as easily could have gone with "Mr. Walk Off", as he's commonly known in the D.C. area, and rightly so. He's closing in on Jim Thome's all-time record of 13.

2018 Stadium Club #20 Stephen Strasburg

Between these two and Daniel Murphy last night, this is rapidly becoming a Washington Nationals hot blaster, but that's just what red does on Hanukkah. It gets everywhere. Strasburg is even wearing a red jersey and going with the red knee-length socks. Even his beard is sort of reddish. I remember when he was a baby-faced youngster with a $25,000 1/1 rookie card and was drawing comparisons to Mark Fidrych.

I agree with one criticism of this set, that the team name is too faint. It's still pretty easy to tell, because Topps is more than happy to show off team logos. Still, with as much as players move around, it might be nice to have that outline just be a little bit thicker.

The obvious National missing so far is Bryce Harper, who won the 2018 Home Run Derby in front of his home crowd, but he's nearly certain to play for another team next year.

I haven't managed to pull any Rockies yet, but fortunately I have several already, thanks to a group break that Trevor ran over the summer, including an extremely rare Jon Gray parallel.

Each night it gets just a little brighter, so we'll see what tomorrow's pack yields soon enough. Harper can't be far behind, given the way this blaster has gone so far.

Going Clubbing (Part 2: Hits)

Here it is National Baseball Card Day again, and like last year, I have a stack of Stadium Club to write about. I had a pretty good batch of base cards in the blaster I recently purchased, but the insert cards and parallels didn't disappoint.

2017 Stadium Club Scoreless Streak #SS-FH Felix Hernandez

Leading things off with a card that looks like a die-cut but isn't is King Felix, whose Mariners are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. Felix Hernandez has been toiling away for a team that's been out of contention for his entire career, despite being a stellar pitcher. He even threw MLB's most recent perfect game back in 2012, which this Scoreless Streak insert card neglects to mention. Rather, it tells us about his 2007 Opening Day start just before his 21st birthday, the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher that baseball had seen in two decades. In his very next start, he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. 

I like the Mariners as much as the next guy, and it would be nice to see an ace like Felix Hernandez get to play some October baseball. If Seattle gets that far, hopefully Felix returns from the disabled list by then. With Hernandez and now James Paxton out for a few weeks, the Mariners will need some magic to fend off everyone else in the hunt.

2017 Stadium Club Power Zone #PZ-CS Corey Seager

Corey Seager, whose brother Kyle plays third base for the Mariners (and isn't afraid to remind everyone who his brother is), is basically guaranteed to win the NL West as a member of the Dodgers this season. The bases-clearing, lead-changing double he hit as I write this is part of the reason for their historic success, even giving the Dodgers a shot at breaking the season wins record. As this card tells us, Corey and Kyle became the first set of brothers to each hit over 25 home runs in the same season, a feat they could both repeat this season. And with a swing like this, that's hardly surprising.

Seager and his Dodgers are clearly in the Power Zone right now. That full extension of his home run swing makes for a perfect horizontal card, lining up just right with the fiery explosion that is a key part of this design. The font at the bottom would fit pretty well on a 1990s card, and it doesn't interfere with the photo one bit.

2017 Stadium Club Beam Team #BT-MT Mike Trout

These insert cards all vaguely look like they could be part of the same insert set. But I did pull one card from each of the insert sets found in Stadium Club this year, certainly a well-rounded blaster. Mike Trout's "Beam of Might", as described on the back, was his 150th career home run, which, when combined with his 500+ runs scored by his age-24 season, puts him in the company of the Hall of Famers he's usually mentioned with, like Mickey Mantle, Mel Ott, Ken Griffey Jr., Jimmie Foxx, and a few others.

Trout's greatness is undeniable, and he's sure to appear on many more insert cards in the years to come. I may even have a chance to find his expensive rookie card from 2011 Topps Update, one I've yet to even spot in the wild. I'm not sure which of these three insert cards I like best, but this one of Trout reminds me of a wire wheel, the type you'd find on a 1960s Jaguar roadster. It's a mesmerizing pattern, one that pulls your eye away from Trout's nonchalant greatness.

2017 Stadium Club Contact Sheet #CS-CC Carlos Correa

The Contact Sheet insert set returns from last year, which faintly retains the filmstrip theme, but goes for more of a street art look this time around. The AL West is very well-represented in this batch of insert cards, and the Astros (I remembered their new division!!) are running away with the division this year. Who knows, we might end up seeing a Dodgers-Astros World Series, which wouldn't be much fun for East-coast TV viewers, but would certainly be a great matchup. Corey Seager and Carlos Correa, two exciting young shortstops, could put on quite a show this October.

Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, is already the Astros career home runs leader for shortstops. Unfortunately, he's been injured for several weeks, but should make his return sometime in September. Like Mike Trout, Correa had to have thumb surgery this season, but if Trout is any indication, these pro ballplayers can recover from a procedure like that without missing a beat.

2017 Stadium Club Black Foil #138 Renato Nunez (RC)

Unlike the insert card stars that regularly appear on the highlight reel, I've never heard of Renato Núñez. A young Venezuelan, he played a handful of games for Oakland during last year's September call-ups. He's been doing quite well in Triple-A, already up to 30 homers for Nashville this season. With stats and hair like that, a starting job in the Majors can't be far behind.

This bat barrel mini collection candidate is a Black Foil parallel, which can be found in 1:8 packs. Beam Team cards are a bit rarer at 1:24, but pretty much all the rest of these can be expected in your average blaster. It's easy enough to identify this as a parallel, which was actually fairly difficult when this brand famously returned in 2014.

2017 Stadium Club Sepia #285 Orlando Arcia (RC)

Even easier are the Sepia parallels, which have a very Upper Deck-friendly copper foil. Orlando Arcia, another Venezuelan, is shown mid-throw, perhaps even throwing out his former Twin brother, Oswaldo. The Arcia brothers are not twins, it's just that Oswaldo used to play for the Twins. He's a Diamondback now.

That pun would have worked better if Oswaldo were still a Twin. Clearly, no one in the Minnesota front office ran that one by me.

Anyway, this parallel isn't my favorite. The pin-sharp photography this brand is known for gets lost in this format. Even the Rookie Card logo doesn't get the familiar red, white, and blue treatment. I suppose there are only so many colors to choose from when making these colored parallels, but I think Topps channeled a bit too much Upper Deck on this one.

2017 Stadium Club Gold Foil #21 Randy Johnson

Easiest of all to pull, there was a Gold Foil parallel to be found as well. Like current Mariner Felix Hernandez, Randy Johnson is also on that very exclusive list of pitchers who threw a perfect game. The Big Unit's came in 2004 against the Braves, making him the oldest pitcher to throw one. This photo is not from that game, as it came on the road, but Johnson was clearly in his usual form of striking out batters left and right, judging by that K-meter over his shoulder in Chase Field. Only Nolan Ryan has more career strikeouts, with Johnson punching out 4,875 batters in his Hall-of-Fame career.

Based on this jersey, I'm guessing this one is from Johnson's second stint as a Diamondback from 2007-2008. And his towering 6'10" height certainly comes across on this card, well-framed despite the lack of a border.

I didn't pull any autographs, variations, or rare parallels, but this blaster still has one more trick up its sleeve. Remember how I said I pulled a card from each of the insert sets? The four common ones you've already seen, but there is a fifth.

2017 Stadium Club Instavision Gold #I-KB Kris Bryant /50

That moment when Kris Bryant scooped up a grounder to make the final out of the 2016 World Series is about as unforgettable as baseball moments come. And it's a perfect moment to showcase on this rare Instavision card, whose theme represents the colored pixels on a modern HDTV. The inset image has a rainbow finish, the gold foil marks this as a parallel, and oh yeah, there is a /50 serial number!

This Instavision gold card is listed as a mind-bogglingly rare 1:2,286 packs, and I could easily flip this for more than I paid for the whole blaster. I'm planning on keeping this one in the collection, as it's definitely one of the best hits I've ever found in a blaster, except maybe that Dee Gordon printing plate.

They might be pricier than loose packs, but I tend to have good luck with blasters, and they're certainly a deterrent to pack searchers. Who knows, I might find one marked down next summer when I go hunting for Bunt again.

From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.

Even though I only bought two cards out of about a thousand available from Topps Now in 2016, Topps still made sure to send me a small token of appreciation for the Holidays. In addition to a more traditional holiday greeting card, they threw in a Topps Now baseball card with four images from the 2016 season!

Lots of other bloggers have received the same card, so I have no idea of the print run, but I'd assume it's in the tens of thousands.

2016 Topps Now #NNO Highlights Bryant / Sanchez / Ichiro / Ortiz

First and foremost is Kris Bryant, the player who made the final out of 2016, at last putting an end to the longest championship drought in North American major sports. 108 years is a long time, but there has to be some soccer team somewhere that's gone longer, so I hesitate to say "in sports history".

But Kris Bryant, later named the NL MVP, clearly wasn't thinking about any of that when he fielded that grounder. He knew there was a drought, but I think he was just thrilled to win the World Series, no matter the team.

Also gracing the front of this card is Gary Sanchez, the slugging Yankees catcher who finished just a little short of winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. He still managed to crush twenty homers in just over fifty games. The Yankees have been in a bit of a decline recently, missing the playoffs entirely in 2016. But with young players like this, things are looking brighter for them. Still, it's a tough division even when they're not the ones making it tough.

2016 Topps Now #NNO Highlights Bryant / Sanchez / Ichiro / Ortiz (Reverse)

No Rockies made it onto this card, but Coors Field did! Ichiro doffing his helmet after reaching the 3,000 hit milestone in Denver is the first photo on the back. The actual card commemorating that achievement had a huge print run, and that's one of the two I bought. It was one of the most memorable baseball events I've seen in person, and I'm glad that Topps thought it important enough to share with every other Topps Now customer.

Recently retired David Ortiz gets the final spot on this card, and even though his baseball career is (probably) over, he still led the AL in doubles and RBIs last year. And he left behind quite a legacy in Boston, helping the Red Sox come away with three championships. He'll always be a fan favorite there, and while Gary Sanchez and Kris Bryant still have a lot of work to do, we could potentially be holding a card of four Hall-of-Famers.

I haven't decided yet if I'll keep this one with the back facing out in my binders. Ichiro's photo on his 3,000 card is about the same, and it would be nice to have a reminder of the Cubs' World Series win.

Either way, this was an unexpected gift from Topps, and the relatively high price of a Topps Now card stings a little less when they take the time to say "thank you".

Happy Holidays to all my readers, and thanks for stopping by!

OD-8

I'm really not the type to go out and bust packs of products right when they hit the shelves. I usually buy the Topps factory set in July or so (or wait until Christmas), and I pretty much entirely ignore Update and Bowman at retail. For things like Heritage, A&G, Gypsy Queen, Archives, etc... I'll wait until they start showing up via trades. And I won't touch ultra-expensive stuff like Finest, Triple Threads, or Museum Collection until I see them at card shows in half-off toploaders. Even for sets I really like, such as Stadium Club or Chrome, I might just buy a pack or two at the store. Sometimes Topps Series 1 when it's been a long winter and I'm itching for some baseball.

But the one thing I do get pretty near its release date is Topps Opening Day. By then, most of spring training has elapsed, and even a few players are preparing to start the year on the disabled list. My fantasy baseball draft is usually just days away. Add in the low $10 price at Target, and you've got yourself a sale!

2016 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations #SC-20 Justin Bour

That also means that the Cardsphere has usually moved on by the time I get around to writing about something. It's rare that I lend my voice to the new release cycle, which also means it's pretty rare for me to be pulling the same cards as everyone else at the same time. But with a release date about ten days ago, it keeps popping up in the cardsphere, often with some of the same cards in this post.

Part of what keeps me coming back to Opening Day are the inserts. The Justin Bour Superstar Celebrations insert card was actually right behind Bour's base card in one of the middle packs, which I featured in my previous post. Didn't really know much about him before, but I won't forget his name now! And I doubt he'll forget getting doused in Gatorade by fellow Marlin Dee Gordon, who will make another appearance in this post.

2016 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations #SC-8 Justin Bour

Bryant must have done something extra special to drive the Cubs to empty two Gatorade containers on him. You'd think these guys were multi-millionaires or something. That's gotta be, like, fifty bucks worth of Gatorade in there. And whatever's coming out of the clear one looks a lot more like a small iceberg than just some chilled liquid.

Even though Topps is fully paid up with MLB (and Getty Images, I'd assume), they still refer to the Gatorade shower as a "sports drink bath". Careful not to use trademarks! And Topps breaks the "no foil" rule on these insert cards by adding it to the Topps logo.

I could go on, but between these two and Johnny Giavotella, I'll stop depicting all that Gatorade carnage.

2016 Topps Opening Day Alternate Reality #AR-6 Kris Bryant

This is a new insert set called Alternate Reality, showing players in their secondary uniforms. Kris Bryant, the darling of baseball card prospectors everywhere, is showing off lots of Cubbie Blue right down to his elbow guard and batting gloves. Other bloggers have suggested that this would be a great set to examine some actual alternate histories, like if Jackie Robinson was called out at the plate in 1955, just like Yogi Berra insisted all those years. Or if Jose Tabata didn't stick his elbow out while facing Max Scherzer last year. Or if the Rangers got Just One More Strike back in 2011. Or any number of blown calls that have affected games and records over the years.

What might be more entertaining is if they show players who suit up in the wrong uniform. Not sure how often that happens, but Junior Lake did that once in a road game a few years back. With all the alternates and throwbacks they use these days, it's bound to happen once in a while.

That's two Kris Bryant inserts, in addition to his base card. This has been a great blaster so far.

2016 Topps Opening Day Foil #OD-1 Mike Trout

And for one of the foil parallels, I pulled Mr. Card #1 himself, Mike Trout. This, of course, is from when Trout scaled the center field wall to rob Jesus Montero of a 3-run home run. Between this and the Bat Flip card, Topps picked some great photos from last season! Like Opening Day parallels in years past, this one lists the actual date that (most) games begin—there are a few games on April 3rd.

But all indications suggest that this is supposed to have a serial number. The print run is claimed at 2016, but unlike in past years, the serial number is nowhere to be found, front or back. Beckett, Topps, and even the fine print on the pack wrapper say it should be there, but they must have dropped it for 2016. Come to think of it, I think Topps did the same thing in 2015. Which is fine; it's their product. But they ought to double check the sell sheets. At least they put the date back.

2016 Topps Opening Day Heavy Hitters #HH-12 Paul Goldschmidt

Moving on from that slight disappointment, here's another fresh insert set, Heavy Hitters. As you might imagine, this is filled with power hitters that can mash a baseball into the waiting glove of a fan in the cheap seats. Jose Bautista is in that 15-card set, as is Nolan Arenado. But I pulled this one of Paul Goldschmidt. While I'm far from a Diamondbacks fan, I'm pretty sure this is a Coors Field card, judging from the purple banner at the top of the dugout, and the purple-shirted spectator in the upper right, who is probably an usher. That banner helps me pick out plenty of cards shot in Denver, and the Diamondbacks and other NL West teams are prime candidates to end up on one.

2016 Topps Opening Day Striking Distance #SD-14 Mark Teixeira

Teixeira, whose surname is even harder to spell than LeMahieu, is just six homers shy of 400. He's easily within "Striking Distance" of that milestone, as yet one more novel insert set tells us. 400 is quite a mark, but as the back points out, he'd be up there with Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones as the only switch hitters to eclipse that number. Ichiro's in the set too (twice, actually), though of course not for home runs. He's nearing 3,000 MLB hits (not even counting the thousand-plus he racked up in Japan), as well as 500 steals.

I really like the concept of this insert set; it helps focus your attention around the league as the season progresses and each of these players makes their run at the milestone. And with services like MLB.TV, it's as easy as ever (and $20 cheaper this year!) to keep an eye on them.

I didn't get paid to say that.

Even with all these new insert sets, there's still room for some of the old classics. The Gatorade-heavy Superstar Celebrations set is an Opening Day veteran, as is everyone's favorite.

2016 Topps Opening Day Mascots #M-4 Wally the Green Monster

Mascots!

I didn't unearth Dinger this year (pun shamelessly intended), but I did get this very Muppet-like mascot of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster...get it? I can't quite tell if that orange stuff is supposed to be his hair or his eyebrows, but with the left field wall they have in Fenway (and visible on this card, no less), how could they have any other mascot than this?

One classic insert set I didn't pull anything from was Opening Day Stars, but Topps ditched the lenticular surface this year, which marks the end of an era. Even though they don't appear to move the same way that Sportflics cards do, they're still fun to run your fingernail across. I know that's not great for their condition, but I can't help it.

So far this has been a pretty awesome blaster. Lots of postgame celebrations, pretty darn good photography, inserts and parallels of some of the game's hottest young players, and that legendary bat flip.

How could I top all that?

Well, remember I mentioned Dee Gordon would be making another appearance?

2016 Topps Opening Day Printing Plates Black #OD-129 Dee Gordon /1

That, dear readers, is a printing plate.

Out of a $10 blaster of Opening Day.

Yes, I was pretty shocked. On average, I'd need to open over 3,000 of these 7-card blaster packs to pull one. I guess that one must have been the bonus pack.

I've had good luck with Opening Day before, including that David Wright autograph, but this is definitely above and beyond. It's only the second one I've ever found, and the first was in the already-scarce 2014 Topps Mini. My jaw definitely dropped. I'm sure supercollectors run across these all the time, but this sort of stuff doesn't find its way into my collection very often. Seeing one gives you a whole new appreciation for the detail and design work that goes into these, and it is pretty cool to know that every copy of Dee Gordon's card came from this.

Well, indirectly. They use offset printing, which is why the image isn't reversed. But still. I like it even more than a true 1/1. While it is a unique collectible itself, it's one that had a hand in creating all the rest of them. And even then, you still need three other colors to get the whole picture. It has to have some help from others to get the job done.

That may be a bit too sappy and philosophical for a hobby blog, but it's good to take a step back once in a while and look at the bigger picture to see all the interconnectedness in something as simple as a little rectangular baseball card.

OD-10

Though that is Felix Hernandez's card number in 2016 Topps Opening Day, more importantly it's NASA-speak for the number of days remaining to MLB's opening day! A few games start up on Sunday, April 3rd, though most teams begin play the following day, which is what the foil parallels have listed.

Now that we survived our seemingly annual giant March blizzard in Denver, we can start digging out, waiting for a foot and a half of snow to melt and drain from our roofs, backyards, and baseball diamonds. But "snow series" have become more common in Denver, so we're not out of the woods yet.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-92 Jean Segura

Digging into my annual blaster of Topps Opening Day from my local SuperTarget, there's your first look at a 2016 card on Infield Fly Rule. Jean Segura is laying down a bunt with pretty good form. And like them or not, 2016 Topps finally got rid of borders for the base set for the first time, well, ever. There is that cloudy area behind the player, which does serve to frame the photo, but it's quite a departure from what we've seen since the 1950s.

But there's plenty more you can do with a bat than just bunt.

Like, oh, I don't know. Maybe belt an epic go-ahead home run with it in a deciding playoff game, then fling the thing one-handed right at the visitor's dugout and into the history books.

That would make a great baseball card.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-187 Jose Bautista

Yep.

This was the second card from the second pack in the blaster, and though I haven't seen one from 2016 Topps base, this is just about the same thing, though zoomed in a little bit. Along with that Dinger mascot card from 2014, these $10 Opening Day blasters tend to give me just what I'm after.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-17 Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant is one of the most promising young prospects in baseball, and he's certainly the most sought-after player in baseball cards these days. I'm sure I could flip this lowly base card on eBay for a buck or two. But I'd rather hang on to it, and I'm interested to see what he and the Cubbies will do this year. It's always hit or miss with "Future Stars" cards, but I think this one's a pretty safe bet.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-181 Justin Bour

Justin Bour maybe less so. Although he finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting behind the winning Kris Bryant, he still mashed 23 home runs last season. Yet he's far from a household name (maybe because he's a Marlin), but that could change at any moment.

I haven't said much about the design yet, and I do like this 2016 set. The banner in the corner reminds me of a blown-up 1993 Topps, and the layout is effective. No vertical names or distracting cluster of information. The team logo is pretty large, though not quite as imposing as 2010, but I'm not so sure I like how it's partially obscured behind the banner. The banner can slant either left or right, and it's pretty much dependent on the team logo which way looks best. The actual Marlin in the logo is almost entirely obscured here, but the Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Mets look pretty good with this banner orientation. The White Sox, Rockies, Cubs, and most others look better the other way.

This is also kind of a busy card, even without foil. The key elements are pretty clean, but add in the Opening Day seal, the Future Stars lettering, and the Topps Rookie Cup, it starts to look pretty cluttered.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-123 Johnny Giavotella

You might think this is one of the Superstar Celebration insert cards that Opening Day is known for. But no, just a base card. Baseball players have taken the Gatorate shower way further than the NFL, who still pretty much reserves that for clinching a playoff spot. In baseball, pretty much any game-winning hit can earn it. I've noticed that camera crews are getting pretty good at stepping out of the way in time. The photographer also used a really fast shutter speed here, as the water droplets are frozen in midair, cascading around Giavotella's neck.

You need a fast lens to do that, especially at the end of a night game. That means a wide aperture to grab enough light in the slightest fraction of a second. Which equals a shallow depth of field, thus causing all those blurry backgrounds people have been noticing in this year's set. That's been the case for quite some time, but there just must be something about this design that makes it more noticeable. Maybe the edge fading they're using instead of a true border. Regardless, I'll take some blurry backgrounds to get shots like this. Do we really want to return to all those posed shots Topps gave us in the late '60s where the left field facade of Yankee Stadium was clearly visible on almost every card? In my opinion, all these pin-sharp photos are just fine with me. These horizontal ones especially are like holding tiny HDTVs.

And we haven't seen one straining pitcher's face yet. But don't worry, that's coming.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-188 Troy Tulowitzki

No big deal here, just a Rockies franchise player batting for the Blue Jays.

As a Rockies fan, this is just weird. It's taking a long time to get used to this trade. I'm sure this is old hat to all you Dodgers and Tigers and Yankees fans who trade and sign and release players of this caliber on a regular basis. But our transactions are more along the lines of Daniel Descalso, Brandon Barnes, Brett Anderson, etc.... Yes, once in a while there's a Holliday-for-Gonzalez type of trade, and Jose Reyes did come over in the Tulo trade with all the pitching prospects, but more often than not, a casual fan has no idea who's coming or going.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-155 Jake Odorizzi

Jake Odorizzi, a guy who's been on my Fantasy squad once or twice, led off three straight Rays starting pitchers at the tail end of one pack. I think Odorizzi's been in the league a little too long to be labeled a Future Star. He'll be hitting that all-important 27th birthday in about a year, and I really don't see this guy becoming a late bloomer like Randy Johnson, who took a long time to develop control.

But even a middle-of-the-rotation guy like Odorizzi could be a game changer if he somehow ended up on the Rockies.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-113 Alex Cobb

The Rays have a pretty good rotation, though with Alex Cobb out until late in the season rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery, their success in the always-tough AL East is far from certain. Though if they do manage to win the division, it will be the first time in the Wild Card era that five different teams win their division in five consecutive years.

Thanks, reddit.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-49 Erasmo Ramirez

With Cobb Out, Erasmo Ramirez will have a more solid spot in the Rays rotation. He looks dwarfed by the pitcher's mound from this high angle, and it may be a Shadow Shots candidate for Johnny's Trading Post, even with the banner and the fade-out in the way.

I'm really not kidding that I pulled these three cards in a row. Three Rays righties, all with straining mid-pitch faces.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-39 DJ LeMahieu

Finally, it just wouldn't be right to leave out the Rockies. This is a great double-play shot of second baseman DJ LeMahieu, continuing the great tradition of Rockies middle infielders with difficult-to-spell last names. Looks like this is from Chase Field, as Jake Lamb is wearing a throwback Diamondbacks jersey, their original pinstriped design with purple and teal. Also don't forget that Pepsi ad on the outfield wall.

Speaking of Pepsi, the last time I had one was in 2009 at Angel Stadium with my dad. Not the last time at a ballgame, the last time period. Soda just isn't my thing.

Potato chips, on the other hand? Well, let's just say that the expiration date on a bag of chips is one of the most useless pieces of information in my day-to-day life.

I'll wrap up the base cards here, but I'll have another entire post devoted just to inserts and parallels. You already know I love Opening Day inserts, and this blaster was a pretty lucky one in the parallel department.

Stop by as the countdown continues!