My first Brewers cards

I was VERY VERY frustrated with Topps not including guys who made the Opening Day roster in their Series 2 flagship release.  I even considered not buying any new Topps products because it seemed like just a money grab to force people to buy their Topps Update release.

Topps did redeem themselves by including guys like Bobby Witt Jr, Spencer Torkleson, and Julio Rodriguez as short prints in the set.  This is a similar approach to what they did in 2019 with Vlad Jr (who debuted 3 weeks after this year's SP debuts).  They also produced a SP photo variant of Cutch in a Brewers uniform for Series 2.  

I haven't purchased that SP (or any flagship cards yet), but I did pick up this insert card (which you will likely see again in a future themed post).

I love this insert set.  It's so simple, but it's fun because it is something we haven't seen from Topps in a long time.

The insert set features fan favorites and superstars wearing sunglasses and is called Sweet Shades.  All the cards feature a closeup of the athlete wearing the sunglasses and feature rainbow holofoil on the front.  The font on the player's name is easy to read as it is all capital letters with the first name on top (something we don't always see from card manufacturers these days).  The sweet shades logo features a sun ray on the top corner of the last "s".

The back features an actual writeup discussing the front of the card.  Rather than Panini insert releases, it is nice to see Topps put in an effort to discuss the player and sunglasses.  

While not expensive, this insert set would be fun to put together especially since it features most of the popular stars in the game.  It is very possible that including Cutch in this insert set that Topps brought me back to wanting to collect current releases of my favorite player.  This insert set brought back memories of the early 90s insert set I enjoyed putting together in my early teens.  Sets like Donruss Long Ball Leaders or Fleer Shrap Shooters didn't break the bank, but had a fun design using holofoil.  Were it not for this insert, I was perfectly content not adding any new 2022 cards to the collection.

Prior to my frustration with Topps I was picking up 2022 releases hoping to get a few Brewers cards in the PC.

I preordered the Topps Now Road to Opening Day thinking that the Brewers could give me an off chance of some bonus cards throughout the year.  With a strong pitching staff and the best closer in baseball, I was sure they would be in 1st Place at the All Star Break.  A recent 8 game losing streak caused them to slide to 2 GB of 1st Place as of June 17th.  With a month remaining until the ASG I still have hopes of getting an NL Central division leader card (with hopefully some Cutch cameo) on it.  Cutch has struggled to use the long ball this year compared to years past.  Returning from his brief stint on the COVID 10 Day IL, Cutch struggled, but in recent week Cutch has returned to vintage form with a .833OPS, 2SB, 1HR, and a .433 OBP over the past 7 games.  

The back of the Topps Now Road to Opening Day cards looks similar to recent years spotlighting the same blurb for all members on the team along with something the player has done recently.  

In Cutch's case it notes his 27HR in 2021.

Here's hoping for more Cutch and Brewers success.

Have you bought any Topps Series 2?

Have You ever purchased the Topps Now Road to Opening Day team sets for your favorite teams? 

Got more Anrew

Last Wednesday I posted about getting my Topps Now Road to Opening Day Phillies team set and inside I had gotten a red Zack Wheeler parallel numbered to 10 copies as my exclusive parallel.  You can revisit that post here.  I was a bit disappointed that I had also gotten an Anrew McCutchen card instead of an Andrew McCutchen card.  I can understand spelling his last name wrong as only 2 players in MLB history have had the last name McCutchen (coincidently they were Pirates teammates), but Anrew isn't a real word or name so how did something like that get by Topps Quality Control.

Fortunately Topps spelled the name correctly on the back. 

Well, like Topps I must have made an error because I actually ordered two sets.  I didn't even know I did this, but sure enough a week apart from my initial order I placed an order for a second team set when buying some Project 2020 cards.

And oddly enough it showed up a few days later than the first set.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got a blue parallel of my main collection player's alter ego, Anrew(?) McCutchen.

Speaking of alter egos...

Something awesome is coming my way very soon and it will definitely achieve the "something nice to hang on walls" want list item.

Who is this Anrew guy?

Andrew McCutchen

It's not that tough to spell

I got my Topps Road to Opening Day Phillies team set in the mail yesterday and was shocked that Topps did it again.

They spelled Cutch's name without the d in Andrew.

Shouldn't there be a spell check or something?

This isn't the first time that Topps has done this either.

Last year they messed up what would have been an amazing card featuring three of the best Pirates of All Time

In addition to being disappointed that my favorite athlete's name was spelled wrong AGAIN in a Topps product, I was upset to find out that Topps sent the package to my old apartment.  Fortunately I was alerted to it and grabbed it the next day.

Inside was the complete team set including a red parallel of Zack Wheeler

National Wear Red Day

Over the past few years I have had a month long event every October trying to raise money for breast cancer awareness by showing off only pink baseball cards.

Another of my yearly events is to show off only red cards on the first Friday in February.  The Wear Red campaign is to bring awareness to women heart disease. That day is typically reserved for which you can make a donation to the American Heart Association here.

You can revisit all my other Wear Red Day posts here.

Show off that Red today!

Help bring awareness to women's heart health!

Bringing awareness helps save lives!

Today I will show off some red cards I own of Cutch.  I could go through my collection and easily come up with 100 cards that are classified as red parallels, but I want to mostly focus on my Phillies collection because red just looks so good as a parallel for the Phightins.

Let's begin with a pair of Phillies cards that look eerily familiar to each other.

Topps Total is a release built for the old school fan that loves to build sets and collect as many of their team's favorite players.  It is an online exclusive release, which hurts the mass appeal and keeps production numbers fairly low compared to flagship.  But if you're a fan of the smaller market teams and like to get cards of those middle relievers and utility player "taxi squad" type guys this set is for you.  The designs are simple and basic. 

Plain borders ✔

Player name clearly across bottom using a standard easy to rease font ✔

Team logos clearly pictured ✔

Brand name top corner ✔

It's a simple set.  My only problem is that the picture used for McCutchen looks eerily familar to the previous year release.  You can tell that they are from a different game because of the arm sleeve, batting gloves (more on this in a future post), and way the pants/socks are worn.  The pose is nearly identical and it's the same alternate home jersey worn in both photos.

Andrew has had a few autographs with Topps that are red parallels.  

By far my favorite (even though it's a sticker auto) is this 1984 Silver Pack Mojo Refractor of Cutch numbered to only 5 copies.

Another favorite is from the 2019 National Gary Vee Topps X set.  Gary selected a handful of players to discuss their hobbies and reflect on it.

One of the players he selected was Cutch for his artistic talent and how he likes to draw to help out local charities.  You may recall that I own an original piece of artwork by Andrew, which I showed off here.

I also have a 2019 Road to Opening Day ON CARD autograph of Cutch numbered to only 10 copies.

The red background with the Phillies classic pinstripe uniform really stands out.

Not to be out done (but it clearly is overmatched by it's predecessor) is the red "border" of the 2020 Road To Opening Day parallel.  The pose is better, but the design is a let down compared to the 2019 version.

From the memorabilia standpoint, I have one ruby parallel from 2020 Topps Museum that has a nice chunky three color patch.

I got this serially numbered card to 10 for a quarter of the price that the emerald to 25 was consistently selling for.  This hibby sure can be strange at times.

And even though Museum is a higher end release, this 2020 Topps Flagship red parallel 1985 design KICKS...IT'S...ASS.... on the cool factor scale

What an awesome looking card and a perfect way to marriage the nostalgia and modern collectors.

Black History Month needs to be talked about at some point this month and I have a post in the works to discuss the Negro Leagues.

This 2020 Topps Now red parallel to 10 copies is a card that honors the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues.  Of course Cutch hit a homer on the day.

My favorite new parallel to the Topps portfolio was the UK Edition Big Ben parallel.

While I thought the UK Edition release was a lame excuse to make more of the same card, I think they nailed the red Big Ben parallel.  Time will tell how they utilize this platform in the future.

Another parallel that I like to go after is the Triple Threads Ruby parallels.  These are all 1/1s and tend to be fairly pricy (as you'll see in a card at the bottom of this post)

Talk about a great design and great way to use color parallels and foil stamping.  Far too often, Topps will put the foil stamping on a dark part of the card, which makes it tough to scan.  Here they bled out the red and kept the stamping area very light almost white.

Panini has gotten into the red game also with their Prizm release.

Prizm has been a favorite set of mine for many years even though Panini doesn't have team logo rights, they make the card designs and parallels POP!

If Panini ever got an official license, National Treasures baseball would destroy Topps Museum and Triple Threads.

Look at that patch!!!

Remember Sweet Spot?  

Remember how all the autographs faded over time?

Let's hope Panini learned from Upper Deck's mistakes and these autographs stick around.  In addition to standard red laces there were also green (why?), blue, and red/white/blue stitching.

So there's a few of my 2020 Red Parallels (with a 2019 card thrown in to compare here and there).

Because of the low numberings of red parallels (almost always numbered to 10 copies or less) I haven't been able to get every red parallel this year that features Cutch.  Some were out of my price change and some just haven't surfaced.

There was a red parallel card that I didn't win last night.  While the Pirates days of Cutch will always be my most memorable, I can't get passed the fact that Topps spelled Andrew wrong.  

What the heck is an Anrew?

I own the sapphire (only 3 copies) because a Twitter follower offered it to me for a tremendous price.  Quite frankly I don't have much desire to complete this rainbow or even chase after the other cards.  Andrew is my favorite athlete ever and his name deserves to be spoken in similar fashion as Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente in Pittsburgh, but Topps can't spell his name right so I can't proudly display the cards.

 

Besides, look at the ending price of this thing!  If a $700 Anrew McCutchen card doesn't prove the hobby is strong right now, I don't know what does. A 1/1 Clemente bat swatch wouldn't fetch that kind of coin and there are plenty of Willie Stargell patch cards featuring the black and yellow.  I was in for this auction up to about $100.  I am shocked how much it went for. Shocked!!!!

Are you going to wear red today?

Do you like to get color parallels to a certain team?

Which of the above cards is your favorite?

One More Day

The Road to Opening Day stands at only one more night's sleep.

Who's ready for some baseball?

This is the 2019 Topps Now Road to Opening Day autograph edition.  I have 3 of the parallels red/10, purple/25, base/99.

There are 3 parallels that I still need.
Blue/49
Orange /5
Gold /1

The Road To Opening Day?

Opening Day was supposed to have happened a few months ago.  We should be talking about the All-Star game candidates at this point.

But.....
We're not....

There are some legal and financial issues that the MLB Owners and MLBPA will try to work out over the next few weeks as they target a July 1st Opening Day.

Since 2017, Topps has produced on demand Topps Now style cards called Road To Opening Day.  Team lots are available and depending on how the team has done you can receive bonus cards to highlight no hitters, cycles, 1st place finishes, etc.

There are also autograph parallels that can be had if you purchase an autograph team set.  Generally teams have 3 autograph subjects per team.  By buying into the autograph subject team set you also get a color parallel of a member of the team.

I have had a long time relationship with eBay seller known as Twinsjake.  I buy a lot of my online exclusive/on demand cards from him and messaged him about trying to get some of the color parallels of Cutch if he got any in his many shipments of the 2020 Road to Opening Day Phillies sets.

Fortunately for me Jake hit me up and offered me a pair of color McCutchen numbered to 5 (orange) and 10 (red) respectively.

I would still like to get the blue version numbered to 49 copies and of course the gold numbered to 1.

What are you most looking forward to if there is in fact a baseball season this year?

Now (that's an autograph)

Because I am extremely tired after last night's game I attended here is just another autograph card of Cutch until I can write something more thought provoking.

I got my second parallel of the Topps Now Road to Opening Day autograph

It's just the base. I would love to add the red parallel to go with the base and purple I,currently own.

Work Hard, Play Hard, Die Hard

In case you missed it former New Jersey native, Bruce Willis, threw out the first pitch at Wednesday's Phillies game vs. the Brewers.  The Die Hard star left fans either saying Booooooo or Bruuuuuuce.

It wasn't nearly as good as when I saw Fifty Cent shank the ball "just a bit outside", but Bruce didn't throw a strike either. He threw a breaking ball in the dirt. So much for being unbreakable.

I haven't been as hard at work trying to get Cutch cards in Phillies uniforms the way I once chased his Pirates cards.  Cutch is in 2 releases that have hit in the past week (Panini Prizm and Topps Big League Baseball) wearing the red pinstripes and I don't have a single card from either release yet.

I did snag this oddball

Each year the Phillies release two 4x6 photocard team sets.  This one is the early season version as you can tell by the Spring Training uniform.  They will likely release another late summer.  The entire team set can be had for $5 at Citizens Bank Park.  Vendors often go up and down the aisle selling them a few times throughout the game.

The backs feature basic player information along with complete player stats.  Overall, the Phillies do a nice job with these year after year.

A few years ago, I grabbed the Charlie Morton Phillies photocard as well.

I also got the Topps Now Road To Opening Day card of Cutch.  There should be an auto coming soon too which I preordered from TwinsJake a few months back.

The autograph version will likely look exactly like the base card, but here is hoping I get shipped a lower numbered color parallel.

More Giants Cards Arrive

Just a few days after posting about not receiving my Topps Now cards from eBay seller TwinsJake, I received all three of my Andrew McCutchen Topps Now cards I had preordered.

So let's look at each card and break down the look of these Topps Now cards.

The first 2018 Topps Now card released was technically the 2017 Offseason card of Cutch being traded on January 15th.  I discussed that card the day after he was traded.

The Road to Opening Day has been a staple for the past two years for ToppsNow.  It highlights fifteen players who will make the big league roster as Opening Day starters.  When Cutch was traded to the Giants, it was clear he would be their everyday right fielder and batting near the top of the lineup.

This is everything fans should hope to see from a Spring Training set.  It has the spring sun, players wearing unique Spring Training uniforms, and a certain level of joy on the player's faces.

The back discusses the even number magic the Giants have been known for and the acquisitions of Longo and Cutch hopefully leading the team to a playoff push in September.

The print run for the Giants set was 231 copies.





Once the season began, I kept my eyes on Cutch and the Giants daily to see if there might be some Now moments.
It didn't take long for Cutch to make a magical moment in the Bay.

This is the biggest moment that Cutch has had in a Giants uniform thus far.  Cutch had a massive day at the plate collecting 6 hits, the final one being a 3 run walkoff homer in the 14th inning to help defeat the long standing rival Dodgers.

The image shows Cutch connecting for the game winner, but the image below would have been a better image as he shows the emotion of the hit far better.  That swing used for the card could have been a foul ball and no one would be the wiser.  The image below shows the raw fiery emotion that Cutch must have felt when he finally arrived to help the Giants defeat their longest rival.

Hopefully Topps can use this image in a future release and not just on their Bunt App.  I would LOVE to own this card.

The print run of this card was 445

The April 10th walk off single looks nearly identical to the walkoff HR (another reason I dislike the image chosen for the 6 hits/14th inning HR walkoff shot).

I actually like the look of this one as it captures the moment and writes it up perfectly on the back.  I wonder if Night Owl seeks out these Topps Now cards as there is A LOT of night cards produced.

The Print Run on these was only 195 copies so it is very possible that this card becomes one of those tough to find cards in the future.




One of my friends is a season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Phillies and has great seats in center right field. 

I went with him to watch the game and see the Giants lose to the Phillies for the second night in a row.  Cutch went 1 for 3 with a walk.  Cutch is starting to heat up as he is now hitting .409/.533/.455 over his last seven games. 

The Phillie Phanatic cracks me up.