This year, I have adapted a new way of autograph collecting; through the mail autograph requests. Basically, I send out a letter, a card to be signed, and a self addressed stamped envelope to both former and current baseball players. As of July 17, I have sent out 32 letters. Out of the 32, I have gotten 11 back. I have gotten back Rob Manfred, Pat Neshek, Ken Singleton, Danny Duffy, Raisel Iglesias, Brad Ziegler, Chris Iannetta, Ryan Goins, Adeiny Hechavarria, Juan Gonzalez, and Ryne Sandberg. Of the 21 I still have out there, Mark Teixeira, Clayton Kershaw, Todd Frazier, and Greg Bird highlight the pending requests.
Tag: Cards
Topps Chrome Sellout
The biggest storylines of 2017 have included rookie sensations Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. They are both known for their insane home runs and great personalities. Kids love them, Majestic makes special shirts for them, they get comparisons to greats, and everyone wants a piece of them. The Topps Trading Card Company answered these demands when they released Topps Chrome 2017, the first 2017 baseball product to feature both Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge autographs in an all around wide release product. Bowman Platinum also had Judge and Bellinger autos but the product was a Walmart exclusive. The highly acclaimed product was released on August 2 at 12:01, and sold out on the Topps website within 6 hours. The product price has risen from $81 to $130. Another contributing factor to the product’s success is the cover boy, Aaron Judge.
Autographs in my Collection
As of the release date, I have two autographs in my collection. I have a Johnny Bench autograph from Donruss Signature Series of 1999. It is numbered 1973/2000. I also have a John Franco autograph from Topps Archives 2015. It is numbered 38/50. I hope to get more autos in the future.
Topps Products
Here is a list of products that the Topps Baseball Card Comapany makes (excludes Bowman products):
- Series 1
- Series 2
- Update Series
- Topps Chrome
- Topps Heritage
- Topps Heritage Minor Leagues
- Topps Finest
- Topps Archives
- Topps Triple Threads
- Topps Museum Collection
- Topps Tier One
- Topps Inception
- Topps Strata
- Topps Now
- Topps Holiday Box
- Topps Five Star Baseball
- Topps Opening Day
- Topps Pro Debut
- Topps Clearly Authentic
- Topps Gypsy Queen
- Topps Living Set
- Topps Big League
- Topps Bunt
How To Properly Handle a Relic Card
It drives me crazy when people on YouTube mishandle relic cards. Relic cards, for those of you who don’t know, are thick baseball cards that contain usually part of a player’s jersey, bat, hat, glove, or ball. Here is what you should do if you pull a relic from a pack of cards:
- Don’t touch the relic. Touching the relic could stain it. Your hands contain oils, and touching the relic could damage it. Touching it can also include the sides. As usual wear and tear on the sides brings down the value of the card.
- Put the relic in a penny sleeve. Doing this will protect the card from fading and wear and tear.
- DO NOT FORCE THE RELIC INTO A TOPLOADER. The relic most likely won’t fit. Trying to force it into a toploader will cause damage to it.
How To Properly Case An Auto-Card
In recent years, Topps and other baseball card companies have been inserting on card autographs in their packs. This means the player signs on the card. Some people do not know how to case them. Here is how to properly case an auto-card.
- Do not touch the corners! This can cause damage!
- Carefully insert the card into a penny sleeve. A penny sleeve is a thin piece of plastic that prevents the cards from getting nicked up.
- Put the penny sleeved card into a toploader. A toploader is a hard piece of plastic that protects the card from acids and fading.
Topps Royalty
Topps is the only baseball card brand in 2017 that is actually associated with MLB (Topps owns Bowman, so Bowman doesn’t count). Panini, Donruss, and other brands are not officially licensed by MLB. Each year, Topps makes a lot of common series such as Series 1, Series 2, Update Series, Topps Heritage, Topps Chrome, and Allen & Ginter. What some do not know is that Topps also releases other series that are more expensive and rare. These are usually Hobby Shop exclusives, but they are still popular. Topps High Tek, retailing around $50 dollars, use new card technology to make the cards transparent. Topps Finest, retailing at about $99 dollars a master box, features players of all years and two autographs or relics per mini box. Triple Threads, retailing at about $200, contain extremely high chances of autographs and relics. Topps Museum Collection, retailing around $250-$300, contains 20 cards for each master box. Each Master Box is divided into four Mini Boxes with five cards per mini box. But what makes these cards so expensive? Well, each mini box contains either a autograph or relic. In total, each Master Box has one on card autograph, one normal relic, one special relic (one double, triple, or quadruple relic), and one auto-relic. These cards are sometimes refered to as Topps Royalty because of their expensive price and high odds.
Topps Now Review
Finally, my card came! I shipped in seven days but since I was one vacation for ten days, you get the idea. So anyway, I decided I would review it. So here it goes, my review for my Mark Teixeira 317 Topps Now Card review:
- Pro: Free shipping and it came in seven days.
- Pro: I got the right card.
- Pro: Super high quality, it feels like you are there.
- Pro: It came in a protective plastic sleeve and an Ultra Pro Sleeve just in case.
- Con: Words describe the event, but no stats.
- Overall Impression: Great product, Must buy for baseball fans.
The Bleacher Creature is not endorsed or associated with Topps or Topps Now by any means.
Collector’s Choice: Topps Now
I am not sure if I mentioned it already, but I am a huge collector of anything baseball related. I collect elongated pennies, bobbleheads (so far I have Mickey Mantle Triple Crown bobblehead and a Wade Davis MiLB one), baseball cards (Three binders filled with them), Teeny Mates, autographs, MLB Chipz, and the baseballs themselves (Okay, I only have snagged two from BP… (Double parenthesis. Uh… Not sure if I can do that but click here for more about my ballhawking adventures.) but I am a ballhawk in training. I am reading books by Zack Hample that tell how to snag balls. I should probably end this because this parenthesis line is getting way to big).
But now, I expand my collection to something new: baseball cards! Now Jacoby, you might be thinking, you already mention that before in the paragraph that violated all English rules. These are different. These are called Topps Now and they have been extremely popular this year. They make new baseball cards 24 hours after something great happens. A week ago, I ordered a Mark Teixeira card and it should be coming today or tomorrow. If you haven’t already, you should really check it out and purchase a card of your favorite team. I just wanted to say that Topps nailed it again.
The Bleacher Creature is not sponsored or endorsed by Topps in any way, shape, or form.