A couple of weeks back I was doing some holiday shopping on Amazon and it struck me to check to see whether there were any cheap card deals that I could add to my cart since I was already over the $35 free shipping threshold on my order. I was pleasantly surprised to find a seller offering the 2011 Topps Red Sox team-issue set for just 65 cents with free shipping!
The first card in the set, despite being an airbrushed disaster, is an example of why I love these team sets. You won't find this image/card on the checklist for the 2011 Topps flagship set, this photo was used on the card for the team set only.
Of course the cards are numbered BOSx to designate the team issued set. This was a no-brainer at less than 4 cents per card, especially since I didn't have a single one of the 17 cards previously. Here's a look at the other 16...
The majority of the cards feature the same image that was used in the corresponding flagship set, with the only real difference being the card numbering on the back. David is one of only three subjects in the set who are still with the team just a few years later.
Kevin Youkilis' card is one of those with a slightly different image. In the flagship set, the same photograph was used but just cropped tighter:
JD Drew's card features a different image entirely, and one I don't recall having seen before. Here's the one from the flagship set, featuring Drew patrolling the outfield:
John Lackey's card is similar to Youkilis' in that it's the same image used in the flagship set just panned out a bit. Here's the zoomed-in counterpart:
Jed Lowrie's 2011 flagship card uses an entirely different image, featuring Jed rounding the basepaths. Unfortunately I don't have one to show you. Looks like I've got some holes to fill in my 2011 team set...
Pedroia is the second guy in the "still with the team" category.
Completely different image for Adrian Gonzalez. He'd get his own card showing him with Boston in Series 2 of the 2011 flagship offering:
The final of the three players still on the current roster. As with every season so far in his career, the challenge for Clay in 2015 will be staying healthy and durable for an entire 162-game season...
In closing, my favorite part of the set year in and year out, your obligatory Fenway Park card!
While there wasn't a whole lot that I found worthwhile for the price, I'm glad I checked Amazon as a potential new source for cardboard and happened upon this cheap deal. The same seller had a Mets team set from 2010 for around the same price, so I snagged that as well and sent the majority of them off to my buddy
Mark at This Way to the Clubhouse.
2 comments:
That is a great set of cards. In fact, this is the set that got me back into collecting. My wife got it for me for my birthday, and it opened Pandora's Box.
I'll have to track down one of these sets
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