Topps Now Red Sox Team Set

The other day I wrapped up the last of the Topps Now Red Sox cards for the 2016 MLB season.  There was one more gimmick up Topps' sleeve that I fell for though, and that was the Topps Now team set...

They did one of these for each team that qualified for post-season play.  You'd get 15 cards featuring the team's top players from the 2016 season, and an additional bonus card for each post-season series your team managed to win.

With the Red Sox being swept out of the playoffs there were no bonus cards to be had, so it was just the standard 15-card team set for me.

Topps sold 612 Red Sox sets, so these aren't all that rare.  I have a feeling I'll be seeing them in dollar boxes at some point and kicking myself for this purchase.  Oh well, too late now!

Always happy to add a new Xander Bogaerts card to the collection!

Andrew Benintendi is one of two players on the checklist to get the "Call-Up" designation on his card.  I hope he can continue to grow and be a significant contributor in 2017.

Jackie Bradley Jr. had a solid 2016 campaign, setting new career highs in almost every single offensive statistical category.

To be honest, I never thought Hanley Ramirez would have the kind of year that he did.  If you had told me back in April that he'd put up an .866 OPS with 30 home runs and a career-high 111 RBI I would have called you crazy.

Sandy Leon was a very effective part-time backstop, hitting .310 with 17 doubles and 35 RBI despite appearing in less than half the team's games.

It kind of bothers me that the write-up on the back of every single card ends in "helped the Red Sox [them] clinch the AL East Division title":

Pretty lazy job by Topps there if you ask me.

Here's the other "Call-Up" card, Yoan Moncada.  He didn't look great this year, but it's much too early to predict how he'll pan out in the long run.  He'll be one of the more interesting players to watch in Spring Training next year for sure.

I'm about the ten thousandth Red Sox fan to say this, but after watching the 2016 post-season you can't help but wonder if the team made the wrong call in letting Jon Lester go and signing David Price as their ace.

Steven Wright was a very under-rated starter, at least for the first half of the season.  I don't have too many cards of the knuckle-baller so I'm glad he was included here.

Your 2016 AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello!  You can put Rick in the same category as Hanley Ramirez; players who far exceeded expectations in 2016.

Here's a guy I was not terribly impressed with.  Pomeranz just doesn't do it for me.

Last card in the set, sometimes-erratic closer Craig Kimbrel.

So there you have it.  Now I can say with complete honesty that I've shown all of my Topps Now cards for the year.  When I think of all the cool cards I could have picked up on COMC this weekend for the same $49 I dropped on this set, it makes me want to cry.  Oh well, lesson learned for next season!

Anyone else pick up a Topps Now team set?