There haven't been many new releases so far in 2017 that have interested me. Not that I mind, it's made this year an easy one for me in terms of resisting the temptation of retail and using my hobby funds in a more "targeted" manner.
The one set that interests me most every year, at least for these past few years since it returned, is Stadium Club. A nice, tidy, 300-card checklist with no short prints, and featuring the most creative photos of any product Topps releases. I'm sold.
So, I grabbed a 12-card rack pack from my local Target a couple of weeks back to experience the 2017 release for myself. I know myself well enough to know that I probably won't chase, and certainly won't finish, this set. In fact, I don't think I've finished off a single Stadium Club set since its rebirth.
Still, it's fun to open a pack every once in a while. Let's see how I did...
First card out of the pack had me smiling. Was always a fan of Ozzie Smith as a kid, and I don't recall having seen this fantastic photo on cardboard before. I think the black and white works here.
Admittedly, not the most exciting photograph this product has to offer. I'm guessing this one was chosen for the retro uniform.
Very similar to the previous card in terms of photo selection, though I do like that this one captured Thomas' swing at the exact moment that his bat made contact with the ball.
Don't have a lot to say about this one, so I'll take this opportunity to say that these cards seem to be curling already after just a few days. Anyone else noticed this?
A unique dugout shot here of the guy that had the hobby in a fervor a couple of years back. Is it just me, or have collectors cooled on Bryant a bit? Makes you wonder how in demand Aaron Judge cards will be in 2019?
I'd say this is the most boring base card in my pack.
My first White Sox card of the man that Boston dealt to acquire Chris Sale. Interesting that this photograph was taken in the same dugout as the Bryant above.
One thing I'm continually disappointed in year in and year out with Stadium Club is the inserts. Obviously I could have done a lot worse than Mike Trout, but still this Beam Team card just seems uninspired to me.
This one is even worse. I don't buy Stadium Club for the inserts though, it's all about the base set. Both of these have already been tossed into a trade package that I hope to get out this coming week.
The last three cards in my pack were of the horizontal layout variety. This is the exact type of photo that Stadium Club is known for, great stuff.
Check out the wingspan on Aroldis here!
Last card of the package, and arguably the best photograph. Just an awesome perspective here.
This might not have been the most thrilling pack, and I wasn't fortunate enough to pull any Red Sox. Nonetheless, this remains my favorite set of the year. What I got here was enough to pique my interest, and I'll probably end up grabbing some more of this.
Thanks for stopping by as always!
7 comments:
Is that Beam Team card etched foil? Pretty rare to see that from Topps. More of a UD thing (like Black Diamond most of the time)
I'd love if that Duda was a part of your next mailer that heads in my direction. It, along with the Raines, are easily my most wanted base cards.
I bought a pack myself, but Stadium Club is generally a card-at-a-time proposition... and the inserts are a big part of it. Far less appealing than the base cards, which isn't supposed to be the idea, guys.
That's an interesting photo showing the back of Lucas Duda's head. "I pledge allegiance to the Home Run Apple of the New York Mets of America..."
This is one product I like, but never have access to unless I want to order it online.
In a way the Aaron Sanchez (love that card, btw) reminds me of one of the mannerisms of the wrestler Sabu..
I really like the Ozzie and Bryant cards. I've enjoyed all the packs I've grabbed of these cards. Stadium Club always seem to have a great looking card in this brand. Thanks for the post.
Stadium Club rules. I honestly had given up any hopes of opening this year's product until I found some blasters at a Target during my vacation in Las Vegas last week. Had a blast today busting them open.
Given my ignorance of baseball cards, especially modern ones please forgive this question:
What would be the hockey equivalent of Stadium Club? Upper Deck S1 and S2?
Are there any high end baseball stuff like The Cup?
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