2011 Topps Series 1
What I pulled--
Topps Town – one per pack
Diamond Parallels – Erick Aybar, Adrian Beltre, Julio Borbon, Gio Gonzalez, Aaron Hill, Derek Jeter, Matt Joyce, Ted Lilly,
Freddy Sanchez
Gold Parallels (#ed to 2011) – Tyler Clippard, Chris Coghlan, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strasburg
Black Parallel – Magglio Ordonez (#32/60)
Kimball Champions – Ryan Braun, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Jon Lester, David Ortiz, David Price, Carlos Santana, Johan
Santana, Stephen Strasburg
Diamon Duos – Carlos Gonzalez/Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Howard/Jason Heyward, Tommy Hanson/Mike Minor, Ian Kinsler/Elvis
Andrus, Evan Longoria/Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Mauer/Buster Posey, Hanley Ramirez/Mike Stanton, Tom Seaver/Aroldis
Chapman, Joey Votto/Adrian Gonzalez
Topps 60 – Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, Chipper Jones, Dale Murphy, Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas,
Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Upton
60 Years of Topps – Bob Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, Tony Gwynn, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Mickey Mantle, Tony Perez, Pee Wee
Reese, Ozzie Smith, Frank Thomas, Troy Tulowitzki, Carl Yastrzemski
60 Years of Topps Original Back – Phil Niekro/Nolan Ryan Strikeout Leaders
60 Years of Topps The Lost Cards – Mickey Mantle 54, Mickey Mantle 55, Stan Musial 57
History of Topps - #3, #8
Vintage Reproductions – Jackie Robinson 50 Bowman, Babe Ruth 16 Sporting News, Honus Wagner 03 Breisch-Williams,
Honus Wagner 10 Tip Top, Johnny Mize/Enos Slaughter 41 Double Play
Diamond Giveaway – Ryan Howard, Jackie Robinson, Tim Lincecum, Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle
Topps 60 Relic – Kosuke Fukudome gray jersey
Review:
Nothing says spring is right around the corner better than the release of the annual Topps baseball card
set. And this year, the venerable king of trading cards blows the doors off.
2011 Topps is nothing short of spectacular. It goes without saying that the base cards are going to be
beautiful, and Topps doesn’t disappoint, with a design that is befitting of the Diamond Anniversary being
celebrated in the product’s 60th season. The names and team logos are crisp, clear and, remarkably,
understated at the same time. The photos are pure Topps, with action shots and the occasional
whimsical picture thrown in.
As has become custom, the product is loaded with parallels and inserts. The gold and black parallels are
supplemented with the appropriately named and designed diamond parallel, with short-printed, tough to
find “sparkle” variations thrown in for good measure. The inserts are solid, with Topps bringing back “The Cards Your Mom
Threw Out” from last season, only renamed “60 Years of Topps” – call it what you want, but give me this insert every year
(maybe next year, make it themed, such as goofy cards from the past or one year wonders or something else that presents
some hidden gems in the Topps vault). The rest of the inserts are pure standard Topps, from the stat-based Topps 60 to the
history-based Vintage Reproductions.
Topps also brings back last year’s Million Card Giveaway, this year rebranding it as Diamond Giveaway. The promotion is
exactly the same, with a couple of fun new wrinkles added, such as free prizes, die-cut parallels and more. There are relics
and autos thrown in to each box, as well, with each hobby box carrying one hit. As usual, however, the quality pulls in those
areas are few and far between, making their addition more to appease box breakers that need one hit in each box than to carry
any sort of value to most collectors.
Boxes of 2011 are flying off shelves, especially the jumbo boxes, and rightfully so. This is a product that carries not just a great
deal of bang for the buck, but also brightens up the dog days of winter, carrying the promise of warmer weather around the
corner. For obvious reasons, it is usually one of the biggest sellers of all of the Topps lines, simply for the history each set
carries.
And this year, it really is better than ever........................
A+
What I pulled--
Topps Town – one per pack
Diamond Parallels – Erick Aybar, Adrian Beltre, Julio Borbon, Gio Gonzalez, Aaron Hill, Derek Jeter, Matt Joyce, Ted Lilly,
Freddy Sanchez
Gold Parallels (#ed to 2011) – Tyler Clippard, Chris Coghlan, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strasburg
Black Parallel – Magglio Ordonez (#32/60)
Kimball Champions – Ryan Braun, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Jon Lester, David Ortiz, David Price, Carlos Santana, Johan
Santana, Stephen Strasburg
Diamon Duos – Carlos Gonzalez/Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Howard/Jason Heyward, Tommy Hanson/Mike Minor, Ian Kinsler/Elvis
Andrus, Evan Longoria/Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Mauer/Buster Posey, Hanley Ramirez/Mike Stanton, Tom Seaver/Aroldis
Chapman, Joey Votto/Adrian Gonzalez
Topps 60 – Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, Chipper Jones, Dale Murphy, Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas,
Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Upton
60 Years of Topps – Bob Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, Tony Gwynn, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Mickey Mantle, Tony Perez, Pee Wee
Reese, Ozzie Smith, Frank Thomas, Troy Tulowitzki, Carl Yastrzemski
60 Years of Topps Original Back – Phil Niekro/Nolan Ryan Strikeout Leaders
60 Years of Topps The Lost Cards – Mickey Mantle 54, Mickey Mantle 55, Stan Musial 57
History of Topps - #3, #8
Vintage Reproductions – Jackie Robinson 50 Bowman, Babe Ruth 16 Sporting News, Honus Wagner 03 Breisch-Williams,
Honus Wagner 10 Tip Top, Johnny Mize/Enos Slaughter 41 Double Play
Diamond Giveaway – Ryan Howard, Jackie Robinson, Tim Lincecum, Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle
Topps 60 Relic – Kosuke Fukudome gray jersey
Review:
Nothing says spring is right around the corner better than the release of the annual Topps baseball card
set. And this year, the venerable king of trading cards blows the doors off.
2011 Topps is nothing short of spectacular. It goes without saying that the base cards are going to be
beautiful, and Topps doesn’t disappoint, with a design that is befitting of the Diamond Anniversary being
celebrated in the product’s 60th season. The names and team logos are crisp, clear and, remarkably,
understated at the same time. The photos are pure Topps, with action shots and the occasional
whimsical picture thrown in.
As has become custom, the product is loaded with parallels and inserts. The gold and black parallels are
supplemented with the appropriately named and designed diamond parallel, with short-printed, tough to
find “sparkle” variations thrown in for good measure. The inserts are solid, with Topps bringing back “The Cards Your Mom
Threw Out” from last season, only renamed “60 Years of Topps” – call it what you want, but give me this insert every year
(maybe next year, make it themed, such as goofy cards from the past or one year wonders or something else that presents
some hidden gems in the Topps vault). The rest of the inserts are pure standard Topps, from the stat-based Topps 60 to the
history-based Vintage Reproductions.
Topps also brings back last year’s Million Card Giveaway, this year rebranding it as Diamond Giveaway. The promotion is
exactly the same, with a couple of fun new wrinkles added, such as free prizes, die-cut parallels and more. There are relics
and autos thrown in to each box, as well, with each hobby box carrying one hit. As usual, however, the quality pulls in those
areas are few and far between, making their addition more to appease box breakers that need one hit in each box than to carry
any sort of value to most collectors.
Boxes of 2011 are flying off shelves, especially the jumbo boxes, and rightfully so. This is a product that carries not just a great
deal of bang for the buck, but also brightens up the dog days of winter, carrying the promise of warmer weather around the
corner. For obvious reasons, it is usually one of the biggest sellers of all of the Topps lines, simply for the history each set
carries.
And this year, it really is better than ever........................
A+
