2011 Topps Lineage
What I pulled--
Platinum Diamond Parallels – Bert Blyleven, CC Sabathia, Monte Irvin, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Wright, Carlos Gonzalez
Diamond Anniversary Parallels – Johnny Bench, Ichiro All-Rookie, Miguel Cabrera, John Smoltz, Alexei Ramirez, Al Kaline
2011 Rookies – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Michael Pineda, Domonic Brown, Hank Conger
Stand Ups – Felix Hernandez, Mickey Mantle
Venezuela Backs – Ichiro, Mark Teixeira
Cloth Stickers – Felix Hernandez, Adrian Gonzalez
3D Cards – Josh Hamilton, Hunter Pence
1975 Minis – Roy Campanella, Alex Rodriguez, Chris Sale, Nolan Ryan, Stan Musial, Jayson Werth
Oversized Boxtopper – Josh Hamilton
1975 Mini Relic – David Price gray jersey
1952 Autograph – Marlon Byrd
1952 Reprint Autograph – Bob Miller
Review:
I was really excited when I heard about the concept of Topps Lineage. Some of the great (and some of the
obscure) designs from the litany of choices in Topps’ past, all in one set.
I was slightly disappointed, however.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the inserts. The 3D cards. The Venezuelan backs. The Cloth Stickers. The
1975 mins. Especially the 1975 minis (the 1975 set might be my favorite Topps set of all of them). And
there were three hits in each box to boot. How could this go wrong?
I think it is a couple of areas. First off, the base cards left a little to be desired. There is nothing WRONG
with them, but there is nothing special about them either. They have the feel of an early 80s Fleer or
Donruss set, and maybe that is what was intended. However, in 2011, I just felt they were a little bland and empty. Secondly,
the autographs are a very mixed bag. The autos of guys from 1952 are awesome. However, the current player checklist is,
well, uninspiring. Not only did I pull a Marlon Byrd auto in this box, but I pulled the same auto in a second box I picked up.
Some may say they prefer a major leaguer autograph to yet another prospect one, but I’m not so sure about that, given the
repeat auto I got here.
Like I said, there is nothing wrong with Topps Lineage. But maybe I set my expectations too high. I was looking forward to
cracking this product the moment I heard about it. And the 1975 minis alone made it worth the wait. But I still feel like
something was missing. Hopefully Topps brings this one back next year and tweaks it a little. There is tons of potential, albeit
unrealized........................
B
What I pulled--
Platinum Diamond Parallels – Bert Blyleven, CC Sabathia, Monte Irvin, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Wright, Carlos Gonzalez
Diamond Anniversary Parallels – Johnny Bench, Ichiro All-Rookie, Miguel Cabrera, John Smoltz, Alexei Ramirez, Al Kaline
2011 Rookies – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Michael Pineda, Domonic Brown, Hank Conger
Stand Ups – Felix Hernandez, Mickey Mantle
Venezuela Backs – Ichiro, Mark Teixeira
Cloth Stickers – Felix Hernandez, Adrian Gonzalez
3D Cards – Josh Hamilton, Hunter Pence
1975 Minis – Roy Campanella, Alex Rodriguez, Chris Sale, Nolan Ryan, Stan Musial, Jayson Werth
Oversized Boxtopper – Josh Hamilton
1975 Mini Relic – David Price gray jersey
1952 Autograph – Marlon Byrd
1952 Reprint Autograph – Bob Miller
Review:
I was really excited when I heard about the concept of Topps Lineage. Some of the great (and some of the
obscure) designs from the litany of choices in Topps’ past, all in one set.
I was slightly disappointed, however.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the inserts. The 3D cards. The Venezuelan backs. The Cloth Stickers. The
1975 mins. Especially the 1975 minis (the 1975 set might be my favorite Topps set of all of them). And
there were three hits in each box to boot. How could this go wrong?
I think it is a couple of areas. First off, the base cards left a little to be desired. There is nothing WRONG
with them, but there is nothing special about them either. They have the feel of an early 80s Fleer or
Donruss set, and maybe that is what was intended. However, in 2011, I just felt they were a little bland and empty. Secondly,
the autographs are a very mixed bag. The autos of guys from 1952 are awesome. However, the current player checklist is,
well, uninspiring. Not only did I pull a Marlon Byrd auto in this box, but I pulled the same auto in a second box I picked up.
Some may say they prefer a major leaguer autograph to yet another prospect one, but I’m not so sure about that, given the
repeat auto I got here.
Like I said, there is nothing wrong with Topps Lineage. But maybe I set my expectations too high. I was looking forward to
cracking this product the moment I heard about it. And the 1975 minis alone made it worth the wait. But I still feel like
something was missing. Hopefully Topps brings this one back next year and tweaks it a little. There is tons of potential, albeit
unrealized........................
B
