We Interrupt This Program To Bring You A 2013 Topps Preview!!!
Sure, as soon as I get back into the swing of things with my Sunday evening ‘Top Ten Lists’ I get hit with some breaking news and images from the 2013 Topps base set release.
So, please forgive me and give me another chance next week to entertain you with my next ‘Top Ten’ edition, and in the meantime, check out this news about the 2013 Topps release as well as some preview images.
This information comes courtesy of Chris Olds, Beckett’s Baseball Editor:
Topps unveiled the first look at the 2013 edition of its flagship baseball card set on Friday, and it’s one that just might excite collectors of the longest-running MLB brand.
And it just might excite fans of “the chase,” too.
The chase this year is the chase of history — the pennant, the record books and more in MLB history — while the company says it will offer more to chase in its flagship product, too, which in its 61st year of full-size release.
Every 36-pack hobby box will contain one autograph or Relic card, while every HTA Jumbo box will contain three — one auto and two Relics — when it arrives on Jan. 25.
The base set will consist of 330 cards each with Gold parallels limited to 2,013 copies and Black parallels limited to 62. New this year will be Pink parallels limited to 50 (a nod to the popular Breast Cancer Awareness cards in football) and Desert Camo foil parallels (a nod to the military) limited to 99. Rounding out the offerings will be Emerald foil (1:6), Platinum 1/1s, hobby-only printing plates and a partial-parallel set of silks (100 players, limited to 50).
The metallic manufactured Relics will return in a new form for 2013 with MVP and Cy Young award winner cards as well as Proven Mettle Coin Cards. Each has an embedded piece of metal with an appropriate design for the award or a coin-like finish. They will be found one per Jumbo box or one per case in hobby. The Proven Mettle cards will have three parallels — Copper (/99), Wrought Iron (/50) and Steel (/10).
The autograph lineup is a bit deeper this year with a mix of modern, retro and diecut designs. Chasing History will note 30 or more achievers from the past and present, while the Chasing the Dream set will showcase 20-plus potential superstars in the making. The Cut to the Chase cards will showcase just five notable players on signed diecut cards limited to just 10 copies apiece, while Chasing History 1/1 cuts will highlight notable players and others in history.
The Greats autograph cards will highlight 15 players via on-card sigs and will only be found in Hobby and HTA packs, while the Calling Cards set will be even smaller with just five. Speaking of small, the 1972 Topps baseball design will be found in Mini form in packs with 10 players signing minis that will be limited to just 10 copies.
Autographed Relics will only be found in Hobby and HTA packs with auto-mem versions of the Chasing History, Chasing the Dream and Cut to the Chase sets, while The Greats, Calling Cards and World Series Champions also will be represented. Each of these will be limited to 50 or less with the World Series most plentiful and three of the sets limited to as few as five cards per player.
The Relic lineup will follow that of the aforementioned signatures — Chasing History, Chasing the Dream, Cut to the CHase, TheGreats, Calling Cards, 1972 Topps Minis, World Series Champions all will have Relic versions. Four of those sets will be limited to just 25 copies while the World Series Relics will be limited to 100 and the first two sets mentioned will not be numbered.
In the Name Relics will utilize full letters from MLB All-Stars’ warmup jerseys. These 1/1s will only be found in Hobby and HTA packs.
The biggest memorabilia addition to Topps, though, are 30 1/1 Ultimate Chase Autograph Relics — a mix of cuts, booklets and jumbo patches all with autographs. Look for bat knobs, patches and more for the likes of Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente, Nolan Ryan and Stan Musial among others.
Lastly, the insert card lineup will be comprised of unsigned/non-memorabilia versions of six sets mentioned above — Chasing History (50 cards), Chasing the Dream (25), Cut to the Chase (25), The Greats (30), Calling Cards (15)and 1972 Minis (50). The Greats will be a Hobby-exclusive with a Gold parallel version limited to just 99 copies. That set will include Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente, Ken Griffey Jr., Rickey Henderson, Derek Jeter, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Schmidt.
Players already committed to have autographs in the product, according to the preliminary checklist, are Griffey, Mays, Reggie Jackson, Stan Musial, Ryan, Henderson, Evan Longoria, Don Mattingly, Trevor Bauer, Gary Carter (stickers), Brett Lawrie, Buster Posey, Giancarlo Stanton, Frank Thomas, Mike Moustakas, David Price, Jose Bautista, Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Schmidt to name a few.
For player-used Relics, expect to find Yoenis Cespedes, Yu Darvish, Prince Fielder, Griffey, Bryce Harper, Josh Hamilton, Musial, Ripken, Ryan, Stephen Strasburg, Mike Trout, Justin Verlander, Derek Jeter and many others.
And now a few images to whet your appetite:
*** And a HUGE ‘Hat-Tip’ to loyal ’30-YOC’ reader Matt for providing me with this information – Thanks Bud!!
What do you think of the design and subsets, B?
My quick, initial reaction:
- I like the base design. Still a white border, but it’s a lot different from the past two years, so we’re moving int he right direction
- too many parallels again but I don’t see that phenomena changing anytime soon
Might as well get used to it. I really don’t like the pink insert but it makes me feel guilty to say that with the whole breast cancer connection.
- the insert sets seem pretty cool. The Greats inserts remind me of one of their premium designs. If the photos are good, though, the Greats subset could be awesome. It looks like Topps did a little better to help the insert designs not look so empty if you pull a non-relic/auto version (like in ’12). I”m trying to picture that Schmidt above w/o the jersey relic.
- I love the ’72 mini’s. VERY COOL! I think they took their feedback from the mini ’87s and ran with it
So we’ll see! Looks like an even earlier release next year – so our off-season as bloggers just got a little shorter.
And that’s just fine with me
Ryan- I like what I am seeing. And I really like the subset themes and possibility of who may be in the 1972 mini set.
I am loving the look of the 72 minis. This has always been one of my favorite set. The inserts next year do not look so great though and the Pink cards are just a bad gimmick.