2012 Topps First Impressions

I purchased my first few 2012 Topps Series One rack packs this morning. I wanted to talk about my initial impressions, being the latest thing, I think we can all offer some input. I like the pack wrappers. The vibrant blue packs are a nice change of pace from the boring 2011 packs. The bright blue blasters and budget boxes seemed to jump off the shelves. Once you tear into the pack your going to start running into a lot of different inserts and variations. It might be due to the newness of the set, but for now it seems like each pack is loaded with Golden Moments, Timeless Talents,  Gold Futures, Classic Walk offs, and Golden Greats. These are just the inserts pulled from 10 trial rack packs. There are insert minis 1987 Topps style cards of modern players. Not that cool in my opinion, get used to seeing these things on Ebay or thrown in the kids shoebox.

How about the base cards? Well, the base cards are more of the same. The same white border and player picture quality we have seen. I am actually seeing a lot of nearly identical pictures of players. It would seem that Topps creativity was lacking when I pulled a Derek Jeter base card and he is doing his classic jump doing the splits and throwing pose. I then pulled a Miguel Cairo and he was doing his throwing across the chest while making a very ugly face.

           The best part of the base card is the simplicity of the backside. The card number is contrasted nicely with black and white. 2011 Topps got a little crammed into the designated number circle in the upper right-hand corner. When trying to assembly your Update Series set the last digit of a three digit card was a mess. What else is on the back? The name of the player is in a simpler font, rather than the block letters of 2011 and the stats and facts are more organized. I think the backs of these cards are much better than 2011 and are more appealing to read. However, I think change of pace is the name of the game here, and really the main reason these cards seem more interesting.

             The Golden variation cards are awesome! They contrast with the player a lot better than the Diamond Anniversary Sparkle and Cognac cards.

             I have yet to come across an auto, relic, or serial numbered card. I will be picking up a Hobby Box tomorrow. For now I am picking up some rack packs to get a taste for this year’s collectables. I am looking forward to building a Reds and Braves team set and collecting the walk off cards. Other than that, I think these cards will be resold pretty fast. Wrapper redemptions are another thing to keep in mind here, so hold on to your trash.

            Golden Giveaways? Yep, I pulled two in my first few packs. I feel bad getting into these things as I have already abandoned dozens of 70’s relief pitchers during the Diamond Giveaway. The new site is www.topps.com/golden, at least we are going somewhere different to enter our codes. I have yet to check out that site as it has a “coming soon” bar posted. Maybe instead of a shovel we will have a pick to chip away at gold nuggets? Who knows, maybe we are collecting gloves instead of rings…get it? Gold Gloves…Anyway, these codes are expiring February 1^st 2013, so we have plenty of time, and if Series Two has anything to say about it, those should expire February 30^th 2016.

        If I had one thing to say about 2012 Topps Series One… Even with a new hairstyle, fancy makeup, and a new outfit, she is still the same ol’ wife.  Good luck pulling hits and collecting this years Topps.

A quick showing of some inserts you'll be seeing a lot of...