2013 Topps Tribute WBC Baseball Box Break Recap And Review

The Topps Tribute line of products thrives most in baseball form.  Now the baseball line has been expanded to include a new release, 2013 Topps Tribute WBC Baseball.  Based on the World Baseball Classic, this release features some big name players representing their home counties.  This includes past and present players so the checklist includes autographs from names like Ripken Jr., Koufax, Mays, Cespedes, Darvish, Cabrera and Reyes.  There is even a redemption for a full sized Jersey from the 2009 World Baseball Classic.  All of this makes for a great first release.

2013 Topps Tribute WBC Baseball fits into our Premium Cards category.  This Hobby Exclusive comes with 6 packs per box, 5 cards per pack and 1 autographed card or relic card numbered to 99 or less in every pack.  Collectors should expect 4 Autographs and 2 relics per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

Great Mailday Thanks To Topps

My wife signed for a rather large envelope from Topps today.  When I got home, this is what I found inside it.

Its the fulfillment of the redemption I pulled from 2013 Topps Archives Baseball. (To see the box break recap and review, use this link.)  This is a game used dugout scorecard from the Phillies / Brewers September 25, 2009 game.  It measures 17" x 11"  and is MLB authenticated. From the certification it seems like this card was used by the Philies.  This was the year Cliff Lee came over from Cleveland and one of the rare games that season that he got shellacked pitching for Philadelphia.  He gave up 4 runs in the first inning, 7 runs in total as Milwaukee beat the Phillies  8 - 4.  Getting whole pieces of memorabilia is very cool.

2012 Panini Cooperstown Baseball Cards Box Break Recap And Review

There is no question that a huge part of Baseball is its history.  The more you know, the richer your involvement in the game.  Most Baseball fans hope to some day visit the sport’s museum, The National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Not everyone can make the trip to Upstate New York, but 2012 Panini Cooperstown Baseball Cards captures the experience perfectly.  From the postcard pictures of the town to the museum pieces relics to the famous bronze plaques of the Hall, this set is perfectly executed and should be a part of every Baseball card collection.

Cooperstown falls under our trading cards classification. Hobby Boxes contain 24 – 5 card packs with 1 Autograph card per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled from our hobby box.

Everything You Need To Know About Topps At The 2013 National Sports Collectors Convention NSCC In Chicago

Collectors are set to hit the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago at the end of the month.  Sure to be one of the more popular places to visit will be the Topps Booth that will have plenty of exclusive collectibles in the offering.

2013 Bowman Inception Baseball Box Break Recap And Review

Without question I was a bit harsh when it came to my review of Inception this year when it came to the football version.  But there were issues, edge chipping, the vast majority of hits coming from a small number of unproven players, along with some others. With 2013 Bowman Inception Baseball, Topps has made some smart moves in dealing with these issues, which allows this version of Inception to reach for its full potential.

By shifting Inception from the Topps to Bowman, it signals collectors that they are dealing with a prospecting product, which it is most definitely, something they should do for the future release of 2013 Inception Football.  Edging on these cards seems much cleaner.  The use of background cloud patterns instead of solid black bordering also helps matters.  Bowman Inception Baseball also has a really great lineup of players for autographs.

Inception Baseball falls into our premium cards category.  Each hobby box contains 1 – 5 card pack with 4 On-Card Autograph and 1 Auto Relic cards per box.

Here is a look at the cards we pulled.

2012 Panini Golden Age Trading Cards Box Break Recap And Review

Is it really possible to have too much of a good thing?  When it comes to 2012 Panini Golden Age Trading Cards that might be true.  Individually the cards found in this set are fun and have a great design, but with the jumps in years and subject matter, it makes this a somewhat disjointed group of cards when looked on as a whole. I’m also bit of a stickler when it comes to the continuity of title and theme and while the “Golden Age” for the sports and entertainment included are pretty close, there is somewhat of a stretch beyond he accepted definitions.  As one example the Golden Age of Television is generally thought of as the transition of popular radio performers to TV like Burns and Allen or Jack Benny and ground-breaking shows like I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone, from it’s inception to about the late 1950’s or the very early 1960’s.  While I love their inclusion in this set, Giligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch didn’t really start until the mid to late 1960’s, certainly past the era that would be considered TV’s Golden Age. So while a little disjointed, there is no denying the appeal of these cards, its just that it makes set building a little muddled.

Golden Age falls under our classification of trading cards. Hobby Boxes contain 24 – 6 card packs with 1 Autograph and 1 Memorabilia card per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled from our hobby box.

2013 Topps Big League Minis Collectable Vinyl Baseball Figures Box Break Recap, Review And Limited Edition Checklist

When I want to pick up a few packs of cards and I don’t have time to get my local card shop, I hit my nearest larger big box store.  Next to the trading cards I’ve noticed there are collectable mini toy figurines of things like ponies, not so appealing to me but very popular with kids, like my 6-year-old.  But buying these toys is not like buying a figure from the Skylander Giants where you know if you are purchasing Thumpback as opposed to Hot Head.  These are wrapped so you don’t know which figure you are buying until you open the package.  

This concept of buying toys without knowing what you are buying seemed odd to me. But my daughter likes the surprise element of opening the package and seeing what is inside.  Then Topps announced they would be making mini collectable vinyl figures of some of today’s top baseball players and that’s when I made the connection.  I’ve been getting the same fun out of opening packs of trading cards without knowing which cards are inside for years, so why not the element of surprise with purchasing small toy figures.

In the writing of this review I thought it only fair to include my daughter, who loves baseball by the way, so I could get plenty of perspective and view points, looking at these toys through the eyes of a kid, a parent and a collectable hobby enthusiast.

2013 Topps Big League Minis Collectable Vinyl Figures stand about 3 inches tall.  For purposes of our review, we will review them using our fun cards format even though they are toys/collectables.   Each individual pack contains one figure and a visual checklist.   We opened a seal box that included 20 figures.  Let’s take a look at the figures we pulled from the box.