Chaos and Kanji is the blog where I write about my adventures through Japan!

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Saturday, December 31, 2011

2012 Topps Series 2 Quick Preview

Preview images for 2012 Topps Series 2 just came out. Let's have a fast look at the ones that matter!

Or how about all of them.
 If you forgot what the flagship design looks like, here you go. I enjoy the modern, fairly minimal design. I think the logo cutting off the baserunner's body is a bit of poor placement, but what are you going to do?
 This will probably end up being the black /60ish parallel. This is another good photo, though for some reason it feels like he's playing at a minor league park.
 I still say the wood borders would have been a nice change from the tedious white as the flagship design.
 And here's your gold cards again. I'm glad Topps took at least one of my suggestions! As if they read this blog.
 Fake relics are not relics, but done right they are still pretty cool. I liked the coin sets Pinnacle put out in the 1990s, and if this was an affordable release I would build it. I know these things will be running pretty high though.
 So will the team rings, I'm sure. Again, another manupatch style relic, but it's different since it's a ring now. You can own all the rings you collected virtually, for real! Another cool card, but the "real" ring cards will probably be too expensive.
 I believe these are available through the giveaway site. I'll have to pick mine up on the secondary market.
 I think this Mantle is our first look at the 1987-style minis. I like the design, and that's a great picture to use.
 This is another carry-over from Series 1. This has the Donruss relic/autograph-first design philosophy.
 But if I pull a hit like this I'd be fairly happy.
 And if I had a hit like this I'd be really happy. I have a renewed interest in owning a majorly awesome patch card like this, but I can't afford one. That'll go on my fantasy wish list, I suppose.
 Cut Above is a smooth looking insert. I'm guessing they'll be die-cut, which will be nice.
 What a great player to show in your preview images!
 Now that's better.
 And that's nice too. I think I like these two insert sets, as they appear to have some connection to specific events in the players' careers. We'll see what the backs of the regular inserts look like, but these are promising concepts even if they too are hit-based designs.
 These aren't any different from previous years' jumbo patches. I would prefer some sort of sleeve or team logo patch with multiple colors and such, but if I pulled some 1/1 letter patch like this you wouldn't find me complaining!
 I see the 1500 RBI Club designation beneath the white spot. Again, a nice touch that seems to take into account many of our thoughts about inserts - give them meaning!
And we'll end with another nice logo patch!

Being in Japan next year will mean I won't be busting many/any (that's yet to be seen) packs of American cards, but I think the flagship release is growing on me and could be a nice release by the time series 2 comes about! What are your thoughts?

4 comments:

  1. I appreciate Mickey Mantle's place in Topps history, but he has not had a plate appearance in 42 years or drawn a breath in 16 years. It is time to stop putting him in the base set and the minis. It was a great tribute to possibly the most important player in terms of cards ever, but it is time to move on. That photo looks like he is batting at a family picnic, I don't need that. Every card that Mantle gets, means 1 less current player that does not get a card.

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  2. Those Ryan and Kaufux cards look great, what a fella would do for those.
    And don't worry, Japan's got quite a few card shops (3 in the area I currently live in), and with a simple google search I found a few in Tokyo as well. You might not be busting a lot of packs, but you will be opening some. Though the 2011 Topps went flying off the shelves in my local store(s), and there's no guarantee the stores'll have a plentiful stock...

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  3. hiflew: Yeah it's kind of tired seeing him, Ruth, and Jackie Robinson in every set - especially Mantle in every base set. I like the photo that was used, though, and it's great to see new photos of retired players. I'd rather not have Mantle overkill, yes.

    Kenny: Any Koufax autograph especially would be great since he hasn't signed very much yet. I know there are plenty of card shops in Tokyo and I'll have access to the new stuff, but I'm sure it's a bit more expensive, and I want to use my money wisely for sightseeing and buying a bunch of Japanese cards that I can't find here in the States. If the price is right I'll buy a jumbo pack of each series to check it out.

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  4. On a sidenote Japanese baseball cards aren't sold in jumbo packs like Topps cards are. They're usually sold in hobby packs. Each pack consists of 8 cards and each hobby box consists of 30 packs. Each pack costs 525 yen (aprox. $5.25, possibly more because depending on the exchange rate) and each box costs about 6000 yen (aprox $60, again possibly more).
    Japanese cards are also available in single-team sets as well. A whole set dedicated to a single team, 12 overall (the NPB only have 12 teams). Sets based on college baseball are sold too, heck they even have a set for the cheerleaders. Again sold only in hobby packs. Each pack consisting of 7 cards and each box consisting of 20 packs. The packs are 420 yen (roughly $4.20) and the boxes are about 8000 yen (roughly $80).
    The other types of NPB cards are those you can get when you buy a bag of potato chips (you'll probably see a lot of those when you come here Ryan) and "Owners League" a Japanese version of Topps Attax, only you don't use the cards and you play the game on your cell phone.

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