Greetings!
Hope everyone is doing well. As we get ready to watch Game 3 of the World Series, it's important to remember the season that was. And in the baseball card world, Topps tries to do it with it's Update Series. The 2018 version was released the day before Game 1, although some in the blogosphere got
their hands on some before the 22nd. I also had the opportunity to get a pack before the release date, but passed, opting to get a rack pack after my overnight remodel shift ended Wednesday:
There's 300 cards in the Update set, just like the last 2 years.
If I remember right, some bloggers commented on the lack of traded players in sets from the last couple of years. I checked the release dates for the past few years of Update: 2017 was released on 10/18, 2016 was released on 10/19, and 2015 was released on 10/21. It appears the release dates are around the same time frame, so maybe it was an editorial decision?
Anyway, I decided to look up the transaction date for traded players in the pack I picked up. Here's what I got:
#US272 - Matt Duffy
#US101 - Chris Sale (All-Star)
#US245 - Jose Pirela
#US148 - Michael Brantley (All-Star)
I still think the All-Star cards should be inserts. Allows for more bench players and middle relievers.
#US190 - Mike Montgomery
#US109 - Patrick Corbin (All-Star)
#US260 - Lewis Brinson
#US94 - Willson Contreras (All-Star)
Willson's card is Stadium Club-esque (and Panini-esque). He also believes he can fly.
#US221 - Jose Bautista
#US285 - Shohei Ohtani (RC - Rookie Debut)
#US91 - Zack Lettell (RC)
#US269 - Francisco Mejia (RC)
Bautista started the year with the Braves but was released and signed by the Mets as a free agent in May. New York traded him to the Phillies on August 28; obviously the Topps cut-off date is before 8/28.
Mejia was traded to the Padres on July 19th, although that card could still be photoshopped.
#US10 - Ian Kinsler
#US177 - Jacob DeGrom (All-Star)
#US201 - Nick Kingham (RC)
#US212 - Alex Bregman (HR Derby)
Kinsler was traded by the Angels to the Red Sox on July 30th. It would be nice for him to get a ring.
#US80 - Jonathan Villar
#US193 - Christian Arroyo
#US227 - Ketel Marte
Villar was traded from Milwaukee to the Orioles at the July 31st trade deadline.
Here come the inserts:
#SE-7 - Cal Ripken Jr. (Storybook Endings)
#S-38 - Sean Manaea (Salute - Game Changers) #130/299
#83-41 - Hyun-Jin Ryu (1983 Tribute)
#LITM-12 - Justin Upton (Legends In The Making)
Storybook Endings come 1 in 3 packs. I looked up the cards in the set; there's only 10 players on the checklist. I'm sure there could have been more players, but I'm glad they didn't include Lou Gehrig, which would be a Topps thing to do.
If I read the odds right, the Manaea card is a 1 in 124 pull. It's a black parallel. The Salute insert set is still not necessary.
The 1983's are back and come 1 in every 2 packs. You get one Legends In The Making card in each rack pack.
Time for the horizontals:
#US178 - Danny Farquhar
#US5 - James Paxton (Checklist)
#US98 - Edwin Diaz (All-Star)
Farquhar made news for nearly dying in the dugout from a brain hemorrhage. Nice of Topps to give him a card.
#US279 - Isiah Kiner-Falefa (RC)
#US241 - Chris Archer
#US2 - Joe Jimenez
The position given for Kiner-Falefa is awesome...3B/2B/C!
Chris Archer was traded from the Rays at the trade deadline. Nice card...no chance of photoshopping here.
#US220 - Robinson Chirinos
#US4 - Jorge Alfaro
#US258 - Lance Lynn
Back to back Matt Garza trade cards here, as the Cubs sent Chirinos and Archer, among others, to Tampa Bay for Garza and two others.
Lynn was traded by the Twins to the Yankees on July 30.
#US103 - Luis Guillorme / Gerson Bautista (Rookie Combos)
#US151 - Matt Kemp
#US65 - Yelich & Cain
#US247 - Marcus Walden (RC)
Rookie Combos get dual water slides. And thanks to Kemp, looks like you can form one long water slide if you line up a bunch of Rookie Combos together.
Here are the backs:
Well, my traded player experiment fell flat with this pack. It appears Topps got the July trading deadline players but I wanted to see if there were any August transactions made (Bautista's move was obviously too late). I'll defer to the blogosphere for the final word on the player selection for this year's set.
Anyway, that's the pack. The inserts still need help (I miss First Pitch) but overall Update does what it's supposed to do. Enjoy the World Series, and thanks for reading!
