What is a rookie card? That has become an age-old question in the hobby that has become highly subjective with an ever-changing definition over the past few decades. During the hobby’s vintage era, which is classified as when Topps monopolized the industry prior to the 1980s, the definition of a rookie card was cut and dry. A player’s rookie card was their first card. Collectors can easily point...
“DAR-RYL! DAR-RYL!” Every Mets fan that had the privilege of watching Darryl Strawberry don the Orange and Blue knows that chant. They remember that chant. They’ve participated in that chant. Whether it was on their couch, their backyard at a summer barbeque, a block party, or in the car. In a bar in any of the five boroughs, or in the Tri-State area. In the Mezzaine at Shea, or on the road at...
Last week, I finally had the opportunity to watch the new HBOMax documentary “Say Hey, Willie Mays.” I can count on one hand the number of baseball players from before I was born whose highlights I would look forward to watching. I would gladly watch highlights of Willie Mays any day of the week. I was in awe watching a now 91-year-old living legend speaking about his career. Arguably the...
Topps has been burning a hole in the wallets of collectors throughout the hobby since the beginning of October with so many new releases, and they didn’t let the holidays stop them. In the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the hobby saw the releases of Topps Heritage Minors, Bowman Platinum, and Bowman Draft. Topps Heritage Minors is what it sounds like…a minor league version of Topps...
Every collector has at some point seen a card that they wanted, couldn’t afford, and thought to themselves, “I’m going to own that card someday.” I began collecting cards when I was five years old. It was 1986 and the middle of the junk wax era. Baseball cards were being printed at a rate that every person on Earth could be given 400 new cards every year without getting one duplicate. I stopped...
Mets fans have seen this picture of Keith Hernandez before. Sitting in front of locker while working on a crossword puzzle with his road jersey hanging to his left, Dwight Gooden’s jersey further to the left, and Darryl Strawberry’s jersey behind him. It makes you wonder why this picture was never used on a baseball card before.Enter Topps Stadium Club.First released back in 1991, Topps Stadium...
Topps Heritage is back with its annual update set, Topps Heritage High Number. The High Number update features players that changed teams prior to and during the season in their new uniform, as well as some rookies that have made their major league debut. Unlike the Topps Update Series, Topps Heritage High Number is a true continuation of the Topps Heritage set released earlier in the year....
We all have Aunts down in Florida. Okay, maybe not everyone, but I do. And recently she sent some “vintage” mid-80s Mets cards up to me in NY from a neighbor who wanted to get rid of them after her spouse passed on. In looking through them, I came across the 1986 Mets card shown below: Several things about this card. Firstly 1986 is not “vintage”. In 1986...
At long last, the 2022 Topps Pro Debut was released on September 30th. First released back in 2010, Topps Pro Debut is one of several products Topps releases that strictly feature minor league players. Over the years, Topps Pro Debut has found itself with a much earlier release date on the calendar, but its September release date represents the set’s latest release date. Like the flagship Topps...
