Rediscovering 2017 TOPPS via Donruss

I sit surrounded by stacks of new cardboard, ripped wrappers and a certain emptiness from a bust gone bad.  Two jumbo boxes of crap I wouldn't use to line a litter box.  Behold the glorious contents of 2017 Topps Flagship's TWO Jumbo boxes!  

BUYBACKS
Let's get these out of the way: Twins, Mariners -silver.  Pirates red.  Others bronze.

MLB ANCHORS and THEN AND NOW
Corey Seager?  Has it really been so very long?
I enjoy the MLB Network and once collected Sean Casey but don't have any desire to save these cards.  There are auto versions out there too. Congrats to those who pull a Lowell or Amsinger.

SALUTE

This insert series consists of 100 cards with various special designations on front.  Backs are all numbered beginning with the letter  S - which really just means Stupid.  Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day - nothing in the player photos depicts any relationship to the label slapped on the bottom of the card front.  The blurb on the card reverse attempts to make a relevant connection to the special day or event.  The poorly designed insert series along with its parallels does not create an exciting chase scenario for this collector.

FIRST PITCH
A popular series for other collectors.  Can someone tell us what John Goodman is doing there? Bowling? What's with the fingers on his chin?

FIVE TOOLS
I know who the real tool is...

Now a word from our sponsor:
Out of ideas to market reprints?

GOLD
More irrelevant with each passing release

FOIL
Attractive parallel.  It can happen.

NEGATIVE
Nothing positive to add here.

1987 
I struggle when anything 80s/90s is considered classic or vintage.  One of my least favorite Topps designs is now a golden oldie.

HOW ABOUT THOSE RELICS AND MANU-PATCHES?

Yes, this is where it all pays off.  Eh no.  I'll keep Harper for now.

AUTOS
Criminy!  Seriously Topps?  Who wouldn't be thrilled with a couple of pitcher autos? The smudged signature just made Nola a 1/1.

Topps has a hobby shop loyalty program to encourage a purchase from your LCS.  You'll receive one silver pack per hobby box or two packs per jumbo box purchased. Each pack contains four 87 style refractor cards with parallels and autos at random.  My purchase gave me four packs - 16 chances to pull a card for my PCs.  Ripken and Swanson will hang with me for now.

Two boxes=1000 cards.  I have a few extra Tigers now and these were added to my collection:

There was something new to these boxes - collation.  I managed one complete Series One set and am 27 cards short of a second.  Some sense of humor you have there Topps with your ugly little design.   Another nod to Topps' funnybone - this card was pulled by a gentleman from a FB group I follow.:

photo by John Peterson

This doesn't appear to be photoshopped.  Perhaps someone at Topps thought it would be entertaining to slip this into production.  If this card is real,  I'm not the only Molitor collector who'll want it!  If it's real, I hope there are hundreds - thousands more out there - any player!  There are at least two on Ebay.   Does the Panini/Donruss Company know?  I harbor a secret desire to see this slip bite licensed Topps in the backside.   I'm a terrible person.  No make that bitter.  So are the joys of rediscovering Topps!

No Love Lost on Update

Since I began collecting in 1993, I've never purchased more than a random pack of Topps Update.  Keeping in line with this history, I purchased a blaster box then ordered a hobby box cuz that's what I do - throw money away!  I should've left it at retail when I pulled a couple of cards that made me smile:

Cole Saberstats along with Votto and Altuve throwbacks. 

 Oh that was so much fun, I'll buy a 36 pack hobby box or two.  Ever heard of a Buyback Hot Box?  Seeded 1:18 packs so I pulled two TEN?????  Ten recycled cards - some creased, dinged and dented - from one box.  I was cheated out of eight newly minted cards.  Like many of you, I harbor a great dislike for buy backs.  Feast your eyes on these gems:

 

Seriously?  Awful creasing AND a missing corner?  Really Topps?  These are vintage and should be appreciated...blah blah blah.   I'm inclined to return these to customer service as a damaged card claims.  Where do they get this crap?  I'm sure they purchase in bulk from the collector market.  Apparently there is no inspection process.  Cards are stamped, dumped into the great sorting vat, shaken violently then spewn into packing bins.  Inserted randomly, all into the box I'm purchasing.  I hate having these extra buybacks, depriving my hobby friends of their prize pulls. 

There were a few nicer cards in the box:

GOLDEN Pirates

 

Ramos Pink foil/50 and Kendrick Variation

Britton swatch and two Gold foil Bryants!

 

So then I opened a second box, to find four  more barf-backs:

 

Highlights pulled were these:



Correa Gold and a Black combo/64

Variations and Snow camo/99

 

Guaranteed Auto


Thinking it fun to bust these at a bargain $50 per box, I took the bait after 20 plus years.  Hope the rest of you have better luck and more fun with update.  Maybe I can help with your set needs.  At 400 cards, it's too fat for my tastes. 

By the way, if you haven't read my last few posts - albeit weeks apart - then you're missing some prize winning opportunities!  Currently offered is a Rangers Teixeira bobble-head.  Win and give someone a gift they'll remember for years.