2012 Topps Jumbo Box Break

I love Topps jumbo boxes. The fact that most of the time they contain a complete set is a huge plus, but you also get a guaranteed autograph and a whole bunch of inserts and giveaway cards. On the basketball side of things, I’ve pulled a  couple of rip cards and a Blake Griffin McDonald’s All-American autograph. As far as baseball goes, I haven’t pulled anything ridiculously good. Here’s what I pulled out of this box.

A lot of people have criticized this year’s Topps inserts for their Panini-like qualities and they’re right. Far too much blank space on there cards. I really hope that Topps doesn’t make a habit out of designing cards for the autograph variations. From this box (plus my one pack) I pulled Ryan, Molitor, Ripken, Banks x2, Reggie, Seaver (Reds), Cobb, Thome, Jeter and Seaver (ChiSox). Everything is available for trade especially if you are offering gold, red or blue Red Sox or 1987 Minis.

This is the Topps nonsensical pairings set of the year. I could do without these cards altogether unless they greatly improved the pairings. I pulled Molitor/Braun, Mattingly/Hosmer, Mays/Kemp, Robinson/Bautista, Sandberg/Uggla x2, Bench/McCann, Bob Gibson/Halladay, Joe Morgan/Brandon Phillips, Banks/Tulowitzki and Edgar Martinez/David Ortiz. Everything except for the Ortiz is available for trade.

Here are some more Panini inserts. I pulled Derek Jeter, Dawson, Prince, Braun, Jered Weaver, Paul O’Neill x2, Pujols, Brooks Robinson, Kaline and Aparicio. Trade me stuff for these.

I think these cards might be the worst offenders when it comes to mimicking Panini’s laziness. The logo holds the place of the relic and the grayscale image on the bottom holds the place for a potential autograph. It’s still not as bad as Panini because they do this with their base cards and insert cards, but it’s still pretty damn bad. Trade me stuff for these as well.

I think these might be the best inserts in Series 1 that aren’t minis. I pulled Gehrig, Ryan, Mays, Mays, DiMaggio, DiMaggio, Jeter, Clemente, Ripken, Aaron and Ruth. All of these are available for trade as well.

Ok, so maybe there are too many inserts in Topps Flagship. I pulled Lavarnway, Britton, Chapman, Hellickson, Kimbrel, Arencibia x2, Rizzo, Stanton, Dee Gordon and Arodys Vizcaino.Everything but the Lavarnway is up for grabs.

Here’s the gold parallels. I’ve got Betancourt, Teixeira, Dee Gordon, Jeremy Moore, Joe Benson, Kelvin Herrera, Scott Downs, Brian Matusz, Michael Taylor, Chris Parmelee and Mark Trumbo. All are up for trade.

I’m going to be putting this set together, so none of them are available for trade except the extra Jeter that I have which is only available for another mini that I need.

Here are the traditional hits from the box. Even though the Billingsley is a powder blue swatch instead of the typical plain white that you usually see, it’s still kind of boring. The basic jersey card has run its course due to overuse and overproduction. When some players have had hundreds of jersey cards, you know that too many have been made. I wouldn’t be that disappointed at all if jersey cards were to disappear from the hobby. At least limit their production a lot more and keep them all serial numbered.

Then there’s the sticker auto. What is there to be said about the sticker auto that hasn’t already been said. At least Topps is using clear stickers instead of the gaudy foil stickers that they used to stick on cards.

So, you’ve got a terrible autograph on a lazy, Panini-like insert card. That’s not game changing at all. The Byrd is available for trade.

The black parallels are a standard of Topps Flagship releases, but since this product is so hot right now the black parallels are selling for a lot more than then normally would.

I also think that a lot more people are chasing the black parallels since there aren’t any cards serial numbered to 2012. It seems like the increased production would have required a numbered parallel in every other pack so they just decided to leave them out this year. Seems strange to me to leave out the gold parallels in the gold set, but that’s Topps for ya.

This is where Topps hit the jackpot. These pin cards, the ring tops and the embedded coins are all beautiful cards with unique card designs. Check out the sale prices for most of the jersey cards from this set and then check out the sale prices for the rings, pins and coins. Big difference, isn’t it? Personally, I know that I’m more interested in a good looking card and innovation than and endless stream of jersey cards. The Ortiz and Pedroia pin cards are beautiful looking. Great job done by Topps on these.

Overall, I like the base cards and hopefully will be able to fuel a lot of trades with the inserts. When you factor in the wrappers for the redemption offer, the three hits, the Golden Giveaway cards and getting a complete set this is a great deal. Considering that I got this box for double digits when most places were selling them for $120 makes it an even better deal.