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Yesterday, I wondered why National Chicle ended up so widely dismissed across the blogosphere in 2010. Judging by many of the comments, it appears there are plenty of people that are in support of the product - much as I am. I still attribute the sudden support of Chicle as more off a symptom of a lack of product diversity in the last six months than anything else, but it's certainly an interesting development. I can only wonder if the people at Topps are taking notes that customers want variety - not simply three or four versions of basically the same set each year.
I also discussed the contents of the first pack out of the box during yesterday's post. What I neglected to do was to highlight how the set breaks down:
The 2010 National Chicle Checklist is basically set up as follows:
1 - 205: Baseball Veterans
206 - 255: Retired Stars
256 - 275: Rookie Cards
276 - 300: Retired Stars Revisited - SHORT PRINTS
301 - 310: Vintage Veterans - SHORT PRINTS
311 - 330: Rookie Renditions - SHORT PRINTS
Anyhow, moving on to the next three packs out of the box:
Pack 02:
9. Brandon Webb
87. Ted Lilly
There is something charming about the Lilly card - it almost appears as if this were drawn using crayons. I suppose someone will inform me it was made using colored pencils, but I prefer to think of a paid artist creating a baseball card via a box of 64 Crayola crayons (with built-in crayon sharpener)!
97. Matt Kemp
112. Dustin Pedroia
130. Elvis Andrus
274. Ian Desmond
The Desmond is part of the Rookie Cards subset (#s 256 - 275). The "official MLB Rookie Card logo" is a bit of a distraction, but otherwise it's a really nice card! Overall, the second pack wasn't the most exciting, but only the Webb card was a disappointment (seriously, he looks like a troll or hobbit or something in the drawing). I didn't scan that one because it might give you nightmares tonight. Consider it a kind gesture on my part!
Pack 03:
44. Jason Bay
122. Roy Halladay
170. Jair Jurrjens
237. Thurmon Munson
The Thurmon Munson card represents my first card from the retired Stars subset (non-short print version). I'm not a huge fan of the card itself (probably because it depicts a Yankee) but hey, it's a card I needed for my set should I decide to collect the entire thing...which as I open more and more of the packs, I'm leaning more to completing the entire thing - short prints included. I'm such a sucker, I know it...that's the first step to recovery right?
244. Eddie Mathews
326. Michael Dunn
This is my first short print of the box - a Michael Dunn Rookie Rendition short print (seeded 1:4 packs). I should probably know who's rookie card the Dunn is modeled after - my first guess was Hank Aaron's (mostly due to the Boston Braves logo at the bottom) but a closer look at Aaron's rookie card confirms that I'm incorrect. Any help out there from vintage collectors?
Retail Checklist 2
I like when checklists are included that are meant to be written on. That is all I have to say about the checklist.
Pack 04:
27. Jacoby Ellsbury
142. Colby Rasmus
150. Zach Duke
For anyone who has ever attended a game in Pittsburgh's beautiful stadium, this card is probably an instant favorite. The Clemente bridge (that closes to traffic on game day so pedestrians can cross at will) forms a gorgeous entrance to a truly magnificent stadium. It's a shame though that people only go to the ballpark if they are interested in the visiting team!
203. Edinson Volquez
207. Johnny Bench
Here's how I know Topps has secret agents scattered about the country. I'm on the fence about collecting the set - so Topps somehow provides me with a box that produces three different Reds (including one of my all-time favorites) on the fourth pack out of the box! There have been plenty of boxes over time that I've purchased that didn't have three Reds in the entire thing...heck, Upper Deck has made entire sets with less than three Reds represented... Topps' secret agents did good work - and for that, I thank them - even if it does mean I try to collect the full set!
273. Juan Francisco
And with that, we are 1/6 of the way through the retail box. So far, only one short print but I do have three of the non-short printed retired stars cards (with the Bench card being my obvious favorite thus far)!
I also discussed the contents of the first pack out of the box during yesterday's post. What I neglected to do was to highlight how the set breaks down:
The 2010 National Chicle Checklist is basically set up as follows:
1 - 205: Baseball Veterans
206 - 255: Retired Stars
256 - 275: Rookie Cards
276 - 300: Retired Stars Revisited - SHORT PRINTS
301 - 310: Vintage Veterans - SHORT PRINTS
311 - 330: Rookie Renditions - SHORT PRINTS
Anyhow, moving on to the next three packs out of the box:
Pack 02:
87. Ted Lilly
There is something charming about the Lilly card - it almost appears as if this were drawn using crayons. I suppose someone will inform me it was made using colored pencils, but I prefer to think of a paid artist creating a baseball card via a box of 64 Crayola crayons (with built-in crayon sharpener)!
97. Matt Kemp
112. Dustin Pedroia
130. Elvis Andrus
The Desmond is part of the Rookie Cards subset (#s 256 - 275). The "official MLB Rookie Card logo" is a bit of a distraction, but otherwise it's a really nice card! Overall, the second pack wasn't the most exciting, but only the Webb card was a disappointment (seriously, he looks like a troll or hobbit or something in the drawing). I didn't scan that one because it might give you nightmares tonight. Consider it a kind gesture on my part!
Pack 03:
122. Roy Halladay
170. Jair Jurrjens
237. Thurmon Munson
The Thurmon Munson card represents my first card from the retired Stars subset (non-short print version). I'm not a huge fan of the card itself (probably because it depicts a Yankee) but hey, it's a card I needed for my set should I decide to collect the entire thing...which as I open more and more of the packs, I'm leaning more to completing the entire thing - short prints included. I'm such a sucker, I know it...that's the first step to recovery right?
326. Michael Dunn
This is my first short print of the box - a Michael Dunn Rookie Rendition short print (seeded 1:4 packs). I should probably know who's rookie card the Dunn is modeled after - my first guess was Hank Aaron's (mostly due to the Boston Braves logo at the bottom) but a closer look at Aaron's rookie card confirms that I'm incorrect. Any help out there from vintage collectors?
Retail Checklist 2
I like when checklists are included that are meant to be written on. That is all I have to say about the checklist.
Pack 04:
142. Colby Rasmus
150. Zach Duke
For anyone who has ever attended a game in Pittsburgh's beautiful stadium, this card is probably an instant favorite. The Clemente bridge (that closes to traffic on game day so pedestrians can cross at will) forms a gorgeous entrance to a truly magnificent stadium. It's a shame though that people only go to the ballpark if they are interested in the visiting team!
207. Johnny Bench
Here's how I know Topps has secret agents scattered about the country. I'm on the fence about collecting the set - so Topps somehow provides me with a box that produces three different Reds (including one of my all-time favorites) on the fourth pack out of the box! There have been plenty of boxes over time that I've purchased that didn't have three Reds in the entire thing...heck, Upper Deck has made entire sets with less than three Reds represented... Topps' secret agents did good work - and for that, I thank them - even if it does mean I try to collect the full set!
273. Juan Francisco
And with that, we are 1/6 of the way through the retail box. So far, only one short print but I do have three of the non-short printed retired stars cards (with the Bench card being my obvious favorite thus far)!
I like this set; whenever I've completed my Topps project, I'd love to collect some retro sets - I may need to consider this one.
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