Group Break: Busting 2014 Topps High TEK - Box #1 (Awesome Autograph & Parallel Card)!

The moment that most of you have been waiting for is finally here - let's bust the first (of two) 2014 Topps High TEK boxes.  From the moment that Topps announced a new TEK set was coming, I was excited.  I have to admit that I was (and still am) disappointed that Topps decided to turn the set into a higher-end release.  After all, for a set based around a gimmick of collecting as many of the same card as possible (with different backgrounds), selling it in a format with one pack per box (and only 8 cards per pack) seems asinine to me.  That said, after opening the cards I can assure you that they are as great as I was hoping them to be...even if they aren't exactly affordable.

So - the real question is:  How'd we do?

In a word, I would say we did quite well...but I'll let you be the judge of that.  Since there are only eight cards per box, I'll scan all eight and provide my usual witty commentary.

HT-GM:  Greg Maddux - Braves

The TEK set returns all the usual "charm" of the original TEK sets from the turn of the century - namely a clear acetate card stock with plenty of see-through elements in the card design.  There is a bit more color than some of the older designs though (here you have a green and blue "comet" of sorts hurtling towards Maddux).

HT-CB:  Craig Biggio - Astros

One of the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame - this should be a great card for Brent seeing as how he claimed the Astros!  Biggio's card design features an all-blue (trust me it is blue, not grey like the scan would suggest) comet like element in the background.

HT-YP.  Yasiel Puig - Dodgers

The Dodgers get on the scoreboard with a super sweet Puig card!  The design on this one makes it look like Puig is smashing his way through a China cabinet.

HT-PF.  Prince Fielder - Rangers

While I like the front of the card a lot, I decided to show the back of the Prince Fielder card in order to discuss what I don't like about the card design.

• I hate, hate, HATE it when Topps uses letters rather than numbers for the "card number."  There's no reason to call this card PF when it could have been card #17 in the set.
• I also don't like that there is no marking to indicate which card design you are holding.  The old TEK sets made it every clear which background you had in your hand so that you could be sure to collect them all.  It's as if Topps didn't care about the main gimmick of the original TEK sets!
• Why even bother with statistics on the card?  Those numbers are virtually unreadable!
• Did I mention I hate the fact that there are no actual card numbers?

HT-MT.  Mike Trout - Angels

We finish off the base card portion of the pack with another rising star - and I would guess one of the more valuable base cards in the set!  Josh claimed both LA teams and this pack provided arguably the main stars for each team...not bad!

Now, we get to the insert portion of the set.

HT-WB.  Wade Boggs - Yankees
Ice Diffractor  #67/75

The Ice Diffractors are pretty sweet - and this card is serially numbered out of 75 on the back of the card!

I have to admit, it was cool to pull such a low serially numbered card from a pack - I rarely hit things like this.  However, the best is yet to come!!

HT-JA.  Jose Abreu
Black & White Image #09/15

Yep, that's Jose Abreu.  Yep, that's a parallel.  And yes, it's numbered out of only 15!!

A huge congrats to Community Gum who hit the jackpot here if you ask me.  I found one on eBay that already sold for $71!

While one might hope that the eight cards would be split among 8 different teams, that didn't happen here.  In fact, our autograph belongs to one of the seven teams featured above...

...and in this case, it's definitely an example of the "rich getting richer."  Another congratulations to Community Gum for landing this beauty to go along with that low numbered Abreu!

HT-CS.  Chris Sale - White Sox
Clouds Diffractor Autograph  #14/25

Yeah, that's a Chris Sale autograph which is cool enough - except this one is much better in that it's a parallel numbered out of only 25!

I have to admit, that was a FUN box to open!  The base cards are all really nice - and the parallels are even nicer.  Getting that many low numbered cards from a single pack was also a thrill for me...and how about that auto (and the Abreu)?!