*sitting in the kitchen next to the heater thinking about warm thoughts while it currently sits at -15*
I can feel, smell it and even taste it. Yes it has a taste. Baseball is on it's way and nothing kicks off the baseball season like Topps Series 1. Once that product has released, you know we are heading in the right direction.
For me it's not just about baseball starting, some warm weather would be nice as well.
*takes a sip, begins to rip*
Every hobby box of 2021 Topps Series 1 comes with 24 packs of 14 cards. I like this format more than the 36 packs. Each box comes with either an autograph, relic card or an autograph relic. Most likely, at least in my past breaks, you will find a relic. Boxes go anywhere between $125-$150 per.
Also inside of each hobby box are the Hobby Exclusive silver parallels,
Each of the silver parallel cards use the 1986 Topps design and comes with 4 cards
*takes another sip to do another rip*
There are 100 cards overall to collect and you can also find the following parallels (along with autographs as well)
The parallels are,
Blue /150, Green /99, Purple /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /5, SuperFractor 1/1.
BASE:
The base set consists of 330 cards.
The front of those cards have a Topps 70th silver logo instead of the typical Topps logo. The design is bordered this year and brings a new design to the table. I think more Bowman than Topps with it.
I was a little disappointed with this years lack of action photography compared to the past few years.
Card back.
The base set consists of veterans, rookies and the subsets as Rookie Cup, Future Stars, League Leaders, and World Series Highlights.
Rookie Cup
League Leaders
Future Stars
World Series Highlights
Team cards
Rookies
There was even some "mask" cards involved as part of the Covid-19 Pandemic. I think it's an important part of MLB history to include cards with pictures like these.
The images say it all.
PARALLELS
There are many parallels to chase in Series 1 including, Royal Blue, Rainbow Foil, Gold Foil, Gold /2021, Green /499, Advanced Stat /300, Orange /299, Red /199, Vintage Stock /99, Independence Day /76, Black /70, Platinum Anniversary /70, Mother’s Day /50, Father’s Day /50, Memorial Day /25, 70th Anniversary 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.
I pulled 3 rainbow foils in my break. These fall 1:10 packs. I always liked this parallel.
Gold /2021. These are pretty much impossible to find compared to past years. Only one in my box and the odds of finding them now are 1:27 packs. Good luck in any rainbow chases this year.
INSERTS:
There are 100 cards to seek out in the 1986 Topps 35th anniversary set. These seem to be one of the easier inserts to find falling at 1:4 packs.
They also have the following parallels, Blue, Black /299 (1:589 odds in Bregman), Platinum Anniversary /70, Red /10, and Gold 1/1.
70 years of Topps has well....70 cards in it to chase. These fall 1:11 packs.
Stars In Service falls 1:30 packs. There are 25 cards to collect in these as well.
Platinum Players falls 1:30 packs. There are 25 players to collect in this die cut set. I hope they bring this insert to chrome, bet it looks amazing.
Topps Through The Years insert 1:25. Many are complaining about this insert because many are posting and claiming these as autographs. I do get this kind of insert as they were celebrating the many cards in their 70 years but I understand the frustration.
There are 30 in this set to collect.
Home Run Challenge falls 1:24 packs
HITS:
For the first time in...well...ever...I didn't pull a relic card
Major League Material relic auto /50 of Josh Bell
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I enjoyed breaking this while sipping on my cup of coffee. Prices are a little steep right now for a hobby box so honestly I would stick to retail and hope for the best from that. What I always look for in Series 1 is the newest rookies and pc players for my collection so I can easily acquire those in retail as long as you are able to find some.
I do like the overall look and the theme for this years product though.
*takes a final sip, definitely making another to keep myself warm. Time to think warm thoughts and baseball.....and more 2021 baseball card releases*
Ratings Based On This Break (ratings based on 1-5 🍵)
Design 🍵🍵🍵
Photography 🍵🍵
Inserts 🍵🍵
Hits 🍵🍵🍵
Price 🍵
Value 🍵🍵🍵