The much-anticipated 2017 Topps Update checklist was
released today and I’m dreadfully disappointed in the Brewers sliver of it. The base set itself seems
to be kind of mess… very, VERY heavy on rookies and All-Stars with little room
for much else. Like last year’s update set, it comes in at 300 cards, down from
400 as recently as 2015. The Brewers have seven cards in the base set. The
obvious one was the Corey Knabel All-Star card. Yeah, that’s fine, I guess. I
used to like the idea of Topps giving EVERY All-Star a card in the Update, but it’s
getting kind of old. Maybe this could be an insert set or something.
Three of the Brewers set are rookies: Brett Phillips, Josh
Hader, and Lewis Brinson. These are all solid. All are top prospects and all
debuted this year and Hader and Phillips actually played pretty awesome down
the stretch. Good on you for these, Topps.
The fifth is also a “rookie,” a Rookie Debut card of Orlando
Arcia. Honestly, I hate these debut cards. Who cares? It’s just an excuse to
double up on parallels for eBay-hot players. And Arcia didn’t even debut this
year… it was 2016. I’m a big Arcia fan, but this means nothing to me.
Card six is something called “PARTNERS IN POP,” one of their
gimmick cards with an utterly pointless checklist on the backside. I like
gimmick cards, if they are done right. But I have think sinking feeling that
this will just be a rehash of the “Brewers Bombers” card from Heritage High
Numbers.
And speaking of rehashing High Numbers… card number seven is
Jett Bandy. Yes, Jett Bandy who hit .207 this year. Jett Bandy who got sent to
the minors at the end of June (FUCKING JUNE). Jett Bandy who already had a card
in High Numbers. Not Eric Sogard, who quickly became a fan fav after being
called up in mid-May. Not Stephen Vogt, a two-time All Star who joined the team
in June. Not Brent Suter, who is without a solo Brewers card. Not deadline
pickup Anthony Swarzack. And certainly not Manny Pina, who was the Brewers most
regular catcher and posted a 2.6 WAR and might get Rookie of the Year votes and
DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A SINGLE MLB CARD.
No. We’ll get another Jett Bandy. And nothing against Jett.
I’m glad that a card of him as a Brewer exists… but he wasn’t even in the majors
when this set was being finalized! My god, Topps, can you at least TRY to pay
attention to teams that aren’t the New York Judge-havers?
*Sigh*
Anyway, I’m still gonna collect this set, because I’m
degenerate cardboard addict. And I am looking forward to the Eric Thames 1987
autographed card. And, hopefully, we’ll get some Vogt/Sogard/Pina/andtherest in
the 2018 base set. Like, maybe one of them will be the background of an Aaron
Judge card or something.
Read through the checklist this morning and I, too, am disappointed. NO player should get three different cards in the same checklist -- talk about a waste of space. I like the rookie debut cards, but I agree that having those AND a standard rookie card is also monotonous (especially when the guy debuted last year).
ReplyDeleteBut I've already pre-ordered my box and am still looking forward to it...as is the internal duality I seem to have with Topps.
I hear ya. I'll piss and moan and gripe, but I'm gonna build this set.
DeleteThe Reds players they put in look less than interesting. Sure, there's a Luis Castillo rookie card but what about Bronson Arroyo? I mean, he appeared in more games this year that Jake Buchanan and Ariel Hernandez combined! I'm with you guys, it's very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteNo Neil Walker, either. I still think of this as the "Traded" set, but I guess those days are long gone. The Mets moved a lot of guys in July and August--Walker, Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda--and none of them are here. Neither is AJ Ramos, whom they acquired from the Marlins, nor their big call-ups, Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith. What's the point?
ReplyDeleteThey gave a Rookie Debut card to Alex Reyes, who missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and actually debuted in 2016. What a waste.
ReplyDelete