2010 Topps Series 2 Baseball
Special thanks to Topps for this 2010 Series 2 Baseball review box.
Hobby Configuration: 36 packs per box. 10 cards per pack.
As the Exclusive Baseball Card of Major League Baseball, only Topps can bring collectors the MLB players, uniforms and action!
Each pack contains 9 Topps Baseball cards & 1 Topps Attax Toppstown.com card!
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Topps Million Card Giveaway Continues! Now With Authentic, Original T206 Cards!
- 1 Autograph Or Relic Card Per Hobby Box!
- Hobby Exclusive Cap Logo Patches Return!
- 2010 Red Hot Rookies!
- 1/1 Legends Cut Signature Cards
TOPPS IS GIVING BACK THE CARDS YOUR MOTHER THREW AWAY!
THE TOPPS MILLION CARD GIVEAWAY CONTINUES !!!
Topps Baseball pitches a perfect game with a ground-breaking, once-in-a-lifetime Promotion that will generate amazing buzz and strong consumer demand!
- Consumers look for Million Card code cards inserted 1:6 packs in 2010 Topps Series 2!
- Consumers enter the code at
Million Card Giveaway and can win an authentic original, vintage Topps Baseball Card!
- NEW FOR SERIES 2: Early 20th century ORIGINAL T206 Cards!
- EVERY CODE CARD IS A WINNER!
Insertion rates are based on estimated production levels, which may vary from the actual insertion rates to be published on product packaging...
BASE CARDS (330 subj)
- 255 Veterans, 40 Rookies, 15 Team, 15 Franchise, and 5 Classic Combo Cards (330) - The ONLY official MLB Cards!
- Base Card Variations (20) - 3,000 of Each Variation Card!
PARALLEL CARDS (1820 subj; 2410 total cards)
- Topps Silk Collection (100) - #'d to 50! Hobby & Jumbo Only!
- Platinum (330) - One of One!
- Black (330) - #'d to 59! Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only!
- Gold (330) - #'d to 2010! 1:6 Packs!
- Printing Plates (330 subj/1320 plates) - One of One! Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only!
INSERT CARDS (696 subj)
- NEW! Topps Vintage Legends Collection (25) - 1:4 Packs!
- NEW! History of the World Series (25) - 1:6 Packs!
- The Cards Your Mother Threw Out (58) - 1:3 Packs!
*Original Back Parallel (58) - 1 per Hobby Box!
- Hall of Fame Buybacks (500)
- Legendary Lineage (30) - 1:4 Packs!
NEW! JUST FOR FUN (45 subj)
- NEW! Topps 2020 (20) - 1:6 Packs!
- NEW! Topps Attax Toppstown.com Code Cards (25) - 1 per Hobby Pack!
PEAK PERFORMANCE (207 total cards) - 1 Auto or Relic Card per Hobby Box!
- NEW! Dual Relic Cards - (30 subj; 15 cards) #'d to 50!
- Relic Cards (80+)
*NEW! Blue Parallel (80) - #'d to 99!
- Insert Cards (50) - 1:4 Packs!
- Autograph Cards (50+)
- Autograph Relic Cards (10) - #'d to 50! Hobby & Jumbo Only!
- Jumbo Relic Cards (20) - #'d to 20! Hobby & Jumbo Only!
CONTINUITY PROGRAMS (55 total cards)
- MLB Exclusive Patch Cards (5) - #'d to 50!
- Turkey Red Cards (50) 1:4 packs!
SKETCH CARDS (TBD subj)
- Sketch Cards (TBD) - One of One! Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only!
RELIC CARDS - 1 Auto or Relic Card per Hobby Box!
- Cap Logos- (160) #'d to 99! 1 per Hobby Case! Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only!
- Legendary Lineage (30 subj, 15 cards) #'d to 50!
- 1962 Mickey Mantle Reprint cards (1) - #'d to 62!
BASEBALL LEGENDS CUT SIGNATURES (15 subj) - 1 Auto or Relic Card per Hobby Box!
- Baseball Legends (15) - One of One!
RED HOT ROOKIE CARDS (10 subj)
- 2010 MLB Rookies (10) - Only from Topps!
COMBINED INSERTION RATE FOR AUTOGRAPHED/RELIC* CARDS - Inserted 1 Per Hobby Box!
Here is what I pulled from our box of 2010 Bowman
Regular Base Cards
As you can see, the base set is a white bordered glossy card. Many of the cards have fantastic action shots. The rookie cards are only set apart from the base set by the RC, MLB logo tag that appears above the team name. Collectors should note, the RC logo is NOT in the upper corner as usual. I actually skipped past several rooks before I noticed the logo was not in the corner. This set consists of 290 veterans/teams/franchise cards and 40 rookies. We pulled 222 of the 290 vets with 5 duplicates, 76.5% of the set. We didn't fare as well with the rookies, only pulling 19 of the 40 for 47.5%. However, to have only pulled 5 dups out of 360 cards, that's a VERY satisfying result for any set collector.
As noted above, there are plenty of parallels in this set. We pulled 6 Gold Parallels, all numbered to 2010, and 1 Black Parallel, numbered to 59. There are also Silk versions numbered to 50 and Platinums that are 1 of 1s.
Cards You Mother Threw Out and Vintage Legends Collection Insert Set
Topps has continued the Cards Your Mother Threw Out series of inserts in this set. These are glossy versions of some of the classic Topps cards of the last 52 years. Cards that we may have once owned, but at some point during a spring cleaning rage, our moms tossed out into the trash. These are to be 1 in every 3 packs. We actually pulled 13 of these inserts, so 1 over the expected. We also pulled one of the 1 per box versions of the cards that have the original back that went with the front of these cards, instead of the CYMTO backing. As pictured above, we got the 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn original back. Another fun set is called Vintage Legends Collection. This set is Topps' rendering of some of the greatest players of all time would have looked on the fronts of cards from a different era. Note the Rogers Hornsby above. This is a 1926 photo on the card design of the 1996 Topps set. These cards were to be inserted in 1 of every 4 packs, and indeed they were as we pulled 9 out of the 25 card set.
History of the World Series and Legendary Lineage Insert Sets
Another historic set is the History of the World Series set. This 25 card set highlights some of the best moments of the Fall Classic from Walter Johnson's 4 inning relief stint in Game 7 in 1924 to Cole Hamels winning the MVP of the 2008 Series. Once again, great photographs on the front, and fun information on the back. These cards are to be found 1 in every 6 packs. My personal favorite insert set here is the Legendary Lineage set. This card features 2 players sharing common features through the generations. From Juan Marichal to Tim Lincecum and "Scooter" Rizzuto to Derek Jeter. This 30 card set should appear 1 in ever 4 packs. As it turns out, our box hit the mark perfectly for both sets.
Peak Performance and Turkey Red Insert Sets
The next insert set is not listed anywhere in the breakdown of sets, but considering we pulled 10 of them out of this box, I can assure you that they exist. This is the Peak Performance set. This set of cards features stars of the game and discusses what could be considered their peak performance. Without any info on them from Topps, I can tell you that some of the cards feature Mike Schmitt, Hunter Pence, Ozzie Smith, Dan Haren and many more. Also included at a clip of 1 every 4 packs is a Turkey Red insert. Most collectors are familiar with Turkey Red cards. These are like all Turkeys, artist renderings of your favorite stars. We actually fell one short as we only pulled 8 of the 50 card set from this box.
2020 and Topps Attax Insert Sets
Also included in this set is a set called 2020. These cards are slated at 1 every 6 packs and we did receive our 6 cards in this box. This set is a 20 card set centered on players that Topps thinks we'll be talking a lot about in the year 2020. Players like Justin Upton and Tommy Hanson are caught in nice action shots and overlaid on top of a starred background to give the cards a very nice 3-D effect. This effect has been used for cards in the past, but it's been a while. I really appreciate the throwback to those older sets. (For what it's worth...the scans do not do the cards justice.) The final insert set that is thrown into this product is the 1 per pack Topps Attax cards. Honestly, I'm not too familiar with the game, but each card has a code that can be entered online at ToppsTown.com and then you can battle. I've cropped the codes out of the cards, because they can only be used once. The specs say this is a 25 player set, but I received 27 different player cards and 9 dups...so I'm not sure of the true numbers here.
Relics, Autos, Cap Logos and Red Hot Rookies
I guess the last thing to talk about are the big hits in the box. First off, we pulled a #10 Red Hot Rookie Redemption. Which rookie this card will become is not yet decided. But you can figure Strasburg, Heyward and Freese to likely be in the running to be one of the 10 Red Hot Rookies. Don't forget, there are limited versions of these that come back autographed!!! And the final hit is a Steve Carlton manufactured Cap Logo card. These cards are estimated at 1 PER CASE!!!! Each box is guaranteed a Relic or Autograph, but things like the Cap Logos are more rare. This set has Relic Cards, Dual Relic Cards, Autographed Relic Cards and Jumbo Relic Cards...all listed at 1 per box or less. Unfortunately, the Carlton (as you can see) came in damaged. Hopefully Topps will be able to replace the card as it really is an incredible looking set of cards.
Final Thoughts on 2010 Topps Series 2 Baseball
I haven't busted a box of Topps Baseball in years, so this was a walk down memory lane for me. I like the looks of the cards and I love that each pack has multiple inserts. Since this set is all about history, I don't know that the insert sets could have been much better. The Legendary Lineage and Vintage Legends Collection are great sets that, as a fan of baseball, I appreciated quite a bit. Damage aside, the Cap Logo card is an awesome looking card that makes this box a huge winner, in my opinion. Can't wait to see what rookie that Red Hot Rookie card turns into.
Overall, I think this is a very satisfying product and was a fun rip. Card companies come and go and all of them seem to offer the "latest and greatest" in cards...but after 52 years, I'd say Topps is still at the top of the heap.
Here's how I would rate this product: A
Value = 5
Innovation = 4
Fun and Experience = 4
Rebuy Value = 5
I rate this product an "A" for Topps!
NPN Information
NPN 2010 Topps Baseball Series 2
PO Box 2008
Duryea, PA 18642
Only 1 card per envelope, postmarked by November 17th, 2010 and received by November 24th, 2010
I would like to thank Topps and Trader Retreat for giving me the opportunity to review this new product.
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Cards from this break will be in a contest one day this week...so keep checking the Baseball Contest Forum for the thread. A hint: Think All-Star Game!!!
