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(More customer reviews)Each year the one set of baseball cards that I go out and get are the ones by Topps, although I have to admit the commitment stems primarily from the fact I have been collecting Topps cards since I was a kid.I have complete Topps sets from 1968 to date, as well as 1964-1966 and 1956-57.I am four cards away from finishing a 1962 set and six away from doing the same with the 1953 set, and have over forty cards to go with the 1967 set.So I am very much committed to continuing to get the Topps set each year even as I work on the older ones and of arranging them in sheets in the order the teams finished in each league, so each binder is a record of what happened the year before.But it seems to me that each year these baseball card sets are coming up with more and more problems.
The fact that players have changed teams between the 1st and 2nd series is a constant.This year you will find that Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano are both members of the Texas Rangers, Andy Pettite is still a Yankee, and Grady Little is still manager of the Boston Red Sox (sheesh, how early did they committ to these cards?).It is a hit and miss proposition based on when a player changed teams and when Topps slotted his card to be printed.But this year an old wrinkle became new again because Barry Bonds was not signed before Topps put out either series.Consequently, not only is there not a regular Barry Bonds card for the first time (think Stan Musial in the olden days of glory), but we also do not get the Barry Bonds 2003 National League Most Valuable Player card, and he is omitted from the 2003 NL Batting Average Leaders (he was third)and Home Run Leaders (he was second).This gives Edgar Renteria and Javy Lopez their moments in the sun, but it also takes away from the legitimacy of the front of these cards, and that is rather sad.Besides, you will find that there are other stars missing as well and each discover (e.g., Hideki Matsui) is even more depressing.
But my biggest complaint is that Topps is still speculating so much on Draft Picks and "First Year" players.The latter is not rookies, but players who have completed their first years in the (low) minor leagues.For that matter, most of the Draft Picks have stats for their first minor league seasons on the back instead of their college statistics (a lot of those cards are labeled "First Year" on the front as well).While it is nice to have the first card for Dioner Navarro, who is probably the catcher of the future for the New York Yankees, I really would rather have all of the members of the Yankees current roster.Fortunately, I can always count on their almost always being more Yankees than any other team (21 Yankee cards in the set versus 22 Red Sox).
I like to go back and look through the old Topps sets, and when you cannot recognize over half of the draft picks, future stars, or whatever, that is rather depressing.It used to be that you had to play (or coach or manage) in the Major Leagues before you got a baseball card, so wasting these cards on anything other than hot prospects or the Olympic Baseball team (special exemption for those players).But the Holy Grail remains have the official "first" card for the next baseball superstar, so I suspect we are going to have to endure this nonsense for the rest of our lives.I will always prefer the Future Stars cards, especially when they have the player who is going to go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award, like with Bobby Crosby of the Oakland A's.That should be the goal.
The specialty cards for the 2004 Topps set are pretty good.In addition to the leader cards for both leagues (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, hits, wins, and E.R.A.), there are the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners, the MVP/Cy Young/Rookie of the Year award winners (sans Bonds), and a nice cross-section of players who made the All-Star team.There are also five Season Highlights cards (e.g., Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmiero's 500th Home Runs), eleven Postseason Highlights cards (e.g., both Game 7's of the two league championships and four World Series cards), and three cards recalling off the field activities (e.g., Derek Jeter welcoming A-Rod to New York).Those cards are always enjoyable because there is nothing speculative about those players.
The 2004 Topps set has white borders for the cards and a lot of horizontal cards (which reminds a lot of us of the 1971 Topps set).The team name appears in shinny silver letters on the top of the cards, each team has a distinctive color for the border of the player's photograph, and in the lower left corner you have not only the player's number but a small silver outline of the player's photograph.That might be a tad too cute, but it sure beats having the same little icons for each position.
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Product Description:
This 2004 Topps Complete Baseball Card Set will round out your baseball card collection at 732 cards. You'll find the most inclusive player selection, complete career statistics and an exciting array of photography. The set is ideal for gift-giving and appeals to fans and collectors of all ages. It's a full season of cards that will last for generations.
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