Who am I? Just last week I trashed the 2020 Topps Update checklist. Using names like Jharel Cotton and Josh Phegley from the Cubs team checklist to hammer down my point.
But that’s also why I absolutely love 2020 Topps Update from a Chicago Cubs baseball card standpoint. I will stand by my statement that by and large this year’s product leaves a lot to be desired because of the lack of key rookie cards.
On Friday (the baseball card stocking day in my area) I made a few trips to the three Target stores and one closest Wal-Mart to my house. Full disclosure: I did take the day off from my day job.
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The first Topps Update sighting was about a dozen fat packs. Since I was so cold on the product I only grabbed four packs to scratch the itch. Later, at another Target store, it was stocked with several blaster boxes, so I grabbed two to check out what they entailed.
It was a fun rip and I pulled some rookie debut cards of Bo Bichette, Kyle Lewis, and base rookies cards of Trent Grisham and Randy Arozarena. But that’s not what I am here to talk about. Show me the Cubbies! Josh Phegley was a name I tossed out referencing the weak checklist. I mean…he’s the Cubs third string catcher. How many third string catchers get Topps cards?
At least Phegley played in a game this year. Jharel Cotton hasn’t played in a Major League Baseball game since 2017 with the Oakland Athletics. Cotton was released by the Cubs in September.
Kyle Ryan is a name most fans haven’t heard because he’s a relief pitcher. Ryan pitched in 15.2 innings this past 2020 season. He made an appearance on the mound in 73 games in 2019.
I wonder how many big league pitchers have thrown a no-hitter before appearing on a Topps baseball card?
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Alec Mills is one. Here is the first flagship Topps card of Mills.
Craig Kimbrel has been pretty disappointing as a Cubs closer. Kimbrel has a 0-5 record with just 15 saves in 41 games played over the past two seasons in Chicago.
A rookie card in the 2020 Topps Update Cubs set – Ian Miller. You haven’t heard of Miller? He appeared in one game for the Chicago Cubs – as a pinch runner – and was then designated for assignment.
You’ve probably heard of Anthony Rizzo, though. I do like how Topps handled the All Star Game and Home Run Derby cards this year. Since there wasn’t an All Star break they commemorated past games like Rizzo’s 2016 ASG appearance.
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Kris Bryant was also given an All Star card from the 2016 game played in San Diego. This appears to be a parallel with the blue border.
This Daniel Descalso card is definitely a blue parallel.
I pulled a pair of insert cards. This year pays homage to the 1985 Topps set, and this Ernie Banks looks great on the design.
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Turkey Red is cool, but I hope Topps pulls the plug on it and lets it sit for a few years before reintroducing it. It is a cool design, but will be better if done on a minimal basis.
As a collector of random Cubs, this years 2020 Topps Update Cubs checklist is great. Names like Josh Phegley, Ian Miller, and Jharel Cotton are likely on their only Cubs card ever. All in all it was a very fun rip, but I won’t be clearing any shelves for 2020 Topps Update.
There doesn’t seem to be a baseball card product that has gone from scorching hot and flip worthy to ice cold than Bowman Platinum.
Collectors and flippers have been clearing shelves of Donruss football…Donruss football! It seems that everything produced in trading cards is hot and selling. Except Bowman Platinum.
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A few years ago Bowman Platinum was released as an online exclusive to Wal-Mart. It was successfully flipped by astute members of the hobby. Yes, Virginia. There were flippers in the hobby before 2020.
Early in the Bowman Platinum run, I was looking for the quick flip. The margins were really tight, so I ended up just opening the boxes. And…I really enjoyed the product. It’s a flashy card, and it has both a veteran and prospect set much like flagship Bowman.
Quickly I learned that the secondary market for Bowman Platinum singles was pretty low, and nine times out of 10 you’ll not get the value back in the boxes you buy. Still, at a $20 blaster price point it was still worth it to me because I really enjoyed the cards and did not care about resale value. It was a fun rip.
Fast forward to 2020, and it took me by surprise when I found out Bowman Platinum was hitting Wal-Mart shelves the first week of November. Typically, Bowman Platinum is released around the first week of July. Since 2020 has been a wacky year, and Wal-Mart carried a new retail exclusive Bowman product – Bowman Chrome Mega Boxes – I did not expect there to be a 2020 Bowman Platinum.
I was excited, and thought maybe I might be able to find some at my local stores. I wasn’t holding my breath since the previous two weeks there had been around a dozen people waiting for the card vendor at my local Wal-Mart. Still…I ventured out on a Friday afternoon and went to my nearest store. Surprisingly, six boxes were on the shelf. The price tag made me raise my eyebrows as these were $45 boxes with 23 cards and a guaranteed autograph. I bought two boxes to check it out, and made my way to the other Wal-Mart store.
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This particular store is much larger, and has a much larger trading card section. There was about a dozen of the $45 Bowman Platinum boxes on the shelf while everything else was cleared out save for some Topps Stickers, NASCAR, and hockey.
A Friday night break was in store with excitement in the air. It’s not a common occurrence to find retail sports cards on the shelf these days. Here’s video of my 2020 Blowman Platinum break.
What a bummer break. First off….NO CUBS! Another bummer was that there were a bunch of duplicates from the two boxes I bought, including the chartreuse parallel of Orioles pitcher John Means.
Two chartreuse parallels are inside each box. The others? Yup, also duplicates of Marlins prospect Kameron Misner.
My autograph hits were decent. The bigger name of the two autos was Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Corbin Carroll.
The other I have never heard of – Rockies prospect Terrin Vavra.
Overall, I do like the look of the cards, but buyer beware. Bowman Platinum is definitely not worth its 2020 price point. I would much rather have a blaster box for $20 or even $25 without the guaranteed autograph. The autos are stickers, and these are not sought after autos at all. Give me a few more base cards and I would have been happy.
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Another thing I was not happy with was the one pack. You get 23 cards per box, but they come in a single pack. I’d much rather have six packs of four cards.
Bowman Platinum will likely be seen on store shelves for a long time to come, and it’s disappointing that Topps packaged it the way they did this year.
At long last it appears that eBay will be offering an option for buyers and sellers of trading cards to have an option of plain white envelope (PWE) shipping.
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My first inkling of this epic news was the morning of November 5, 2020, when great trade partner and fellow #TeamPWE member, Josh, linked me to a tweet from the hobby famous BrentnBecca.
Please tell me you have heard that eBay and USPS are rolling out a new shipping option for Sports Cards with tracking and seller protection for only 75 cents????!!!! This is one of the best and biggest news in Sports Cards in many years. WOW!! Shocked but it’s about time!!!!
This is big news for the hobby, as you may have expected from Brent’s usage of 10 exclamation points in that single tweet. The biggest part of this news is for 75 cents you also get tracking. Many sellers have stayed away from selling PWE on eBay out of fear of unscrupulous buyers claiming “non-receipt” taking advantage of the lack of tracking in a white envelope.
No more than four raw trading cards per envelope or two cards in top loaders
No graded cards
Envelopes no larger than 6.125″ x 11.5″ or smaller than 3.5″ x 5″
Weighs up to 3 oz.
The only thing that really stood out to me is the contents of the envelope stating four cards or two cards in top loaders. That seems a bit odd since weight (under 3 oz.) covers what the contents can be.
This news gave me different emotions, both good and bad. Here are my thoughts to the potential addition of a PWE shipping option.
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The Good
This is great news for the hobby in general. Buyers will have more options to buy cheap trading cards without having to fork over $3 to $4 in shipping costs. Instead of paying $5 for a $1 card, it may only run you $2. With tracking, this will bring many more sellers to eBay offering low dollar cards with this option. Sellers can move more cards, and buyers will have more and cheaper options. It gives sellers security to send cards in a PWE without fearing for non-receipt claims by scammers.
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The Bad
Strictly selfish on this one. Over the past two years I have been selling low dollar cards in PWE on eBay. My rate of non-receipt claims is roughly 2 out of every 1,000 transactions. I have also gotten the profit margins down to a science where I buy pre-stamped envelopes at a cost of 38 cents per envelope. One of my most popular eBay Store categories is “99 cents free shipping.” Based on my stamps/envelopes cost, my net profit margin on a single 99 cents card sale is roughly 20 cents.
If forced to use eBay’s PWE option, this will wipe away all profits on my PWE sales and that category becomes a loss. One option I have is to charge 75 cents per card which would require me to manually update shipping charges on nearly 3,000 listings.
In the interim, my plan will be to continue sending cards under $5 in my pre-stamped envelopes. Anything around $5 to $15 will be sent using the new 75 cents with tracking option.
One final negative is the result of something I mentioned as a positive. More sellers will be entering the PWE market, meaning more competition for sales. Good for the buyer, bad for current PWE sellers.
All in all, I believe the good outweighs the bad for the hobby as a whole. I do look forward to having this option added because there are many cards in the $7-12 range that I could benefit selling PWE with tracking.
It was October 2006 on Monday Night Football. Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals. The Dennis Green coached Cardinals were not a very good football team coming into their Monday night game with a 1-4 record having lost four in a row.
But Arizona looked great against the Bears on this night…for most of the game. The Cardinals held a 20-0 halftime lead, and a 23-3 advantage with under a minute to play in the third quarter. And then the Bears woke up.
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Mike Brown picked up a Matt Leinart fumble just before the end of the third quarter and ran in for a touchdown to make it a 23-10 game. That score held until about five minute to play. Again…the Bears defense came through with a fumble recovery returned for a score by Charles “Peanut” Tillman. Arizona clung to a 23-17 lead.
Arizona’s offense could not stall and were forced to punt. Remember Devin Hester? Most teams kicked the ball away from arguably the NFL’s greatest return man in history. But, not the Arizona Cardinals. Hester returned the punt for 83 yards and with the extra point the Bears took a 24-23 lead.
Still, the Cardinals had almost three minutes of clock to work with. Arizona made it into field goal range for Neil Rackers setting up a game-winning 40-yard field goal. Rackers missed. Bears win. Dennis Green angry.
One of the greatest postgame quotes of all time was made by the late coach Green, which is exactly what I think back to when I looked at the 2020 Topps Update checklist, just changing the words around a bit.
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It is what we thought it would be. The Topps Update checklist is bad, and we knew it would be. I think many of us were holding out hope that Topps would surprise us and include some rookie cards of players that were called up in the shortened 2020 baseball season. Our wish was not granted, and we are left with another Randy Arozarena rookie (which will carry the product), another Trent Grisham rookie card (now in a Padres uniform), and a handful of players that names looked as foreign to me as the Kazakhstan national bandy team.
The Cubs checklist includes players like Jharel Cotton who did not appear in a single Chicago Cubs game and was released on September 5. It also includes the team’s third string catcher – Josh Phegley. To be honest, I think it’s neat that these players are included. I would rather have flagship cards of Cotton and Phegley than another Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo.
Fact is, we knew 2020 Topps Update would be a lot different since the season did not begin until July after the deadline for players who debuted to make it into this product. There was also no All Star Game in 2020, and All Star cards and Home Run Derby cards are a large part of the Topps Update checklist. Topps did get creative with the latter using past All Star Games and Home Run Derbys.
Below you will find the 2020 Topps Update checklist. What do you think?
2020 Topps Update Checklist
U-1 Bo Bichette – Toronto Blue Jays RD U-2 Adam Engel – Chicago White Sox U-3 Turner/Difo – Washington Nationals Combo U-4 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels AS U-5 Starlin Castro – Washington Nationals U-6 Mike Moustakas – Cincinnati Reds U-7 Bregman/Alvarez – Houston Astros Combo U-8 Buster Posey – San Francisco Giants AS U-9 Ken Griffey Jr. – Seattle Mariners HR U-10 Anthony Alford – Toronto Blue Jays U-11 Chris Owings – Colorado Rockies U-12 Aaron Bummer – Chicago White Sox U-13 Jose Martinez – Tampa Bay Rays U-14 Giancarlo Stanton – Miami Marlins HR U-15 Aaron Judge – New York Yankees AS U-16 Phillip Diehl – Colorado Rockies RC U-17 Josh Fuentes – Colorado Rockies U-18 Felix Pena – Los Angeles Angels U-19 Yasmani Grandal – Chicago White Sox U-20 Francisco Cervelli – Miami Marlins U-21 Kyle Lewis – Seattle Mariners RD U-22 Cody Stashak – Minnesota Twins RC U-23 Cheslor Cuthbert – Chicago White Sox U-24 Buck Farmer – Detroit Tigers U-25 Josh Taylor – Boston Red Sox RC U-26 Kyle Gibson – Texas Rangers U-27 Kyle Ryan – Chicago Cubs U-28 Eduardo Nunez – New York Mets U-29 Aristides Aquino – Cincinnati Reds RD U-30 Yasmany Tomas – Arizona Diamondbacks U-31 Curt Casali – Cincinnati Reds U-32 Drew Pomeranz – San Diego Padres U-33 Alex Verdugo – Boston Red Sox U-34 Justin Verlander – Houston Astros AL U-35 Kyle Farmer – Cincinnati Reds U-36 Robinson Cano – New York Yankees HR U-37 Yoenis Cespedes – Oakland Athletics HR U-38 Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels AL U-39 Kevin Plawecki – Boston Red Sox U-40 Antonio Senzatela – Colorado Rockies U-41 Josh Lindblom – Milwaukee Brewers U-42 Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs AS U-43 Alex Blandino – Cincinnati Reds U-44 Jorge Alcala – Minnesota Twins RC U-45 Zack Wheeler – Philadelphia Phillies U-46 Jose Suarez – Los Angeles Angels U-47 Jose Peraza – Boston Red Sox U-48 Sandy Leon – Cleveland Indians U-49 Jared Walsh – Los Angeles Angels U-50 Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies AS U-51 Matt Davidson – Cincinnati Reds U-52 Kyle Higashioka – New York Yankees U-53 Brad Miller – St. Louis Cardinals U-54 Alex Avila – Minnesota Twins U-55 Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers AS U-56 Lane Thomas – St. Louis Cardinals U-57 Yoan Lopez – Arizona Diamondbacks U-58 Erick Mejia – Kansas City Royals RC U-59 Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies HR U-60 Brendan McKay – Tampa Bay Rays RD U-61 Jedd Gyorko – Milwaukee Brewers U-62 David Ortiz – Boston Red Sox HR U-63 Terrance Gore – Los Angeles Dodgers U-64 Alex Bregman – Houston Astros AS U-65 Yoshi Tsutsugo – Tampa Bay Rays RC U-66 Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals AL U-67 Michael Fulmer – Detroit Tigers U-68 Greg Garcia – San Diego Padres U-69 Derek Holland – Pittsburgh Pirates U-70 Skye Bolt – Oakland Athletics U-71 Jesus Aguilar – Miami Marlins U-72 Drew Butera – Colorado Rockies U-73 Todd Frazier – Texas Rangers U-74 Harper/Segura – Philadelphia Phillies Combo U-75 Pedro Martinez – Boston Red Sox AS U-76 Edwin Encarnacion – Chicago White Sox AL U-77 Jalen Beeks – Tampa Bay Rays U-78 Joe Jimenez – Detroit Tigers U-79 Sean Poppen – Minnesota Twins RC U-80 Cody Bellinger – Los Angeles Dodgers AS U-81 Junior Guerra – Arizona Diamondbacks U-82 Kenley Jansen – Los Angeles Dodgers AL U-83 Trent Grisham – San Diego Padres RC U-84 Yusmeiro Petit – Oakland Athletics U-85 Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners AS U-86 Josh Harrison – Philadelphia Phillies U-87 Zack Greinke – Houston Astros AL U-88 Craig Kimbrel – Chicago Cubs AL U-89 Brian Johnson – Boston Red Sox U-90 Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers AL U-91 Julio Teheran – Los Angeles Angels U-92 Jacob deGrom – New York Mets AL U-93 Tyler White – Los Angeles Dodgers U-94 Jesus Luzardo – Oakland Athletics RD U-95 Domingo Santana – Cleveland Indians U-96 Logan Morrison – Milwaukee Brewers U-97 Donovan Solano – San Francisco Giants U-98 Jose Iglesias – Baltimore Orioles U-99 Cesar Hernandez – Cleveland Indians U-100 David Price – Los Angeles Dodgers U-101 Nick Dini – Kansas City Royals RC U-102 Kevin Ginkel – Arizona Diamondbacks RC U-103 Michael Hermosillo – Los Angeles Angels U-104 Grayson Greiner – Detroit Tigers U-105 Jake Newberry – Kansas City Royals RC U-106 Meibrys Viloria – Kansas City Royals U-107 Eric Thames – Washington Nationals U-108 Taylor Ward – Los Angeles Angels U-109 Pedro Strop – Cincinnati Reds U-110 Mark McGwire – St. Louis Cardinals HR U-111 Rich Hill – Minnesota Twins U-112 Nik Turley – Pittsburgh Pirates RC U-113 Devin Williams – Milwaukee Brewers RC U-114 Josh Phegley – Chicago Cubs U-115 Brad Peacock – Houston Astros U-116 Robinson Chirinos – Texas Rangers U-117 Cameron Maybin – Detroit Tigers U-118 Frank Schwindel – Detroit Tigers RC U-119 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels AL U-120 Stevie Wilkerson – Baltimore Orioles U-121 Ichiro – Seattle Mariners AS U-122 Tino Martinez – New York Yankees HR U-123 Neil Walker – Philadelphia Phillies U-124 David Ortiz – Boston Red Sox AS U-125 Chris Martin – Atlanta Braves U-126 Jhoulys Chacin – Minnesota Twins U-127 Ryan Weber – Boston Red Sox U-128 Jonathan Davis – Toronto Blue Jays U-129 Hunter Pence – San Francisco Giants U-130 Richie Martin – Baltimore Orioles U-131 Alex Reyes – St. Louis Cardinals U-132 Daniel Descalso – Chicago Cubs U-133 Chris Iannetta – New York Yankees U-134 Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees AS U-135 Brandon Dixon – Detroit Tigers U-136 David McKay – Detroit Tigers U-137 Touki Toussaint – Atlanta Braves U-138 Tommy Pham – San Diego Padres U-139 Greg Allen – Cleveland Indians U-140 Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers AL U-141 Jonathan Villar – Miami Marlins U-142 Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels AL U-143 Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians AS U-144 Betts/Torres – American League Combo U-145 Ronald Acuña Jr. – Atlanta Braves AS U-146 Andrew Knizner – St. Louis Cardinals U-147 Robinson Cano – New York Mets AL U-148 Pete Alonso – New York Mets HR U-149 Nick Solak – Texas Rangers RD U-150 Ken Griffey Jr. – Seattle Mariners HR U-151 Jairo Diaz – Colorado Rockies U-152 Sam Haggerty – Seattle Mariners RC U-153 Robert Stephenson – Cincinnati Reds U-154 Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees AS U-155 Zach Davies – San Diego Padres U-156 Wilmer Flores – San Francisco Giants U-157 Deivy Grullon – Philadelphia Phillies RC U-158 Jason Kipnis – Chicago Cubs U-159 Steven Souza Jr. – Chicago Cubs U-160 Richard Bleier – Baltimore Orioles U-161 Jake Marisnick – New York Mets U-162 Giovanny Gallegos – St. Louis Cardinals U-163 JT Riddle – Pittsburgh Pirates U-164 Sam Travis – Texas Rangers U-165 Kyle Wright – Atlanta Braves U-166 Adolis Garcia – Texas Rangers U-167 Yoshi Hirano – Seattle Mariners U-168 Keynan Middleton – Los Angeles Angels U-169 Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals AS U-170 Travis Shaw – Toronto Blue Jays U-171 Bryse Wilson – Atlanta Braves U-172 Tyler Wade – New York Yankees U-173 Edwin Encarnacion – Chicago White Sox U-174 Logan Forsythe – Philadelphia Phillies U-175 Diego Castillo – Tampa Bay Rays U-176 Brock Holt – Milwaukee Brewers U-177 Andy Burns – Toronto Blue Jays RC U-178 Jarrod Dyson – Pittsburgh Pirates U-179 Jeff Hoffman – Colorado Rockies U-180 C.J. Cron – Detroit Tigers U-181 Mitch Moreland – Boston Red Sox U-182 Josh Tomlin – Atlanta Braves U-183 Steve Cishek – Chicago White Sox U-184 Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers AL U-185 Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals AS U-186 Rowdy Tellez – Toronto Blue Jays U-187 Pete Alonso – New York Mets AS U-188 Luis Severino – New York Yankees U-189 Johnny Davis – Tampa Bay Rays RC U-190 Ken Griffey Jr. – Seattle Mariners AS U-191 Zack Greinke – Houston Astros AL U-192 Ian Miller – Chicago Cubs RC U-193 Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers AL U-194 Justin Verlander – Houston Astros AS U-195 Daniel Hudson – Washington Nationals U-196 Nestor Cortes – Seattle Mariners RC U-197 Zach Green – San Francisco Giants RC U-198 Hunter Renfroe – Tampa Bay Rays U-199 Adeiny Hechavarria – Atlanta Braves U-200 Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels U-201 Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs AS U-202 Asdrubal Cabrera – Washington Nationals U-203 Austin Pruitt – Houston Astros U-204 Eric Davis – Cincinnati Reds HR U-205 Kenta Maeda – Minnesota Twins U-206 Asher Wojciechowski – Baltimore Orioles U-207 Jorge Lopez – Kansas City Royals U-208 Randy Arozarena – Tampa Bay Rays RC U-209 Cal Ripken Jr. – Baltimore Orioles AS U-210 Gabe Speier – Kansas City Royals RC U-211 Drew Smyly – San Francisco Giants U-212 Jordan Lyles – Texas Rangers U-213 Keury Mella – Arizona Diamondbacks U-214 Kendall Graveman – Seattle Mariners U-215 Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds AL U-216 Sean Murphy – Oakland Athletics RD U-217 Andrew Suarez – San Francisco Giants U-218 Chapman/Olson – Oakland Athletics Combo U-219 Zack Greinke – Houston Astros AL U-220 Alec Mills – Chicago Cubs U-221 Joe Panik – Toronto Blue Jays U-222 Scott Barlow – Kansas City Royals U-223 Chris Devenski – Houston Astros U-224 Cy Sneed – Houston Astros RC U-225 Jharel Cotton – Chicago Cubs U-226 Franchy Cordero – San Diego Padres U-227 Garrett Richards – San Diego Padres U-228 Starling Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks U-229 Giancarlo Stanton – Miami Marlins AS U-230 Cal Ripken Jr. – Baltimore Orioles HR U-231 Jordy Mercer – Detroit Tigers U-232 Jason Castro – Los Angeles Angels U-233 Mike Montgomery – Kansas City Royals U-234 Gavin Lux – Los Angeles Dodgers RD U-235 Javier Baez – Chicago Cubs AS U-236 Bartolo Colon – New York Mets AL U-237 Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers AS U-238 Tim Locastro – Arizona Diamondbacks U-239 Jefry Rodriguez – Cleveland Indians U-240 Justin Verlander – Houston Astros AL U-241 Tyler Heineman – San Francisco Giants RC U-242 Ty France – San Diego Padres U-243 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels AL U-244 Wade LeBlanc – Baltimore Orioles U-245 Justin Verlander – Houston Astros AL U-246 Greg Holland – Kansas City Royals U-247 Kole Calhoun – Arizona Diamondbacks U-248 Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers AL U-249 Aroldis Chapman – New York Yankees AL U-250 Omar Narvaez – Milwaukee Brewers U-251 Nico Hoerner – Chicago Cubs RD U-252 Alex Wood – Los Angeles Dodgers U-253 Peter Lambert – Colorado Rockies U-254 Taijuan Walker – Seattle Mariners U-255 Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals HR U-256 Ramirez/Lindor – Cleveland Indians Combo U-257 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees AS U-258 Todd Frazier – Cincinnati Reds HR U-259 Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels AL U-260 Kyle Crick – Pittsburgh Pirates U-261 Trout/Upton – Los Angeles Angels Combo U-262 Ty Buttrey – Los Angeles Angels U-263 Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers AL U-264 Aaron Judge – New York Yankees HR U-265 Dario Agrazal – Detroit Tigers RC U-266 Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates AS U-267 Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals AS U-268 Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox AS U-269 Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers AS U-270 Dustin Garneau – Houston Astros U-271 Kevin Pillar – Boston Red Sox U-272 Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds AS U-273 Devers/Bogaerts – Boston Red Sox Combo U-274 Jordan Montgomery – New York Yankees U-275 Brett Anderson – Milwaukee Brewers U-276 Joe Kelly – Los Angeles Dodgers U-277 Jose Altuve – Houston Astros AS U-278 Austin Allen – Oakland Athletics U-279 Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals AS U-280 Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels AL U-281 Joel Kuhnel – Cincinnati Reds RC U-282 Christian Arroyo – Cleveland Indians U-283 Tomas Nido – New York Mets U-284 Buehler/Martin – Los Angeles Dodgers Combo U-285 Billy Hamilton – San Francisco Giants U-286 Chase Anderson – Toronto Blue Jays U-287 Chris Sale – Boston Red Sox AS U-288 Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees AL U-289 Myles Straw – Houston Astros U-290 Alonso/McNeil – New York Mets Combo U-291 Trayce Thompson – Arizona Diamondbacks U-292 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels AL U-293 Mike King – New York Yankees RC U-294 Adam Plutko – Cleveland Indians U-295 Chris Sale – Boston Red Sox AL U-296 Mark McGwire – Oakland Athletics HR U-297 Jesus Tinoco – Colorado Rockies RC U-298 Magneuris Sierra – Miami Marlins U-299 Jacob deGrom – New York Mets AS U-300 Yordan Alvarez – Houston Astros RD
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One of the anticipated insert sets in 2020 Topps Update is the prospects set.
Prospect Insert Checklist
PA-AB Alec Bohm – Philadelphia Phillies PA-BD Bobby Dalbec – Boston Red Sox PA-BDA Brennen Davis – Chicago Cubs PA-BS Brady Singer – Kansas City Royals PA-CM Casey Mize – Detroit Tigers PA-CP Cristian Pache – Atlanta Braves PA-CS Clarke Schmidt – New York Yankees PA-CW Colton Welker – Colorado Rockies PA-ES Ethan Small – Milwaukee Brewers PA-EW Evan White – Seattle Mariners PA-JA Jo Adell – Los Angeles Angels PA-JB Joey Bart – San Francisco Giants PA-JJ Josh Jung – Texas Rangers PA-KR Keibert Ruiz – Los Angeles Dodgers PA-LG Luis Garcia – Washington Nationals PA-MG MacKenzie Gore – San Diego Padres PA-NM Nick Madrigal – Chicago White Sox PA-NP Nate Pearson – Toronto Blue Jays PA-RM Ryan Mountcastle – Baltimore Orioles PA-WF Wander Franco – Tampa Bay Rays
1985 Topps Baseball Autographs
85A-ARE Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels 85A-DJ Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 85A-JM Joe Mauer – Minnesota Twins 85A-LR Luis Robert – Chicago White Sox 85A-MT Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels 85A-PA Pete Alonso – New York Mets 85A-RDO Randy Dobnak – Minnesota Twins 85A-RM Ryan McBroom – Kansas City Royals 85A-SG Sonny Gray – Cincinnati Reds 85A-TA Tyler Alexander – Detroit Tigers 85A-TL Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants 85A-YD Yonathan Daza – Colorado Rockies 85A-YT Yoshi Tsutsugo – Tampa Bay Rays 85A-JRO Josh Rojas – Arizona Diamondbacks 85BA-HD Hunter Dozier – Kansas City Royals 85BA-TLS Tommy La Stella – Los Angeles Angels 85A-SC Shin-Soo Choo – Texas Rangers 85BA-JA Jim Abbott – Los Angeles Angels 85BA-YC Yu Chang – Cleveland Indians 85BA-JD Justin Dunn – Seattle Mariners 85A-ZG Zac Gallen – Arizona Diamondbacks 85A-RHE Rickey Henderson – Oakland Athletics 85A-RLA Ramon Laureano – Oakland Athletics 85BA-DL Domingo Leyba – Arizona Diamondbacks 85A-OM Oscar Mercado – Cleveland Indians 85A-MO Matt Olson – Oakland Athletics 85A-MA Max Kepler – Minnesota Twins 85A-KS Kyle Schwarber – Chicago Cubs 85A-MS Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals 85BA-SN Sheldon Neuse – Oakland Athletics 85A-RD Rafael Devers – Boston Red Sox 85BA-MB Mike Brosseau – Tampa Bay Rays 85BA-JBU Jay Buhner – Seattle Mariners 85A-MCA Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers 85A-JC Jose Canseco – Oakland Athletics 85A-PC Patrick Corbin – Washington Nationals 85A-JH Josh Hader – Milwaukee Brewers 85BA-DV Dan Vogelbach – Seattle Mariners 85A-JJ Josh James – Houston Astros 85A-AKA Anthony Kay – Toronto Blue Jays 85A-MK Mitch Keller – Pittsburgh Pirates 85BA-SL Shed Long – Seattle Mariners 85A-JMA James Marvel – Pittsburgh Pirates 85BA-AO Adam Ottavino – New York Yankees 85BA-JS Jorge Soler – Kansas City Royals 85A-GS George Springer – Houston Astros 85BA-GU Gio Urshela – New York Yankees 85A-BR Bryan Reynolds – Pittsburgh Pirates 85A-DGO Dwight Gooden – New York Mets
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20 Years of The Captain Checklist
20CA-00 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-01 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-02 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-03 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-04 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-05 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-06 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-07 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-08 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-09 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-10 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-11 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-12 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-13 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-14 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-95 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-96 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-97 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-98 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees 20CA-99 Derek Jeter – New York Yankees
Overall, it’s a bad checklist in my opinion. It was also expected based on the abbreviated season. I will still try to find some retail blaster boxes, but I am staying far, far away from hobby boxes at the asking prices.
This was my first year breaking Allen & Ginter X, Topps’ online exclusive. The product runs parallel to the standard version of Allen & Ginter, but a much sharper black background to the cards.
Topps limited customers to a one-box limit, which helped many collectors acquire a box. In past years I have passed on Allen & Ginter X, but decided to take the plunge and buy a box in 2020.
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It was to be a win-win situation with purchasing a box at $100 plus shipping. If sealed box prices soared in the secondary market I could make a quick flip. Or, if the flip wasn’t really worth it to me I would rip. Early on the secondary prices hovered around $200, which is only about a $25 profit after fees and shipping.
The box arrived a few days later than the initial tracking, so I had to wait until after the weekend to get ripping.
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Pack one. Card one. Bo Bichette rookie card. What a good start. Pack one. Card two. Yordan Alvarez rookie card. Dang, this is a really good start. Pack one, card three was a common. But…card four? Kyle Lewis rookie card! You’ve got to be kidding me. What a pack.
Before I show off the hits, and let me just tease the autograph hit was absolute fire…here are the Chicago Cubs cards that I pulled. The first Cubs card was Kid K, Kerry Wood.
The second Cubs card I pulled is my favorite – Javier Baez.
Then there was Kris Bryant.
My second favorite current Chicago Cubs player is catcher Willson Contreras.
This box was filled with rookie cards like the aforementioned Bichette, Alvarez, and Lewis. I also pulled an Aristides Aquino rookie card. And….I pulled a pair of Cubs rookie cards.
Adbert Alzolay has appeared in 10 games for the Chicago Cubs the past two seasons making six starts. He is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA with 44 strikeouts to 22 walks.
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Nico Hoerner is another big name rookie in the 2020 Allen & Ginter X set. Hoerner was the Cubs first round draft choice in 2018, and made his MLB debut the following year. In 68 games during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Hoerner has a .247/.309/.333 slash line.
Now to the big hits. My box had a red mini parallel of Miguel Sano. The red minis are hand numbered to five. The Sano is 4/5, and is earmarked to trade to Jenny in Minnesota.
Down to the last two packs and I had not pulled the autograph. As I opened the second to last pack, I could tell it was a mini framed auto. As I pulled back the card on top it was revealed to be….Bryce Harper.
Not only that….it was numbered /20. I’ve opened a lot of boxes and pulled some good autographs, and this definitely is among the top five best autographs I have pulled.
I put the Harper autograph on eBay and it sold within hours. With that sale, it paid for my box and then some. What a fun rip, and of course it made it better by pulling a great hit like the Bryce Harper autograph.
As we charge into the holiday season I wanted to give back and thank all of my loyal followers to the One Million Cubs Project. In doing so, I am offering a special 15% discount when you buy $20+ in items from my eBay Store.
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My eBay Store is stocked daily with new inventory. Everything from 1970’s baseball and football cards to Panini Prizm basketball cards, hot prospects, Hall of Fame singles, and more.
Here is the link to claim your 15% discount. Shopping in my eBay Store at this link will automatically give you the 15% discount at check out on purchases of $20 and up. Happy Holidays 15% Off $20 Purchase LINK. This discount is live from October 21, 2020 through December 11, 2020.
Happy Holidays and thanks for following my journey.
About three months ago I finally decided to put my web cam and Blue Yeti microphone to good use by starting a video journal. Hobby Evolution was born as a daily live video journal chronicling my journey collecting, buying, selling, and trading baseball cards.
I’ve only missed one day publishing Hobby Evolution, and that was planned as I went out of town to visit family at my brother’s cabin this summer. The idea of Hobby Evolution was born out of wanting to get some use out of my camera and microphone, but mainly from a comment my friend Kin (a.k.a. Bean’s Ballcard Blog) made about how much simpler making video content was over blogging.
That statement could not have been more accurate, and while I enjoy doing Hobby Evolution every morning before work, it has led to laziness on my part to avoid writing. So, here we are.
Much like how every other plan for 2020 has gone up in smoke, my focus and goals for the year continue to change, err….evolve. Heading into the fourth quarter of the year, my goal of collecting 500,000 Cubs baseball cards was already met. With the extra time going into pumping up my eBay Store I wanted to establish some daily sales goals. Through two weeks, I am crushing my goals I set, and have aimed for a higher number the rest of the way.
With my focus for the rest of the year on sales in my eBay Store, I have fallen behind in regular blog updates. Trades continue to be made, and Cubs cards continue to arrive…but I’m lagging behind with my blog updates.
This must change, and I need to find my writing rhythm again. I am going to find that balance of trying to write a new blog post each day in addition to tending to my eBay Store and trades for the One Million Cubs Project.
My first Chicago Cubs baseball card was probably from 1989 Topps. That’s the first Cubs baseball card I can remember, at least. I received the complete Cubs team set from 1989 Topps after my mom sent in a certain about of cereal box UPC codes and $5 (or something like that) for shipping and handling.
In less than three years, the count went from an initial 50,000 to 500,000 cards. The 500,000th Cubs baseball card was registered on October 5, 2020 sent by Brian in Arizona. A 1990 Upper Deck Cubs checklist featuring Andre Dawson.
It was like it was meant to be. A card from my youth of a player I loved as a child. While Ryne Sandberg was the fan favorite on the Cubs teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s for many of my friends, I was always rooting for other guys like Jerome Walton, Shawon Dunston, as well as Dawson.
Brian and I have actually met in person as we arranged a meeting on the back fields of Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona this past spring at Spring Training. We watched the Cubs minor leaguers work out and talked for almost two hours.
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Brian reached out to me via Twitter last week and said his package was due to arrive on Monday, but it was probably too late to be the package of Cubs cards that hit the milestone number.
Going into the day my Cubs card count stood at 499,763. Just one or two trade packages should push me to that 500K mark. Two packages arrived in my mailbox. One from Brian, and the other from another multiple time trade partner: Jeffrey in Wisconsin.
Jeffrey sent a 330-count box and it felt full, so I thought this might be the package that pushes me to the number. He included some really cool cards like this Stadium Club Adbert Alzolay rookie that I did not have in my collection.
One of my favorite Cubs cards of all-time (my personal Top 10) is the 1984 Donruss Rated Rookie Joe Carter. It was always a card I wanted growing up, but couldn’t afford. If I were to hoard a single Cubs card this would be the one.
The final count in Jeffrey’s box was 232 which pushed me so close to the 500,000 milestone. After Jeffery’s box was counted the total stood at 499,995. Only FIVE cards needed, and that will arrive in Brian’s package.
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After counting out the first four cards from Brian’s package, the next card up was the milestone card. It happed to be a Cubs legend: Andre Dawson. A 1990 Upper Deck checklist with Dawson on the front. A great card to be number 500,000.
The updated Cubs baseball card count now stands at 500,022 with an almost full three months ahead to add to that count heading into a new year. My goal for 2021 is a moving target currently set at 650,000, but already reaching the 500,000 mark that number for next year will likely increase to around 675,000. Stay tuned!
Topps Heritage Minors has become one of my favorite baseball card products. It ranks up close to Allen & Ginter for me as well as the big league Topps Heritage. Below is my 2020 Topps Heritage Minors checklist review.
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Over the last couple years the price tag has risen on Topps Heritage Minors. Until a couple years ago a case of 12 boxes would run you between $400 and $450 – a great price. I was expecting an increase, but when the 2019 product ran upwards of $750 by the big online retailers I was out.
Fortunately, Topps offered boxes on their website in the $45 range so I was able to buy 12 boxes at a better price. Monitoring this year’s prices the best deal I have found a week before release is $625 for a case. That’s still a bit steep for me, so I will wait to see if Topps has better prices on their website during the week of release. I wouldn’t bet on it as Topps has followed suit in increasing prices to capture more of that profit. Topps is a business and I don’t blame them one bit.
The checklist is now out ahead of the October 7 release of 2020 Topps Heritage Minors. Here’s a look at the base set and short print checklist.
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2020 Topps Heritage Minors Checklist Base and Short Print Checklist
1 Wander Franco – Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 Alex Kirilloff – Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3 Kody Hoese – Great Lakes Loons 4 Sherten Apostel – Down East Wood Ducks 5 Alexander Canario – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6 Gilberto Jimenez – Lowell Spinners 7 Brenton Doyle – Grand Junction Rockies 8 Hunter Bishop – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 9 George Kirby – Everett AquaSox 10 Victor Mesa Jr. – GCL Marlins 11 Victor Victor Mesa – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 12 Sean Hjelle – San Jose Giants 13 Bo Naylor – Lake County Captains 14 Julio Rodriguez – Modesto Nuts 15 Gabriel Cancel – Northwest Arkansas Naturals 16 Jake Sanford – Staten Island Yankees 17 Ronny Mauricio – Columbia Fireflies 18 Brandon Marsh – Mobile BayBears 19 Grae Kessinger – Tri-City ValleyCats 20 Drew Waters – Gwinnett Stripers 21 Ian Anderson – Gwinnett Stripers 22 Logan Gilbert – Arkansas Travelers 23 Grant Gambrell – Idaho Falls Chukars 24 Dominic Fletcher – Kane County Cougars 25 Heliot Ramos – Richmond Flying Squirrels 26 Taylor Trammell – Amarillo Sod Poodles 27 Alek Thomas – Visalia Rawhide 28 Brent Honeywell – Durham Bulls 29 Tommy Henry – Hillsboro Hops 30 Tyler Stephenson – Chattanooga Lookouts 31 Jordan Balazovic – Pensacola Blue Wahoos 32 Logan Driscoll – Tri-City Dust Devils 33 Simeon Woods Richardson – Dunedin Blue Jays 34 Hunter Greene – Dayton Dragons 35 Tahnaj Thomas – Bristol Pirates 36 Jordyn Adams – Inland Empire 66ers 37 Jordan Groshans – Lansing Lugnuts 38 Mason Martin – Bradenton Marauders 39 Jose Garcia – Daytona Tortugas 40 George Valera – Lake County Captains 41 Ezequiel Duran – Staten Island Yankees 42 DL Hall – Frederick Keys 43 Luis Garcia – Harrisburg Senators 44 Keibert Ruiz – Oklahoma City Dodgers 45 Orelvis Martinez – GCL Blue Jays 46 Matthew Lugo – Lowell Spinners 47 Geraldo Perdomo – Visalia Rawhide 48 Nick Lodolo – Dayton Dragons 49 Tyler Freeman – Lynchburg Hillcats 50 Matthew Liberatore – Bowling Green Hot Rods 51 Jesus Sanchez – New Orleans Baby Cakes 52 Max Lazar – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 53 Liover Peguero – Hillsboro Hops 54 Corbin Carroll – Hillsboro Hops 55 Bryse Wilson – Gwinnett Stripers 56 Monte Harrison – New Orleans Baby Cakes 57 Andres Gimenez – Binghamton Rumble Ponies 58 Brice Turang – Carolina Mudcats 59 Ivan Herrera – Palm Beach Cardinals 60 Mark Vientos – Columbia Fireflies 61 Ryan Mountcastle – Norfolk Tides 62 Kris Bubic – Wilmington Blue Rocks 63 Ryan Rolison – Lancaster JetHawks 64 Brayan Rocchio – Mahoning Valley Scrappers 65 Brailyn Marquez – Myrtle Beach Pelicans 66 Shane Baz – Bowling Green Hot Rods 67 Niko Hulsizer – Charlotte Stone Crabs 68 Alek Manoah – Vancouver Canadians 69 Brent Rooker – Rochester Red Wings 70 Sixto Sanchez – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 71 Jackson Kowar – Northwest Arkansas Naturals 72 Daniel Espino – Mahoning Valley Scrappers 73 Grant Lavigne – Asheville Tourists 74 Aaron Bracho – Mahoning Valley Scrappers 75 Brennan Malone – AZL Diamondbacks 76 Michael Busch – Great Lakes Loons 77 Adam Kloffenstein – Vancouver Canadians 78 Keoni Cavaco – GCL Twins 79 Kyle Muller – Mississippi Braves 80 Glenallen Hill Jr. – AZL Diamondbacks 81 Leody Taveras – Frisco RoughRiders 82 J.B. Bukauskas – Jackson Generals 83 Matt Wallner – Cedar Rapids Kernels 84 Antonio Cabello – Pulaski Yankees 85 Matthew Allan – Brooklyn Cyclones 86 Quinn Priester – West Virginia Black Bears 87 Anthony Volpe – Pulaski Yankees 88 Ryan Weathers – Fort Wayne TinCaps 89 Peyton Burdick – Clinton LumberKings 90 Cal Raleigh – Arkansas Travelers 91 Blake Walston – Hillsboro Hops 92 Gunnar Henderson – GCL Orioles 93 Kyle Isbel – Wilmington Blue Rocks 94 Austin Beck – Stockton Ports 95 Daniel Johnson – Columbus Clippers 96 Miguel Vargas – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 97 Parker Meadows – West Michigan Whitecaps 98 Bryce Ball – Rome Braves 99 Yusniel Diaz – Bowie Baysox 100 Daz Cameron – Toledo Mud Hens 101 Brandon Bielak – Round Rock Express * Luis Rodriguez – AZL Dodgers * 102 Daniel Lynch – Wilmington Blue Rocks 103 Riley Greene – West Michigan Whitecaps 104 Braden Shewmake – Mississippi Braves 105 Aaron Ashby – Carolina Mudcats 106 Sam Huff – Down East Wood Ducks 107 Brock Deatherage – Lakeland Flying Tigers 108 Matt Manning – Erie SeaWolves 109 Royce Lewis – Pensacola Blue Wahoos 110 Forrest Whitley – Round Rock Express 111 T.J. Sikkema – Staten Island Yankees 112 Luis Patino – Amarillo Sod Poodles 113 Marco Luciano – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 114 Spencer Howard – Reading Fightin Phils 115 Vidal Brujan – Montgomery Biscuits 116 Kristian Robinson – Kane County Cougars 117 Grayson Rodriguez – Delmarva Shorebirds 118 Ke’Bryan Hayes – Indianapolis Indians 119 Oneil Cruz – Altoona Curve 120 Jazz Chisholm – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 121 Dylan Carlson – Memphis Redbirds 122 Luis Campusano – Lake Elsinore Storm 123 JJ Goss – GCL Rays 124 Deivi Garcia – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 125 Brennen Davis – South Bend Cubs 126 Tarik Skubal – Erie SeaWolves 127 Nolan Jones – Akron RubberDucks 128 Trevor Larnach – Pensacola Blue Wahoos 129 Alec Bohm – Reading Fightin Phils 130 Triston Casas – Salem Red Sox 131 Tim Tebow – Syracuse Mets 132 Daulton Varsho – Jackson Generals 133 Travis Swaggerty – Bradenton Marauders 134 Jhoan Duran – Pensacola Blue Wahoos 135 Evan White – Arkansas Travelers 136 Miguel Amaya – Myrtle Beach Pelicans 137 Edward Cabrera – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 138 Josiah Gray – Tulsa Drillers 139 William Contreras – Mississippi Braves 140 Lewin Diaz – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 141 Isaac Paredes – Toledo Mud Hens 142 Bryan Mata – Portland Sea Dogs 143 Clarke Schmidt – Trenton Thunder 144 Estevan Florial – Tampa Tarpons 145 Luis Gil – Tampa Tarpons 146 Jonathan Stiever – Winston-Salem Dash 147 Ethan Hankins – Lake County Captains 148 Khalil Lee – Northwest Arkansas Naturals 149 Brady Singer – Northwest Arkansas Naturals 150 Ulrich Bojarski – Lakeland Flying Tigers 151 Freudis Nova – Quad Cities River Bandits 152 Jordan Brewer – Tri-City ValleyCats 153 Jeremiah Jackson – Orem Owlz 154 Jorge Mateo – Las Vegas Aviators 155 C.J. Chatham – Pawtucket Red Sox 156 Cole Winn – Hickory Crawdads 157 Jared Oliva – Altoona Curve 158 Gabriel Rodriguez – AZL Indians 159 Seth Beer – Jackson Generals 160 Michael Toglia – Boise Hawks 161 Terrin Vavra – Asheville Tourists 162 Ildemaro Vargas – Reno Aces 163 Bobby Dalbec – Pawtucket Red Sox 164 Jonathan India – Chattanooga Lookouts 165 Greg Jones – Hudson Valley Renegades 166 Owen Miller – Amarillo Sod Poodles 167 Luis Matos – AZL Giants 168 Josh Lowe – Montgomery Biscuits 169 Jackson Rutledge – Hagerstown Suns 170 Elehuris Montero – Springfield Cardinals 171 Chase Strumpf – South Bend Cubs 172 Kameron Misner – Clinton LumberKings 173 Francisco Alvarez – Kingsport Mets 174 Hudson Head – AZL Padres 175 Bryson Stott – Williamsport Crosscutters 176 Gabriel Arias – Lake Elsinore Storm 177 Miguel Hiraldo – Lansing Lugnuts 178 Hudson Potts – Amarillo Sod Poodles 179 Shane McClanahan – Montgomery Biscuits 180 Canaan Smith – Charleston RiverDogs 181 Triston McKenzie – Akron RubberDucks 182 Andy Pages – Ogden Raptors 183 Edward Olivares – Amarillo Sod Poodles League Leaders 184 Ildemaro Vargas – Reno Aces 184 Yoandy Rea – Connecticut Tigers 184 CJ Abrams – Fort Wayne TinCaps 185 Luis Castro – Lancaster JetHawks 185 Mason Martin – Bradenton Marauders 185 Jose Rojas – Salt Lake Bees 186 Michael Gettys – El Paso Chihuahuas 186 Mason Martin – Bradenton Marauders 186 Yadiel Hernandez – Fresno Grizzlies 187 Bailey Ober – Fort Myers Miracle 187 Norwith Gudino – Augusta GreenJackets 187 Brandon Marklund – Lexington Legends 188 Paul Campbell – Montgomery Biscuits 188 Zac Lowther – Bowie Baysox 188 Dylan File – Biloxi Shuckers 189 Joe Ryan – Montgomery Biscuits 189 Tarik Skubal – Erie SeaWolves 189 Kris Bubic – Wilmington Blue Rocks 190 Michael Gettys – El Paso Chihuahuas 190 Jose Rojas – Salt Lake Bees 190 Luis Castro – Lancaster JetHawks 191 Johneshwy Fargas – Richmond Flying Squirrels 191 Nick Heath – Omaha Storm Chasers 191 Khalil Lee – Northwest Arkansas Naturals 192 Nolan Kingham – Florida Fire Frogs 192 Domingo Robles – Altoona Curve 192 Tommy Parsons – Springfield Cardinals 193 Nate Griep – Biloxi Shuckers 193 Matt Eckelman – Altoona Curve 193 Tad Ratliff – Wilmington Blue Rocks 194 Abiatal Avelino hits walk-off – Sacramento River Cats 195 Cristhian Adames hits go-ahead Home Run – Sacramento River Cats 196 Enderson Franco seals the series with five-out save – Sacramento River Cats 197 Sacramento River Cats Celebrate! – Sacramento River Cats 198 Bobby Bradley’s home run lifts Clippers – Columbus Clippers 199 Ryan Lavarnway blasts two home runs – Columbus Clippers 200 Bradley Zimmer hits go-ahead three-run homer – Columbus Clippers 201 Adley Rutschman – Delmarva Shorebirds 202 Bobby Witt Jr. – AZL Royals 203 Josh Jung – Hickory Crawdads 204 Jarren Duran – Portland Sea Dogs 205 MacKenzie Gore – Amarillo Sod Poodles 206 Cristian Pache – Gwinnett Stripers 207 Joey Bart – Richmond Flying Squirrels 208 Jeter Downs – Tulsa Drillers 209 Casey Mize – Erie SeaWolves 210 Xavier Edwards – Lake Elsinore Storm 211 Andrew Vaughn – Winston-Salem Dash 212 CJ Abrams – Fort Wayne TinCaps 213 Jarred Kelenic – Arkansas Travelers 214 Shea Langeliers – Rome Braves 215 Nick Madrigal – Charlotte Knights 216 JJ Bleday – Jupiter Hammerheads 217 Jo Adell – Salt Lake Bees 218 Brett Baty – Brooklyn Cyclones 219 Nolan Gorman – Palm Beach Cardinals 220 Nate Pearson – Buffalo Bisons
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Opinion on 2020 Topps Heritage Minors Checklist
One glaring omission from this checklist is the name Jasson Dominguez. Dominguez is the 17-year old uber prospect for the New York Yankees. He has made a few checklists in other releases, so I thought it would be a no-brainer that he would be the highlight of 2020 Topps Heritage Minors. It was not to be.
The Chicago Cubs get four names on the checklist in 2020. This has been around the average for the Cubs through the years of Topps Heritage Minors. Cubs prospects in this year’s set include: Brennen Davis, Brailyn Marquez, Chase Strumpf, and Miguel Amaya.
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I’m exicted for another Brennen Davis card and Chase Strumpf also appears in Heritage Minors for the first time. I was hoping for a couple other names and maybe a player that hasn’t made many (or any) other card appearances.
The highlights on the checklist are mainly in the short print set with the likes of Bobby Witt Jr., Adley Rutschman, and Joey Bart. Like many other releases most eyes immediately go to the autograph checklist. Here it is for 2020 Topps Heritage Minors.
2020 Topps Heritage Minors Autograph Checklist
ROA-AP Andy Pages – Ogden Raptors ROA-AR Adley Rutschman – Delmarva Shorebirds ROA-AV Andrew Vaughn – Winston-Salem Dash ROA-AVO Anthony Volpe – Pulaski Yankees ROA-BB Brett Baty – Brooklyn Cyclones ROA-BS Braden Shewmake – Mississippi Braves ROA-BST Bryson Stott – Williamsport Crosscutters ROA-BWJ Bobby Witt Jr. – AZL Royals ROA-CC Corbin Carroll – Hillsboro Hops ROA-EL Ethan Lindow – Clearwater Threshers ROA-FA Francisco Alvarez – Kingsport Mets ROA-GHJ Glenallen Hill Jr. – AZL Diamondbacks ROA-HB Hunter Bishop – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes ROA-JA Jacob Amaya – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes ROA-JD Jarren Duran – Portland Sea Dogs ROA-JJ Josh Jung – Hickory Crawdads ROA-JJB JJ Bleday – Jupiter Hammerheads ROA-JR Jackson Rutledge – Hagerstown Suns ROA-KC Keoni Cavaco – GCL Twins ROA-LP Luis Patino – Amarillo Sod Poodles ROA-MLA Max Lazar – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers ROA-MV Miguel Vargas – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes ROA-PB Peyton Burdick – Clinton LumberKings ROA-RG Riley Greene – West Michigan Whitecaps ROA-SH Sam Huff – Down East Wood Ducks ROA-SL Shea Langeliers – Rome Braves ROA-TS Tarik Skubal – Erie SeaWolves ROA-VB Vidal Brujan – Montgomery Biscuits ROA-WW Will Wilson – Orem Owlz ROA-XE Xavier Edwards – Lake Elsinore Storm
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There are a few names that pop up right away as the chase autographs. Possibly number one on that list at this time is Bobby Witt Jr. Other names that will be popular include: Adley Rutschman, Anthony Volpe, Riley Greene, and Francisco Alvarez.
All in all for me, Topps Heritage Minors is a fun rip if I can get it in the $40-50 price range per box. It’s also a really great product to store in a box and revisit a year or two down the road. In fact, I recently pulled out my entire case of 2019 Topps Heritage Minors. The only cards I pulled at the time were the Cubs. Everything else: hits and all, went into a monster box. It was a lot of fun pulling some big name base cards out, and seeing what autographs and parallels I pulled. Stay tuned if I take the dive on a case of 2020 Topps Heritage Minors this week.
This week Topps rolled out another one of its online exclusive releases: Topps Chrome Sapphire. Sapphire is not a fly-by night release like others as it’s been around a few years now and has gained a bit of popularity over the years.
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Topps first released the Sapphire line in 2016, and it has changed immensely in both distribution and price in five years. The launch year was priced at a whopping $1,500, but you received the complete set of 700 cards plus 13 parallels numbered /5, AND two superfractors. There were only 250 sets made available.
The following year, Sapphire still carried a price tag of $1,500, but some value was added in the form of rookie autographs. Once again Sapphire was sold in complete sets of 700 cards limited to 250 available with 2 superfractors and 13 parallels. Additionally, you received FIVE rookie autographs.
Changes were made to Topps Chrome Sapphire for the 2018 release. It became much more affordable, and it changed drastically from the first two years selling as complete sets.
In 2018, Topps Chrome Sapphire was sold in boxes for $200. Each box came with 100 base cards, three rookie autographs, and three parallels.
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Another big change occurred in the set the following year. For 2019, Topps issued Chrome Sapphire in packs. For just $50 you received four packs of eight cards with a guaranteed rookie autograph.
It’s amazing to see the changes in both how Sapphire has been released as a product, as well as the pricing that accompanies it. Take a look at the below chart for Topps Chrome Sapphire from 2017 to 2020.
This year the big change occurred in the price tag. You still receive four packs of eight cards with a rookie autograph…at a price tag of $300. A six times markup from the year prior. The only added value this year is in addition to a guaranteed rookie autograph, you get a parallel as well. The price per card for essentially the same product rose from $1.56 to $9.38.
But, that’s not the reason I didn’t buy 2020 Topps Chrome Sapphire. Just like the Ben Baller Chrome boxes, I was looking at Sapphire strictly to flip. My target for net profit on a flip like this is in the neighborhood of $125. That is because there is some risk involved selling sealed wax on eBay. You open yourself up to returns and cancellations if the market drops from your sale price, or potentially scammed by someone that wasn’t happy with the contents upon opening. To take that risk, I need there to be enough profit.
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Initial listings on eBay were priced as low as $470 per box and that was just from Montgomery Club members ahead of the general public raffle. Once the general public received notifications and confirmed orders, more listings were posted. In the near term I feel that box prices will settle around $400, maybe lower. Of course, the long term value remains to be seen dependent on the performance of the players in the 2020 rookie class. And for that reason, I’m out.
