2012 Topps Series 2 offers diverse looks

Posted Dec 30, 2011 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Dec 30, 2011 at 10:27 PM

Topps has released images for Series 2 of its flagship set, and there are certainly some diverse looks to look forward to.

This is the set I always enjoy, because it reminds me of the days when I was kid collecting and Topps was the only game in town as far as baseball cards go. Yes, that puts me in my 50s, but I still feel like a kid when I unwrap Series 1 and 2 each year. Back in the 1970s, my goal was to complete a set. I figured once I finished one off, then that would put an exclamation point on my collection and I could move on to other things, like college, a career, family.

It figures that the set I completed first was the 1974 set. I came close in 1973, needing only five to do it. But had I failed in ‘74, I could have waited for the 1975 set, which was chock full of rookies who would make a big impact on baseball over the next two decades (Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Gary Carter, Rick Rhoden and Keith Hernandez, to name a few).

The first card displayed is a gold sparkle parallel of Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. The sparkle cards are nice inserts, and some people do see it a challenge to make a complete set of them. It’s an attractive card, and the design for the player’s name and the team vaguely remind me of the old Topps Stadium Club sets of the early 1990s.

Next up is a retro insert of Mickey Mantle as he might have looked in a 1987 Topps designed card. I never cared for the ‘87 design to be honest, I guess I am old school—if you are going to use a wood grained look, use the 1962 Topps design. Just saying.

Next up is a Cut Above insert card of Jackie Robinson, which sports a fairly clean design. The team logo in the middle left of the card does not detract from the overall photo.

The card of Dustin Pedroia is from the base set, and Topps continues to score with good action photos and a clean design.

Topps is wasting no time with Sandy Koufax sizzle cards, as the Career Day autograph card shows. I definitely want one of those, having seen Koufax pitch and also from viewing him at spring training at the old Dodgertown complex, where he was a roving instructor for a while. I don’t think I like that silver bar running horizontally through the “Career Day” logo, but if a Koufax auto is on the card, I can overlook that.

The final image to share is a Gold Standard game-used jersey of Ty Cobb. The photo is a classic shot of Cobb’s split-handed grip, and it certainly catches the intensity of the Georgia Peach.

Some nice images, and something nice to look forward to in the upcoming months.