Collect call—2009 Topps Tribute

Posted Jan 12, 2010 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Jan 12, 2010 at 08:01 PM

After a five-year absence, Topps returned its high-end Tribute baseball product to the shelves.

It was worth the wait.

Be prepared to spend some money. Conservatively, packs have been selling in the $50 range and the cost of a box (which contains six packs) has ramped up in price from around $225 in December to the $275-$300 range now.

Each pack promises one relic or autographed relic card numbered to 99 or less. In addition, a pack contains three base cards and a parallel card; there are 100 base cards in the set.

What is striking about this product is how the cards shine. The finish has a buffed, refractor-like sheen to it; tilt the card, and it is like experiencing a prism.

The card stock is thick, and the player’s name is at the bottom of the card front in a lovely script. The photography is colorful and the pictures are feathered across the card. The color is especially dynamic with the old-timers in the set.

The color shots of players like Honus Wagner, George Sisler and Christy Mathewson really jump off the card.
There are only three rookie cards in the base set: Tommy Hanson, Matt LaPorta and Rick Porcello. Although if you want to nitpick, the card depicting Eddie Mathews is from his rookie season; you just don’t see many cards with Mathews wearing a Boston Braves uniform. Nice touch.

Now for the hits, and the box I sampled produced some nice ones. The first pack I opened seemed like karma, because the hot card contained an autograph of newly elected Hall of Famer Andre Dawson. This was not only an auto card numbered to 50, but it also contained a game-used bat.

A caveat — Topps doesn’t say on the card that the piece came from Dawson’s bat. In fact, its description reads “This is an Autographed Jersey Relic Card” of Dawson. And in the fine print, we read that the “relic contained in this card is not from any specific game, event or season.”

Well, Topps has to cover all the bases.

The same scenario played through with the second autographed relic card, featuring Rays third baseman Evan Longoria and numbered to 99. I question the use of the Longoria photo Topps used on this particular card (TAR-EL3), because he is hitting off the left-hand side of the card. A photo from a different angle, showing him hitting toward the autograph and relic, would have worked better. It’s apparent that the left-hand side of the card is the area where Topps places the photo; seems to me that there were other photos of Longoria that would have worked better.

But that’s me talking like a newspaper designer.

The third autographed card is a dual relic of the Mets’ David Wright (and yes, Wright is batting into the auto and uniform swatches). The card is numbered to 75 and has a silver and blue tint to it.

The remaining three hot cards were relics — a Justin Morneau bat card, numbered to 50; a Tommy Hanson dual swatch card numbered to 75; and a Clayton Kershaw jersey card numbered to 99.

In addition, the Tribute set also has relic base cards, dual relics and triple relics. Plus, there are quad relic book cards and dual jumbo book cards, which should be the most collectible items in the set outside of any cut autographs or 1/1 printing plates.

Topps Tribute is a spectacular-looking set. Be careful how you handle the cards, since it will lift your fingerprints in a heartbeat. The price is expensive, but the rewards are great.