Topps offers glimpse of 2013 Opening Day

Posted Nov 15, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Mar 27, 2013 at 10:11 PM

Are you a fanatic about low-end, affordable baseball cards you can share with your kids? Or do you simply admire the Phillie Phanatic?

Both itches can be scratched on Feb. 6 when Topps releases its 2013 Opening Day product. Opening Day is very similar to Topps’ flagship Series 1 and 2 baseball, but the bunting that makes up the Opening Day logo is the difference. Plus, there are 75 players in the 220-card set that won’t be included in Topps Series 1.

Autographs are not a main draw for this set, as it is a very affordable (in the $1 per pack price range). However, for the 2013 set, Topps is including autographs from five different major-league mascots. Here’s who is scheduled to be included: the Phillie Phanatic, Mariner Moose, Mr. Met, Fredbird (Cardinals), Mr. Met and Rangers Captain.

My only question is, why didn’t Topps include Raymond, the Rays’ mascot? Or Bernie Brewer, Milwaukee’s longtime mascot? Or even Billy Marlin, Miami’s mascot? What? He also was traded to Toronto?

Just kidding (I think).

But I’m not joking about Opening Day’s instant appeal for younger collectors. There are 36 packs to a hobby box, with seven cards to a pack. Every pack will contain an insert. A 25-card Mascots subset is included; other inserts are Superstar Celebration, which relives 25 different highlights from the 2012 season; Opening Days Stars, a 3D subset also containing 25 cards; Play Hard, which celebrates the hustle and grit of 25 different major-leaguers; and Ballpark Fun, which showcases the excitement one might find at a major-league stadium. That is also supposed to be a 25-card set.

There will be parallels to the base set, and those cards will feature a blue border and will be numbered to 2013.

Opening Day Autographs is set to be a 10-card collection of autographs by Hanley Ramirez, Ike Davis, Boone Logan, David Wright and Josh Vitters.
There will be different 1/1 press plates for each card in the base set.

It’s a very affordable set, and a great way for a parent to bond with a young collector through ripping open backs, blaster boxes, rack packs or even hobby boxes. It’s funny; when I was a kid, packs of Topps were a nickel apiece (yes, I am talking circa 1965), and a box of 24 packs were sold for $1.20. But neither me nor my friends were ever able to indulge in the thrill of buying a box of cards; our parents were too frugal.

Today, parents are probably more likely to buy boxes of cards for their kids if they are in the $30-$40 range, or at least packs at a dollar a pop. Perhaps today’s parents are yesterday’s kids who longed for the thrill of busting open a box of 36 packs.
If that is the case, then Topps Opening Day is the perfect product to buy.