2017 Topps Baseball Forum

So, I just picked up my 2017 Topps baseball card factory set yesterday.  I got the new-style square-box version with the 5 Rookie Image Variation bonus cards and the exclusive MLB Legend Chrome bonus card.  I went through my normal ritual of dividing the set up into team sets.  I put all the league leaders and checklists with the team sets, leaving only the 4 World Series cards to be placed in the back of my binder (but I'm thinking to put even those with the team sets, meaning I'll have to go back a couple of years and do the same).

Since the season is not over yet, I put the team sets in order by their current winning percentage, which I'll continue to update occasionally until the season is over.  When there are multiple cards of each player, I put the newer card first.  For example, the league leader cards represent last year, so I put them after the base card.  For the checklist cards, there are often multiple players, so I'll typically put them in front of the youngest player, but sometimes behind the oldest player if he's a much bigger star.  I put the rookie image variations in front of the base cards because they are newer.  

Last night, I got through inserting about half my set into pages, and took that binder with me to look at for a while.  That's when I noticed that the statistics on the backs didn't go back further that about 2012.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?  David Ortiz has only been playing since 2012?  This is garbage.  I can't believe that Topps committed the sacrilegious act of listing partial career statistic on the back of their baseball cards.  This is the first time Topps has done this since 1971.  I am very disappointed about this, and hope Topps never does this again.

I'm going through much the same ritual myself. I was warned about this months ago, so the shock isn't so great. Maybe the fact that I just put my 1971 set away eased some of the pain. But, yes, I too am quite annoyed at this. But at least we have players Twitter addresses! Sigh. 

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Every bit as good as a Donruss card from he 80s!

I'm also not thrilled with the choice on league leaders cards. No strikeouts. No saves. No stolen bases. No good. 

I was very disapointed with the change from career stats to recent stats. That was one of the things that set Topps apart from other companies. It was the main reason I complete the Topps set every year.

Since there no stats more then 5 years ago, does that mean no HoFers now?  You need 10 years and nobody has it.

It also goes with, "What have you done lately?" .....  "What happened last week is what we remember, Stop talking about the past"  ...... "You got to except changes!"  

In baseball's attempt to get younger and faster, they're really just discriminating against older people. 

First they removed manager's cards to get rid of the old people.  Wouldn't it be nice to have current cards of Hall of Famer's like Manager of the Year Paul Molitor and former superstar Don Mattingly, or other former players like Dusty Baker?  When the Manager of the Year Award was announced last night, all the commentators could do was talk about how it's not really an Manager's Award, and how the Manager has little to do with it like the old guy is just there to take orders from the players these days.  It's unbelievable if you ask me. 

Partial Statistics help to ensure that no one looks old and isn't discriminated against.  The only probably is that I like to know who the old guys are that hang in there for careers of 20+ years.  I remember looking at the back of a 1987 Topps Phil Niekro card at a kid, and being amazed at how this guy who was born in the 1930's and had been playing since the early '60s was still in the game.

From what I understand, all of these new baseball rules are doing nothing to speed up the game.  The game time average is still just under 3 hours.  I like it that way.  If you can only stay an hour, pick 3 innings: 1-3, 4-6, or 7-9.  Or better yet, sign your kid up, and go to a little league game. 

I agree with everything you said, RtD87. When I go through a set, I love looking back through the player's history, seeing how good they were in the minor, how they struggled as young players, and when they came into their own. If Maddux or Moyer had new cards today, you wouldn't see their terrible early years, or the years that Ortiz took to become someone. And, yes, I love(d) seeing the veterans with 20 years of playing experience. If Ichiro has a 2018 card with only five years' worth of stats, you won't be able to see his string of 200 hit seasons. Sure, I can look all this up on the internet, but I can look at pictures of players on the internet, too. If I want to rely on the internet, I can just scrap the collection. Sigh.

And I'd love manager cards, or at least an inset picture of the manager on a teamcard, with some managerial stats and maybe career player stats. But, no dice.

I haven't seen the 2018s, but I fear that things won't get better. And it makes me wonder if I'll ever give up on collecting Topps basesets and finding a new company. Probably not, but I can't promise anymore.

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