Monday, February 7, 2011

Yet Another 2011 Topps Post: In Praise of the Photography

Compa is laid up with a neck cramp which means I was flying solo to the Target for groceries. Of course I swung by the card aisle and you can guess what happened next.

But before I go there, why do folks buy blasters versus jumbo packs? The blasters get you 80 cards, a manupatch, and a diamond giveaway card for $20. For the same cash I got 4 jumbo packs which netted me 144 cards and three diamond giveaway cards. No CC (curses^%#^%$#) but I did get some cards that'll be popping up shortly.

In the meantime: anyone else notice Topps REALLY stepped up its game this year, photowise?

Exhibit A:
Oh man, this card is nice. It's not just the great "OF stealing a HR" shot, either. We've got the empty seats, the sweatshirts hanging over the rail, the OF suspended in the air about to crash into the team logo. And Saunders is a young OF cutting his teeth on a team trying to find its way.  Is there any better summary of Mariner baseball at this moment, from the franchise in transition to the hope of its minor league prospects, than this card? It's gotta be one of the best cards I've seen in a while, and I pulled several cards in ONE AFTERNOON I like as much as this one. Well done, Topps! 

I like the photography so much I might even consider collecting this set. ("Might" being the key word, of course.)

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

4 comments:

  1. That is one great card, love the Mariners huge logo in the Background.

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  2. I agree. Photography is great this year. I love everything about 2011 Topps. I thought I'd give it a rest this season, but the best Topps set to come down the pike in quite some time (perhaps ever) has got me re-thinking my plan. I might just be building a set this year.

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  3. I think I narrowed it down. That was the September 19th game against the Rangers. Saunders played Center that day and the M's actually won 2-1.

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  4. My problem will all of Topps stuff over the last couple of years is that many photos look over-processed. They've taken the photos through Photoshop and over-sharpened them, and eliminated too many shadows (especially under caps) to the point where the pictures don't look natural. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive about it, but I'd rather just see a clean, lightly-processed photo. UD was the best at those.

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