One of the biggest draws of the National Convention is the giveaways that are presented by each of the manufacturers that will be at the show. I know that one of the things I want to do is grab one of each to give away on the site, and for the most part, they look alright. Most of the giveaways are just re-vamped parallels of existing products, but others are completely new cards that will not be offered anywhere else. I am going to discuss the give aways from the big three, and what each brings to the table. Some I like more than others, and some are actually kind of a let down.

Topps

I am kind of bummed out that all of Topps’ cards they will providing will be baseball, as I think that they are leaving out a very strong Football element that definitely should have been explored. Granted, the subjects they included are the best of the best for baseball, but its basically a Topps Heritage parallel that really doesnt bring much for a person like me. Granted the rookies are pretty nice to have, but I would much rather have some awesome previews and unreleased cards from products like Topps Football, Topps Chrome, or even the upcoming new hotness from Topps inception. I think these wont have half of the success that the Strasburg had from last year’s giveaway, but that is understandable, as Harper is not available as a subject.

Here are the pictures:

Panini

Some of Panini’s cards look like major improvements over the visual diarrhea that was previously released in many of their sets, and that is a very good thing. Other cards are basically train wrecks in action, or left over worthless or forgettable patch cards that were left overs or QC pulls from existing sets. Blah.

Hopefully, they will move forward with the updated vertically oriented Elite rookies that look like THEY SHOULD HAVE LOOKED for the actual release. However, if you want a great example of why Elite freaking blew chunks this year, take a look at the disaster they want to call Tyrelle Pryor’s first rookie card.

As for the patches, most of them represent exactly why I cannot stand Panini’s production method. Although they will have a special national convention stamp on them, they are only worth something because of that, not because they are actually cool looking.

On top of that, their giveaway autos are mostly hockey and basketball, save for a few junk autos that didnt get inserted into previous sets.

Upper Deck

When it comes to National Convention cards, UD has a pretty stellar track record. Although the design of the cards is subpar, the auto checklist looks to be relatively strong. However, because most of these cards are college themed, they are my least wanted targets of the show. Sure, ill want to pick some of them up for a shot at some of the autos, but I cant say that I am in need of them due to not being a college collector.

Leaf and Press Pass will be giving away stuff as well, with Press Pass’ t-shirts being pretty awesome. If you are around their booth, I would definitely stop and pick up one of the “on card is not hard” shirts, as hopefully that will make up for much of their lack of good looking cards this year.

Again, I will be reporting live from the show starting on Thursday, with a daily recap each day. Check back here or on Twitter to get live updates.

Full Gallery: