SCU Go-Live Report: 2014 Topps Update Baseball

Believe it or not, the Topps Update type of set goes back a very long way. Its also pretty important from what we have seen, because it can house some of the more important rookie cards of the year. Whether its the Trout RC from 2011, or this year’s Jacob deGrom RC, there is a lot of reason to buy this set if you are a baseball collector. Its also one of the last sets before we move onto 2015.

Here are some of the big hits so far:

2014 Topps Update Jacob deGrom Base Variation Auto /5

2014 Topps Update Jose Abreu Future is Now Auto

2014 Topps Update Jose Bautista ASG Jumbo Patch Auto

2014 Topps Update Dale Murphy Strata Shadowbox Auto

2014 Topps Update John Smoltz Fond Farewells Auto Patch

I am EXTREMELY happy to see the continuation of a few subsets that have done very well in previous releases of the base set, most importantly the Topps Strata shadowbox style autographs. These cards are absolutely some of the best cards in any sport, and seeing them with on card autos in Update continues to be awesome. After making a name for themselves in the football product, baseball is taking up the banner and running with it.

The framed reprint cards are back as well, this time with a focus on Jeter's topps cards from over his career. These cards have been selling VERY well, and I would expect them to continue. The metal frame is still a nice touch, as it adds a level of collectability to cards that may not be very collectable as a simple reprint. Jeter is one of the more iconic players in baseball history, so this is cool to see even though I am not a Jeter fan.

The acetate parallels are also continued in Update, and the continue to be the coolest parallel that Topps offers in any base product. They are crazy low numbered at just 10 copies, and sell like crazy for the big name players. I would expect players like deGrom to have huge numbers on this card.

We also get our first dose of All Star cards from the 2014 game in Minnesota, which include some base variations of players that were at the game. These are pretty nice, but really arent a huge focus of the set. The auto relics are really cool looking, and I really like the Minnesota limestone motif in all the cards. Using it as a background really works very well.

There are some cards I really dont like, including the more common Trajectory autos, and the manurelic autos, which do not look very nice with use of that horrifying big white box. They are just pretty boring cards. Add in that some of the non-auto manurelics are REDEMPTIONS is completely fucking ridiculous. I dont know how that happens, and is a complete failure on Topps’ part.

Overall, this was a fun enough product for me to bust a box at the shop today and it was a good time. The SP variations and sparkles make for a great chase, and I can see why this is selling on the secondary market like it is.

One thought on “SCU Go-Live Report: 2014 Topps Update Baseball

  1. Pingback: Around the Carding Blogosphere for October 17, 2014 : The Baseball Card Store

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