This week Gypsy Queen hits the market as the latest baseball
offering from Topps. While it’s not a product that should be expected to
produce massive hits, there’s plenty of excitement coming out of these boxes. Continuing
with a consistent theme, the throwback to tobacco cards is present, but it’s
also supplemented with a good deal of popping color. Available at both hobby
and retail stores, there’s a few different avenues to rip into this product.
If you want to go the route of guaranteed hits, expect to
drop something near $100 on a hobby box. For the more budget conscious
collector blaster boxes and gravity feeds will be present at local Target or Walmart’s.
Getting your hands on the product shouldn’t be tough but knowing what you’ll
want to look for from a Twins perspective is where we’re really focused here.
Base Set
Featuring a 300-card base set, the Minnesota Twins have 11
cards to account for. You’ll see many of the regular suspects, with nice
appearances by Addison Reed, C.J. Cron, and Tyler Austin. Rookie cards include
Jake Cave as well as fan favorite Willians Astudillo. There’s also a few short prints
and variation subsets, and while Minnesota is not represented in all of them,
both Eddie Rosario and Jose Berrios show up in the 20 card Player’s Weekend variation
checklist.
Inserts
Gypsy Queen doesn’t do a ton of insert subsets, with just four
in total. No Twins are featured on the Tarot of the Diamond, Power Performer
Portrait, or Fortune Teller cards. Going away from the Glassworks oversized box
topper cards of previous years, the product introduces a 100 card Chrome
checklist for 2019. Minnesota lands three players (Rosario, Berrios, and Max
Kepler) in this set, with an autograph version for former great Torii Hunter.
Hits
With booklets, unique relics, and on-card autographs, Gypsy
Queen truly has some great hits to offer. From a traditional autograph
standpoint, it’s Rosario and Hunter that appear on the checklist for Minnesota.
This makes another product Topps has Torii in for 2019, and it appears he’ll be
a key focus for the year ahead. The auto/patch booklet set has Berrios showing
up with 20 cards and a 1/1. Both Rosario and Byron Buxton have auto/relic cards
in the Bases Around the League checklist, and those cards are both serial numbered
to 20. With the already mentioned Hunter chrome auto rounding out the group,
that wraps up the 22-card offering for Twins fans.
