Baseball collectors of yesteryear remember when the full set
of cards were offered in one large grouping. For years now, Topps has expanded
the players covered by introducing their full yearly sets in three
installments. January pumps out Series 1, with Series 2 coming in June, and
Update covering the rookies near the end of the Major League season. Now Series
2 is upon us, and this could be one of the best releases in recent memory.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is getting his first flagship card in
this set, despite being a shortprinted offering. There’s also Eloy Jimenez and
Fernando Tatis Jr. cards to be had here, so with the expected career paths of
the three premiere rookies, you can bet this is a set that will be chased after
for years to come. Looking at Minnesota Twins cards specifically, there’s
plenty to get excited about here. Let’s dive into what fans in Twins Territory
should be on the hunt for.
Base Set-
The Twins base set consists of 14 different subjects.
Rookies include Willians Astudillo, Jake Cave, and Stephen Gonsalves’ first
standalone flagship card. There’s some reliever love with both Taylor Rogers
and Trevor Hildenberger being depicted, and The Boomstick himself has a card to
collect. Arguably the most interesting inclusion is Ronald Torreyes, who has
never played a game for the big-league club but is on the team’s 40-man roster.
Each of the rookies, as well as Cruz, are chase cards in the extremely limited
(to 10) clear acetate parallels.
Inserts-
Continuing with the Series 1 theme, 1984 is the throwback
year here. Twins rookies are depicted on throwback cards, while Stadiums and
Franchise greats give nods to that era as well. Bert Blyleven is depicted as an
Iconic Card reprint, and some of Killer’s career feats are displayed on
cardboard as well.
Hits-
None of the flagship products are driven heavily by hits.
With autographs generally being of the sticker variety and relics being small
swatches or manufactured patches, it’s more about the cards themselves than the
added flair. That said Minnesota is well represented in the hits category. Byron
Buxton and Jose Berrios are among the veteran signers, with all three rookies offering
up their penmanship as well. There’s a Killebrew cut auto to chase, and four
Twins (Buxton/Sano/Rosario/Kepler) are all worked into the 1/1 ‘In The Name”
checklist.
