So, after all, it wasn’t just teasing: after months of innuendos and maybes, Topps actually ported its super high-end football franchise to baseball, with the upcoming release of Five Star baseball.
The high priced product (said to be in the 400-500$ range for a box) will feature 5 cards, all (super) hits: two autographs (one from a current player, one from a legend), one autographed relic, one autographed booklet or extra autograph and a jumbo Relic, bat nameplate or bat knob card.
The design of the cards is simply beautiful, matched by the impressive checklist of players signing their strictly on card autos (someboyd said Panini, here?): Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Stan Musial, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Ernie Banks, Carl Yastrzemski, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Willie McCovey, Ryne Sandberg are among the notable hall of famers, alongside active stars Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Matt Kemp, Evan Longoria, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Roy Halladay, Chipper Jones, Jose Bautista and others.
Even rookies are just the crop of the class, for this epic release: Brett Lawrie, Yu Darvish, Matt Moore,Yoenis Cespedes and, of course, wonder boy Bryce Harper.
Kudos to Topps for understanding that when a product is so pricey, you can’t fool around collectors with unknown, untested youngsters (Panini, again?..who’s shouting?).
Booklets appear at first sight the real shocker of this product, with “Five Star Dual Signatures” pairing 30 duos of players.
These will be limited to 10 or fewer copies, while patch versions also will be limited to 10.
As many as 10 “Five Star Cut Signatures” booklets will be made — all 1/1s — while “Five Star Quadographs” will group four players and four autos per card. Six and eight-signature versions will be limited to 5 pieces and will surely cause a lot of commotion if they ever surface on the secondary market.
“Dual Signatures Logo Patches” — the MLB logo from the back of the jersey — will pair as many as 50 total players on as many as 25 cards with each signed and 1/1s.
Signers include Darvish, Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Griffey jr. and sr., Nolan Ryan, Sandberg, Banks, Fielder and many of the previous signers.
An Ichiro-Darvish card has already Japan gasping in anticipation.
Bat nameplates and knobs are not less hyped, with the likes of Killebrew, Mantle, Roger Maris, Joe Morgan, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Ruth, Ty Cobb, Gary Carter, Lou Gehrig..I mean, only in Cooperstown there is more lumber..
This product should totally blowout the high-end market, and I can’t blame Topps for putting such a pricey label on it, too bad, I can’t think of buying it, I think you have to draw a line, sooner or later, and 400$ dollars or more for a pack of cards is way out of my reach.
That said, I will feel less guilty when I finally buy my first ever Triple Threads box his fall..
