2016 Topps Series 2 Baseball Box Break & Review

Posted on June 29, 2016 by sportscardinfo

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Leaving a little mystery for the collector to discover can go a long way. Part 2 of the Topps flagship baseball brand does just that. 2016 Topps Series 2 Baseball is jammed packed with all kinds of surprises that you need to keep an eye out for. Some are easier to spot than others.

Series 2 moves forward with the same base design that we saw in Series 1. It continues to have that new age look without the traditional border, but still functions properly when it comes to identifying parallels. The most notable base card would be the first Topps rookie of Kenta Maeda. Maeda has had plenty of rookies in other Topps products, but this is a first for a flagship set. Even though the parallels of his rookie command more attention, the base is still something important to have.

Like almost every version of their flagship brand, photo variations are a huge deal. This time around the SP photo variations commemorate Jackie Robinson Day. Players on these cards are all wearing jerseys featuring the number 42. They’re a little easier to spot than the SSPs, but a quick way to check for them is to look at the tiny code on the backside of the card. Jackie Robinson Day SPs end with a 33 versus a base card in 85. The SSPs which are harder to pull and identify end with a 35. Sometimes Topps won’t change these codes when it comes to SPs and SSPs. I like it when they do. It makes identifying them a lot easier. Otherwise you need to thoroughly check the photos on all (360) cards that come in a hobby box.

Since their inception in 2012 Topps Series 1, my favorite cards have been the pin relics. In 2016 Series 2, Topps kicked it up a notch by including some that have been autographed. These have on-card signatures and take a look back at the All-Star Futures Game. Topps also continued the gold pin and coin cards found in Series 1. One of these years I’d like to see Topps include some rare pins that were actually made for certain events. All of the pins they’ve used so far have been made specifically for the product. It would be cool if Topps acquired some press/media pins that were given to VIPs during major events and inserted them into cards. Error/phantom pins would also be neat to see.

New for Series 2 are the Double Play rip cards. These are actually kinda cool as they act like predictor cards. If you decide to rip it open, the card inside will show a player and an objective. If that player meets that objective on the specific date given, you can redeem that card for the prize listed.

2016 Topps Series 2 Baseball is a great product for those collectors who enjoy a ton of cards and are looking to build sets. I greatly appreciate the high-end “hits” that come from products like this, but the odds of pulling one is very slim. Who knows what Topps has in store for round three that comes out later this year.

Here is what I pulled:

Relic