Collector Type: Set/Autograph/Art Fans
Talk about a Monster Box containing a monster hit. I believe everyone reading this would agree. This dude Julio Rodriguez keeps popping up in all of my boxes. The odds of pulling one Orange parallel autograph is 1:302 packs, and two came from this box.
The base set consists of (200) cards. Parallels include Printer Proof (4 per Blaster), Rainbow Foil, Private Issue #’ed/250, Green #’ed/125, Green Pattern #’ed/99, Blue #’ed/75, Blue Pattern #’ed/50, Orange #’ed/25, Orange Pattern #’ed/10, Red #’ed/5, Red Pattern #’ed 1/1, and Printing Plates #’ed 1/1.
Variations (although difficult to pull) offer another chase element. (10) cards have variations which use an artistic filter on the player’s base card. Spencer Torkelson’s variation not only uses the artistic filter, but the photo is different as well. When flipping through your cards you could easily overlook them. That’s why I always check the CMP codes.
- Base – #688
- Variation – #715
Each Monster Box is suppose to have (2) autographs.
Autographs include Gallery Autographs (Rookies, Retired Greats, Veterans, Young Stars), Masterstrokes Autographs, Modern Artists Autographs, Next Wave Autographs, and Portrait Gallery Autographs.
Inserts include Gallery of Heroes, Masterstrokes, Modern Artists, Next Wave, Portrait Gallery, Sketch Cards, and Works of Art Rookie Cards.
The Works of Art Rookie Cards caused some discussion when this product was first released. These surprise inserts feature famous pieces of art with the rookie card logo on them. One of them being of the Mona Lisa. A lot of collectors wondered why the Mona Lisa received the rookie card logo when it has been seen on other trading cards long before now. One of those other cards dates back to 100 years ago. Even Topps has used the Mona Lisa in other sets.
Topps either didn’t remember that the Mona Lisa has other cards prior to this release. Or they knew about them and figured that placing the rookie card logo on this card would create a buzz and get people talking. Which it ultimately did.
Topps Gallery can be found at Walmart in Monster Box and Blaster form. Topps did sell Monster Boxes on their site, but have sold out.
Checklist
Here is what I pulled:
Autos:
- Julio Rodriguez RC Orange Auto #’ed/25
- Griffin Jax RC Orange Auto #’ed/25
Parallels:
- Shane Bieber Blue Pattern #’ed/50
- Ian Anderson Blue #’ed/75
- Kyle Tucker Private Issue #’ed/250
- Tyler Gilbert RC Rainbow Foil
- Connor Wong RC Rainbow Foil
- Roansy Contreras RC Rainbow Foil
- Cedric Mullins Rainbow Foil
- Mitch Haniger Rainbow Foil
- Austin Meadows Rainbow Foil
- Matt Vierling RC Rainbow Foil
Inserts:
- Bryce Harper Modern Artists
- Joe Ryan RC Next Wave
- Willie Mays Masterstrokes
- Freddie Freeman Portrait Gallery
- Joey Votto Portrait Gallery
Notable Rookies:
- Julio Rodriguez RC #35
- Bryson Stott RC #25
- Hunter Greene RC #170
- Jarren Duran RC #49
- CJ Abrams RC #160
- Seiya Suzuki RC #137
- Wander Franco RC #55
Filed under: Reviews | Tagged: 2022, baseball, box, break, gallery, monster, review, topps | 2 Comments »