Congrats to Todd Warren on being the lucky winner of the Luis Alexander Basabe RC 2021 Topps Update Series 1986 Topps 35th Anniversary Auto. Once Todd Warren sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP. Thanks!
Update Series wraps-up the flagship products for the year. It all started with Series 1 last winter. Then Series 2 in the summer. Finally Update Series in the fall.
Before you even ask, I’ll come right out and say it. Wander Franco does NOT have rookie cards in here. His first cards featuring the classic rookie card logo will be found in 2022 Topps Series 1.
The base set consists of (330) cards. Parallels include Rainbow Foil (1:10), Gold Foil (1:2 Jumbo), Gold #’ed/2021, Green Foil #’ed/499, Advanced Stat #’ed/300, Orange Foil #’ed/299, Red Foil #’ed/199, Vintage Stock #’ed/99, Independence Day #’ed/76, Black #’ed/70 (Hobby/Jumbo), Platinum Anniversary #’ed/70, Mother’s Day Hot Pink #’ed/50, Father’s Day Powder Blue #’ed/50, Memorial Day Camo #’ed/25, 70th Anniversary #’ed 1/1, and Printing Plates #’ed 1/1. (100) cards have Clear parallels #’ed/10.
Photo Variations can easily be identified using the CMP codes:
Base – #395
SP – #416
SSP – #417
SSSP – #418
The Advanced Stat cards which are #’ed/300 have a CMP code that ends in #419. Collectors treat these more as a parallel than a variation.
Autographs include 1986 Topps Baseball Autographs, 70 Years of Topps Baseball Autographs, Baseball Stars Autographs, Baseball Stars Dual Autographs, Topps Black Gold Autographs, Topps Cards That Never Were Autographs, Topps Platinum Players Die-Cuts Autographs, and Cut Signatures.
Autograph/Relics include 2021 MLB All-Star Game Commemorative Sleeve Logo Patch Autographs, 70th Anniversary Manufactured Logo Patch Autographs, All-Star Stitches Autographs, All-Star Stitches Jumbo Autographs, All-Star Stitches Dual Autographs, Major League Material Autographs, and Topps Reverence Autographed Patch.
Relics include 2021 MLB All-Star Game Commemorative Sleeve Logo Patch, Topps 70th Anniversary Manufactured Logo Patch, All-Star Stitches, All-Star Stitches Jumbo, All-Star Stitches Dual, All-Star Stitches Triple, Major League Material Relics, Own the Name Relics, and Sketch Cards.
Inserts include 1986 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary, 1992 Topps Redux, 1992 Topps Redux Chrome, 2021 MLB All-Stars, 70 Years of Topps Baseball, Topps Black Gold, Topps Cards That Never Were, Topps Platinum Players Die-Cuts, Topps Tek 70th Anniversary Box Topper, and 1986 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary Chrome Box Topper.
With (330) cards and all the parallels, Update Series is a set collector’s paradise. I enjoy the look of the Topps Black Gold, and 1992 Topps Redux Chrome cards. They came out looking really sharp.
A Hobby box should yield (1) autograph or relic. A Jumbo should provide (1) autograph and (2) relics.
My box turned out to be very well balanced. Traditionally, I pull a one-color relic from flagship products such as this. An autograph, SP photo variation, and low-numbered parallel of a popular rookie came out of this box.
Pins! Pins! Pins! Williamsport, PA is flooded with people from all over the country thanks to the Little League World Series. They, and many local businesses have lots of pins available to buy/trade.
So far for 2021 I’ve added (24) new pins to my collection. Stops made in Williamsport included Dunkin’ Donuts, Dairy Queen, Winner, Rise and Shine Nutrition, Genetti Hotel, Clothier, Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, Dolly’s Diner, Buffalo Wild Wings, Robert M. Sides, and Taco Bell. One of the major pin manufacturers, Infiniti Pins, is setup in a conference room at the local Holiday Inn. Tons going on in there. People making trades, and freebies.
Even though the official Little League Store & Museum is closed (despite the Little League World Series taking place) merchandise for this year’s games can be found at the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, and online.
When it comes to Little League pins, I follow the Little League Pin Traders Club on Facebook. People are constantly showing off new pins they’ve found, and updating lists of places that have pins. Very good resource.
Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t seen PSA, BGS, and SGC grading Little League pins yet. Vintage pins have been graded for years. It seems like an untapped market along with bobbleheads.
Although it wasn’t the plan at first, I began to purchase duplicate pins to flip. Except for a few, most Little League pins need to be obtained in person. Buying them directly from the source online isn’t really an option. If you’re a collector and not in the area, eBay and trading groups are you’re best places to go. The best pins to flip are newer ones which haven’t been listed for sale yet. Doing this while the Little League World Series is going on helps a lot too.
Thanks to COVID-19 the 2020 Little League World Series did not take place. That certainly didn’t stop individuals and businesses from making their pins for fans to collect.
Pins have been a big part of the Little League World Series for years. Some of the more desirable pins come from various people who work for ESPN. When, where, and who distributes them is a total mystery to me. They just seem to popup and find their way into circulation.
A staple ESPN pin that seems to comeback year to year are the ones in the shape of the robo cams. The pin pictured below is what would have been making it’s rounds at the Little League World Series in 2020.
What makes this pin so special is the logo. This is the only pin that I’ve seen which contains the logo which would have been used for the 2020 Little League World Series. Usually the Little League store would sell logo merchandise, but they did very little of that last year. No pins for sure. Little League chose to use the same logo for 2021. The main difference is the year change.
Two of these pins have popped up for sale so far. Both auctions could easily have been for the exact same pin, and sold for close to $50 each time.
Topps has given collectors their first look at the 2022 Topps Series One Baseball design. I think the design looks clean, and the player’s name is much easier to read compared to 2021.
One key element to designing a flagship set is making sure the design carries over to Chrome well. As we all know, Chrome is king in this hobby. I believe this design will do great on Chrome stock.
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