2010 Topps Series 2: A Case Study in Three Parts

After much whining, sniveling and general self-pity, I finally ran into a plethora of available 2010 Topps Series 2 product on shelves after sneaking out of work early last Wednesday night. Unfortunately, I was unable to contain my excitement and walked out of Target with $40 worth of the stuff. In an effort to save some face (with myself, primarily) I decided to present this as a research opportunity for future retail dwellers to learn from and make better informed decisions.

Today, I present to you a summary of results of 5 loose packs from Target. These packs contain 12 cards each and one has the opportunity to pull Target-exclusive Red Back inserts. For $9.95, that's a total of 60 cards including 5 Topps AttaxTowns and other assorted inserts. (I posted the very first pack here at A Pack To Be Named Later.)

I cannot believe how amazing and awkward this card is. It actually took me several days to believe that this was really Griffey partaking in what appears to an elbow pat by one Ichiro Suzuki. The number on his back threw me off briefly, until I remembered that this was probably from Jackie Robinson Day where everyone wears #42.

Here is my first Vintage Legends insert, one of the three brand new inserts in Series 2. Series 1 was already stuffed full of inserts, and I'm not sure if they added even more or just replaced a few of the bad ideas. I don't think depicting a legendary player on card design from a fairly dubious era makes sense.

Oh, the Cards Your Mom Threw Out. Little did she know that a John Smoltz card from 1997 would be worth 11 cents one day.

Here's another one of the newbies. Until I discover some Cardinals in this insert set, I'm going to say that it's terrible. (Please tell me that Adam Wainwright or at least Darrell Porter is a part of this.)

Rangers fans, rejoice! I guess this guy isn't all washed up after all.

Topps made an attempt to salvage the Topps Town idea and I guess it makes sense. They look better this way for some reason.

The Legendary Lineage cards either work or they don't, depending on the combo. I think they should just stick to players from the same franchise like this one.

Ah, you knew I couldn't leave out the Turkey Red. Jackie's card is a little too cartoonish looking for me, but this is still nice.

The Results:

Base Cards: 43

The Cards Your Mom Threw Out (1:3): 3 (No "Original Backs")

History of the World Series (1:6): 1

Legendary Lineage (1:4): 1

Million Card Giveaway: 2 (I was the proud recipient of a Jason Giambi 2006 card with my first code. I am understandably hesitant to redeem further codes at this point.)

Peak Performance (1:4): 1 (I still don't like these.)

Target Red Backs (1:4): 2

Topps AttaxTown: 5

Turkey Red (1:4): 1

Vintage Legends (1:4): 1

Cardinals: 0 (Shut out. Ouch. This is the most important category of all.)

Lessons Learned: Well, as my number one option for Series 1, I think that loose packs still provide the best ratio for pulling inserts including the Turkey Red cards that I want the most. That being said, the no Cardinals thing isn't sitting well with me at the moment.

Next up: Something that stays crispy... even in milk!