Big League, Finally

Some heavily delayed cards from @CrackinWax in the latest #CrackinWaxMailDay (thanks, Topps.) 

 

The story goes that manufacturing delays with action figures delayed the Topps budget priced Big League set for almost a year. I'm not really sure what these toys have to do with baseball cards, but apparently one of the new configurations this year (well, last year) included a special figurine along with packs. Because of this, we end up with brand new cards of players who have changed teams multiple times since they went to the printing press. Max Scherzer and Kyle Schwarber are still with the Nationals. Starling Marte is still with the Marlins.

Adam Wainwright gets two cards in the base set, which I can't complain about. Of course, one of the cards commemorates his winning of the Roberto Clemente Award back in 2020.

We also have some Photoshopped Arenado action. Each pack comes with an orange parallel in both hobby and retail configurations. The breaks from Crackin' Wax feature the hobby stuff, of course.

While I always like the concept of Topps Big League, and usually even the base design, the inserts are just never for me. Maybe these will look impressive twenty years from now, the way that Fleer Pro Visions are pretty wild to look at now.

The Cardinals had a ton of Gold Glovers last year, but Yadi wasn't among them for once. Of course, a set from 2021 wouldn't know this.

I also had the Yankees and Orioles as random teams in these breaks, which left me with a few cards for the trade box. Souvenirs just commemorates long distance home runs, I think?

Here's a crime-themed insert. I'm guessing it's just for crimes committed on the field?

Here's a couple of rookie Orange parallels.

And here's a couple more.

I also bought into a 2021 Panini Mosaic break and was able to add a couple more base cards to my team collection. Dylan Carlson probably has the greatest number of rookie cards in my collection at this point, and that number may never be surpassed with Panini losing the MLBPA license.