An Update on Update

An incomplete look at some of the new Cardinals in the latest edition of the Topps flagship set. 

 

For the first time in years, I wasn't able to grab my team in any box breaks for a Topps flagship set. Everyone was quick to move on to the next new shiny thing, so I am having to build my Cardinals team set the old fashioned way. I picked up a couple of new Topps Update blasters from Target online recently and was able to snag a few cards for my collection. A couple of trades have also trickled in since then that have added another card or two here.

I'm now up to three (!) Brendan Donovan cards in my collection (I'm overdue to post about number two), thanks to the card featuring the helmetless utility man on the loose. Donovan took over as team leader in HFO (helmets flown off) after Harrison Bader was dealt to the Yankees. He did a couple of other things this year as well, but I'm going to save those thoughts for that overdue post.

This is probably my favorite photo of the bunch, as there's a lot of flecks of dirt flying about. But what exactly is it that Corey Dickerson is doing here? There's no way he's bunting, is he? The Cardinals don't bunt! No one bunts anymore!

It was a rough season for Dakota Hudson, who coming off of Tommy John surgery saw his already subpar K-rate plummet to a career low. He ended up getting demoted late in the season, first to Memphis and then later to the bullpen. He doesn't seem to facing much competition from the minor league levels, however, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him going forward.

The Update set feels more substantial and less tossed off this year. It's almost back to normal, except the rookie cutoff was a bit early. Jake Walsh's three relief appearances in May saw him sneak in just before the deadline, apparently. Walsh debuted on May 11th, while Nolan Gorman (May 20 debut) missed out. The deadline for a player appearing in a new uniform, incidentally, seems like it was even earlier as I was having trouble finding anyone on the checklist who had switched teams after Opening Day.

Another reliever, Nick Wittgren was released in July after having a rough year.

Andre Pallante made the leap from AA to the Opening Day roster and never looked back. He was a key member of the bullpen and also made ten starts.

Albert Pujols popped up on the checklist a few times, as you might've expected. Will he get a "final tribute" card in next year's Series One set?

I still need almost all of the inserts and even a few of the base cards from this set, but I did land a Paul Goldschmidt All-Star card. Like last season, the All-Star cards are an insert now, presumably because the deadline to finalize the checklist and crank out endless amounts of the flagship set is earlier than the inserts. I give Topps a lot of grief in this space, but I do have to give them props for including a whopping 50 cards on the All-Star checklist, with photos from the actual game. I'm sure there were players (non-stars, especially) left off of the checklist, and I know that at least a couple of stars who opted not to attend were included, but I appreciate the effort.

Please check out my want list (or my TCDB) if you have any Cardinals I might need from this year's Update. I might pick up another blaster or two at some point if I can still afford it, but I can certainly use the help.