2015 Reds Autograph Baseball

Here's the latest addition to my autograph collection, a 2015 Reds team signed Opening Day Major League Baseball. There are 16 signatures on this baseball: Bryan Price, Billy Hamilton, Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Zach Cozart, JJ Hoover, Manny Parra, Chris Dominguez, Anthony DeSclafani, Ryan Mattheus, Burke Badenhop, Brennan Boesch, Mike Leake, Nate Adcock and one I can't figure out. I'm hoping I could eventually have Brandon Phillips, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto and Eugenio Suarez sign this ball.This is my ninth team autograph baseball and I have a team autograph baseball from the 1950s through the 2010s. 

Throwback Thursday

It amazes me that after all these years of collecting I'm still discovering cards that I didn't know existed. Case in point are the 2015 Topps Throwbacks. These were included in one of every two rack packs that were sold in Target and Walmart. I guess these would be considered image variations since they have the same number on the back as their standard counterpart but the border on these are light bown. I love the old Reds pullover uniforms since I grew up watching the Reds play wearing them. Out of the 50 cards that were produced, the Reds had five of them (Votto, Frazier, Phillips, Hamilton and Cozart). While not a "short print" according to today's standards, I still think these are fantastic and I'm happy to have them in my collection. 

2019 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

43 cards total in the base and update set.

29 Eugenio Suarez
107 Scooter Gennett
107SP Scooter Gennett
145 NL Nails
146 Jesse Winker
156 Luis Castillo
164 Billy Hamilton
218 Scott Schebler
284 Joey Votto
284SP Joey Votto
304 Michael Lorenzen
343 Sal Romano
374 Alex Blandino
374SP Joe Morgan
375 Cody Reed
399 Tyler Mahle
454 Matt Kemp
464 Alex Wood
465 Raisel Iglesias
468 Anthony DeSclafani
558 Phillip Ervin
573 Tucker Barnhart
573SP Johnny Bench
590 Jose Peraza
590SP Barry Larkin
620 Jared Hughes
691 Cincinnati Reds
US3 Curt Casali
US35 Derek Dietrich
US35SP Derek Dietrich
US46 Tanner Roark
US50 Nick Senzel
US50SP Nick Senzel
US50SSP Nick Senzel
US71 Queen City Kings
US81 Jose Iglesias
US95 Nick Senzel
US106 Yasiel Puig
US126 Luis Castillo
US154 Sonny Gray
US180 Josh VanMeter
US182SP Johnny Bench
US288 Amit Garrett

The Bane that is Short Prints

I've come to expect that each year I'll have to track down a short print or two in the Topps flagship set. Photo variations, retired stars or hall of famers, you name it and Topps has done it all for the sake of adding cards we collectors must chase if we want to have a "complete" team set. Sure, I could choose to ignore them completely and stick with only collecting the standard checklist, but the ocd portion of my brain would always be stewing over these cards. Of course it wasn't always like that. I still remember the junk wax days fondly knowing that I could put together a Reds team set for less than $5. Now it's not uncommon for me to spend around $20. If there's a super short print involved then all bets are off. That being said, I just noticed this past weekend that Topps released it's series 2 set for this year and I wasn't surprised to find out that there were 3 short prints in the series. I was able to track down the 12 card base set as well as the 3 short prints on eBay for just over $23. I wonder if there will come a day when Topps decides to go back to the way things were and put a stick of gum back in a pack of cards and remove those nefarious short prints from flagship. Who am I kidding, that's just asking too much.

2019 Topps

I realize that Topps released their 2019 flagship series one cards a few days ago, so I'm a little late to the party. I do like the design of this year's set. Although there aren't any borders, the hockey stick style that's reminiscent of the 1982 design comes close to providing one. I just wish Topps hadn't included the pixel effect on the cards. There are a few Reds base cards that immediately grabbed my attention in this year's series one release. The first being Billy Hamilton with the ivy at Wrigley.

I'm still disappointed that Hamilton is no longer with the Reds. Defensively, he's a beast and has some of the greatest catches I've ever seen a center fielder make. Offensively, he just doesn't have the bat to at least get on base. Maybe he'll be able to pull it together in Kansas City. The second card I admire is Joey Votto stretching before his at bat. For whatever reason, this card reminds me of all the Leaf Pete Rose cards that show Charlie Hustle doing the exact same thing.

Finally, this Votto short print is fantastic. It's something you don't see very often from Topps in a base flagship set. Every time I look at this card I hear the same phrase repeated over and over in my head, "Damn he's smooth."

So, that's my thoughts about 2019 Topps series one. I'm already looking forward to series two as long as there are no super short prints I have to chase.

2018 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

35 cards total for this year's Topps Reds team set (including the short prints and the Votto super short print). I'm still on the fence as to whether short prints should be included in team sets. Honestly, I would be content if Topps went back to producing their flagship without including short prints in the product. Rather, save that gimmicky stuff for Stadium Club or Heritage. Here's the list of players that make up the team set:

14 Amir Garrett
55 Tyler Mahle
57 Zack Cozart
68 Billy Hamilton
68SP Billy Hamilton
95 Eugenio Suarez
137 Scott Feldman
153 Brandon Finnegan
207 Scooter Gennett
209 Michael Lorenzen
301 Jackson Stephens
331 Raisel Iglesias
352 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
354 Robert Stephenson
450 Joey Votto
450SP Joey Votto
450SP Johnny Bench
450SSP Joey Votto
452 Tucker Barnhart
504 Scott Schebler
543 Luis Castillo
574 Jared Hughes
581 Jesse Winker
589 Adam Duvall
589SP Adam Duvall
596 Keury Mella
601 Jose Peraza
694 Anthony DeSclafani
US28 Alex Blandino
US49 Eugenio Suarez
US74 Joey Votto
US87 Thunder & Lightening (Votto & Hamilton)
US135 Sal Romano
US145 Scooter Gennett
US238 Matt Harvey

A Little Late to the Party

Ok, most of you have already talked about this year's series 2 release of Topps. For better or for worse, I'm just now getting around to it. This past Sunday my wife surprised me with an eBay gift card for Father's Day. Needless to say, within a few hours of receiving it I had already spent it. I was able to purchase a complete set of 2018 Topps Series 2 Reds cards and three short prints. Out of the three short prints this Bench card is my favorite. There's still one more series 2 Reds card I don't have...a super short print Joey Votto card and it will probably never enter my collection. Starting bids on eBay are $50....way too steep for a modern variation card. I'd rather spend that money on a couple of vintage Goudey or T206 Reds cards.

2017 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

40 cards total in the base set and the update set.

85 Brandon Finnegan
110 Joey Votto League Leader
128 Adam Duvall
185 Raisel Iglesias
188 Caleb Cotham
200 Homer Bailey
253 Tucker Barnhart
288 Joey Votto
297 Anthony DeSclafani
310 Scott Schebler
386 Michael Lorenzen
395 Drew Storen
414 Zack Cozart
473 Eugenio Suarez
506 Jose Peraza
511 Devin Mesoraco
539 Amir Garrett
539SP Amir Garrett
540 Billy Hamilton
599 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
698 Tony Cingrani
US12 Lisalverto Bonilla
US43 Joey Votto
US43SP Joey Votto
US43SP Johnny Bench
US48 Ariel Hernandez
US53 Barrett Astin
US75 Jake Buchanan
US139 Luis Castillo
US140 Sal Romano
US155 Cincinnati Reds Run and Hit
US158 Phillip Ervin
US178 Stuart Turner
US205 Zack Cozart
US205SP Barry Larkin
US211 Rookie Davis
US254 Amir Garrett
US271 Jesse Winker
US271SP Jesse Winker
US285 Scott Feldman

2018 Topps

It's that time of year again! Topps has just released their 2018 flagship cards and, like I've done every year for the past 10 years, I've purchased my Reds team set off eBay. Hopefully by this time next week I should have the cards in hand. Just a couple of thoughts about this year's set. First, I still miss the borders on this set. I'll always believe that full bleed photography should be reserved for Stadium Club. Second, I think there's too much going on in the footer of the card. The color swoosh and pixel disintegration are just over the top for me. Photography is decent but I'm getting tired of chasing short print cards. It's just a pain trying to track these down every year. I feel sorry for those of you that have to track down those dreaded SUPER SHORT PRINTS! Anyway, on a much lighter note, at least baseball season is right around the corner!

2017 Topps

I'll be blunt, I'm not a fan of this year's Topps base design. When I saw the design six months ago I wasn't impressed. Now that the cards are out, my opinion has changed whatsoever. There's just too much wasted space on the cards because the design takes up about a third of the real estate, not to mention how overpowering it is. I've come to expect the photos to be the primary focus but that doesn't appear to be the case with this year's issue. Maybe it's me, but I miss borders on Topps flagship set. Full bleed photos should be reserved for sets like Stadium Club. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned when I say that I prefer a simpler design to a set that's been around since the 1950s.

2016 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

37 cards total in the base set and update set.

48 J.J. Hoover
59 John Lamb
176 Brandon Phillips
199 Jay Bruce
221 Ryan LaMarre
222 Homer Bailey
292 Todd Frazier
292SP Todd Frazier
328 Anthony DeSclafani
333 Keyvius Sampson
372 Zack Cozart
373 Tucker Barnhart
426 Joey Votto
426SP Joey Votto
437 Michael Lorenzen
462 Jumbo Diaz
497 Devin Mesoraco
584 Adam Duvall
585 Raisel Iglesias
609 Billy Hamilton
612 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
632 Ramon Cabrera
671 Tony Cingrani
685 Kyle Waldrop
686 Brandon Finnegan
689 Eugenio Suarez
US28 Alfredo Simon
US29 Jon Moscot
US34 Cody Reed
US34SP Cody Reed
US54 Adam Duvall
US68 Adam Duvall
US73 Scott Schebler
US216 Robert Stephenson
US216SP Robert Stephenson
US219 Tim Adleman
US246 Jay Bruce

2016 Topps

So just about everyone has weighed in on 2016 Topps. Based on the overall feedback it would appear that most of us bloggers out there aren't very thrilled with this year's flagship product. I too am not a fan of this year's design for one specific reason: it's a mashup between Stadium Club and Gypsy Queen. I appreciate the fact that Topps decided to do away with the border on this years design. I also like many of the photos they used as well. Unfortunately, what could have been a good design fails with the fading and blurring background and the obscene amount of space wasted with the peeking logo at the bottom corner of each card. I'm all for team logos on cards, but this was just executed poorly. I purchased a jumbo pack from Target the other day and this was the only Red I pulled. I guess I should be happy that I landed at least one member of my team. The pack wasn't too shabby and I did land some decent cards that I'm more than willing to trade to any of you out there if you're interested. I'm only looking for base 2016 Reds in return (looking for cards 48, 176, 199, 221, 222, 292, 328, 333). Anyway, here are a couple of cards some of you might be interested in. Just drop me an email at lucksc0620 at gmail.com if you're interested. I'll have a complete list of cards available hopefully tomorrow.

Update: ok, here's the list
37 C.J. Cron (Los Angeles Angels)
42 A.J. Ramos (Miami Marlins)
46 Jhonny Peralta (St. Louis Cardinals)
84 Mookie Betts (Boston Red Sox)
89 Edwin Encarnacion (Toronto Blue Jays)
90 Koji Uehara (Boston Red Sox)
112 Matt Kemp (San Diego Padres)
119 Sean Doolittle (Oakland A's)
132 Joe Ross (Washington Nationals)
161 Phil Hughes (Minnesota Twins)
167 Jacob Ellsbury (New York Yankees)
174 Jared Weaver (Los Angeles Angels)
178 Rob Refshyder (New York Yankees)
184 Travis Jankowski (San Diego Padres)
203 Aaron Hill (Arizona Diamondbacks)
209 Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals)
229 Jesse Hahn (Oakland A's)
233 J.J. Hardy (Baltimore Orioles)
242 Matt Wisler (Atlanta Braves)
254 Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals)
276 Francisco Cervelli (Pittsburgh Pirates)
279 Evan Gattis (Houston Astros)
290 Zack Godley (Arizona Diamondbacks)
297 Detroit Tigers Team Card
321 Hanley Ramirez (Boston Red Sox)
329 Comeback Kids (New York Yankees)
341 Josh Hamiton (Texas Rangers)
346 League Leaders (Keuchel, Estrada, Kluber)
349 Ben Revere (Toronto Blue Jays)
350 Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs)
131 Adam LaRoche (Chicago White Sox) Gold Parallel
FP-14 Hayley Atwell (Kansas City Royals) First Pitch
P-22 Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks) Perspectives
WOW-9 Nomar Garciaparra (Los Angeles Dodgers) Walk-Off Winners

2015 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

35 cards total in the base set and update

15 Joey Votto
42 Todd Frazier
61 Johnny Cueto
85 Johnny Cueto
182 Devin Mesoraco
209 Daniel Corcino
264 Tony Cingrani
266 Brandon Phillips
268 Aroldis Chapman
277 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
301 Zack Cozart
333 Billy Hamilton
344 Manny Parra

353 Mike Leake
362 Jason Bourgeois
375 Johnny Cueto
375SP Johnny Cueto
427 Raisel Iglesias
498 Anthony Desclafani
512 Jay Bruce
520 Bryan Pena
541 Homer Bailey
547 Kristopher Negron
567 Brennan Boesch
633 Skip Schumaker
641 Yorman Rodriguez
US38 Micheal Lorenzen
US65 Todd Frazier
US101 Jumbo Diaz
US122 Marlon Byrd
US269 Burke Badenhop
US274 Tucker Barnhart
US342 Todd Frazier
US354 Brandon Finnegan
US368 Aroldis Chapman

2015 Topps

This year's flagship was released yesterday and I, like most bloggers, love the design. It's a nice change from the past couple of years. It's got everything that I want on a baseball card: great photography, easy to read name, player position and team logo. The gradient border is a very nice touch. For some reason this year's flagship reminds me of Finest, but that's just my opinion. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Reds base set from a case buster on eBay because I'm too cheap to buy a mess of packs to get a lot of cards from players on other teams as well as a bunch of inserts I could care less about. Just base Reds for me, that's all I care about. I should be receiving the 13 series one Reds cards sometime in the mail next week. Here's hoping the recent round of weather doesn't slow down the postal carriers.

2011 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

42 cards total in the base set and update

5 Joey Votto
63 Edinson Volquez
98 Bronson Arroyo
110 Aroldis Chapman
113 Arthus Rhodes
134 Joey Votto NL Batting Leader
138 Joey Votto NL RBI Leader
142 Johnny Cueto
191 Jay Bruce
192 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
198SP Johnny Bench
211 Joey Votto
228 Scott Rolen
233 Ramon Hernandez
249 Aaron Harang
317 Yonder Alonso
318 Joey Votto NL Home Run Leader
336 Chris Heisey
349 Drew Stubbs
358 Paul Janish
417 Miguel Cairo
508 Homer Bailey
516 Mike Leake
516SP Tom Seaver
517 Fred Lewis
593 Francisco Cordero
598 Jonny Gomes
609 Juan Francisco
630 Brandon Phillips
630SP Joe Morgan
641 Travis Wood
US61 Nick Masset
US96 Ryan Hanigan
US110 Edgar Renteria
US195 Joey Votto
US207 Jay Bruce
US207 SP Frank Robinson
US247 Zack Cozart
US270 Todd Frazier
US277 Sam LeCure
US306 Brandon Phillips
US310 Scott Rolen