1978 Topps

The 1978 Topps set is a decent set Topps released, not as great as 1977, but still a nice design at least. I like the cursive lettering for the team name and the baseball in the top right corner of the card depicting the player position. The back of the cards are also decent with the orange color for the cardboard. If I have one gripe with the set it's that the photography is completely atrocious! Most of the player cards I've noticed are portrait cards showing nothing but head shots in the dugout or just staring at something while they're on the field. Not many action shots, which is a real disappointment in my opinion. So, if I had to choose my favorite card...it would be Rose. He was always a gritty player and although he's not on the field on the card, his determination is captured perfectly in the photo. Pure Charlie Hustle.

1994 Topps

1994 was the first year I decided to get out of the hobby since I started back in 1986. Due to so many products, rising prices, the players strike...it made for the perfect storm for turning me away from baseball cards for eight years. Of course my wife hopes that I'll go on hiatus again, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon. So, 1994 Topps. Another dull and less than stellar year for the Topps company. I don't really understand the design element regarding the photos on the front. Not sure if that's suppose to be home plate or not, but it doesn't work for me. No team image on the front....shame on you Topps! The player names and fielding position on the front of the cards are very small....almost nonexistent. The photography is ok. I like many of the cards depicting pitchers the best, but the Barry Larkin card is a nice change with the shades. Either than that, not too impressed. Sorry 1994 Topps, just not feeling the love.

1952 Topps

What to say about something that's been talked about for over a half a century? The 1952 Topps set was a game changer, much like Upper Deck in 1989. But I think where Topps came out on top compared to their competitor 37 years later is that they changed the card world in ways that reverberated even to this day. The team logo on the front of the card, player name and facsimile autograph, player blurb as well as stats on the back of the card, sweet color photography/painting style. Although Bowman, Leaf, Play Ball, Goudey, Cracker Jack and the previous card companies had some of these aspects in their product, Topps was able to put everything together. This wasn't a home run....it was a grand slam! I'm hoping that someday I'll have my 1952 Topps Reds Team set completed, but those high numbers are going to put a hurt on my wallet. Favorite card from 1952 Topps... Ted Kluszewski. Look at those cannons! They're ginormous! And the Crosley Field stands in the background, that's timeless and classy. Nothing screams baseball cards more than 1952 Topps.

1966 Topps

This is probably one of my least favorite sets Topps released in the 60s. I'm not saying I hate the set. In fact, I like the clean design and nice photography...especially the photos of the old ballparks that have long been torn down. I guess, compared to the 1965 Topps set, or even the 1968 Topps set, this one is just uninspiring. I never expect perfection from Topps and I know that there will be hit and miss years for them. I guess 1966 was just one of those miss years. My favorite card from the 1966 Topps set would have to be the Rose. Sure, it's a classic batting stance photo that's all too commonplace even for today. But to me the real beauty of the card is the background. Seeing Crosley field as the backdrop is just amazing. I know the stadiums of today try to replicate the look and field of the ballparks of ages past, but they just fall a bit short. Granted I wouldn't trade Riverfront Stadium for Great American Ballpark, but I might trade Great American for Crosley Field if only for a moment.

Jumping the Shark

According to the internet's repository of useless facts and knowledge "Wikipedia"...Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery. So I thought to myself, why can't this be true to sports cards products that a company manufactures? As I wrap up my set of 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen, which happens to be one of my most favorite sets of all time, I heard a few weeks back that Topps would release a 2012 set of Gypsy Queen. That of course got me very excited and I had to start reading about what would be included in next year's release. Base cards and short prints....expected. On card autographs.....sweet! Relics and pennies......meh, ok. Gypsy Kings.....what?! I thought it was a little absurd for Topps to release cards of "Gypsy Queens" in this years set, but to have "Gypsy Kings" next year in a product that called Gypsy Queen...that's just plain stupid. Worse off, why would Topps make the Gypsy Kings a fictitious baseball team from the 1800s? Really?! So, my nomination for Gypsy Queen jumping the shark would have to be 2012. Sad really that it was only a year after it was first introduced. Curious to know if anyone else has any opinions on when a set Jumped the Shark.

1999 Topps

Yesterday I was talking about the 2001 Topps set and mentioned 1999 in the post, so I decided to follow it up today with an analysis of the 1999 Topps set. Where 2000 Topps had a silver border, Topps decided to do a gold border the prior year. Not much text on the front of the card and the team logos are missing in action. The design reminds me of the old 1951/52 Bowman cards with their simplicity of showing as much of the picture as possible while leaving as much verbiage confined to the back of the card as possible. While I don't hate the 1999 Topps set, I'm not a big fan of the set either. My favorite card from this set would have to be the Dunn rookie card. I like the fact that he's just sitting there on the bleachers holding his bats while staring at the camera. It's almost like he stepped out of a cornfield with a bunch a dead ballplayers in Iowa or perhaps waiting to hear from Crash Davis what baseball is all about. Kinda brings a tear to you eye doesn't it.

2001 Topps

2001 Topps was an interesting year. Where there was a silver border the year before, now we have....turquoise? Not sure I follow since the 1999 Topps set had a gold border, but maybe there's some sort of patters (Gold, Silver, Turquoise....I'm not seeing it). I do like the 50 year anniversary in gold foil at the top of the cards and Topps did another great job with picking great photos to put on their cards. Finally, those team logos really stand out...maybe because of the turquoise border! So, favorite card from this set would have to be Adam Dunn. I liked this guy when he was with the Reds. Not because of his defense (which was greatly lacking) but because he had pure power when he hit the ball...something he didn't do much of in Chicago this past year, or so I hear. Watching him crush a home run in a Reds uniform, now that was something to see.