The silver cross boxes on the bottom and the squooshed 3D logo set to an angle, it's just not crisp. Thankfully, the cards look much better in Topps' Chrome series. There's just something about the chrome that makes even the most putrid of designs shine.
Topps Chrome has been around since 1996. The yearly release often includes a plethora of on-card rookie autographs and this year is no different with Aaron Judge, Andrew Benintendi, Cody Bellinger, and Yoan Moncada all included.
The owner of my local baseball card shop mentioned Topps raised the prices quite a bit this year compared to last, particularly for boxes. I paid $129 on the day of release, though some online outlets are selling hobby boxes for as high as $150. Regular hobby boxes contain 24 packs of four cards. Each box promises two autographs.
The chase is for Judge and his autographs and variations.
The Hits
Autographs: Jorge Alfaro RC, Teoscar Hernandez RC, Jacob deGrom 1987 autograph ??/50 (redemption)
Blue Wave Refractors: Noah Syndergaard blue wave refractor 40/75
Prism Refractors: Correra, Dahl, Yelich, Gurriel
Regular Refractors: Fowler, C. Martinez, F. Hernandez, Porcello, Giolito, A. Sanchez, Britton, Bradley Jr.
Some Thoughts
I pulled a Giancarlo Stanton superfractor in this product last year, so I had a feeling I wouldn't top that and I was correct. I didn't even pull a base version of Judge or Bellinger. I did, however, score a third autograph in the box and the deGrom - though a redemption - made up for an otherwise lousy break.
I think the Chrome inserts in the 1987 wood grain design look outstanding and I'm looking forward to seeing how the deGrom auto turns out.
Rating
3.5/5
Additional Thoughts
They are not part of the Chrome series, but Topps disseminated special silver foil packs for stores and dealers to give away to customers purchasing hobby boxes of Series 1 and Series 2. These cards are stunning and comprise a 100-card set easily found on the secondary market. The Judge card already fetches $20 and there's plenty of other stars and rookies included. The whole 100-card set will probably run you north of $80, but I think it's something that will only increase in value.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR
