New ideas for insert sets

gpenko826 · Feb 16, 2013

I got bored at work this week and began thinking about what Topps could do in its base release to get some diversity and new blood into the insert sets. Every year we get the same hall of gamers, the same power hitters, and the same stars. So I've come up with a few ideas for some unique insert sets to mix up the concepts and player selection:

Power Outage - the guys who can't hit a home run to save their lives. You could have current players like Juan Pierre, Lou Marson, and Yuniesky Betancourt alongside retired guys like Ozzie Guillen!

Knuckle Up - obviously, famous knuckleballers throughout history. Dickey, Wakefield, Niekro, Wilhelm, Candiotti.....

Finish Line - guys who ended their careers with teams you shake your head at. Steve Carton as an Indian and Twin, Billy Williams as an A, Andre Dawson as a Marlin, and Babe Ruth as a Boston Brave could be among the selections...

Classic Confrontations Relics - who would want a Pedro Martinez/Don Zimmer dual jersey, or a dual Piazza/Clemens bat, or a Roseboro/Marichal combo autograph?

Any others?

dano7 · Feb 16, 2013

World Series winners. Players from a particular team from the past, including the lesser known players. National League team first series and American League team in the second.
DANNY

mancini79 · Feb 16, 2013

First ever prismatic refractor

BiggioBrooks755 · Feb 16, 2013

1990s inserts

Go back to what made this hobby wonderful

ffgameman · Feb 16, 2013

BiggioBrooks755 said:
1990s inserts

Go back to what made this hobby wonderful

Great post. Re-design/re-make some of the great inserts from the 90s.

jamesodo · Feb 16, 2013

They didn't have relics but Topps did a Grudge Match insert set in 2005 that sounds like your Classic Confrontations.
2005 Topps - BaseballCardPedia.com

Greg Cleveland · Feb 16, 2013

Not a new idea since Topps has done it in the past (76, 85) but I think it's time to revisit a Fathers and Sons in the MLB set. But make it a two-sided card, autographs, foil SPs. There are plenty of sons out there now to make it work.

Mighty Bombjack · Feb 16, 2013

dano7 said:
World Series winners. Players from a particular team from the past, including the lesser known players. National League team first series and American League team in the second.
DANNY

Yes, I like this and particularly for the lesser names. In fact, I wish Topps would reissue the Super Teams set from 2002 with new teams, as they originally planned.

As a hall of fame collector, I would like to see a HOF Snubs insert with the greatest players who aren't in the Hall. The back would list the arguments for their inclusion. It could be a cool set because it could include fan favorites as well as 19th century guys, executives, umpires, ***** Leaguers, etc.

gt2590 · Feb 17, 2013

I don't think Topps has ever made a ***** League subset, let alone a full insert set.

I know the Licensing might be tough, but maybe something through the Museum...

And a MLBN Prime 9 (with Fan online Poll?) insert/subset in each Series would be cool. First off: Best Teams of All-Time w/ team photos!

smapdi · Feb 17, 2013

To I always thought would be interesting would be
"Connections" where players who have some weird connection could be paired up. Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell (same DOB), Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr(Donora, PA). Must be others.
And my personal favorite,"Addition Throughh Subtraction" of star players who leave their longtime teams the year before, or of, that team finally winning the World Series. Nomar, Frank Thomas (didn't leave but was injured in 2006 series), I had a few more but forgot.

mudflap02 · Feb 18, 2013

Except for all the Allen and Ginter autographs.

gt2590 said:
I don't think Topps has ever made a ***** League subset, let alone a full insert set.

I know the Licensing might be tough, but maybe something through the Museum...

And a MLBN Prime 9 (with Fan online Poll?) insert/subset in each Series would be cool. First off: Best Teams of All-Time w/ team photos!

joey12508 · Feb 18, 2013

how about the 103 players in the mitchell report that havent been outed yet. "mitchells finest" all prismatics.

U L Washington Rookie · Feb 18, 2013

gt2590 said:
I don't think Topps has ever made a ***** League subset, let alone a full insert set.

In 2001, Topps did a What Could Have Been insert set. I think it was ***** League greats that comprised the set.

gt2590 · Feb 18, 2013

I was talking more about the kind of comprehensive, full of info, somewhat-educational ***** League Insert/Subset that Topps has done in the past. Heck, they did a "Scouts" set and a "History of Topps" set as well. I'm sure more folks would wanna read about the ***** Leagues than those sets. (Sorry JP.

)

Not just the "Big Name superstars" that Most of the General Public knows at least something about. Guys like Paige, Gibson, O'Neill, etc. But I was thinking more of a set highlighting the teams and their backgrounds and the best players most of the Population, including myself, know nothing about. Maybe done Heritage-style with the same design as their closest year would have been.

Like I said, the licensing with the Estates, etc. might be tough but maybe working through the NL Museum would help...

KLARNOLD · Feb 18, 2013

Send in 10, 25, 50, 100 base cards of a player and get back a different parallel version. The more you send in, the rarer the card you get back. This could even make the base cards more valuable as the promotion ends.

rsmath · Feb 18, 2013

I'd like to see Fan Favorites folded into a whole years of topps releases as inserts - start with some of the cards inserted into base 1, some into heritage, some into bowman, some into series 2, etc. until the last ones are released through bowman draft.

It'd be like UD"s Yankee Stadium Legacy or 20th Anniversary Retrospective in distribution, but the Fan Favorites would feature some of the players that fans of the teams love but don't get much love in the hobby or on a national level, so they would be considered commons or minor stars or semistars on a national level but are (or are practically) team hall of famers.

uniquebaseballcards · Feb 18, 2013

I'd love to see a year where Topps only includes ONE insert set (and I don't consider parallels to be inserts) maximum per product again. I don't care if the insert set would be small or have 100s of different cards.

Topps could then put the money saved back into the base set and make it extra nice and special.

gracecollector · Feb 18, 2013

"Charitable Champions"

Topps highlights one player from each team, and the charity they "champion." Back of card tells a little bit about the charity and the player's involvement with it. There's an autographed gold foil parallel of these cards #/50 called "Charitable Champions - Hearts of Gold," where the back has a redemption code on it. You go to Topps website, and there's a list of the 30 charities that were featured in the insert. Enter the code, and Topps donates $50 to the charity you pick from the list. That would cost them up to $75,000 - the amount could be adjusted. Great PR for Topps!

notjomommasclint · Feb 18, 2013

A mini set for hitters made of game used bats. Like the 87 league leader mini.

A mini set for pitchers but on game used ball leather. Once again like the 87 league leader set.

as a lower numbered set something similar to metal precious gems but with the teams color as the background.

a greats of the 1980s featuring tongues from game used shoes.

A game used hat emblem set

And bring back stadium club like die cuts! For the love of Christ!

Sent from my motorolla startac.

ChasHawk · Feb 18, 2013

BiggioBrooks755 said:
1990s inserts

Go back to what made this hobby wonderful

ffgameman said:
Great post. Re-design/re-make some of the great inserts from the 90s.

Supposedly, all of that printing technology is gone.

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