Insert Insanity

A few years ago I was bemoaning the fact that Cubs players were left out of most of the new Topps insert sets.  If a player was included, it was either Starlin Castro or Anthony Rizzo.

Those days are gone.

We now have the opposite.

If I've read the checklists correctly, 2017 Series One has nine basic insert sets. (I'm not including any autograph, relic, or manufactured relic sets.) They are 1987 Baseball, Bowman Then and Now, First Pitch, Five Tools, Gold Glove, Jackie Robinson Day, MLB Awards, Silver Slugger, and Topps Salute.

There is at least one Cub in every single one of them.  I've come up with a checklist of 34 Cubs insert cards.  Now triple that number for series two and update and I could be looking at over 100 Cubs inserts for 2016.  Insane!

Not that I'm complaining.  I'm just saying.

All the inserts are a result of having good players and winning the World Series. I will gladly chase 100 inserts every year if that means a championship the previous season!

Here's what I've come up with for a checklist:

1987 Baseball: 5 Kris Bryant, 17 Anthony Rizzo, 25 Willson Contreras, 49 Jake Arrieta, 74 Kyle Schwarber, 85 Ryne Sandberg, 88 Aroldis Chapman, 92 Addison Russell

Bowman Then and Now: 3 Kris Bryant

First Pitch: 2 Bob Odenkirk, 4 Jeremy Piven, 8 Joan Jett, 9 Joe Mantegna, 14 Brett Eldridge, 22 Stephen Colbert, 23 Jon Lovitz

Five Tool: 3 Anthony Rizzo, 12 Kris Bryant, 24 Addison Russell, 37 Jake Arrieta

Gold Glove: 6 Anthony Rizzo, 18 Jason Heyward

Jackie Robinson Day: 21 Kris Bryant

MLB Awards: HA2 Kris Bryant, MVP2 Kris Bryant ,

Silver Slugger: 4 Anthony Rizzo, 18 Jake Arrieta

Topps Salute: 22 Addison Russell, 27 Jorge Soler, 32 Jake Arrieta, 41 Jason Hammel, 44 Anthony Rizzo, 63 Willson Contreras, 80 Kris Bryant