A Couple Finest 2016 Inserts

There are four Finest insert sets and the Cubs have players in two of them.  I've been able to pick up both cards.

Anthony Rizzo has a card in the Franchise Finest set.  

The Finest Firsts set includes Kyle Schwarber.  Schwarber went 4-5 in his first MLB game, on June 17 against the Indians.

Typically Topps labels insert sets according to the initials of the set's title.  That means that Franchise Finest is labeled FF. Rizzo's card is FF-AR.  So far so good.

Now the dumb thing...  Finest Firsts is also labeled FF.  Schwarber's card in FF-KS.  But why would Topps use the same designation for both sets?  

Because Topps is Topps.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 14,252 Cubs cards from 108 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1971 Topps #90 Joe Pepitone  Pepitone played in just 117 games in 1971 due to bone chips in his elbow.  He did, however, set a career-high average of .307

1980s: 1985 Donruss #442 Dennis Eckersley   I never noticed how weirdly out of focus the background on the card is.  All of the Cubs top five starters, including Eckersley, spent time on the DL in 1985.  He was on the list in August due to tendinitis in his right shoulder.

1990s: 1990 Score #150 Mark Grace This card comes from the rainbow era for Score.  This green-bordered card looks nasty against the Cubs blue.

2000s: 2005 Fleer #14 Greg Maddux  Fleer went retro in 2005 and we have this very basic looking card of Greg Maddux.

2010s: 2013 Aunt Millies Planting the Ivy The Aunt Millies set is not widely known.  Right now there are just six listing on Ebay, all from the same seller.  I wouldn't want to have to put the set together now.

2016 Archives Cubs

The 2016 Archives set has been out for about a week now and Brentandbecca has already delivered the Cubs team set.

Archives is for the impatient Heritage collector.  You don't have to wait until Heritage puts out the 1979 set in 2028, Archives has it now.  And if you want to see the 1991 design in Heritage you'll be looking at 2041.  Again, though, Archives has it now.  And for those of you that want to see the 1953 design again because you couldn't get enough of it with Heritage 2002, Archives has is taking care of you.

The 300 card Archives set has 100 cards with the 1953, 1979, and 1991 designs.  Each of the 30 teams should have 10 players.  Topps gave the Cubs two extras.

Of the 12 Cubs, three are retire Hall of Famers.

 

 

+1 for including Billy Williams!

The nine active players have the ones you'd expect...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and the omnipresent Carl Edwards.  I've got more card of Edwards from 2016 (7) than he has big league career innings pitched (4 2/3).  That is messed up!

All I've Got of Him: Champ Summers

The school year ends next week on Wednesday and I've been getting swamped by end of the year details.  Blogging time has been seriously curtailed so I have time for just a quick post.

That's all I've got of Champ Summers, a lonely 1976 Topps card.  He hit .217 over his two years with the Cubs, 1975 and 1976.  This is the one and only card that shows him as a Cub.

All I've Got of Him: Anthony Rizzo

I began this feature with the longest-tenured Cub, Travis Wood.  I have 15 of his cards.  Today I've got the second longest-tenured Cub, Anthony Rizzo.  Rizzo began his Cubs career just a couple months after Wood, in June of 2012.  I have more than 15 of his cards; a lot more.  Like 100 more.  I've got 115 Rizzo cards and I expect that number will continue to soar.

Anthony Rizzo became an instant star and has showed up in just about every Topps product.  He's been prominent in insert sets, too.  For a couple years, if there was a Cub in any sort of set, chances are Rizzo was among them.

From Allen and Ginter through Turkey Red, take a look at 115 Rizzo cards:

2016 Finest Cubs (minus the Bryant)

I've gone after the 2016 Finest Cubs set, but have come up one short again.... Kris Bryant.  For the second year in a row, his card is one of ten short prints.  I will have to wait and see if I can get a deal on one.

But its not like I don't have other Cubs cards with 2015 Finest.  Two years ago Anthony Rizzo was the only Cub in the set.  This year there are seven, if you include the SP Bryant.   Seven out of 110 when a team should have three or four.  Not too shabby!

 

 

 

 

 

The mysterious fixation Topps has with Carl Edwards in 2016 continues with Finest.  Otherwise, I can't really argue with the Cubs that were included.

All I've Got of Him: Travis Wood

I'm starting a new feature that I'll run from time to time. I think the name pretty well describes what I'll be doing - showing all the cards I've got of a certain player.

Let's kick this off with all the cards I've got of Travis Wood.  He might seem like an odd choice to start off something new, but I've got a reason.  Wood is currently the longest tenured Cub.  He joined the team in 2012 and is now in his fifth season with the Cubs.  That shows you just how much the roster has turned over.

Wood isn't exactly a superstar, so his card offerings have been pretty slim.  I have just 15 cards of Travis Wood, which averages out to just three per year.  He's only been in the major Topps brands, the flagship, Heritage, and Gypsy Queen.  He made the Donruss set once, Topps stickers once, and has been in the Topps factory team set a few times.  One oddity:  he has a autograph card in 2012 Gypsy Queen but no base card.  He didn't get a base GQ until 2014.

Take a look at all I've got of Travis Wood: