Grand Galleries: 2010 Topps Series 1 & 2

Topps made it easy on me, with only two Curtis Granderson cards in Series 2, after a bevy in Series 1. I decided that I would just consolidate the two releases into one post, for ease of consumption.

Topps is a tricky set, because there are a ton of parallels to the base set. To add insult to injury, Curtis had one of those super-short printed cards too. Then there are the team sets. And the inserts. And the "hits." Add it all up, and it reminds me what is simultaneously exhilarating and extremely frustrating about being a player collector. I'm going to attempt to show these off in the most logical way possible, mimicking what I would have done if these were all in my own collection.

The Base Card & Parallels #222 in the set is Curtis' last base card as a Detroit Tiger. It has parallel versions in Gold (#/2010), Black (#/59), Platinum (1/1), Throwback (from Target) and All-Black (from Walmart), plus printing plates. An alternative version, #222b shows him as a Yankee. A team set exclusive, #NYY16 is also a Yankee card.

#222 Curtis Granderson	#222 Curtis Granderson Throwback	#222 Curtis Granderson All-Black
#222 Curtis Granderson Gold (#/2010)	#222 Curtis Granderson Black (#/59)	#222b Curtis Granderson Platinum (1/1)

#222b Curtis Granderson SP	#NYY16 Curtis Granderson

The Team Card Curtis Granderson is also front and Center on the Detroit Tigers team card. Normally, I wouldn't give much credence to cards like this, but this one is so much a pseudo-Granderson that I thought it was worth counting.

#201 Curtis Granderson	#201 Curtis Granderson Throwback	#201 Curtis Granderson All-Black
#201 Curtis Granderson Gold (#/2010)	#201 Curtis Granderson Black (#/59)	#201 Curtis Granderson Platinum (1/1)

Inserts Pretty straightforward here: Two series 1 inserts (as a Tiger), including a really nice Legendary Lineage with Ty Cobb that cites both players' penchant for extra base hits as Tigers, with a Series 2 "Peak Performance" insert as a Yankee which simply says "Granderson Leaves Detroit with Team Leadoff-HR Mark." Which he did.

Also, Silk cards are technically inserts, so I've added his Series 1 silk here too.

#TR47 Curtis Granderson	#LL-5 Cobb/Granderson	#PP-77 Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson Silk (#/50)

Autographs & Relics The preliminary checklist indicated that there was a "Peak Performance Autograph" card of Curtis, but I'm convinced that it does not exist. Topps probably wanted to save their stickers for the more lucrative Yankee autos. There is an Auto/Relic card (#/50) that is very nice, though.

On top of that, Curtis has the traditional "In The Name" relics that come with an All Star appearance, which means that somewhere, each letter from the nameplate on the back of his jersey is out there for collectors. I've found a handful (and yes, I'm using the same "N" twice. Sue me.)

#PPAR-CG Curtis Granderson (#/50)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "G" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "R" (1/1)
#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "A" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "N" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "D" (1/1)
#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "E" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "R" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "S" (1/1)
#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "O" (1/1)	#ITN-64 Curtis Granderson "N" (1/1)

Manufactured Patches The one of these comes from Series 2. It is a Yankees card, commemorating the 4th of July.

2010 Topps #MCR-212 Curtis Granderson Cap Logo (#/99)

In all, Topps has a wealth of cards available for the Granderson collector that does a good job of spanning the tumultuous time that was the transition from Tiger to Yankee. A fitting tribute to Granderson's impact with the Tigers, as well as a taste of things to come. Can't complain about that.