Only two months late (again), Topps 206 is little more than a watered down version of the ever-popular Allen & Ginter set. I benefited from a 206 case break hosted by A Cardboard Problem in which I fared very well. Here are the Tigers from the set in their full glory, my comments after the jump.
Base Set
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#11 Brandon Inge | #58 Justin Verlander | #77 Scott Sizemore | #88 Jeremy Bonderman |
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#163 Max Scherzer | #165 Ty Cobb | #166 Austin Jackson | #207 Carlos Guillen |
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#220 Rick Porcello | #264 Al Kaline | #269 Miguel Cabrera | #290 Magglio Ordonez |
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#311 Rick Porcello SP | #388 Austin Jackson SP |
Autographs Best part of the set, just like last year--There is a Rick Porcello redemption that I will add when it gets to me in the mail. Update 1/24/2011--the Porcello is here!
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#TA-CT Clete Thomas | #TA-MS Max Scherzer | #TA-SS Scott Sizemore | #TA-RP Ryan Perry |
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#TA-RPO Rick Porcello |
Relics Also A Strong Suit, Not sure if the Cabrera Dual Relic exists
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#TR-JD Johnny Damon | #TR-MC Miguel Cabrera | #MBR14 Cabrera/Fielder | #DR-MC Miguel Cabrera? |
Insert-Type Things This are kind of like quasi-parallels, but are numbered differently
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#T2C21 Ty Cobb Gold (#/50) | NNO Ty Cobb Silk (#/50) | #T2C45 Miguel Cabrera Gold (#/50) | NNO Miguel Cabrera Silk (#/50) |
Other Stuff Mostly impossible cut signatures that I don't have pictures of. Also, Stamp:
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| 2010 Topps 206 #SR-9 Ty Cobb |
FTR, I own or owned all but four of these cards.
So the thing about Topps 206 is that I am extremely underwhelmed by it. Actually, I'll take that a step further--I think that the regular cards look bad. They looked bad last year and they look bad again. There are two exceptions: 1) The Austin Jackson rookie card is phenomenal. It may be his card of the year. 2) The minis are good. They're not great, but by reducing their size you minimize the weird pixelation or faux-vintage effect that 206 attempts to nail, but misses with spectacularly. I find that my final thoughts on the product are not all together different from my quick thoughts back in September.
That being said, there are plenty of bright spots. The Autographs, as they were in 2009, are fantastic. New subjects, nice frames, crisp cards--they are super duper. The same goes for the relics, although to a slightly lesser degree. The images of both Cabrera and Damon seem a little "off," but I like them anyway (FTR, I own the Damon but not the Cabrera). Oh, and minis. I love minis and these ones are good. For the first time, I've been putting together a "franken-set" in which I compile a mini team set from cards with multiple back variations. There are plenty to choose from actually:
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As for things that aren't so good? Bronze parallels are completely worthless. No value added at all, in my opinion. Same with the odd semi-paralleling of the Gold Chrome minis and silk cards for Cabrera and Cobb. If these are an insert set, give me different pictures, if they are parallels then expand the checklist. This is some sort of odd middle ground that doesn't do it for me.
Also, the Stamp card is neat.
The takeaway for me is that Topps 206 is one of those sets that I invariably find myself drawn towards and leave disappointed. There are things in here worth collecting, but the team set will have to do without a prominent place in a binder. They'll probably end up in a team bag in a box, and denoted with an "x" on a digital checklist somewhere. Honestly, this is a set that could die next year without anybody really noticing. Sure, it's supposed to be iconic, but as vintage replicas go it's about as white bread as they come.
