Grand Cards: Tigers Gallery & Review: 2010 Topps Triple Threads

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Tigers Gallery & Review: 2010 Topps Triple Threads

This is my first gallery post in some time, and it happens to be with my abusive relationship of a card partner--Topps Triple Threads. I suffered through making this because of a checklist more varied and dense than the Amazon rainforest. You know the drill: Card Porn first, words after the jump.

Note: I have tried to get an image of the "base" version of a card, where possible, but there are a million variations on every card and I couldn't always do it, hence the non-red splashes of color throughout.

Base Set Why even bother...








#12 Al Kaline

#22 Miguel Cabrera

#24 Ty Cobb

#67 Justin Verlander







#116 Hank Greenberg

#118 Mark Fidrych

#120 Johnny Damon


Rookie & Rising Stars






#126 Rick Porcello

#140 Austin Jackson

#141 Scott Sizemore


Relics






#TTR-40 Al Kaline

#TTR-41 Al Kaline

#TTR-42 Al Kaline







#TTR-79 Miguel Cabrera

#TTR-80 Miguel Cabrera

#TTR-81 Miguel Cabrera







#TTR-82 George Kell

#TTR-83 George Kell

#TTR-84 George Kell







#TTR-AK Al Kaline

#TTR-MC Miguel Cabrera

#TTRC-7 Cabrera/Teixeira /Morneau







#TTRC-38 Ivan Rodriguez

#TTRC-43 Kaline/Cobb/Kell

#TTRC-45 Teixeira/Cabrera /Rodriguez







#TTRC-48 Hernandez /Sabathia/Verlander

#TTRC-54 Verlander /Porcello/Bunning

#TTRL-3 Ty Cobb







#TTRL-11 Hank Greenberg

#TTRDC-3 Greenberg et al.

#TTRDC-6 Cabrera et al.


Autograph + Relics






#TTAR-118 Justin Verlander

#TTAR-119 Justin Verlander

#TTAR-120 Justin Verlander







#TTAR-121 Miguel Cabrera

#TTAR-122 Miguel Cabrera

#TTAR-123 Miguel Cabrera







#TTAR-139 Johnny Damon

#TTAR-140 Johnny Damon

#TTAR-141 Johnny Damon







#TTAR-148 George Kell

#TTAR-149 George Kell

#TTAR-150 George Kell







#TTAR-217 Al Kaline

#TTAR-218 Al Kaline

#TTAR-219 Al Kaline







#TTAR-GK George Kell

#TTAR-JD Johnny Damon

#TTAR-MC Miguel Cabrera





#TTARC-6 Longoria /Beckham/Cabrera

#TTARC-8 Porcello/Cabrera /Damon


XXIV Cards HATE.




#TTXXIV-7 Miguel Cabrera

#TTXXIVL-5 Ty Cobb


2009 All Star Game Patches These are purdy






#TTASP-16 Brandon Inge

#TTASP-39 Edwin Jackson

#TTASP-47 Justin Verlander







#TTASP-64 Curtis Granderson

Brandon Inge Logo Patch (1/1)

Justin Verlander Logo Patch (1/1)







Edwin Jackson Logo Patch (1/1)

Curtis Granderson Logo Patch (1/1)

Brandon Inge AS Laundry Tag (1/1)







Edwin Jackson AS Laundry Tag

Justin Verlander AS Laundry Tag

Curtis Granderson AS Laundry Tag (1/1)





Justin Verlander Sleeve Patch (1/1)

Justin Verlander AS Logoman (1/1)


More Jumbo Patches Jesus Christ it never ends...




#TTLP-AR4 Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera (Letter Patch)


Oh, and there are even more cards that don't easily fit into a category and I don't have pictures of that I am just leaving off of the gallery until I can find images. This is that kind of set.

More fun times after the jump!



Kablammo! That was the sound of my head, as it exploded again and again while I was putting this checklist and gallery together. I have a real love/hate relationship with Triple Threads. On the one hand, I have come to own quite a few Triple Threads cards from days gone by, and I have never once been disappointed. They're kind of awesome. That's right. These dense, extra shiny, die-cut things are on my "nice" list. Sometimes.

Because then there's the hate.

1. Tone it down folks. When there are so many letters and obscure abbreviations that I think that I'm looking at a card written in Chinese--literally--then we have problems. Cards like this are everywhere and...

2. Obscure stats abound. 269SO240IP? You don't say! I mean, I don't care! This is not a statistic worth commemorating. Get it out of here.

3. The world's densest checklist. I just spent HOURS trying to create a cohesive checklist for this fucking set and I'm still confused by it. There is some method to the madness, sure, but it is fleeting and every now and then there is a random card that just doesn't fit in the scheme I've created. Beckett is no help, as their numbering is only kind of right and doesn't help distinguish which card is which. All of this is compounded by...

4. Too many parallels. Red (base). Sepia, Emerald, Gold, Sapphire, "White Whale"--of which there appear to be countless variations, Wood, Printing Plates, Unmitigated Disaster. I hate hate hate this set because of the parallels. This whole paragraph should be in capital letters I hate it so much.

Still, the 2010 version has some nice additions: On-card rookie autographs, gorgeous 2009 ASG patches, Some nice relic cards, some unique, attractive pieces. All of which leads me to the conclusion that Triple Threads is awesome. But it also sucks. A review of Triple Theads must really be done on a card-by-card basis to make any sense. My advice: there are lots of really nice cards out there--pick them up as singles on eBay and you'll be a happy camper. If you're a team collector you should have given up long ago. Player collectors, abandon all hope. This is for occasional consumption only, lest your wit's end be tested.