USA! USA!

Yes, I know that these are all "commemorative 4th of July edition" cards, but this is a National Holiday you know and these just came out. Also, I can't believe how many of them there are. As far as I can tell, this is all of the Tigers in the set, but you never know what else might pop up.

This Just In: The Chase Is Complete

Guess what came in the mail yesterday?

2010 Topps #LLR-GB Hank Greenberg/Ryan Braun (#/50)

Just in time for next week's release of Series 2.

You might remember this card from my 2010 State of the Blog Address. It was one of the cards that motivated me out of post-Granderson apocalypse crisis mode and really made me want to turn my collecting up a notch. You know, Diversify, man.

I love this card. A lot of people have a problem with this subset, I think because some of the pairings don't make a whole lot of sense. But this one is great, I actually like the design of the whole set and I feel as though the dual bat is really nicely done.

I guess I'll need to find another card to chase in time for Series 2...

Chippin' Away

Slowly but surely my 2010 Topps needs are being satisfied. A good Saturday of mail is to thank for these:

2010 Topps #PPA-RP Ryan Perry Auto

I tend to not like sticker autographs, but for some reason they fit these Topps designs pretty well. I don't know if it's the shininess that balances out are pretty monochromatic card or what, but they're ok. That's not to say that I prefer this autograph to something that is nicely designed or on-card, but this fits in with the rest of the Peak Performance inserts and is a fine addition to the set.

The other card is the one that I'm much more excited about, and since I've showed off the front in previous posts, I thought I'd give the back a little love.

2010 Topps #1b Hank Greenberg (SP)

A few things of note:

• They use the same picture on the back as the front--unlike the regular 2010 base cards, which have different pictures.
• The back logo is the rounded D with "Detroit Tigers" spelled out under it, in the style of the times. The regular cards just use the "Hat D."
• Hank was born on 1-11-11 and is on card #1.
• Look at all the "league leader" red on the card. He was good.
• History is important. Note how the stats jump from 1941 to 1945. Hank served during the war, and came back to help the Tigers win the World Series in 1945. He then proceeded to lead the league in HRs and RBIs the next season--after a four year hiatus.
• Hank had one at bat in 1930 (as an 18 year old), but then didn't come back until 1933. I don't know the backstory there.

In all, I am very excited to have added this card to the set. There are a few more things that I need to chase down still, but this was the big one. The set just looks empty without card #1 in it, you know?

And Now, A Message From Hank

Have a Happy (Jewish) New Year. L'shana Tova!

For the gentiles out there, grab yourself an apple, dip it in some honey and enjoy yourselves.

On a related note, the Greenberg rookie card above is a buy it now for $3,500 in case you're interested. I was shocked (shocked!) to find that I have zero Hank Greenberg cards in my collection, even with his inclusion in sets this decade. I'll have to fix that.