Attention Allen & Ginter hobby box busters: check your lids

I'm no fan of this set, or Gypsy Queen, which is the same difference as far as I'm concerned, but since so many of you are busting hobby boxes of A&G right now, I wanted to alert you to a thread I caught on Blowout that's relevant to your interests.

Apparently, rippers extraordinaire brentandbecca noticed something while bulldozing through a ridiculous 384 boxes:  three of the box LIDS contained rare 1/1 cards.  The good:  this is a very cool, unexpected bonus for you die-hards that bust boxes of the stuff every year.  The bad:  nobody seemed to have been aware of this, and a number of these cards may come out damaged, if not entirely thrown out with the bathwater, as it were, by collectors who tear into their newest obsession.

I lean on the positive side, although I think Topps could have done a bit more to prevent damage by unsuspecting box-rippers.  Those of you who've opened one or more hobby boxes should definitely check them for these cards if you haven't already.

That magazine with the made-up prices and delusional editor has more details on the story here.  Much better hobby news source the Cardboard Connection also has more on the news.  Good luck to you collectors, and well wishes to all the Gint-a-Cuffs participants this year!

You'd better sit down--Topps came out with something I like!

Topps has unquestionably put out a lot of crappy products over the last decade, but I'm happy to hear they're going to be doing something cool with the 2013 Archives set:  including a couple classic insert sets.  Which ones?  Try Stadium Club Triumvirate and Gallery of Heroes!

From http://magazine-exchange.com/product_downloads/pdf/2013ToppsArchivesBBADDITIONS.pdf

From http://magazine-exchange.com/product_downloads/pdf/2013ToppsArchivesBBADDITIONS.pdf

The Triumvirate insert is pretty cool, though I admit that I never actually put one of those trios together.  The Gallery of Heroes cards, though, are pretty exciting.  The old Topps Gallery stained glass-style insert looked fantastic back in the day, as evidenced by this sweet Chipper,

and Topps did right by collectors for once in including these, albeit at a relatively tough 1:31 hobby packs.

This Blowout thread includes some nice pics of a few versions one collector pulled, but just in case something happens to that thread, I'm including one example here:

From http://www.blowoutcards.com/forums/baseball/520492-gallery-heroes-2013-archives.html

It's too bad there aren't any Dodger bloggers around to drool over this card.

Head over to CardboardConnection for the complete 15-card checklist, which oddly includes just five Yankees.

While I won't be busting any packs or boxes of this as usual, I'm excited enough about some of the Fan Favorites autos and Gallery of Heroes cards (especially Ripken and Cabrera) to try to pick up a few.  Congratulation, Topps, on getting one right!

Topps Tiger Fan-Favorites!

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!
Well, Tigers collectors, anyway.  As I usually do several times a week, I was on the always-awesome Cardboard Connection yesterday and the title of an article caught my eye:  "2013 Topps Archives Baseball Fan Favorites Autographs Spotlight 1980s and 90s."  "Cool!" I thought, "A lot of my favorite players, even the guys that weren't stars, are from the 80s and 90s."  I proceeded to check out the checklist for names that would interest me, and two caught my eye.

One was former Tigers SS Travis Fryman.  I think Travis is a great fit in a set devoted to "fan-favorite" players--guys who weren't really sought after nationally, but certainly appreciated by their own fans.  I have managed to pick up one of his few certified autos, this 1996 Leaf Signature Bronze version,

which is an excellent on-card issue from his second-to-last season in Detroit, his fourth of five All-Star campaigns.  I'm especially glad to see Fryman get a new certified auto because his current run is 10 different cards:  the above card, plus Silver and Gold versions from '96 Leaf Signature; a 2005 Topps Retired Signature issue (which I totally need to find), a Refractor version of that, plus four autographed plates; and a cut auto from 2012 Leaf History of Baseball.  What I'm getting at here is that it's a fairly big deal for Tigers/Fryman collectors that he's got a new autograph coming out!

Well that's all well and good for Tigers collectors, but one's never enough.  That's why I was so excited to see this in the checklist:  "FFA-MT Mickey Tettleton, Detroit Tigers."  Sweet!  One of my all-time favorites, he of this batting stance,

has had VERY few certified autos.  In fact, as I was verifying the current total, which I knew included this one from my PC,

I hadn't even realized that he actually does have a second issue from 2012 Leaf History of Baseball.  Unfortunately, like Fryman's, that's numbered to just 10 copies.  So getting another shot at a Tettleton graph is pretty exciting!

I know this year's Archives are incorporating another four past designs, from 1972, 1982, 1985, and 1990, so I'm curious which design each player will get.  Regardless, I'll be pretty with whatever they get.  Since this is a Topps product, I won't play the lottery and try to pull these, and I know as usual I'll have to wait until the initial hype dies down, but I'm sure I'll be able to buy or trade for each.

As a sidenote, former '68 champ Denny McLain also appears on the checklist, but he's a jackass and I won't be pursuing him.  Still, a few other former Tigers will be available as well, albeit in different uniforms.  Those players include:  Darrell Evans (Braves), Dan Gladden (Twins), Eric Davis (Reds), Fred Lynn (Red Sox), Greg Jefferies (Mets), Howard Johnson (Mets), Hal Morris (Reds), Juan Samuel (Phillies), Lloyd Moseby (Blue Jays), Ray Knight (Reds), and Ruben Sierra (Rangers).  Not a terrible group!

So hopefully you'll be seeing Fryman's and Tettleton's 2013 Archives autographs over here within a few months.  And I also hope that you collectors end up with your fan-favorites as well!