First look: 2011 Topps Tier One baseball cards
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
Topps unveiled the basic product information and preview images for its newest debut baseball card line, Tier One, on Wednesday, and it’s a product that it says it “the definitive on-card autograph release for 2011.”
So what does that mean?
It means two autographs and one Relic in every pack along with three base cards and a parallel inside as well. Every 12-box case of the hobby-exclusive product will include one Top Tier on-card autograph, too.
The product also includes signatures from present players, Hall of Famers and other retired legends along with a selected crop of rookies. It also includes dual and triple autographs along with cut signatures and jumbo patch cards along with four tiers of parallels for each basic card.
It will arrive in mid-November packing plenty of punch — and apparently even an autograph of boxer Manny Pacquiao, though he does not appear on the preliminary checklist for the product.
Learn more and see images after the jump.
The Top Tier autographs will include what Topps says are 20 outstanding active and retired stars. These one-per-case inclusions also will have parallels limited to just 10 copies. Meanwhile, the On The Rise autographs will showcase 55 young stars and rookies with their parallels limited to just 25. The batch of Crowd-pleaser autographs will include 55 fan favorites with their Golds also limited to 25.
The Top Tier guys? Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Bob Gibson, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton and Evan Longoria.
There will be a small selection of dual (15) and triple autographs (five cards) limited to as few as 10 copies, while there also will be 25 1/1 cut signatures to be found in the high-end product. The only announced name among the cuts so far is the newly signed Joe DiMaggio.
The Relic lineup will include 25 players on Prodigious Patches — jumbos limited to just 10 copies — while Top Shelf Relics highlight 50 players with jersey pieces. Dual Top Shelf cards will be limited to just 99, while triples will be limited to 25.
The base set will consist of just 100 cards — retired players, veterans and rookies — while the parallels will include Tier One (1/1s) down to Tier Four, which will be limited to 199 copies.
Some of the On the Rise signers will include Brandon Crawford, Danny Valencia, Dee Gordon, Brandon Belt, Drew Storen, Daniel Hudson, Carlos Santana, Michael Pineda, Jeremy Hellickson, Aroldis Chapman, Starlin Castro, Logan Morrison, Eric Hosmer, Mike Stanton and Jason Heyward.
The Hosmer autograph would be his first on an MLB-authorized card.
Some of the notable Crowd-pleasers will include Pablo Sandoval, Clayton Kershaw, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Paul O’Neill, Albert Belle, Andre Ethier, Al Kaline, Fergie Jenkins, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Ozzie Smith, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Braun, Don Mattingly, Chipper Jones and Ryne Sandberg.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
(Click on the images for a full view.)
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Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
