By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Heritage is headed down to the minors for the third straight season.

Topps offered its first glimpses at the this year’s edition of Topps Heritage Minors on Wednesday, a 1964-style look at life before the big leagues that arrives on Sept. 11 with two autographs and one Relic in every 24-pack hobby box. (Need a past Heritage Minors checklist or OPG? Click here.)

Like its big-league counterpart, this 1964-inspired release will include a base set (200 cards with 25 additional short-prints and 25 variations) along with parallels that can be found in this year’s MLB release as well as in the Topps archives. Collectors can expect to find Venezuelan back parallels, black-bordered parallels and 1/1 blue-bordered parallels. All 250 cards also will have printing plates to be found.

Once again, a collector will have a chance to become a minor leaguer for a day as the Make Your Pro Debut contest returns once again, while three new inclusions will be uncut sheet redemptions, a 1964 Bazooka insert and an insert called Road to the Show.

Autographs will be found with standard versions as well as Blacks (/35), Red (/10), Orange (/5) and 1/1 Blue and printing plate versions.  Dual autos will be limited to just 15 copies with a 1/1 printing plate parallel (four shades) as well.

The Relic lineup will include manufactured hat patches along with a selection of Clubhouse Collection Relics. These will be found as standard, Black (/50) and 1/1 Blues, while there will be duals limited to 25, patches limited to 15 and auto patches limited to 10.

A preliminary checklist for the base set and autographs was not released, though signers shown on the preview materials included Danny Salazar, Max Kepler, Roman Quinn, Jesse Biddle and George Springer. Players shown on Relics included Springer, Joe Panik and Carlos Correa.

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary & Opinion

When Texas-based journalist Josh Trudell took a recent assignment for Beckett Media, there were plenty of potential highlights for a guy who, deep down, is a passionate baseball fan.

(Trust me … he’s a Red Sox fan.)

But one extra perk of the job? Well, it just resonated more than documenting the experience of watching a dad be a minor leaguer for a day. You see, while Trudell’s story and photos will appear in an upcoming issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly there was something else about that day’s work that will be special for other reasons long after the freelance money is spent and the magazines have come and gone from the racks.

One of Trudell’s photographs will be used on an upcoming Topps baseball card — on Tim Kane‘s memento of his experience becoming a member of the Corpus Christi Hooks. It’s a card Kane shares with his 8-year-old son, Peyton, and it will be coming soon in packs of 2013 Topps Pro Debut.

“My father and I, like Tim and Peyton, collected cards together – our biggest prize was a rookie Nolan Ryan 1968 Topps card that I still have,” said Trudell, a 1999 Northeastern University graduate. “Dad passed away three years ago, but I think he would have been just as excited about this as I am.”

Texas-based journalist Josh Trudell spent this week taking photos in Arizona and Utah.

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Last month, Trudell spent the day watching Kane’s experiences as the winner of the Topps “Make Your Pro Debut” contest, meaning he was there when Kane signed his one-day contract — with Ryan also on hand. The Hall of Famer was there  to sign the document and talk some baseball.

“I couldn’t say yes fast enough when Beckett asked if I wanted to follow Tim, [his wife] Dani and Peyton through the Topps Pro Debut Day in Corpus Christi,” Trudell said. “I photograph a wide range of things, from landscapes to outdoors action sports. For me, a big baseball fan, this was nirvana — a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at a team owned by a baseball legend.”

Trudell said the experience was what he expected — and more.

“The joy of Tim and Peyton was palpable all day – at times, it was hard to tell which one was the 8-year-old. It made the whole day a really fun shoot. Seeing Tim’s awe when he met Nolan Ryan and his grin when he saw his jersey was priceless.”

The photograph on Kane’s card wasn’t a guarantee by any means, though he knew it would be a possibility. Trudell is seeing it for the first time now.

“I knew there was the possibility they would want to use one of my images for a card,” he said. “I didn’t quite believe it, though, until I got the confirmation e-mail.”

Look for much more on Kane’s day with the Hooks in the upcoming Families Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly.

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.

Hall of Famer and Corpus Christi Hooks owner Nolan Ryan signs the contract of Tim Kane, making him an official member of the team on Thursday. Kane, a card collector, was a player for a day this week after winning Topps' Make Your Pro Debut contest.

By Josh Trudell | Contributing Editor

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas | The grin on Tim Kane’s face was matched only by the size of the “30″ on the back of his jersey.

Kane, winner of the Topps and Minor League Baseball “Make Your Pro Debut” contest, signed his one-­day contract with the Corpus Christi Hooks, the double-­A affiliate of the Houston Astros, on Thursday.

“This is an experience I know I’ll never forget, and my son and wife will never forget,” Kane, a Maryland police officer, said before signing his deal with team owner and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

Meeting Ryan was the icing on a day that included a complete tour of Whataburger Field, a press conference to announce the signing, warming up and playing catch on the field with the Hooks players, and sitting in the dugout with his son, Peyton, for the first three innings of a game against the Frisco Roughriders.

As Tim admired his new jersey in the locker room, Tim’s son, Peyton, was presented with boxes of 2012 Topps Pro Debut and 2012 Topps Heritage Minors cards. Tearing into them, he quickly found a card of Nick Tropeano, who was sitting four stalls over from his dad.

Tropeano was happy to sign it for him.

Peyton was the reason Tim initially entered the contest, a joint operation between Topps, MiLB  and the Hooks. His winning essay said, in part, “Baseball has been the bond we have shared since the day he was born.”

It’s a bond that Tim’s wife, Danielle, said has extended into their family for years. Tim took Danielle to her first baseball game when  they were dating, and Peyton became hooked when the family went to a Bowie Baysox game. The opponents, the Erie SeaWolves, took time to talk with Peyton, quizzing him about school and his Little League games. Since then, his  mother said, Peyton has pored over baseball information in every form, from books to apps.

Tim wrote in his winning essay that he and his son had recently started collecting cards. At the field, he said he owned all the Topps set from 1986 to the present, and was working on filling out a set of 1975 Topps.  His favorite card, however, is a 1972 Topps card of Ryan.

As the evening wore on, Tim and Peyton moved from the dugout to Ryan’s suite, where they sat with the legend and listened to him talk about his most- and least-favorite stadiums and hitters to face.

When asked for a scouting report on his new player, Ryan chuckled.

“This is what you call a blind sign,” he said.

One of the highlights for Tim was being photographed for his own card, which will appear in 2013 Topps Pro Debut.

Having been on possibly more baseball cards than any other player — at least of those in the stadium — Ryan said the card will also be something Kane will enjoy. He knows it was an experience even for him all those years ago.

“I think he’ll take a lot of pride in that, and it’ll be meaningful to him,” Ryan said. “I’m sure his son will take a lot of pride out of it. The first time you actually see yourself on a baseball card, it’s  pretty exciting.”

Look for much more on Kane’s day with the Hooks in the upcoming Families Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly.

 By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Imagine spending your career — your life — in baseball but never making The Show as a player. Then imagine making the show but not knowing it until 25 years later.

In the case of Alex Smith, the show is Bull Durham.

As part of our “Cardboard Cameos” story in the upcoming Sports Movies Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, we’ve examined several films and spotted real-world baseball cards in some scenes. As it turns out, a real-world baseball card, Smith’s 1987 Durham Bulls ProCards release, got some screen time as a bookmark used by Annie Savoy as she decided to read Walt Whitman poetry to Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh.

And Smith, now the Northeast Scouting Supervisor for the Seattle Mariners, had no idea.

“I received your message, ironically on my birthday,” said Smith, who turned 50 on Monday. “What a unique, interesting gift to find out my baseball card was used in the movie. Never knew that! My initial thoughts? Pretty cool!”

Interestingly, Smith said he had a chance to be in the film that starred Kevin Costner but he had to make a career decision.

“The funny thing about it is that I was asked to participate in the movie,” said Smith, who was a Bull for just one season, batting .323 with 10 home runs. “They reached out, I believe, to most of the players on that 1987 team. At least I was. I was also asked to participate in instructional league that year, so I had a choice to make. I chose instructional league and gave up my opportunity to be in the movie.”

Smith appears on just a handful of baseball cards from his five seasons in the minor leagues, but there is a happy ending for him on cardboard. While he’s now with the Mariners, he made his MLB card debut five years ago on his only certified autograph card. How? As a scout with the Montreal Expos, he appears in the 2008 Bowman Scouts Autographs set. Why? Because he’s the guy who signed Ryan Zimmerman.

Ironically, Durham isn’t the only baseball movie Smith appears in. Turns out, he was a Major Leaguer … a teammate of Jack Parkman.

“Opportunity rang again when Major League II came out and was being filmed in Baltimore, where I live,” Smith said of the 1994 film. “They ended up casting a lot of former player, scouts, managers, etc., from the Baltimore area. I ended up playing Reveto, who was the third baseman for the Chicago White Sox.”

So, does he have any copies of his now-famous Bulls card?

“Absolutely, I have quite a few of them,” he said. “[And] I still have the $5 check that Topps gives you [as a minor-leaguer] for a card contract.”

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Once again, it’s time to take a trip down on the farm — and this year you might find Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh.

Topps released the basic information and first preview images for its newest edition of minor-league cardboard on Friday as 2013 Topps Pro Debut will offer a look at life before the bigs for the fourth straight year.

As the exclusive licensee for in-pack cardboard for Minor League Baseball, Topps’ latest Pro Debut offerings will arrive on June 5 with two autographs, one patch card and one patch or Relic card in every hobby box.

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The base set will consist of 220 cards — a preliminary checklist was not released — with 15 cards having a variation for collectors to chase. Each card also will have a Gold parallel limited to just 50 copies.

As an added bonus, there will be cut autographs from cast members of Bull Durham in the product — the likes of Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and perhaps even Max Patkin — along with “buyback packs” that are Bull Durham card sets available via redemption cards. The 1988 film, considered one of the best baseball movies made, examined life with the real-world Durham Bulls with reel-life memorable characters such as Crash Davis and Annie Savoy.

New this year will be Minor League Mascot Patches, which will feature an embedded fabric piece showing a mascot for one of the minor league clubs. These also will have parallels that are Gold (/50) and Red (1/1) versions. Another redemption in this one will be cards good for full memorabilia pieces.

Also among the patch cards are hat logo patches showcasing team emblems from several clubs. These also will have Gold (/5) parallels and 1/1 Red and printing plate versions.

Standard Relics will also be found and they will have Gold parallels limited to 50 and jumbo patch versions limited to just five copies.

For autograph fans, there will be Pro Debut autos that will have Gold versions as well as 1/1 printing plate and Red versions to chase. No autograph list was made available, but Rougned Odor and Shawon Dunston Jr. were among players shown on preliminary cards.

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.

Join Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds and Brian Fleischer as they rip into a pair of 2012 Topps Heritage Minor League boxes in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

Join Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds and Brian Fleischer as they rip into a box of 2012 Topps Pro Debut in this latest episode of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

(Need a checklist or OPG for this one? Click here.)

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

This year’s National Sports Collectors Convention is little more than a month away and the latest teaser of show-exclusive cards has arrived.

It’s from Topps and it’s the company’s VIP set, an offering of cards modeled in the famed 1952 design but with a twist.

It’s showing some legendary names in earlier uniforms than most of us remember seeing before on cardboard — Mickey Mantle with the Class C Joplin Miners for example.

Each VIP will receive a four-card pack of the cards but there are at least five cards made this year. While there are two Mantle cards, there also are Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays cards to be found, too, each with early career uniforms and teams shown.

The NSCC is set for Aug. 1-5 in Baltimore — look for more details in the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly arriving soon.

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

If you’ve ever wanted to play professional baseball, now’s your chance.

Topps unveiled its plans for 2012 Topps Heritage Minor League on Thursday and one of the inclusions in the second-year run of the product is a chance to become a member of the Corpus Christi Hooks for a day next season and appear on a card in 2013 Topps Pro Debut, the company’s other annual MiLB release. The Hooks are the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

For those of us who don’t find the card, the set presents a chance to take an aesthetic trip down Memory Lane with a product that is styled after the colorful 1963 Topps set when it arrives on Sept. 12.

Every 24-pack box of this hobby-only product will include two autographed cards and one Relic, while the 200-card base set will be capped by 25 short-printed cards seeded one in every six packs. There also will be 25 short-printed variation cards. Parallels will include Black cards as well as 1/1 Blue parallels and printing plates.

Real One Autographs will be found for several potential big-leaguers, 35 in all, each with Black parallels limited to 50, Blue 1/1s and printing plates. There will be 15 dual autograph cards to be found as well.

On the Relics side, there will be Hat Logo manufactured patch cards and a selection of Clubhouse Collection Relics — also paralleled with Black and Blue borders (same quantities). Dual Relics will be limited to just 25, while patch Relics will be limited to 15 and autographed patches also will be found. Also to be included are redemption cards for full pieces of game-used memorabilia.

The newest member of the Hooks will get to spend time with team owner Nolan Ryan, be subjected to the media at a press conference where the one-day deal will be signed, a locker in the Hooks clubhouse (or an adjacent area if winner is female), a full uniform and a full equipment package. In addition, the winner will take part in pre-game workouts, batting practice, shag fly balls in the outfield, eat from the clubhouse spread, throw out the first pitch, present the lineup card to the umpires, spend time in the broadcast booth, spend time in the owner’s box, chow with the team after the game and walk home with the lineup card. (Does sound like you’ll be riding the bench come game time, but you never know …)

Autograph signers on the preliminary checklist for this one include Dylan Bundy, Matthew Purke, Nick Delmonico, Mikie Mahtook, Danny Hultzen, Telvin Nash and George Springer to name a few. The Relic lineup is largely TBD but will include Bundy, Archie Bradley, and Francisco Lindor to name a few.

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

From Ryan Braun and Rally Squirrel cards to Matt Kemp, Yu Darvish and the arrival of Bryce Harper, there’s been plenty to talk about with the beginning of the 2012 MLB season.

We want to know who or what stands out to you.

Maybe it’s a new Topps brand. Maybe it’s one of Panini America‘s baseball products. We simply want to know what has impressed you — tell us in the comments below.

Please include your name and location with your comment. We’ll run a selection of the best answers in the next issue of Beckett Baseball.

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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.