Woo Hoo! Let the Baseball Season Begin

That day is finally here. The 2012 Baseball season has officially become a reality. Why is that, you ask?

Well, today is the official release date for the first Baseball card product of the season. Topps 2012 Baseball is the flagship card set for the hobby, and you can now go to your local hobby store or Target/Walmart to get a pack.

Ohhh... What a wonderful day.

Heck, I was so impatient I decided to head to my local Target last night to see if retail blaster boxes had been put on the shelves. To my joy, they had. So, I dutifully bought a 10 pack box and opened it up like a little boy discovering the game for the first time.

Of note, this will probably be the only packs of this product I'll be opening since I recently joined a two case group break and snagged the Dodgers for myself. Rest assured, I will have plenty of Dodgers soon, and hopefully a nice Koufax autograph to add to my collection. On top of that, since I'll have plenty of the Blue Crew in my hands I'd be happy to send some away to you folks. Just ask.

Anyway, here is my bounty from my first blaster box break of 2012 Topps.

First, I'll start with a special pack (exclusive to retail boxes) that includes a Historical Stitches manufactured patch. This is a limited 25 card set that includes only two Dodgers- Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax. Unfortunately, neither one of those cards was hiding in my pack, but the below Don Mattingly was.
Here is the reverse of the card. This card insert is a little bland, but sure feels great when you rub the patch with your fingers. Ewwww.... like velvet!
Below are the only two Dodgers base cards I received. On the left is a great action photo of Dee Gordon completing a double play. On the right is our newest catcher, Tim Federowicz.
This is what the back of the base cards look like. I love the little interesting fact about Dee on the reverse.

"Dee sent the Dodgers PR folks rifling through the record books in 2011. He was just their second player with three hits and a steal in his first MLB start, and their third to swipe three bags in an inning."

Nice.
This year is the "Golden Giveaway" for Topps. You can get 1 code card for every 6 or 7 packs. Load in the code at the Topps website and win something cool. Their website at topps.com/golden is not live yet, but you can check out some of the potential prizes over there. As you can see I received 2 of these cards; including a diving Matt Kemp.
This card had me scratching my head. Topps... What the heck are you doing?

Just when I thought I would never have to think about Andruw Jones as a Dodger again Topps decides to ruin it for me. For whatever reason, Jones is shown on the below NL Active Home Run Leaders card in a Dodger uniform. Yikes!
Worse yet, the back of the card indicates that Jones is with the Dodgers. Noooooooooooo! The guy hit less home runs for us than any other team he has played for. BTW, this card is a Golden Moment parallel card (seeded to 1 for every 4 packs).
Here's some good stuff. Check out the Golden Greats insert card of Jackie Robinson, below.
The back highlights a game winning extra innings home run by Jackie in 1951.
Ruth and Clemente were the other Golden Moments cards I received.
Here is a group of other insert cards in my box break. The Gold Standard cards on the right are really nice looking, and would great with a autograph.
Here are a couple of Timeless Talents inserts; including a Nolan Ryan/ Jared Weaver card.
Mini's are another insert set collectors will go crazy for. It uses a vintage 1987 Topps card design.
Here are some base cards that I thought were notable. On the left, George Kottaras tags out former Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro. I love the enthusiasm shown in the Nyjer Morgan card, at center. How can I not show our former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin preparing to block the plate.
I really have to commend Topps for their photography and cropping this year. These cards look great. Check out Nyger Morgan again. He seems like the most affable person in the world. Pablo Sandoval makes a diving tag with his eyes closed. The celebratory World Series card of Chris Carpenter is just wonderful.