One of the things I’ve enjoyed about writing this blog is the motivation I’ve found to explore some products I’ve never really touched before. 2018 Topps Opening day is one of those products. This set is released at a lower price point and is more geared towards kids and set collectors.
When many of us first began to collect cards, we probably paid .50 or less for a pack. If you mowed a couple yards and you could probably afford a whole box! Well Opening Day comes close to allowing you to relive those days as a single pack goes for around $1, a blaster box of 11 packs for $10, and a full 36 count box for around $25. A pack for less $1 is a special treat these days!
The 2018 release contains a 200 card base set made up of a mix of rookies and veterans. There are three parallel versions of the base set with Blue Foil Opening Day Edition cards being limited to 2018, Black 1/1s, and also printing plates. In addition, 29 cards have short printed photo variations. These are tough to pull and only fall in 1 of 477 packs! As we’ve come to expect from Topps, there is a special short print code on the back of the cards that act as an identifier compared to the standard base card code. Short prints end in #95 and the base versions end in #77.
Each pack also contains an inset card, some of which are perfectly aligned to a kid centric product. Before Opening Day, Mascots, Opening Day Stadium Shots, and Team Traditions are the standard insert sets, however there are a few additional sets that are more rare. Opening Day Stars fall 1:27 packs, Stadium Signatures 1:572, National Anthem 1:286, MLB Stickers 1:288, and Dugout Peeks 1:1,791
There are a few different Autograph and Relic cards that can be pulled, but as this set is not a “hit” centric product, they are very rare.
I picked up two retail Blaster boxes at Target to get my first taste, and you can watch me open them on my YouTube channel below.
It was a really fun break, and if you like to put together sets, it will be hard to beat this one for the money!
The Angels Japanese prospect Shohei Ohtani is card everyone is after. This is his first Topps standard issue card. I was able to get one, and it is going right into my prospect binder!
The unique nature of some of these insert sets also increased the enjoyment of opening these packs. These two cards of “The Freeze” and the Angels “Rally Monkey” are a couple of my favorites. My kids were big fans as well.
Freeze and the Monkey!
Here's Ohtani...
The Jacob DeGrom National Anthem card was my “big hit” of the break. It is one of the inserts that only comes in 1:286 packs. I didn’t realize that in the video, but as I was sorting later I realized the scarcity. I’m not a Mets or DeGrom fan, so I put it up on eBay, and it has already covered the full cost of my blasters. All the remaining cards are free!
If you want a cheap fun break, go pick some of these up at your local hobby shop, Big Box Store, or even on Amazon!
What do you think? Do you enjoy these lower end sets, or are you more of a hit chases and can live without base cards? Leave a comment below to let me know where you fall!
I think kids will love this set, and you can read more about one of the original sets I fell in love with as a kid in my post about the 1986 Topps set!
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