The Topps 582 Montgomery Club is back for a second year, and I was more than happy to renew my membership after seeing what was delivered in the first year. If you want to see the full run down of the 2019 Membership, you can read about it here!
The Breakdown
Inaugural members the opportunity to renew their membership for the same $200 price they paid in year one. The window opened up for new members to sign up for $250 and lasted for about 24 hours. As you can see from the picture below, there are a few changes coming for 2020. First of all, there is one fewer guaranteed auto. 2019 delivered three autographed cards as part of the membership, but in 2020 there are only two sets with a guaranteed auto.
Topps.com provided a side by side comparison of each year’s benefits.
One new twist that could be a huge benefit for collectors. In 2020, Montgomery Club members will have exclusive access to Pre-Sale windows for a variety of Topps On-Line exclusives. Within the first month of membership, the opportunity to preorder two products has already been made available. 2019 Bowman Heritage and 2019 Bowman Draft Sapphire were both made available for preorder, and I was able to buy both! This access could be one of the best aspects of 2020 membership.
2020 Set 1
In December 2019, the first set shipped. It was a 20 card set and included an additional autographed card. The set design looks like a mash-up of 1975 and 1986 Wax Box Bottoms. I like it! It has a Heritage look and feel, and I tend to like those designs more than the shiny chrome cards that are so popular today.
Here are cards 2-4.
Even though this is the first set of the 2020 membership, it was still released in 2019 and therefore is still considered a 2019 set and still uses the RC logo for guys like Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and Fernando Tatis Jr. As you can see in the checklist below, Topps included the superstars you’d expect, but they also threw in a few surprising names. Shane Bieber and Ryan Yarbrough made their way into this set, and my hunch is the using them and their availability of cheap autos helped make the cost structure of this set more affordable.
Unboxing
Wrapping it Up
I think the club is off to a good start, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the sets will look like. The presale opportunities should allow for the ability to add cards to my PC while also flipping a few boxes to help offset the cost of the membership.
Link to Set 2 Review
Link to Set 3 Review
Link to Set 4 Review
Set 1 Checklist
1. Pete Alonso
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. Ronald Acuna Jr.
4. Juan Soto
5. Fernando Tatis Jr.
6. Jacob DeGrom
7. Nick Senzel
8. Will Smith
9. Mike Trout
10. Gleyber Torres
11. Max Scherzer
12. Charlie Blackmon
13. Shohei Ohtani
14. Max Muncy
15. Shane Beiber
16. Kyle Tucker
17. Noah Syndergaard
18. Clint Frazier
19. Chance Adams
20. Ryan Yarbrough