There seems to have been a (potential) miscalculation from Topps on their 50/50 Shohei Ohtani collection. Retailing at just under $240 for 10 packs of 5 cards (or 1 pack with 5 cards for $25), the set sold out pretty quickly on Topps.com - “Hey, Mr. Fickle, that doesn’t sound like a miscalculation to me!” - however, it has been met with aversion from a certain corner of the Internet. And perhaps for good reason. 

Firstly, within each 10-pack box you are only guaranteed one parallel or short print. The odds aren’t all that great if you’re looking to chase something big, meaning: base cards galore! 

Which gets me to my second point. For nearly $250 per box, with 50 cards in a box and a 100-card checklist you’re basically saying for $500 and the universe “owing you one (big time!)” you can complete the set. But you won’t, because the universe doesn’t treat us that way. It will take a massive investment to complete what could have been a pretty cool set. Just ask Geoff Wilson. 

But what if Topps made the set of 100 base cards available to buy for $25 - no autos, no parallels, just 100 cards of (arguably) the world’s most famous human and potentially the greatest player to ever live? And at the same time they could sell a $1,200 set with a pack that includes 5 parallels (one of which could be a potential auto)?

I know why they don’t do that, but if Topps is looking to grow this hobby in a way that creates fans for life, they should actually consider a set like this in the future. 

More hot takes like this in Mail Day this week- give it a read! https://www.onmantel.com/news/50%2F50-on-the-ohtani-collection-but-all-in-on-banchero-35f66d58-6a07-4155-b768-0ffbef11faf7

Ohtani and Judge will be featured on a dual patch auto from Topps in their 2024 update. A bit disappointed that this is a sticker auto, but having these two on the same card is awesome. Do I smell an upcoming world series match-up 👀?

https://x.com/Topps/status/1843323311624999108

I came across this hilarious 1/1 Elly De La Cruz Birds card on X. @toppsripped what's the story behind the baby chicks?

https://youtube.com/shorts/MlGKA3OBsBY?feature=share

Carlos Cabaleiro has had a rollercoaster relationship with Star Wars throughout his life.

As a kid, Cabaleiro loved the original trilogy. However, when he became an adult, he lost interest. When The Force Awakens was released in 2015, it reopened his eyes to the importance of George Lucas’ mega-franchise. Cabaleiro’s fascination returned in large part because he became an integral member in creating cards for Topps’ The Force Awakens set.


https://ripped.topps.com/topps-card-artists-carlos-cabaleiro-culture/