2020 Topps Chrome Black Hobby Box Break AND REVIEW!

It's been a while since I've written a product review, so let's throw it back and give it a shot.

Topps Chrome is my favorite baseball release each year. When I heard about Topps Chrome Black, I was interested to take a look. Initially I was a little disappointed to see that each box would only contain four cards - one encased autograph, one refractor, and two base cards.

Despite my disappointment, plainly stated, I am sucker. Especially for new products. I set a calendar reminder in my phone for the product release, and logged on Topps website when the boxes went live. I went in with pretty low expectations. For those of you that have tried to buy products direct from Topps, you'll know that it can be a dreadful process. When I was able to add a box to my cart, I started to get my hopes up. A few more clicks on the screen and my payment processed. My confirmation email hit my inbox. My box was on it's way. 

A few days later, it arrived. At this point my disappointment in the checklist had dissolved and I was just thankful to have gotten my hands on a box at MSRP.

Fancy packaging! Topps has clearly invested some effort into making this product appear to be high end.

To my surprise, the encased autograph was not wrapped. It just sits under the pack of three cards. That's not a problem, I guess it's just not what I was expecting. Naturally I moved the pack aside and checked out the encased autograph. I found myself to be the lucky recipient of an on-card auto from one Domingo Leyba. 

I'll be honest, I had never heard of the guy. I had to look him up, and all I learned is that he's played in less than 25 big league games, and that he was suspended for the entire 2020 season due to PED use. Sweet!

I'm not crazy about the autograph card design. The good ol' "make a big white space where the autograph goes" design is just garbage. Since the cards are, ya know... black... there's no other option. The white diagonal gash across the card just isn't cute. 

*It's worth noting that the autograph checklist is pretty solid.* There are tons of great vets and Hall of Famers. Ichiro, Vlad Guerrero, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Mike Trout, and so on. I think I may have pulled the single least desirable autograph on the checklist... such is life.

Now for the contents of the three card pack:

Going from left to right, we've got a Jake Fraley Green Refractor #/99, a Brendan McKay base rookie, and Mauricio Dubon base rookie. 

So... yeah, this could have gone better. Not exactly the names that you're hoping for. I'll look for some silver linings here: One, it's nice to pick up a rookie of Brendan McKay. He's an exciting prospect, as a pitcher with the potential to also DH. Two, the design on the refractor is sweet. Do I wish it were numbered lower than 99? Probably. Do I wish it were someone not named Jake Fraley? Perhaps. 

But I will say, the green-metallic background looks incredible. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, as the print material is not something I've really seen on a baseball card. Here's another look. I tried to catch it at an angle under the light:

The contrast with the matte black really makes it pop. It's not the usual refractor "foil" paper. It almost looks like the whole card is metal, even though it's not. 

REVIEW:

Overall Design: The base cards are fine, the refractors are absolutely awesome, and the autographs suck.

The Hits: Only 1 guaranteed autograph is tough for the price ($150 MSRP). The autograph checklist is very solid, but the card design is poor.

Positives: Refractors are gorgeous, autos are on card, autograph checklist has a great mix of stars.

Negatives: Only one autograph, autograph card design, only four cards per pack, price point.

Rating: 6 out of 10. Overall, pretty underwhelming. If I hit an Ichiro or Trout autograph, I'd probably be singing a slightly different tune, but my feelings about this product are pretty strong. The refractors are sexy, the base cards are meh, and it's overpriced. I had fun ripping the box but I'm not itching to get another one. Frankly this feels like another unnecessary release by Topps. If you rip a box, pray for a good autograph. Otherwise the buyer's remorse could set in quickly. 

Thanks for reading!

Three Random Cards for Your Viewing Pleasure

Salvador Perez. Ever heard of him? Well I hadn't until a few days ago. I was reading an article about the KC Royals, and how they had a real breakthrough season last year- very similar to my Buccos. 

I heard very little about KC here on the east coast, probably because they get so little national media coverage. From my reading, it seems like the team's made up of some real gritty blue-collar type of guys. My kind of players. One of them is Salvador Perez, who is probably one of the most underrated players in the entire MLB.

After some reading, he's what I'd learned about this guy:

-23 years old

-He was never a top prospect, or regarded as a realistic MLB talent 

-His first mjaor league homerun was off of Max Scherzer (nice) and in that same game, he was a triple away from the cycle (figures)

-He's a career .301 hitter. ........ .301

-2013 All-Star and a Gold Glover

...So I had to have a card of his. eBay presented me with this, for $12 shipped:

Shiny! And numbered to 15! 

For some reason, WBC cards are generally very affordable. I've got to assume it's the lack of MLB logos, jerseys, etc. Maybe it's just a cheap product overall? I've never dabbled.

Either way, I couldn't care any less, I've landed this beauty! Next up...

A Pirates PC addition of course! For $7, I was able to get my hands on this Travis Snider Rookie auto. Travis is currently competing for the right field position, which is as wide open as the Grand Canyon. Seriously. You could probably walk on and try out for the spot. 

Unlike Perez, this guy was once a highly touted prospect (back in '07), which is probably why a fellow collector sent this to be graded. He's struggled to find his niche in the majors since. I'm not one to collect graded cards, but it was the bang-for-my-buck Snider auto out there, so I pulled the trigger. Welcome home, Travy!

Last is the most random card ever. Over the weekend I hopped in a group break of Panini Titanium because why the hell not. I was randomly assigned the Cavs, which was exciting because of the Kyrie Irving potential. Instead I landed this. I'm not complaining, because group breaks often leave us with nothing. The swatch is purple because it's from Bynum's days as a Laker. Lol.

For whatever reason, I just start laughing hysterically and maniacally when I see this card. I have no idea why. I guess that's just the affect that Andrew Bynum has. Aside from comic relief, I have noooo use for this card. So if anyone wants to trade for it, please speak up!

Thanks for reading, as always.