2015 Snorting Bull Awards Newcomer of the Year

Pretty easy choice for this award this year.  I should really come up with some eligibility rule like MLB has with players qualifying for the Rookie of Year.  My choice for this award this year had a few cards in 2014, but not too many.  This year the player had a ton of cards and collectors seemed to love each and every one of them.  Easy choice.....

2015 Newcomer of the Year

Kris Bryant

Bryant spent the first few weeks of the season with the Iowa Cubs, but made a big impact after being called up to the Cubs.  26 home runs, a Rookie of the Year Award, and an NLCS appearance later Bryant is a known commodity to baseball fans across the country.  Bryant was huge in the world of baseball cards too.  I pulled a bunch of Bryant cards this year and would get trade offers galore on all of them.  Even if I was keeping them I would get a "well if you change your mind".... Bryant was huge this year and should be a popular get for collectors for the foreseeable future.  

2015 Snorting Bull Awards Best Parallel Set

This award was a little bit tougher for me this year.  The two previous winners were slam dunks in my opinion.  I really didn't have to think about either choice.  This year, I wouldn't say that the field was weak, but I felt like I didn't have a favorite that really stood out from the rest of the parallel sets.  So, after spending an afternoon flipping back through my 2015 cards I narrowed my three of four possibilities down to one winner.....

2015 Best Parallel Set

Topps Allen & Ginter Red Minis

I really enjoyed these minis out of Ginter this year.  I like the minis in Ginter every year, but the red parallels really stood out for me.  I pulled a bunch of them in my small pack when I opened up one of of my boxes earlier this summer, but went through and added several different Cardinals and Rays cards over the summer.  In years past, Topps has put a black border around some of the minis.  Always liked the look, but the red design around the edges popped for me this year.  Is it because I really really like the color red?  Probably, but they are still cool cards.  

Snorting Bull Awards: Best Autograph Set

I was talking with a fellow collector about a week and half ago about our autograph sets of the year.  We each shared our opinions, but he also was really excited about the upcoming Strata release from Topps.  I checked out a few pictures and I was excited too.  In fact, I already landed my first Strata autograph in a trade earlier today.  The problem is that I am trying to wrap up my awards posts, note they are 2015, by the end of 2015.  That leaves me with a week to make several more posts about cards.  Perhaps I will get the Strata card in the mail and I will change my mind.  Maybe I won't.  Until then this product wins......

2015 Best Autograph Product 

Five Star 

 

 Yes, I am using the same Matt Carpenter card in back to back posts.  This year the Five Star set was easily the best autograph set in my opinion.  Let's down a few of the reasons.  First, it's a high end product with on-card autographs.  There are plenty of nice looking autographs put out every year, but it slays me how many of them feature sticker autographs.  Five Star is all on-card.  Second, the product has improved over time.  When Topps debut this product I know a lot of collectors loved these cards.  I was one of them.  They had dark backgrounds, thick card stock, and the edges chipped.  Now, they have lighter backgrounds, thick card stock, and they don't chip.  Great product, I have several more of these cards I need to share out, but you will not be disappointed if you end up with a Five Star. 

2015 Snorting Bull Awards: Worst Baseball Card

Some days the Gods of Quality Control frown on the card markers.  Other times certain card companies make alarmingly terrible decisions.  I never really have to think too hard on this one.  Two years ago Topps put two players on a baseball cards in their Topps Update product that did not make it to the All-Star game.  Bard was in Triple A by the end of April and Wigginton was released at the beginning of July.  

Last year we had the Ron Gant Cardinals autograph and the Wade Boggs softball jersey from the All-Star game.  Softball jersey is a pretty self explanatory terrible card especially in a high end product like Dynasty.  Making a Ron Gant autograph in a Cardinals uniform, for those not familiar with their history together, would be akin to making a Jonathan Papelbon card in a Nationals jersey.  Maybe not quite that bad, but not far away.  

The winner this year?  I knew it the second I saw the card....

This card is just too terrible not to win.  This Craig Biggio 1/1 autograph comes out of the Topps Archives Signature product.  It's a per pack autograph of a Topps buyback card.  Some of the cards are really cool, most have a low serial number, and there are plenty of 1/1s.  I pulled one last weekend.  The set is actually a pretty cool concept.  Old Topps brand cards, not just Topps base set cards, signed and serial numbered.  Why on Earth is there a Donruss card in this product?

I guess there could have been a shortage of Biggio cards in the nickel bin at the card shows Topps bought back their cards.  It's possible it just got mixed into a stack somewhere along the line, or Craig Biggio thought it would be awesome to see if Topps was actually paying attention.  Whatever, it's just bad quality control.  Not cool Topps.

2015 Snorting Bull Awards: Worst Set of the Year

2015 Worst Set of the Year

Donruss 

I am not sure what exactly Panini did with Donruss this year, but it was an absolute train wreck.  So many places to start with this product.  The first thing the 2015 Donruss set had going against it was the 2014 Donruss Factory set.  Definitely negative momentum for this product heading into this year.... I know many collectors who worked on this product last year, but they were irked that Panini issued a factory set at the end of summer.  More than a few felt that their efforts in assembling the base set were tossed aside the moment that last year's Donruss factory set hit the shelves at stores.  Strike one.  

Second factor is that the design is horrendous.  The top and bottom baseball print is from the side of the 1987 Donruss set, but the lines on the side make the border really busy.  I have heard several collectors complain that Panini made the Donruss logo way too big in the top corner and I would probably have to agree with this point.  The early 1980s Donruss sets had a logo in the top corner, but it did not take up the entire corner.  

Lastly, there is the whole no license thing.  I have picked on this topic before, but I cannot stand airbrushing.  I do not like the airbrushing in products like Bowman Draft, which is used to add logos, nor the airbrushing in Panini products to remove logos.  Don't get wrong, some of Panini's designs would be great if they had logos, but with a poor product like Donruss the lack of logos really sets the product far below the bar.

I cannot really say that congratulations are in order for winning this award, but if you missed the Donruss set this year you did not miss much of anything.

2015 Snorting Bull Awards: Best Prospect Set

I have already made one post for my annual Snorting Bull Baseball Card Awards which I have given out the last two years.  Aside from using categories I have already used in past years, I am also going to be presenting a few new awards this year.  This post, and the attached award for Best Prospect Set, were not given away last year.  As a fan of Minor League baseball I am excited to present this award.  

2015 Best Prospect Set 

Pro Debut 

There were a few different sets that I considered for this award, but I had to give this first time award to the Pro Debut product.  First, it showcases the players in their Minor League uniforms.  I like Bowman and always go out and put the set together, but it neat to see some of the prospects the way I, as a Minor League baseball enthusiast, see them.  Uniforms aren't the sole decider though.  I also like that the Pro Debut product uses action shots of the players and not action shots.  It's cool to see some of the Minor League parks as backdrops for the cards.  Lastly, I like that there is a diverse checklist in Pro Debut.  Some of the players in this set are just good average Minor League players.  Pretty cool to see some of them still get a baseball card.  The set also has autographs and parallels and all of those other things.   

2015 Snorting Bull Awards: Best Base Set

2015 Base Set of the Year

Stadium Club 

I dedicated several posts this summer to just the base cards in this set.  There were so many great photographs in this product.  When Stadium Club first dropped in the early 1990s it was noted for its great pictures.  Topps had tried to relaunch this product in 2008 and then again last year.  Stadium Club was a tremendous product last year and the staff at Topps did a great job again this year.  I have reluctantly boxed this set up and put it in my closet of cards, but there are still days when I break it out and flip through the cards.  There are Hall of Famers, fan favorites, and just really unique photographs.  It's just a great set and an easy choice as the repeat winner for my Base Set of the Year.. 

2014 Snorting Bull Awards: Goat of the Year

2014 Goat of the Year 

Last year there was a clear winner, in the form of Alex Rodriguez for this award.  I spent a lot of time thinking about this award for 2014, but there was not a player who was a clear and dry no brain winner.  ARod's play has declined, there have been loads of steroid problems off the field, and the values of his cards have plummeted over the last two years.  ARod did not play this year and his cards did not drop anymore so I am going to let him off the hook.  

There were a few steroid rumblings during the past year with players like Ryan Braun and Johnny Peralta, but their card values did not really seem to be hurt by their suspensions and time away from the game.  Peralta played fine for the Cardinals, but Braun had an off year for the Brewers.  Braun had career lows in almost every category, but his cards are still selling and doing quite well.  Sure there are still a few bargains out there, but generally his cards seem to sell for roughly the same prices now as they did last year.  Steroid user for Goat of the Year?  No.  

I also considered a few players who had declining performance on the field.  Joey Votto and Evan Longoria both received careful looks.  Both franchise players had power outages during the 2014 season and set career lows in several categories.  Both players saw the values of their cards fall during the 2014 season, but the fall in card pricing was not drastic.  Both players remain very popular in the hobby and ares still highly collectable.

So, who is my Goat of the Year?  Be prepared for a little bit of outrage out of some people.  I am going with Bryce Harper.  I know, I know, but hear me out for a couple of minutes.


1.  Falling Prices

While there are still some very strong Harper autograph sales there are also some chinks in the armor of his hobby pricing.  Several years ago collectors could hardly scratch a Harper autograph for anything less than $100.  There are still many Harper autographs that still sell for big dollars, but those are either rookie cards or low print, high end products.  Want a base autograph of Harper out of a Topps set?  The price is now just about half of what it used to be a few years ago.  For patient collectors, who are willing to wait out the right autograph, Harper autographs are now starting to drift below $50.

Want to take a shot on a redemption card and you can find things for even less than this.  In person autographs are all the way down into the 20s, but there is more to Harper receiving this award than card prices that are declining.  So, what can possibly stop the decline of prices on Harper cards?  I am not sure there is much that can slow this trend down.


2.  Falling Performance

I understand that Bryce Harper is a really young player with plenty of potential.  I have watched plenty of Minor League baseball and I can see that he is more than capable of being a very special player.  I also understand that we are only three years into his career.  Again, plenty of time to grow as a player.  Especially for a player who is only 22.  However, Harper's career seemed to take a step back last year.  Sites like FanGraphs are optimistic that Harper can bounce back in 2015, but how long can a .275 average with 25 home runs is going to justify autographs that sell over $100?  That question is already starting to be answered.


3.  It's A Business, Take It Out on Your Fans

Harper is a young player and he has signed a ton of autographs in his career already.  As a long time collector I am always appreciative of the players who take time to sign for fans.  Whether they sign for fans at the park, outside the stadium, answer fan mail and letters....it takes a person literally seconds to sign their name and it can mean so much.  I recently ran into a Nationals fan, locally in Raleigh, who was really upset at Harper for skipping out on the Nationals Fan Fest this past month.  They had planned on attending the event for months and they were disappointed that Harper bailed on the event.  Why you ask?  Surely there was a great reason not to spend an afternoon talking and signing for your loyal fans.  Nope.  If you have not been following Harper this offseason, he's filed a grievance (and settled with a 2 year $7 million contract) over his arbitration rights.  There are several articles floating around the internet about Harper skipping the FanFest, and while an excuse was offered by the Harper/Boras camp, nobody is really buying.

Dear #Nats fans, Mr Harper couldn't see you due to his temper tantrum @Bharper3407 http://t.co/m8zBY0fAzc
— Chris Miller (@MillerChris0886) December 14, 2014

If Harper wants to kick the A logo behind home plate in Atlanta that's fine, but kicking the fans that show up and support you?

There have been some bad missteps by Harper this year and his status in the hobby has certainly started to erode.  Personally, I own Harper cards and have a copy of his rookie Bowman autograph.  I would love nothing more than for Harper to come out and hit 30 home runs this year, but given what transpired this year I have my doubts.  In the meantime, the falling card prices, declining performance on the field, and mistreatment of fans off of it have earned Bryce Harper my Goat of the Year.


FYI- The goat of the year is named after this fine fellow.

Snorting Bull Awards: 2014 Hobby MVP

2014 Hobby MVP

I did not give out this award last year, but decided to add it to my list of end of year accolades.  I went through and made some criteria and had a few different players I considered for this award.  There is the obvious choice, Derek Jeter, but collectors had ample notice that he was leaving the game at the end of the year and his retirement did very little to move the needle on his card market.  Jeter was popular and would still be popular if he were playing this year, or he had just picked a random day in the middle of the year and walked.

Instead I decided to go with Madison Bumgarner.

I quietly dabble in Bumgarner cards.  He's a North Carolina guy and it's hard to pass up cards of a pitcher that talented.  We had the 2014 Postseason, but this was Bumgarner's third successful trip to the postseason.  During the past World Series appearances the price of Bumgarner cards would bump up a little bit around the time of the World Series and then just fall back down into Earth.  During the 2012 season I picked up an ordinary Madison Bumgarner autograph and spent about $7 on the card.

Prices on Bumgarner cards were still selling for less then $10 at the beginning of the year.  This card is now selling consistently for more than $20.  Harder to find autographs of Mad Bum are even pricier now.  One of my favorite Bumgarner cards of all-time is his 2010 Topps National Chicle autograph.  Not the world's best set, but the Bumgarner autograph in the set is awesome.

At the time this set released I went out and got a bunch of the autographs including the Bumgarner.  This was one of the more expensive autographs in the set at the time and cost me about $15 shipped.  Like his Topps autographs, it has had it's fluctuations, but is now selling for more than $30.  Sure, there could be a dip in some of the prices of Bumgarner cards, but the guy is 25 and has 3 World Series rings.  Bumgarner could have a pretty uneventful rest of his career and his cards will still always have decent value because of his work over in the postseason over the last five seasons.  2014 helped to cement Bumgarner's place in the deep end of the baseball card swimming pool and made him my 2014 Hobby MVP.

Snorting Bull Awards: Best Card of the Year

Best Card of the Year

I did not give out an award for the Best Card of the Year prior to this year.  If I can give out a bull statute for really awful baseball cards, then I can also give one out for really good baseball cards.  In fact, I gave out two really bad baseball card awards this year, so I picked an extra pricey and expensive card as my first annual Best Card of the Year.

I actually do not own this card and if I did own this card I would sell it and not even think twice.  It has nothing to do with the fact that Bryant is a Cub and I am a Cardinals fan.  Every couple of years there is a prospect that comes along that sends the baseball card hobby into a frenzy.  Recently we have had crazy summers with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.  Collectors spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars chasing down cool rookie cards of those players.  I am pretty sure that most of those Harper and Strasburg cards have lost a chunk of their value, but those initial prices and hype are a high bar to live up to in the long run.  Not to say that Strasburg, Harper, or Bryant won't be good players in the future, but what players rookie cards sell for hundreds of dollars?  Think of a few.  That's probably a high bar for three players under 25.  

Copies of this 2013 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant autograph, which was issued in the 2014 Bowman Chrome set, have sold anywhere between $150 dollars to more than $200.  Bidding on Ebay auctions could be described as highly competitive.  Basically if you want a copy of this card you need to either sit at the computer and bid at the last moment or being will to overpay to pick up a copy via Buy It Now.  One of my original criteria for card of the year had originally been attainability, but I am going to still pick this card as my Card of the Year.   

It's always good for the hobby to have new players to chase even if they have a hard time holding their value over time.  The 2013 Bowman Chrome Bryant autographed card is likely going to be an iconic card whether Bryant goes on to great things or not.  I remember when Upper Deck put out a Mark Prior autograph in their Prospect Premieres set in 2001.  Every card collector wanted that autograph.  Prior did not work out as a Major League pitcher, but that card is still a great card and a must have for many collectors.  

Snorting Bull Award: Best Autograph Set

Best Autograph Set

In my opinion there were two sets deserving of this award this year.  I have not actually spent a lot of time on either set on this space, but that was more a matter of time than anything else.  Both sets were released later in the card year, but offered collectors some great autographs.  While the quantity of autographs from these two sets may not yet be in my collection, I feel like I have a pretty good gauge on the quality offered by both sets. 

Let's start off with the repeat winner Topps Five Star.  This card set has been issued the past several years, and while I do not bust open high end card boxes, the set has always offered collectors great on-card autographs in limited numbers.  This year's set is not any different.  While case busters may not like pulling cards of Livan Hernandez, that really hurts the bottom line, there are plenty of great autographs available in the set. 

 

I have been able to pick up a few Cardinals autographs, but am still looking to add a few more cards.  Some of my favorite looking cards in the set include a Vladimir Guerrero autograph in an Expos uniform, El Duque, Juan Gone as a Ranger, and Roberto Alomar as a Blue Jay.  Add in that the cards are made on really nice thick card stock and you have got a winner.  Again, I recognize the fact that the boxes do not often pan out and provide collectors value, but if you can just stick to purchasing single autographs off of the web and from local card shops, your dollar will go much further and you can pick out the autographs which will look nice in your collection. 

My other winner this year is Topps Supreme.  The one obvious drawback is the fact that the cards feature sticker autographs.  In most cases the sticker autographs are very well done, but there are some obviously huge positives for the set which have propelled it to the top of my autograph set list this year.  First, the design of the set is awesome.  Really clean design on the cards and I love the photography. 

The second reason I love the Topps Supreme set, minus the Cardinals, is the diverse names in the autograph checklist.  I was able to pick up several minor leaguers in the set which have not been available in other sets.  I am planning on posting a few of these autographs in the coming weeks, but already posted my cool Jesus Aguilar autograph.   Just like the Topps Five Star set, Supreme also offers plenty of cool veteran and retired players autographs too. 

Just like Five Star, Supreme is a product that is best picked up in singles.  I know opening boxes is always awesome and fun, but there are autographs in this set which would be duds if you spent $60 on a box of these cards.  There are plenty of cool singles floating around on Ebay and at local card shops. Overall, both of these are really good autograph sets and offer collectors some really great autographs. 

Snorting Bull Awards: Best Insert Set

BEST INSERT SET

This was a difficult decision this year.  Usually there is a clear cut winner or several insert sets that stand head and shoulders above the rest of the insert sets.  This year was a tough decision for the opposite reason.  There were not any tremendously awesome insert sets.  I could point to every product and name at least one insert set that I liked during the year, but again nothing overwhelmed me to the point of having an easy decision on this topic. 

For me the decision ended up boiling down to two sets.  I really liked the die-cut Triumvirate cards out of the Stadium Club set this year.  Stadium Club was a strong product this year and Topps did a really good job of getting the set back to its roots.  As an avid 1990s collectors I really enjoyed the product and it took me back to some good days back in the 1990s when Stadium Club was an annual release.

  

The Triumverate inserts were always one of the best parts of the late 1990s Stadium Club sets.  Again, Topps did a really nice job of recreating this insert set in this year's product.  I have gone out and picked up several of these cards for my collection.  However, I thought that there was an insert product that was stronger than this Stadium Club insert this year.  Just wanted to give this insert set a nod, or tip of the hat, in my post.  The best insert set this year was.......

 

 

 The Topps Archives Major League Set.  Overall Topps did a really good job of creating a lot of 1990s feeling cards this year.  Major League was actually released in 1989, which felt a lot like the 1990s in many ways.....  The Major League Set seemed to translate better across the board with collectors of all age groups better than the Stadium Club set.  While Major League is a 1990s movie, it's one of those baseball movies that loads of all sorts of different age groups has seen. 

Topps did a great job of creating a set of cards based on the main characters from the movie putting them on a 1989 Topps style card.  They even used the pink and blue color schemes that were on the Indians cards in the 1989 set.  I like the Major League logo baseball in the corner and the script text in the top right hand corner to set the cards apart just a little bit.  The set also has a cool autographed parallel set featuring the autographs of the actors/actresses who played the character on the card.  I landed one of these in one of the boxes of Topps Archives I opened this summer....

Not the flashiest, shiniest, or hardest to pull insert set of the year, but the Major League set brought a lot of excitement to the Archives product and card collectors in general this summer.  The insert set is not too expensive and not too difficult to assemble, yet looks great once all of the cards are put together.    The autographed parallel set is a nice touch too.  Great insert set and the clear winner of the Insert Set of the Year Award here on my blog. 

Snorting Bull Awards: Worst Set of the Year

WORST CARD SET OF THE YEAR

We are meeting here too often.  This is how awards get named after people, or in this case a set, and it's not really a good thing.  Mental note: If Topps releases this set again next year and it is truly garbage again my award for Worst Card Set of the Year will be renamed after this product.  Really there is no need for this sort of thing to happen.  We've discussed airbrushing in several different posts over the years and no matter how it is done, collectors can all agree that it is not a good thing for the set.

So, if you worked at Topps and you wanted to showcase the talent that was drafted in the amateur baseball draft how would you go about doing this?  There are several good examples, a few mediocre examples, and a ton of poor examples.  The poor examples are mainly recent.  Here's how I view some of the draft cards over the years:


The Good: 1992 Topps Stadium Club Dome

These are sort of a classic in many circles.  Manny Ramirez was at Duke Chapel.  Shawn Green was in his backyard.  Nothing wrong with these cards.  I like Shawn Green in a t-shirt and a hat from his high school a lot better than an airbrushed Blue Jays uni.


The Bad: Leaf Products 

Leaf is always pretty good about getting draftees to sign for their different products.  They take the logos off of stuff, but they are not adding stuff either.  Treat Turner autograph?  Yes, please.  Why did you take the NC State logo off of his cap?  Disappointing, but not a deal breaker.

The Ugly (and winner of Worst Card Set two years running) Bowman Draft

I am not sure if this picture was taken while Turner was in college or playing somewhere in the minors, but he was clearly not on the Padres at the time it was taken.  It brings up the first problem with the Bowman Draft set: Quality.  

The SD logo on the hat is goofy and the jersey is off too.  I understand that almost every Topps set these days has some airbrushing, we all have bad days, but Bowman Draft just takes it to a different level.  Is there a card in the set which Topps does not airbrush?  I am not sure that there is. 

This Trea Turner is not quite as bad as the base card in the Bowman Draft set, but it still is not great.  This looks a lot like a USA Baseball photo.  The helmet is not quite right for NC State.  The earflaps on their helmets are a little bit less padded.  Almost a dead ringer for the USA Baseball helmets though and that dirt spot on the front of his jersey has a strange shape, but it's in the same spot as the number on is US National team jersey.  Pretty hard to get those dirt spots to cooperate with your airbrushing.  Even when Topps tries really really hard it is hard to make a quality product when you have to airbrush every single card.  

I had also thought about picking up a copy of the Luke Weaver card who was the Cardinals first round draft pick out of Florida State.  I saw the pitcher a few times the last couple of years with both FSU and USA Baseball.  His rookie card in Bowman Draft is inexcusably sloppy which is my second adjective I would use to describe this product.  

The Cardinals logo on his jersey is pretty bad, the hat is okay, but if you are going to go ahead and airbrush those two items on his jersey what is preventing you from fixing his maroon socks, belt, and undershirt showing on the card.  Seriously just airbrush the whole thing.  If I had been airbrushing him I would have put him smack dab in the middle of Busch Stadium.  What stopping you?  

Finally there is this awesome number Topps pulled on Casey Gillaspie cards which illustrates a total lack of consistency within the Bowman Draft product.  Gillaspie was the Rays first round pick out of Wichita State.  If you have never seen Wichita State play they have unique uniforms and they are probably pretty difficult to airbrush.  Topps actually waited until he reached the minors to take a photo of the power hitter first baseman.........

This insert card is not too bad.  The color scheme and design certainly fit with the Rays.  The helmet might be slightly off, but not bad.  What I do not understand is how you can create a decent photograph for one card and then completely miss on another card of the same player.  Here is Gillaspie's regular base card in the Bowman Draft set.....

I am not sure where this picture was taken, but the hat logo is terrible and the jersey logo is not much better.  I just do not understand why, if you are going to use airbrushing, you would not choose a card that is easy to work into something that looks good.  

I know that for many collectors the Bowman Draft product is the end of the calendar year and in many ways a celebration of the card year.  One final Bowman product and the first look at a few young stars before the new card year starts.   However, until Topps does something to change the quality and consistency in the product and clean up the sloppiness the Bowman Draft product will not be a serious set of baseball cards.  

It appears that other collectors are also down on this product too.  The set has not been out for very long and the set is already selling for just a little more than $5. 

Topps needs to seriously pull the plug on this product and do a complete revamp of what they are doing in this set.  I am not sure that Topps can ever really admit that they do something wrong, they are the only licensed card company in the game, but this would be a great set to either discontinue or go out on a limb and do something creative with.  In the meantime, I am prepared to rename the award for Worst Card Set of the Year to the Bowman Draft Worst Card Set of the Year Award.  As sure as the night is dark and water is wet, Topps will release this product again next year with all of the same flaws it has had the past several years running.

Snorting Bull Awards: Newcomer of the Year

Newcomer of the Year 

Last year I gave this award to Byron Buxton and we all know how that turned out this year.  Hopefully this year's winner will fair a little bit better next year, if not I am going to have to scrap this award next year.  The 2014 baseball card products had two clear rookie favorites: Masahiro Tanaka and Jose Abreu.  There were other sets with popular rookie cards or anticipated debuts, but no two players had a bigger impact on the baseball card industry than these two players.  Both players saw their cards fade a little bit during the second half of the year, but the market and demand for both players is still pretty strong.

I did not pull anything out of the ordinary in the way of Tanaka cards, but I did have a really great pull from of Abreu's from the 2014 Topps Archives set:

Besides the printing plate, Abreu managed to stay on the field for the entire season and post one of the strongest rookie campaigns ever closing out the year with a .317/.383/.581 line with 36 home runs, 35 doubles, and 107 RBIs.  Tanaka was strong too, but only made 20 starts for the Yankees.  It's a close call, but I am going to have to give the nod to Abreu for this award.  Really, I am not sure you can go wrong with either, but I felt like he had a little bit better season and also a better showing in around the hobby.  

As mentioned before, both Tanaka and Abreu have fallen off a little bit in price, but still remain fairly strong sales wise.  I recently bought a Jose Abreu from the Topps Tek set, dabbling with the idea of putting this set together, and found that bidding on the card was competitive and very aggressive.  I was actually surprised to walk away with the card.  I tried to bid at the last second, but sat nervously though the last five seconds as about three or four other bids come in at the very last second.

Just to give you an idea of Abreu's strength in the hobby right now, take this into consideration: While common patterns of Abreu cards might only sell for a few dollars, the short printed copies are easily pushing up over $10 with some landing as high as $20.  One Abreu short print numbered out of 50 went as high as $35 dollars, which is in the same neighborhood that the Topps Tek cards of Mike Trout are currently selling at.  His autographs from the set are also regularly pushing north of $50 and  are pricing at comparable levels to players like Frank Thomas and Clayton Kershaw.

Clearly Abreu has enjoyed a strong year on the field and within the baseball card industry.  He is clearly the best overall new player to the hobby and a deserving winner of the Newcomer of the Year Award.  Jose was not available for comment.  Maybe next year.

Snorting Bull Award: Best Base Sets

Best Base Sets of the Year

This is one of my surprising picks of the year and really required a little bit of time and reflection.  My early favorite for the award was Gypsy Queen.  I loved the product and had a really good time with that product that this year.   It was also probably my best box break of the year.  A button card, some printing plates, a few autographs, and one of those flag cards and I was in love with that product.  Eight months later I have had a chance to take a step back and really think about all the different sets I have had a chance to work on this year.  So, you can sort of see where this is going....It's not Gypsy Queen.  

Part 1- 

I actually almost always get an email from Jimmy at Big D's Cards, my favorite local card shop, before a product hits the shelves asking if I want him to set aside a box of whatever is coming into the store.  I did a bunch of different products this year, but also skipped a few.  We can't do them all.  One of the products I skipped was Topps Finest.  I am not sure why I thought the product looked meh, but I just did not get a good vibe from some of the different website reviews and product write ups I read.  

About three months ago I made a trade for a few cards and was really happy to see that the other collector threw in a base set (1-100) of the Topps Finest set.  It was a really generous move.  There was a sticky note inside the box that read "Thought you might love this...give it time"  So, I did just that.  The Topps Finest set sat in it's box on the edge of my desk.  The first week or two I basically did not open the box.  Then slowly I started opening the box and taking a look at the cards.  Every day I would pick out a few cards, check out the pictures, read the card backs, and slowly fell in love with the cards.  

I almost fell like I am giving out an award right now and at the same time also giving myself an award for big collecting regret of the year.  Yes, yes if I could do it again I would have opened a box of Topps Finest and enjoyed every moment of the process.  So, here's a look at the cards and what I love about them......

The best thing about the Topps Finest cards is clearly the design of the cards.  Topps spends a lot of time trying to be nostalgic and half the time they cannot get out of their own way in trying to do it.  Last year Topps celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Topps Finest product by releasing a product that full of cards using the 1993 product designs.  This year's Finest product had a throwback insert for the 1994 Finest set, but the base set design went out on it's own and was unique to this set.  I am not sure who at Topps came up with this product design, but as a fan of all things 1990s baseball cards, this set was awesome.  The design, the feel of the cards, the texture, the backs, everything 90s.  

The colors on these cards are really the best part of the design though.  The silver lettering on the top of the cards is the same on all of the cards, but the similarities on the rest of the cards ends there.  The shadowing of the Finest title at the top of the card is shadowed in all sorts of different colors, the geometric shapes on the bottom right hand side of the card are different colors and shading on all of the cards.  Add in some really cool photography and the cards are really cool looking from a design and color standpoint.  This David Wright card is one of my favorite.  I love the white uniform on the darker background with the bright oranges and reds towards the bottom of the card on the shading and on the picture.  Great look and great looking set.  Definitely worthy of some kudos and deserving of one half of my Base Set of the Year Award.  

Part 2- 

Sticking with the whole 90s card rehash theme I am actually going to pick a second set that I thought was deserving of this award.  Again, Topps did a really good job this year getting some of the 1990s rehash sets down well.  I loved the Finest set, I have just started to get into the Topps Tek set, and also really loved the Stadium Club set.  Someone at Topps is doing a really good job of connecting with the 30 somethings/40 somethings how collected baseball cards in the 1990s.  So, my second Best Base Set of the Year is obviously the Stadium Club release.  

When Stadium Club first released the product was based on cool photography and was the Topps answer to the early Upper Deck sets.  The designs were always really simple and were just dominated by a really good photograph.  Over the years Topps changed Stadium Club, let Stadium Club go, and tried to bring the product back a few times along the way too.  This year's relaunch was awesome.....

Topps did a really good job of recreating the original product concept of Stadium Club which was great photography with a simple design.  I have still not quite finished this set, but it is about the first thing on my list of hobby goals for my up coming winter break from school.  Despite the lack of closure on my Stadium Club set, this is one of those sets I find myself flipping through every couple of days.  I love the pictures and the feel of the cards.  Like with the Finest set, Topps did a great job of making this set....

Snorting Bull Award: Worst Card of the Year Part 1

SNORTING BULL AWARD: WORST CARD OF THE YEAR

I have done this award two years in a row and usually the worst card of the year just strikes me at some point during the year.  Two years ago I gave the nod to a Don Denkinger card.  For those not in the know, Denkinger blew the 1985 World Series.  How does that get you a baseball card almost thirty years after the fact?  Not sure.  Last year Topps put players in the Update set who had not played in the Majors for six months before the set was released.  Bad quality control makes for bad cards.  

I am not sure where to place the finger of blame with this year's worst card.  Follow Topps on any social media website and it will not take long until you are made aware of the fact that Topps has a long and illustrious history in the hobby.  Stick around a little bit longer and you will find that in spite of the rich tradition and history talk the company seems to frequently step on the toes of fan bases all over the place.  If you are going to claim that you have some grand sense of tradition and history then perhaps you need to make sure that your cards show that you are a knowledgable of the fans you are trying to please.  

This year there were two really really terrible baseball cards made by Topps.  

First up...Earlier this year I pulled a really cool Ron Gant autographed printing plate out of Topps Archives.  The card featured the slugging 90s baseball player as a Brave.  Braves Ron Gant was apart of some great 90s baseball teams.  Braves Ron Gant was an important player in the 1991 World Series.  Gant left the Braves and ended up on the Reds.   Reds Ron Gant was in the playoffs and won the National League Central and pushed the team into the NLCS.  Cardinals Ron Gant was a different story.  

He failed to live up to a big free agent contract, which is never a good start, but ended up alienating half of his former teammates and loads of Cardinals fans with complaints about the team and specifically manager Tony LaRussa.  Here's a run down if you want all of the nitty gritty dirty details.    Gant spent the rest of his career as a fourth outfielder.  LaRussa won a pair of World Series titles.  While Ron Gant may not be quite as bad as Garry Templeton, who flipped a double bird to the Busch Stadium crowd on Mothers Day, he might easily be one of the least popular Cardinals of the past twenty years or so.  

So, I have to honestly ask why Topps thought this card was a good idea?

In fact, I am really surprised that Ron Gant would sign a card like this...really.  I am guessing someone at Topps found this cool picture of Gant in a Cardinals uni and decided that the card would be a good idea.  Again, I am not picking on Ron Gant.  There are a lot of players who have forgettable stops in their careers.  Anybody remember Steve Carlton on the Twins or Giants?  Keith Hernandez on the Indians?  Randy Johnson on the Yankees?  These are all players who have had cards made during the past year by Topps.  Steve Carlton is a Phillie or Cardinal.  Keith Hernandez is a Met.  Randy Johnson is a Diamondback or Mariner.  No bad stops on cardboard.

While Gant is not as good as some of these players, he still more than 300 home runs, 1,500 hits, and an OPS over .800.  Does Ron Gant deserve to have a cool throwback baseball card?  Yes, but he also deserves something better than a Cardinals uniform, which makes this the co-winner of my Worst Card of the Year Award for 2014.