SCF Official Review: 2013 Topps Tribute World Baseball Classic Edition

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Topps for providing us with this box.



6 packs per box
5 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $199.99 - $249.99

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS

World Baseball Classic Autographed Cards
- Blue Parallel numbered to 50.
- Sepia Tone Parallel numbered to 35
- Orange Parallel numbered to 25.
- Gold Parallel numbered to 15.
- Red Parallel numbered to 5.
- Purple Parallel numbered 1/1.
- Onyx Parallel numbered 1/1.

World Baseball Classic Heroes Autographs
Autographed cards featuring the best-performing players from the first two World Baseball Classic tournament

Tribute to the International Legends Autographs
Top retired players from countries around the world who could have played in the World Baseball Classic if it had existed when they played. #'d to 15.


RELIC CARDS

World Baseball Classic Prime Patches Cards:
Relic cards of World Baseball Classic players, featuring a game-used patch cards.
- Blue Parallel numbered to 50.
- Green Parallel numbered to 35.
- Orange Parallel numbered to 25.
- Gold Parallel numbered to 15.
- Red Parallel numbered to 10.
- Black Parallel numbered to 5.
- Purple Parallel numbered 1/1.

World Baseball Classic Full Jersey Redemption
Jerseys from the 2009 World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic Flag Patch
1/1 card containing the player's large country flag jersey patch.

World Baseball Classic Logo Patch
1/1 card containing World Baseball Classic logo patch from the back collar of the player's jersey.


BASE CARDS (100)

World Baseball Classic Players: (100 Subjects)
- Gold Parallel Sequentially numbered to 25.
- Red Parallel Sequentially numbered to 5.
- Purple Parallel Sequentially numbered 1/1.

WHAT WE PULLED

Video to be added later due to login issue with YouTube

Base - 22/100 (22%)



Tribute utilizing the same type of card stock as seen in the regular release. The front is a foil/chrome and features a full body shot of the player as well as a world map in the background (minus Antarctica as it wasn't represented at the WBC). Would really be a plus had the background marked in the country the player is from. For instance, using the scan above, the United States could have been darkened in to show where the country is located. Or possibly, the country's flag could have been used for the background. Subjects are featured in the uniforms of the country they played for. There are numerous parallels ranging from being print run numbered as high as 50 and as low as 1. These are not guaranteed per box, so it is possible for boxes not to have any while other may see 1-2 appear.

Nelson Cruz Autograph



Ryan Vogelsong Autograph



Yovani Gallardo Autograph



Henderson Alvarez Blue Autograph /50



Craig Kimbrel 2-color Patch /131



Fernando Rodney Purple 3-color Patch 1/1



Topps Tribute WBC features 6 autographs or relics in every box. In essence, 1 hit per pack. There is an error that Topps had announced with the printing on the box. The box states each pack is guaranteed to have an autograph or relic numbered to 99 or less. In late June, Topps announced that this was an error as the base autographs were unnumbered. It appears what happened is that notation was not removed from boxes as they used the layout of the regular release, where that statement is true. It is a bummer that the box statement is a mistake as it takes away from the appeal of the release. There are a slew of parallels for both the regular autograph and jersey/patch sets. In addition, there are redemptions for full jerseys from some of the players as well as flag and logo patches from the jerseys numbered as 1/1s. Other autograph sets include one that honors great players who participated in the first two WBCs as well as retired players who would have most likely represented their country had the WBC been played while they were actively playing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Base - 4/5
Design - 4.75/5
Fun - 4.5/5
Value - 3.5/5
Rebuy - 3/5

Overall - 19.25/25 (77%)

NPN Information

NPN Topps Tribute 2013 World Baseball Classic Edition
PO Box 2008
Duryea PA 18642

Limit 1 Request Per Household

Postmarked By: 9/25/13
Received By: 10/2/13

Canada Skills: 6 x 9 + 4 - 3 = ?

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Topps for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all of their products, visit them today at www.topps.com.

Base cards are available for request. Please PM with the card or cards of interest as well as the card numbers. Cards will remain available for 30 days from the time this review is posted. As always, only VIPs may make requests for the first 48 hours.

[pwaldo]

Wow! Nice 1/1 patch pull