Official SCF Review: 2009 Topps Ticket To Stardom

**Enigma** · 10-08-2009, 07:04 AM

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

20 packs per box
12 cards per pack
Current Retail Price: 78.99 - 89.99

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 3 Ticket, Relic, Or Autographed Cards Per Box!
- Authentic Official MLB Ticket Stubs!
- Authentic Vintage Game, Concert And Sporting Event Ticket Stubs!
- Each Ticket Stub Card Is Sequentially Numbered!
- WBC Stubs Plus Feature Ticket Stubs Alongside WBC Game Worn Jersey Swatches!
- Opening Day Ticket Stubs Feature Stubs From All 30 MLB Home Openers, Including Yankees And Mets!
- Rookie Cards Are #'d To 199 And Appear w/ The Major League Rookie Logo!

TICKET, RELIC, OR AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 179 subjects - 3 Ticket, Relic, or Autographed Cards per Box !!!
World Baseball Classic Stubs Plus (24) - Hobby Exclusive!
Ticket Stubs Plus (50) - #'d to 299 or less!
Ticket Stubs Plus 2 (50) - #'d to 239!
Autographed Relics (25) - #'d to 89 & 439! Hobby Exclusive!
Dual Autographed Relics (30 subj/15 cards) - #'d & Hobby Exclusive!

- Parallels - 1 of 1! Hobby Exclusive!
- Red (179) - #'d to 10!
- Gold (179)
Buyback Ticket Stubs

OPENING DAY TICKET STUBS - 32 subjects - #'d & Hobby Exclusive!

INSERT CARDS - 40 total cards - 8 per box!
Ticket to Stardom (15)
Big Tickets (15)
Seasoned Vets (10)

- Parallels
- Red (40) - 1 of 1! Hobby Exclusive!
- Gold (40) - #'d to 50!
- Blue (40) - #'d to 99!
- Printing Plates (40) - 1 of 1! Hobby Exclusive!

BASE CARDS - 225 total cards - 11 per pack!
Veterans (200)
Rookies (25) - #'d to 199!

PARALLEL CARDS - 1800 total cards - 1 per pack!
Red (225) - 1 of 1! Hobby Exclusive!
Gold (225) - #'d to 50!
Blue (225) - #'d to 99!
Perforated (225) - one per pack!
Printing Plates (900 plates) - 1 of 1! Hobby Exclusive!

WHAT WE PULLED

First Half:

Second Half:

Base (197/200) - 98.5%
Dupes - 0
Perforated (20)

Colby Rasmus RC /199
Ian Kinsler Blue /99

Big Ticket (3) - Josh Hamilton, Dustin Pedroia, Miguel Cabrera
Big Ticket Blue /99 (1) - Miguel Cabrera
Seasoned Veterans (2) - Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez
Seasoned Veterans Gold /50 (1) - Magglio Ordonez
Ticket To Stardom (5) - Cameron Maybin, Matt Kemp, Jay Bruce, Joe Mauer, Kenshin Kawakami

Bernie Williams Ticket Stub/Jersey /110
Aaron Roward Ticket Stub/Dual Bat /79
Garrett Atkins Jersey/Autograph /489

FINAL RATINGS
Base Set - 5
Overall Design - 3
Fun - 3
Value - 3.5
Rebuy - 3
Total - 17.5/25 (70%)

Ticket To Stardom contains a 200 card base set with an additional 25 rookies numbered to 199. The card is modeled on a design of a ticket to an event. There's a bar code at the top (only for design purposes) and player information listed at the bottom (much like section/aisle/seat on a ticket). Each pack contains a perforated card meant to look like a ticket stub. The parallels are noticable by the change of color in the border encasing the player's photo.

There are three insert sets in this release. Big Ticket features the a full-color photo of the player on a blue background with the player's face melded into it. Season Veterans features some of the game's best in various poses. Ticket To Stardom showcases some of the young stars in the game on a card that has a ticket design.

The autographs and relics feature single of multiple pieces of memorabilia. The non-autographed relics have an added bonus, a piece of a ticket stub from an actual game the player had participated. Some of the tickets are from an MLB game while others are from the World Baseball Classic.

Ticket To Stardom is an interesting concept to bring collectors closer to the game by attempting to introduce something new to baseball fans. The design of the base cards are not quite there. There should have been more of an attempt to make these cards appear like a ticket. The perforated cards seem good in theory, but truthfully, we will probably see a lot of these with damage. To be honest, I thought it was an issue with how the packs were sealed when I first saw them. The ticket stub idea with the relics is a nice idea, but one Topps did two years ago with football and it wasn't well received. I really hope this release doesn't suffer the same fate.

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 their products, be sure to check them out at www.topps.com.