I like the cards. The design isn't off the wall fantastic, but it's better than the past couple of years for my tastes.
Of course I'm starting off showing the Blue Jays cards I pulled. The Glove Stories Kevin Pillar card becomes an instant must have for any Blue Jays card collector. The TD Bank advertising in the background is a nice complement to one of the many acrobatic catches that Pillar has become known for while patrolling center field for the Jays. It will be interesting to see what the Jays do with their infield when Devon Travis returns. Darwin Barney and Ryan Goins have done a decent job filling in, but Goins doesn't have the bat that Barney has had, and Barney doesn't have as much versatility as Goins.
The parallel addict in me loves the blue parallels, and I would love to have each of the Jays in the set. These 5 are up for trade if anyone wants them...
A&G used to have the black bordered parallels which were really nice (especially in the earlier releases), I'd love to see those
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| These are available if anyone wants them |
The minis in both sets is a feature that pushes me away a bit. Having 1/6th of a pack that costs ~ $3 be something that you're forced to get but absolutely don't want to collect can be tough to stomach. But for some reason, I'll take the hit when it comes to Ginter, but I won't bite on Gypsy Queen.
Seeing the images for 2016 Ginter here makes me want to chase it again this year. Come the 3rd week of July, I'll definitely have it in mind where as Gypsy Queen was only a thought because I'd seen posts about it in the blogosphere.
So what's the difference. I am wondering to myself what is the difference when the two sets are relatively the same type of offering. Design? It certainly isn't price point. Name? They both have classic names, so I don't think that's it.
Maybe it's because A&G has been more widely accepted than GQ. I don't know what it is. But the set builder in me doesn't have time for Gypsy Queen, but is ready and willing to chase after the '16 A&G release.
Do you have a preference, and if so, why?
thanks for reading, Robert
Definitely have a preference and it ain't GQ.
ReplyDeleteA&G is well-designed ... most years. GQ is ass-ugly every year.
A&G includes non-players. I know that turns off some collectors and why they gravitate toward GQ, but I prefer A&G BECAUSE of the nonplayers. You can get "just players" in every other set. A&G give you something different and quirky. And I really, really love quirky.
I don't get why they need to have both..
ReplyDeleteThat Pillar is nice though
I will take Gypsy Queen over Ginter every time. Ginter uses the same design more or less every year and almost never uses in game photos. Most boring set of the year every year.
ReplyDeleteI like both for different reasons. A&G has cool non-baseball people in their base set... while GQ has awesome framed parallels.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Ginter, but like has been said many times before, it's the same set every year, except somehow even more boring.
ReplyDeleteI bought a box of Gypsy last week and I love it... I just have to finish the set now. Probably not so easy.
I like the glove stories and walk off inserts from GQ. Lately I haven't messed around with either of them because the Pirate content has be on the light side.
ReplyDeletePer usual, I'm the exact opposite of Night Owl. Which is fine, different strokes and all that.
ReplyDeleteI just can't stand A&G's checklist. Last year was the worst. Why on earth would I want a card for a TV sports anchor, or a comedian, or a politician, let alone 30 of them? I can make an exception for athletes from other sports since original A&G was multi-sport, but then why is the ratio so off? It's like they make a 60% baseball set, and just pull the rest of the names out of a hat.
"Insects of the World" and "Historic Weaponry"? No thanks. I just don't have room for them in my collection.
GQ on the other hand, has the same old-timey feel, and is dedicated to baseball. Baseball minis, baseball inserts, baseball parallels, etc. It's retro without having to "deal with" all the Ginter cards I don't care about.