2017 Topps Series 1--My top 10

I haven't written one of these posts in a long time, so it feels good to go through an entire set of cards and take a good look at all the photos.  Most of them are the standard in play photos of hitters and pitchers, so they were easy "throw away" cards.  But I did pluck out 13 cards whose photos were worthy of inclusion.

Honorable mention:

Derek Norris #92

Love the look on Derek's face, almost as if he's saying "anyone who tries to cross this plate is dead meat".

Adam Lind #328 and Jesse Hahn #140

It doesn't have to be all about baseball, right?  Love the shot of Adam Lind turning his helmet into a basketball.  Wonder if he sank the J?

Jesse Hahn's card is a great shot of him warming up in the cavernous Oakland Coliseum.

OK, let's get started with #10

#10:  Miguel Sano card  #126

OK, I could go into a big political statement about the players in the No Fans Left league, but that's for another place and time.   Thank you Miguel.

#9:  Chicago Cubs Team Card #72

Great shot of the fans flying the W at Wrigley field after a win.  What better way to honor fans who suffered through a 100+ year WS drought.

#8:  Gregory Polanco card #149

I remember posting this card at the beginning of the year and saying that it would be one of the best.  Yep, it sure is.  The guy in the first row with some good focus on the play adds to the card for me.

#7: Jacoby Ellsbury card #197

Why this one ahead of Polanco?  The shot of the lightning bolt on the ad sign in behind Jacoby just added a little something to the card for me.

#6:  Baltimore Orioles team card #141

Looks better on the screen to me.  The Gatorade shower isn't hitting just one or 2 guys, it's hitting a half dozen!  The reaction of the one player on the left is priceless.

#5:  Jace Peterson card #133

Great, great shot of Jace making the DP turn on Addison Russell and the Cubs.  The shot of the ivy in the background just adds another great touch to this card.

#4:  Daniel Murphy card #62

Those who post vintage cards on the blogs with great shots of stadiums in the background was the inspiration for adding this card.  It is a great shot of Miller Park, showing a couple of the retired numbers in the background.

#3:  Kevin Pillar card #6

I'm sure that Topps probably has enough photos of Kevin making diving catches in the outfield to cover 10 products each season for the next 10 seasons.  Finding a shot of him diving into home plate is even more outstanding.

#2:  Mookie Betts card #161

I had this card at #1 for a few minutes, but I dropped it to #2 just because of the bend in Ben Revere's body, which you'll see in a minute.  Whomever took this photo should be congratulated, because snapping this picture right at the moment the ball entered the glove is fantastic.

#1:  Ben Revere card #324

Two things that made this photo #1 for me over the Mookie Betts card.  First, the bend in Revere's body, that looks painful (OK, well it would be painful for me to do that).  Second, catching the yellow home run line shows that Ben is bringing a home run back onto the field for his pitcher.

Looking forward to seeing what series 2 has in store photo wise.

thanks for reading, Robert