Topps has already served up two series of black-bordered baseball cards for 2007. But that's not quite the end, as Topps Updates & Highlights finishes the job with cards of traded players, rookies and memorable moments from the MLB season.
Regular hobby boxes of 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights Baseball contain 36 packs of ten cards each along with one relic (Topps' name for memorabilia) or autographed card on average. Also available are jumbo boxes holding ten packs of 50 cards each with two relics or autographs.
Base Cards and Parallels
Updates & Highlights gets the final word on the 2007 season with 330 base cards sporting the same design as Topps Series 1 and 2. The subjects include veterans who were traded or switched teams, 2007 rookies who did not appear in Topps Baseball (like Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain), highlights from the 2007 season and players who appeared in the All-Star Game or Home Run Derby.
The base set does not pick up the numbering from Topps Series 2, instead starting over with its own No. 1. It's an interesting choice, making the product sort of a cross between a Topps Series 3 and the Topps Traded sets of the past.
All of the base cards come in four now-familiar levels of parallels: Gold (numbered to 2007), Copper (#'d to 56), First Edition (one per box) and Platinum (1-of-1). There are also Chrome Refractor parallels of most of the rookies included in one-card box topper packs.
A sample hobby box opened for this review unveiled 269 base cards plus 60 duplicates. I also found nine Gold parallels (including Chamberlain), one First Edition and one Chrome Refractor rookie.
Insert Cards
Some of the insert sets from Topps Series 1 and 2 make return appearances here. Updates & Highlights adds new cards to Generation Now, Mickey Mantle Home Run History and The Mickey Mantle Story. There are also 25 more cards for the A-Rod Road to 500 series that has been running through all Topps baseball sets in 2007.
Topps' exclusive relationship with Barry Bonds helps provide material for a pair of new inserts. Barry Bonds Home Run History picks up where it left off in 2006, commemorating all of the slugger's round-trippers from the 2007 season. There's also a special Barry Bonds Home Run King card that captures the shot that broke Hank Aaron's career mark.
One final insert gives collectors a chance to win tickets to a 2008 World Series game. Fifteen teams that had a chance to win the Fall Classic in 2007 appear on World Series Watch cards; anyone who holds a card of the winning team (the Red Sox in this case) can send it in for a chance to win the tickets.
All told, I found insert cards in just over half the packs in my sample box, pulling nine Generation Now, four Mickey Mantle Home Run History, three Barry Bonds Home Run History, two Mickey Mantle Story, a single World Series Watch and the lone Home Run King card.
Relics and Autographed Cards
The 2007 MLB All-Star Game provided the game-worn gear that helped Topps create the relic subsets for Updates & Highlights. All-Star Stitches is a large set, built around swatches of workout jerseys worn by over 60 players. They also come in double, triple and patch versions.
On the autograph side, collectors can find signatures from both current and future stars. 2007 Highlights Autographs are self-explanatory, showcasing memorable moments from the season and some ink from the players who created them. Generation Now Autographs are rare signed versions of the insert cards, all of which are unique 1-of-1's.
The About.com sample box came up a bit short in this category, with no relics or autographs to be found.
The Last Word
Since it shares the same winning design as the regular 2007 Topps baseball set, Updates & Highlights looks just as good. It feels just a bit less satisfying on the content and insert side though, and it's attempt to walk the line between independent product and base brand expansion is a little awkward.
Completists and collectors chasing the late season rookies are definitely going to want to try some Updates & Highlights. For everyone else, it rates as a solid if not essential finish to the 2007 Topps set.