2013 Topps Tier One Box Break

With no new hockey products out when I was at my LCS earlier this week (I think Upper Deck has come out since then), I decided to go a bit outside of the sport and pick up a box of 2013 Topps Tier One Baseball. I haven't opened this product before, but I have picked up a few singles on the secondary market, and the cards always look pretty nice, and every autograph is on-card, which is always a plus.

Topps really keeps it simple with this product. Each box contains two autographed cards and one memorabilia card...and that's it. No base cards, no inserts, just the hits. But really, when buying a product like this, that's really what we're looking for anyway, right?

Here's a video of my box break, with scans to follow:

Pedro Alvarez Tier One Relic 223/399
Thanks to the Pirates finally getting their due with a successful season, this card became just a little bit better now that the team is no longer MLB's laughing stock. In fact, the Pirates have put together quite the young team, with Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen leading the way, and a bright rookie crop that includes Starling Marte and Gerrit Cole. Alvarez, himself, had a pretty good season, hitting .296, with 130 hits and 36 home runs. Just yesterday, Alvarez was awarded his very first Silver Slugger award.

Tommy Milone On the Rise Autograph 379/399
A 10th round 2008 draft pick of the Washington Nationals, Milone made his way to Oakland as part of the trade that sent Gio Gonzalez to Washington. He began the 2012 season as the #3 pitcher in the Athletics' pitching rotation behind Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colon. He finished the 2013 season with a 12-9 record, 126 strikeouts, and a 4.14 ERA.

Brian McCann Crowd Pleaser Copper Rose Parallel Autograph Redemption /25
Up until now, McCann has spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, but is now exploring his options as a free agent. In 2013, McCann hit .256, with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs. He is considered to be the best free agent catcher on the market, so you can expect quite a few teams to be calling.

It's a redemption, which doesn't really bother me, especially considering that live copies of this card are already on Ebay, so I'm guessing that McCann has already returned these cards to Topps. The Crowd Pleaser parallels are all done with a black background, with the rarity designated by the color of ink used to sign the card. Copper gets a red ink, and is numbered to 25. It'll definitely be a cool card once I get it in hand. Here's a scan of one on Ebay, just to give you a glimpse at what the card will look like.

There you have it. Overall, I'd say this is a decent product for most baseball card collectors. Of course, there's a certain hit-or-miss element to this product, as I'm sure you'll find some better boxes than the one I opened, and some worse boxes than the one I opened. Either way, if you're just looking for some great-looking hits, this is a good product to try out.