2011 Topps Lineage Review

Product: Topps Lineage 2011
Box price: 90$+
Distribution: 24 packs, 8 packs per box
Hits: 2 autos and 1 game used in every box

My Grade:  B-    The inserts in this set saved it from completely failing in my mind.

Topps has just released a new set called Topps Lineage. The set is a pretty affordable set with hobby boxes right around 80-100$ and you can pick up retail rack/jumbo packs for 5$ at your local super market. I just bought a couple of packs to get a feel for how the set will look and the types of insert cards that it would feature. Let me start by saying this set is not a baseball card addicts dream. The base cards are average looking and damage easily. I found a couple cards in each pack that I bought that had manufacturer's defects on the edges/corners and surfaces. For the Standard game used insert set they chose possibly the ugliest year of Topps they could have chosen (pictured below). Those were pretty much the extent of the complaints that I have with the set that really is a pretty affordable venture for the casual collector and provides the chance to get some unique inserts and game used or autographed cards. My favorite feature of this set is the mixture of legendary players mixed in with the current stars and rookies. in a pack you can get cards of players like Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle along with a Michael Pineda rookie card and your favorite active superstar like Ryan Braun. This set provides a good mix of these former and active players and is not loaded one way or the other. Lets get to it!! heres what I got!!
Check out the Base cards: The names and positions of the players are metallic and set on a dark name bar that makes it a little tough to read the names, but a simple design overall.
Top: on the left you can see the Jackie Robinson Base card #42, and on the right is the Mickey Mantle base card #7.
Bottom: on the left is the Tigers Great Ty Cobb base card #105, and on the right is the base rookie card of Mariners young pitcher Michael Pineda #139.

Inserts: Just a couple of samples of the inserts here. There are a lot more to see in the set.
Left: Cloth Sticker insert of Ty Cobb. This is my favorite insert of the set. I love the old sticker cards and its not super valuable or anything so you dont need to feel bad about peeling it and sticking it to your box of cards just like when you were a kid.
Right: This is a Topps Diamond Anniversary card of Stan Musial with a refractor like finish on it. the design is just like the base card but has a different metallic logo in the top left corner and a rainbow finish on the card. beautiful looking if the corner would have been crisp. The card came out of the pack with a flaw.

Game Used:
Left: Game used jersey card of Houston Astros outfielder Carlos (el Caballo) Lee. The jersey piece in this card has a great pinstripe running right trough the center of it.
Right: was a great pull for me. Game used jersey card of Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

The overall impression of this set, for me, was a rushed organization by topps and an overly simplistic design for the basecards. However, this set is affordable and Provides some REALLy cool inserts and its pretty easy to get your hands on a game used card for the collector looking for the 'hits'. Well thanks again for reading my newest installment, and as always...
Peace and Baseball Cards!!!