When collectors first noticed the 2016 Topps baseball card set, many weren’t positive what to suppose.
For years, Topps had typically integrated white borders into the design.
Sometimes, they’d combine issues up with colourful borders or different distinctive patterns across the edges.
Anytime they did, they nearly all the time stirred up controversy…
The woodgrain borders of the 1962 flagship baseball set marked the corporate’s first deviation from white borders.
Different notorious non-white border designs occurred in 1968 (burlap), 1970 (gray), 1971 (black), 1975 (two-tone), 1990 (multi-color), and a number of other different years.
Nevertheless, the 2016 flagship design pushed issues even additional: it had no borders.
Some preferred the extra trendy feel and look.
Others did not, usually arguing that it made Topps’ flagship playing cards appear to be many different merchandise earlier than it.
Irrespective of which facet of the design debate you are on, the guidelines held its floor.
And on this information, we’ll check out the 15 Most worthy.
Let’s soar proper in!
2016 Topps #85 Corey Seager Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $35
Corey Seager joined a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in 2016 and shined brighter than anybody.
Even in a lineup full of massive names reminiscent of Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley, Joc Pederson, and Adrian Gonzalez, the prized shortstop prospect was one thing else: a rookie with the bat and area consciousness of a Corridor-of-Famer.
“To win Rookie of the 12 months and be within the MVP race as a 22-year-old rookie speaks to the yr Corey had,” teammate Justin Turner mentioned.
Named a finalist for the NL MVP award (and ending third), Seager is the youngest Dodgers place participant to earn an All-Star nod and the primary rookie LA shortstop to play within the Midsummer Basic since Invoice Grabarkewitz in 1970.
Seager grew to become simply the fifth Dodger with 25 dwelling runs (26) and 40 doubles in a season and positioned second within the NL in multi-hit video games (57), second in hits (193), fourth in complete bases (321), fifth in runs scored (105), seventh in batting common (.308), and tenth in slugging proportion (.512).
Seager fell again within the workforce’s 11-game playoff run, going 9-for-44 (.205) with two homers, 4 RBIs, and a .619.
Nonetheless, the child’s Silver Slugger debut stands as top-of-the-line first years within the annals of the Nationwide League.
2016 Topps #66 Kyle Schwarber Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $30
Kyle Schwarber’s season was presupposed to be executed in April.
The 23-year-old Cubs left fielder tore his left ACL simply two video games and 5 plate appearances into the 2016 MLB season.
Per week or two later, he underwent an entire ACL reconstruction with a return date slated for someday close to Spring Coaching in 2017.
Schwarber, although, was persistent.
He repeatedly checked in along with his physician because the 103-win Cubs captured lightning in a bottle.
He wasn’t cleared for the workforce’s NLDS win over the Giants or their NLCS conquer the Dodgers.
Prematurely of arguably probably the most anticipated World Collection ever, the physician gave Schwarber a begrudging okay.
And identical to that, Schwarber was a miracle addition to Chicago’s World Collection roster for a curse-against-curse conflict with Cleveland.
“Most groups would not even do this,” teammate Ben Zobrist mentioned. “Nobody else in historical past has executed that, proper? And to get hits within the World Collection? It is simply loopy. It truly is.”
Schwarber collected seven hits, the primary and solely hits of his season, and posted a .500 on-base proportion because the Cubs broke their 108-year championship drought.
In doing so, he grew to become the primary place participant ever to get his first hit of a season throughout the World Collection.
2016 Topps #103 Trea Turner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $35
It took Trea Turner lower than half the season to complete because the 2016 runner-up for NL Rookie-of-the-12 months.
After 27 video games of part-time motion with the Washington Nationals in 2015, the previous first-round decide obtained his everlasting call-up on July eighth.
As quickly as he was inserted on the prime of the lineup, he was off and operating at a historic velocity.
Turner grew to become the eighth rookie in baseball historical past to submit a 3.5 WAR or higher.
Extrapolated over the 157 video games that NL Rookie-of-the-12 months Corey Seager appeared in, the Nats heart fielder would have posted a WAR of 7.6, 2.4 WAR higher than Seager’s closing mark of 5.2.
The 22-year-old stole 33 bases and smacked 35 extra-base hits in simply 72 video games performed.
No rookie has reached these numbers in as few video games, with the closest being Barry Bonds in 1986 (113).
His .342 common would have positioned third within the NL amongst certified batters, and his .937 OPS would have landed fifth.
Turner was additionally requested to play heart area slightly than his pure place of shortstop because of Washington’s shallow roster depth within the outfield.
He did admirably in unfamiliar territory, grading simply above common by most superior metrics.
2016 Topps #84 Mookie Betts
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
Mookie Betts wildly underestimated himself within the wake of his excellent 2014 season.
“I am a realist and I do know it ain’t getting a lot better than that,” Betts mentioned. “When am I going to hit 30 dwelling runs once more? I do not know if I ever will. When am I ever going to hit .320 once more? I do not know if I ever will.”
It was admittedly one hell of a yr.
The 23-year-old proper fielder was the lifeblood of the AL East champs, ending second within the Majors in hits (214) and gathering probably the most complete bases (359) in a single season since Baltimore’s Chris Davis again in 2013.
Betts additionally had a comparable batting common (.318 to .315) and slugging proportion (.534 to .550) to MVP winner Mike Trout whereas enjoying for an precise profitable workforce.
The primary-time All-Star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glover additionally tallied an MLB-best 32 Defensive Runs Saved, ten greater than anyone else.
It was a glowing yr, however Betts was unsuitable when he mentioned it would not get a lot better.
He’d hit for a greater common (.346) and tally yet another dwelling run (32) simply two years later en path to the 2016 AL MVP award.
2016 Topps #250 Miguel Cabrera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
2016 was the final nice season of Miguel Cabrera’s storied profession.
The Detroit Tigers first baseman was unable to work out throughout the earlier two offseasons because of leg accidents and nonetheless one way or the other received the batting title in 2015.
He lastly hit the health club within the winter of 2015-16 to prep for one final Silver Slugger showcase.
Regardless of grounding into an MLB-worst 26 double performs, Cabrera had a yr on the extent of his prime, slashing .316/.393/.563 with 38 dwelling runs, 31 doubles, a triple, 75 walks, 92 runs scored, 108 RBIs, and a incredible 155 OPS+ in 158 video games.
The 33-year-old remained amongst baseball’s most feared hitters, as evidenced by his AL-best 15 intentional walks.
Cabrera additionally added a brand new little bit of trivia to his Cooperstown blurb, turning into the quickest participant in MLB historical past to succeed in 400 profession dwelling runs and 1,500 RBIs.
The now 11-time All-Star additionally positioned ninth within the AL MVP balloting, marking the final time he’d obtain a vote.
2016 Topps #300 Buster Posey
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
San Francisco Giants icon Buster Posey was probably the most reliable catchers of the 2010s, however he had zero Gold Gloves to indicate for it heading into the 2016 MLB marketing campaign.
He has Yadier Molina to thank for that.
The St. Louis Cardinals legend was the gold normal of the best way to run a pitching workers, and his repute made it nearly inconceivable to knock him off his golden perch.
In 2016, nonetheless, Posey lastly obtained one over on the Cardinals nice.
Molina had his least efficient yr behind the plate to this point, ending with only a single Defensive Run Saved.
His profession excessive was 30 again in 2013.
However, Posey set a career-high with 22 DRS to win his first and solely Gold Glove.
“It is a fairly cool deal for me to be acknowledged on this method with this honor,” Posey mentioned. “Yadi goes to go down as one of many best defensive catchers of all time.”
On the plate, Posey posted a .288/.362/.434 slash line for the Wild Card-winning Giants with 14 homers and 80 RBIs in 146 video games.
He obtained down-ballot MVP consideration and a fourth All-Star workforce nomination.
2016 Topps #500 Albert Pujols
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
In his nine-plus years in an Angels uniform, Albert Pujols by no means obtained near the heights of his St. Louis Cardinals days.
The truth is, 2016 was the final yr he’d hit at a league-average clip for the Halos.
Pujols posted a 192 and 189 OPS+ in his back-to-back 2008 and 2009 NL MVP seasons.
Contemplating exterior elements like ballparks and climate, he was hitting/slugging at a clip round 90% higher than the league common.
By 2016, Pujols’ OPS+ dipped to a brand new career-low 113, 32 factors worse than his eventual profession mark.
He posted the second-worst on-base proportion of his profession as much as that time (.323) and tallied the fewest extra-base hits (50) of any full season he’d performed.
The house runs (31) and RBIs (119) have been nonetheless there, however the total manufacturing was that of a superb, not nice participant.
Come 2017, Pujols would fall below a league-average OPS+ (80) for the primary time.
Accidents would compound issues, and he would not contact league-average once more till returning to St. Louis for his 2022 swan tune.
2016 Topps #1 Mike Trout
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
You do not want workforce success to win an MVP award.
Particularly, for those who’re Mike Trout.
Two years after profitable the 2014 AL Most Helpful Participant award, the 24-year-old Los Angeles Angeles heart fielder ran it again with a yr that solely Ty Cobb can declare a comparability to.
Trout joined Cobb as the one gamers in Main League Baseball historical past to hit .315 with at the very least 115 walks (an MLB-best 116), 120 runs scored (an MLB-best 123), and 30 steals.
He additionally topped the Majors in on-base proportion (.441) whereas inserting second within the AL in OPS (.991) and fourth in slugging (.550).
The Angels celebrity is just the second participant to submit at the very least 10.6 WAR for a shedding squad (Cal Ripken Jr., 1991).
He additionally outdistanced the MVP runner-up, Mookie Betts, by over double in Win Likelihood Added (6.5 to three.1).
“It simply humbles you,” Trout mentioned. “Just a bit bit in the past, I used to be just a bit child in highschool. Now I had an opportunity to win my second MVP.”
Trout received his third MVP in 2019, and he did so once more on an Angels workforce with a shedding file.
2016 Topps #100 Bryce Harper
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
The follow-up to Bryce Harper’s 2015 MVP marketing campaign did not stack up in any method, form, or kind.
But, that did not cease opposing managers from ducking him.
The 23-year-old Washington Nationals proper fielder regressed in each offensive metric in 2016.
His OPS fell practically 300 factors from an MLB-best 1.109 to .814.
His batting common dropped from .330 to .243, and he posted 18 fewer dwelling runs and 31 fewer extra-base hits.
It was a fairly disappointing yr by Harper’s elite requirements.
Regardless, he was nonetheless walked over 100 occasions (108) for the second consecutive yr, together with an MLB-high 20 intentional walks.
The craziest instance of opponents’ aversion to Harper got here on Could eighth.
He was walked a record-tying six occasions by the Chicago Cubs pitching workers and have become the primary MLB participant to file seven plate appearances in a sport with out an official at-bat.
“(With) how good he’s, why tempt destiny?” Cubs supervisor Joe Maddon mentioned. “If the opposite man will get you, that is high quality. You haven’t any downside with that.”
Maddon’s ploy labored, because the Cubs prevailed in a 13-inning, 4-3 marathon.
2016 Topps #150 Clayton Kershaw
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
Irrespective of how nice Clayton Kershaw was in 2016, there’ll all the time be loads of ifs and buts to throw about.
If the three-time Cy Younger winner hadn’t gone down with a midseason again harm for two-and-a-half months, he may have been a four-time recipient.
And if that harm hadn’t been a factor, he could have had extra juice throughout the playoffs.
However that is not the best way it went.
Kershaw made 21 regular-season begins in ’16, ending 12-4 whereas pitching to a microscopic 1.69 ERA, one of the best ERA of his profession to this point.
He struck out 172 batters in 149.0 innings and led the Majors with three shutouts.
And regardless of lacking 11 or 12 appearances over the yr, the 28-year-old lefty positioned fifth within the NL Cy Younger race.
You might make the case that it’s Kershaw’s most admirable season, though the ending, a five-run, five-inning loss to the Cubs within the deciding Sport 6 of the NLCS, left one thing to be desired.
2016 Topps #209 Max Scherzer
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
2016 Topps #241 Freddie Freeman
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
2016 Topps #286 Joe Mauer
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
Slightly below three years after a season-ending concussion modified his profession trajectory, Minnesota Twins legend Joe Mauer seemed to know-how for a hitting increase.
In 2014 and 2015, Mauer battled blurry imaginative and prescient that difficult monitoring pitches on the plate.
In hopes of regaining his earlier MVP kind in ’16, the 33-year-old used a gifted pair of Nike strobe glasses to reimagine his strategy within the batter’s field.
“The strobes can go quicker or slower,” Mauer mentioned. We solely (use the strobe glasses) off the tee or flips, quick toss. Once you take them off, it appears to sluggish it down really so you possibly can focus in on the ball.”
Mauer’s embrace of cutting-edge tech helped him get off to an amazing begin.
The Twins’ first baseman hit .321 in April with a .893 OPS, seven homers and 20 RBIs.
It was a month harking back to his peak, however it would not final.
Dogged by a calf harm, the Corridor-of-Famer-to-be lacked consistency.
Mauer had his finest statistical yr since earlier than the concussion in 2013, however not by a lot, slashing .261/.363/.389 for the woeful 59-win Twins with 11 homers and 49 RBIs in 134 video games.
2016 Topps #400 David Ortiz
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $20
David Ortiz’s 2016 farewell stands as the best closing season for any participant since Ted Williams’ 1960 goodbye.
Forty years outdated and with 19 MLB seasons behind him, Ortiz had a yr on par along with his mid-2000s peak.
The Boston Crimson Sox DH led the Majors in doubles (48), slugging proportion (.620), and OPS (1.021) whereas hitting 38 dwelling runs with an AL-best 127 RBIs.
He additionally hit over .300 (.315) for the seventh time and obtained on base over 40% of the time (.401) for the fourth marketing campaign of his Cooperstown profession.
Ortiz completed the ’16 season with a better WAR than Williams in ’60 (5.1 and 4.8) and extra dwelling runs and RBIs than another Main Leaguer of their final yr earlier than retirement.
“40 is the brand new 20,” Ortiz quipped.
Massive Papi completed sixth within the league’s MVP race and notched his tenth All-Star look and seventh Silver Slugger.
He hit simply .111 in Boston’s three-and-out ALDS loss to Cleveland, but that is only a blip on the radar display screen in comparison with his earlier decade-plus of October excellence.
2016 Topps #350 Kris Bryant
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $15
2016 Topps Baseball Playing cards In Overview
Aesthetically, Topps kicked custom to the curb with this set.
Clearly, the design workforce was attempting to attain a extra trendy feel and look by going with a borderless design.
Some collectors preferred the route.
With out borders, the playing cards had extra room for expanded, full-color imagery to convey extra focus to the gamers.
Different, extra conventional collectors felt the shortage of borders steered to removed from Topps’ traditional repute.
Total, the guidelines turned out to be fairly stable and collectors may nonetheless chase all of the thrilling inserts, parallels, relics, and autograph playing cards as in related years.
Rookie playing cards of Corey Seager, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber have stood the check of time.
There have been additionally a number of completely different subsets within the guidelines, together with:
- Leaders
- All-Star Rookies
- Award Winners
- World Collection
- Group Playing cards
- Future Stars
Nonetheless, the transfer to a borderless flagship design stays the largest spotlight of the set.
It could not look like an enormous deal, given many different producers and merchandise had gone that route earlier than.
However, this was a primary for Topps.
And anytime there’s a “first” for a serious model like Topps, it is certain to end in controversy on this passion.
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