TTM Success - Curtis Granderson

His marker was less than stellar, but I was still happy to get this 2016 Topps negative parallel signed TTM by Curtis Granderson. He is signing through his education fund in Chicago. 

Granderson (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2004 to 2019 for the Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Brewers and Marlins. He had 1,800 hits, 344 home runs and a .249 batting average. He three-time All Star (2009, 2011 and 2012). His best MVP finish was 4th in 2011 (AL). He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2025 where he received 0.8% of the vote. 

I mailed to him on January 5 and got the card back on January 30, for a 25-day TAT. I paid his fee of $50.00.

2012 Topps - The Inserts

2012 Topps is loaded with inserts and busting 3 jumbo boxes left me with a ton of trade bait.  I got a couple Orioles, too, so that is always a bonus.

 Ok, the mini 87 Topps are a pleasant surprise.  1987 was one of my favorite sets and was one of the first ones I completed.  I still have a 5,000ct box of 1987 Topps (in order) if anyone is interested in it.  I was happy to get this Adam Jones.

 I was able to add some Ripkens to my PC.  They look similar, but that's ok.  The card design is reminiscent to the stuff that Topps has issued over the last few years, so I guess these fit right inline.

 I was slightly disappointed that Topps didn't use the shot of 'Complacent Reynolds' from last season.  Oh well.  The Golden Parallels look really nice.  Ryan, if you want this Reynolds, let me know.

Here is another new Ripken added to the collection.  I'm pretty much over the dual cards that Topps has put out for the last several years.  Oh well.  They look sharp at least.

 The classic walk-offs look nice.  A lot of empty space.  Probably for sticker autos.

The Golden Moments inserts look nice.  More room for sticker autos.  I like this Kaline who is a very underrated player.

For my Yankee fan friends, here are a couple featuring some classic Yankees.

This Don Mattingly is already spoken for, I'll be sending it to Pete.

All in all, I like the inserts.  I don't feel like the inserts dominate the set like in years past.  I could do without the dual cards.  I also think there is a good bit of wasted space on some of the cards.  Gone are the Topps Town and Topps Attax.  Probably a good thing.  I like the Golden parallels and they would look pretty awesome in some other colors.  What do you all think?

Stay tuned for a post on the base cards!