I think the appeal of 2025 Topps is divided among those who grew up in the 1990s and after and those who grew up before.
I could easily be misreading but that's the way I'm seeing it now after opening the blaster I teased to yesterday.
As someone who grew up in the '70s, I don't need the shiny effects on these cards. It was better when I saw them on the internet screen and didn't know there were shiny parts. The design itself is solid and would work on its own without the foil -- or whatever it is -- added on top.
It's not a big drawback for me. I mentioned yesterday about names being difficult to read, but that's mostly for the team name on the side. The last names at the bottom are mostly readable at first glance (the Padres one I'm looking at right now is not). It's only if the light catches in a certain way that affects the readability.
And if you're not photographing your cards like I do for this blog, it's not a big deal (I do wish my scanner was functioning because I'm dying to see how the cards would produce when uploaded).
Some collectors have called these cards "sharp" and I'm guessing it's because they're shiny. I am not against shiny. I liked Chrome for a long time. But that was a whole separate set, independent of flagship.
I liked the shiny elements of 2024 Topps, too. A whole bunch. But that was because the shiny was used for a specific purpose -- to create a neon effect.
To me, 2025 Topps is shiny for shiny's sake, much like many '90s sets that '90s collectors like a lot but I am not into.
What is this? I still don't get it, even after viewing it many times since running a blog. 1996 Pinnacle has a giant gold, shiny triangle poking into Bobby Bonilla's neck for the name background, like the design came to someone in a fever dream. But if you opened these packs as a kid, they're cool. No more questions to ask. Just like I think of 1975 Topps in all its garish colors as cool. I never ask why with that set.
So after opening this "value box" and talking about the cards more on Discord, I don't really know what the shiny parts are -- foil or some other shiny effect. I'll put that aside and talk about what else came to mind while opening.
The cards where the player breaks through the design frame are more and more plentiful. I've said many times that I liked when magazines like Sports Illustrated did this back in the '70s and '80s and have urged cards to do this (see any post I've made on 1988 Topps) and they've finally listened.
The photos may be a little repetitive sometimes but adding that extra graphic element makes the card fun and interesting.
I like the "Future Stars" rainbow look (except I wish it wasn't sideways). The foil-ish effect makes the colored letters glimmer.
I saw this card several times online before pulling it myself. It's terrific. As you can tell, it's a night card and needs to get in my night card binders. At card No. 81 it will boot an Ozzie Albies card from 2023, which is no problem.
Just for the heck of it I counted up the number of rookie cards and City Connect jerseys in my blaster, just because there's been a bunch of those in recent products. I counted 13 rookie cards and 10 players wearing City Connects (that I could tell). That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's probably still too much.
Trey Sweeney has the honor of being both things on his card. I'd say sometime in the future that Tigers logo will come in handy in determining which team Sweeney played for.
As for counting Dodgers in the box, it went OK.
I found four, including a repeat Yamamoto from the hanger pack I opened. (Sorry, John, not a single Brave in this box, which means I picked well).
Speaking of Dodger cards found:
One of the notable pulls of the box was the JuJu Watkins First Pitch card. It is a Dodger card as it happened in Dodger Stadium and Watkins is wearing a Dodgers shirt.
This is old hat for someone who collected from 2015-17 when the First Pitch inserts were first a thing. I liked them a lot. The Dodgers had an unfair advantage then because of the Hollywood stars that would appear. Topps has clamped down on that this time. There are only 10 First Pitch cards and just about all of them are current or former athletes, which makes it not quite as fun.
As for the Ben Rice card, it's an Independence Day parallel and the card is numbered 17/76!! Sure, I wish it wasn't a Yankee, but it will have a use. It's not like it's a Marlins card.
All right that's about it for 2025 Topps here, except if I stumble across anything interesting. As far as the flagship designs of the last 10 years, 2025 fairs decently with me. Quick rankings with no thinking:
2024
2015
2023
2018
2019
2025
2022
2020
2017
2021
2016
2025 could work its way into fourth or third place perhaps. But I still won't try to complete it.
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