Sticky Braves

There are wonders to be had at your local Target. For a mere dollar, you can buy the type of joy that can only be found in foil packs. Yes, your one dollar will get you eight 2011 Topps stickers, and trust me, there’s no better, more exciting purchase you can make in the realm of card collecting right now.

Over the years, Topps has periodically put out sticker sets, but they haven’t put out a set of baseball stickers since 1991. In the past, Topps didn’t always get the stickers right. They would often place two stickers on one card, and the back was a card for a different player. This wasn’t a big deal if you put the stickers in the album that was also on sale. If, however, you tried to collect the stickers like cards, this was a pain in the ass and made it hard to know whether you had a complete set or not. (On the other hand, I’d argue that anyone who wants to collect stickers but not put them in an album is a weirdo. That’s the whole point!)

This year, Topps got the design right. The stickers are not only great looking, but they are printed as one sticker per card, and the backs don’t include player information. If you want to collect these like cards (you weirdo), then you can do so easily. Every team is represented with a representative starting nine and there is a set of nine foil stickers featuring many of the legends of the game. There are also stickers featuring each of the teams logos.

This is the best value in card collecting and you should jump aboard the train now. (Even better news: Topps has already announced that the stickers will return next year.) Let’s take a look at the Braves starting nine.

Three men have defined the Braves since their arrival in Atlanta. In the early days, it was, obviously, Hank Aaron. In the 80s, Dale Murphy was the face of the franchise. For the Bobby Cox years, that man is Chipper Jones. I still find it hard to believe that Chipper Jones is nearing the end of his playing career. I have a hard time accepting that there are players younger than me who are contemplating retirement, let alone one of the Braves all time greats.

Brian McCann, on the other hand, is the Braves best hitter and was still, despite a hard slump following his injury, the best hitting catcher in baseball. Before he was hurt, McCann was one of the best players in the National League, and was going to receive serious attention in the race for MVP. As good as he is though, I doubt he will ever become the face of the franchise in the same manner as Aaron, Murphy and Chipper. Catchers simply don’t have the shelf life. I think it is far more likely that Freeman or Heyward will be the next face of the franchise.

This is a great shot of Chipper having fun and clowning around. I love Topps move to include so many great, close up, action shots in most of their products, but shots like this one humanize a player and increase the enjoyment of a card. As for the McCann shot, I can’t quite figure it out. He looks like he’s smiling. Perhaps, he just watched Alex Gonzalez make a great play in the field? It certainly wouldn’t be the proper reaction if he had just watched Scott Proctor get bitten by a gopher. No one in a Braves uniform would smile at that.