2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Trading Cards Box Break Recap And Review

Collectors anticipate the return of Ginter. It is the most eclectic release of cards each year and 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter's Baseball Cards is no exception. Including a wide variety of subject matters, A&G offers a smorgasbord of cardboard delights. It remains one of the premiere baseball releases for set builders.  Let's not forget about the Ginter code and the very sneaky Glossy 1/1s found sandwiched in the tops of the hobby boxes.

For the purposes of this review, Topps Allen & Ginter falls into our trading card category. A&G comes in a wide variety of retail packages as well as one standard Hobby box format. For this review we will take a look at a hobby box which contains 24 - 8 card packs with the promise of 3 hits per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

Box Topper

Joey Votto Oversized

Base Set

Yu Darvish

Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Derek Jeter

Jason Kipnis, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw

Dustin Pedroia, Manny Machado, Jose Fernandez

Jose Bautista, Johan Santana, Robinson Cano

Paul Molitor, Nolan Ryan, Ted Williams

Ty Cobb, Johnny Bench, Lou Brock

Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Roberto Clemente

Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr., Babe Ruth

Tommy Lee, Bonnie Bernstein, Scott Hamilton

Nick Saban, Linsey Vonn, Adam Richman

Ginter Code

Front and back

Across the Years

Josh Reddick, Will Middlebrooks, Frank Thomas

Tony Gwynn, Josh Hamilton, Mike Schmidt

Bob Gibson, Don Mattingly, Andre Ethier

One Little Corner

Eris, Asteroid Belt

Civilizations of Ages Past

Greeks, Hittites, Mesopotamians

Palaces and Strongholds

Fort Knox, Leeds Castle

Martial Mastery

Vikings, Amazons

Minis

Messenger - People on Bicycles, King Richard I - Heavy Hangs The Head

Lakota - The First Americans, Francis Bacon - Inquiring Minds

Base Set Mini Paralels

Tommy Milone, front and back

A.J. Burnett, Richie Weeks, Giancarlo Stanton

Paco Rodriguez, Whitey Ford, Vida Blue

Allen & Ginter backs

Matt Cain, front and back

Black Border

Fergie Jenkins, Duke Snider. James Shields

The Hits

Billy Butler Relic, Lance Lynn Framed Relic

Bud Selig Framed Autograph

Overall Look

Topps went with an understated bordering of the base cards this year which works nicely and black border parallels really pops.  The overall design elements this year for all the inserts and hit ares are great.

Quality and Variety of Players

The Baseball part to the checklist works with strong veteran, rookie and legends. There is also enough eclectic alternate sport and celebrity cards to keep things interesting.

Do the Hits hold up?

Unfortunately our auto hit was damaged on the bottom in the same place where there was an issue last year, not a good sign. The booklet cards with the return of the popular bat knob are fantastic. The rest of the hits are your standard Ginter fare, with the majority of the hits being tiny player relics. I still hold that I would prefer doing away with most of them and exchanging them for one quality hit per box. The base set and inserts hold their own, so lots of little hits are not necessary.

Will you want to collect them all?

Ginter"s quirky nature makes this one of the best sets to build each year. This is one that even basic card collectors toy with the idea of putting together a master set. 

Rating

4 1/2 out of 5

2013 Topps Allen & Ginter is unique and instantly identifiable, making it one a fantastic set for collectors to build.


Review box provided by Topps