All About Sports Cards: 2016 Topps Opening Day Box Break Recap and Review

When I was kid I looked forward to my Dad returning from work because most of the time he would bring home a pack of Topps Baseball cards for us to open together. While I thought I was getting some neat cardboard of my favorite players, looking back on it now I realize what I really got was time with my father. It was a bonding experience.

Now I’m a Dad. Cards have changed as much as I have from the time I was a child. Now there are multiple, complex and sometimes expensive releases and it seems as if kids concerns can get lost in the shuffle, especially the younger ones. But 2106 Topps Opening Day Baseball cards offer a great collecting experience for children while taking it easy on a parent’s budget, satisfying both which is not an easy task.

Opening Day is mainly comprised of a 200 card base set, an easy to complete and fun chase. While packs can be had for around $1, the savvy approach is to buy a sealed box. Our box yielded a compete base set plus 7 dupes. This comes as great news to any parent if this holds true for most boxes. Knowing your child will complete the base set, offering them a sense of accomplishment without breaking the bank to do it makes this an easy purchase. Buy a box, save them out of sight and bust a few packs with your kids each night, a great bonding experience.

There are base parallels to keep it interesting too. There are also 7 insert sets if your child needs a more complex collecting experience. a sealed box will not yield all of them but you and your child can decide to live with the cards you have, explore the inserts you like or “collect them all.”

Kids and parents will like the Mascots, Superstar Celebrations are fun and the other insert like Alternative Reality, Heavy Hitters, Striking Distance and Opening Day Stars feel like they could be in any other Topps release, offering a nice gateway to other cards when both children and parents feel ready to step up their collecting game. Bubble Trouble reminds me of Kurt Bevacqua’s 1976 Topps Bubble Gum Blowing Champ card but this insert will be the most difficult to complete as they fall 1 to a box but there are 10 total inserts.

There are also relic cards and autographs from featured players and Mascots. One of these three cards should up in about 1 out of 4 or 5 boxes so this should be considered an unexpected surprise if you pull one. Even more rare are Printing Plates and 1/1 Opening Day Edition cards.

2016 Topps Opening Day Baseball is an important release that provides a fun, inexpensive experience and it a great way to introduce kids to collecting.

Base Set