Great Ginter cards

I have been critical of the Allen & Ginter range from Topps previously on this blog. Like the other retro ranges that Topps produce, the cards can feel a bit tired. However, one of their inserts is up there as one of my favourite card designs ever - the Star Signs insert from 2019. Topps had a good year in 2019, insert-wise because here's another nice insert from the same year.

Card Number 635: Topps Allen & Ginter 'Ginter's Greats' insert, 2019; #GG13

Greatest ever to hold a bat and ball, says the tagline. No arguments with that.

There were 50 cards in this set of all-time greats. There's a lot to like in this picture, from the background with the heraldic crossed bats and baseball, through to the choice of image - Tony with his arms folded, concentrating on something. 

It has a great write up on the cardback too, recounting Tony's success against Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux. Does anyone want to suggest what word is replaced in the quote by [blanking]?

Topps were definitely playing a strong game with the cards featuring Tony in 2019. The base card is pretty nice too. But I really like this parallel version.

Card Number 636: Topps Allen & Ginter Gold Hot Box parallel, 2019; #77

I can't find a statistic for the frequency of 'hot boxes' but from looking at rip videos, all the base cards in a hot box had this gold foil filigree border. 

The border really enhances this product and I can imagine ripping a box and finding these cards as the ordinary 'base' cards would be pretty special.

The back is the same as the regular base card, with its pretentious writing out of the numbers using words. I can forgive the pretentiousness this time because the front is so nice.

I am slowly starting to appreciate Allen & Ginter a bit more. 2019 is fast becoming my favourite set because of this nice parallel and the high quality insert cards.

Total: 636 cards