2016 Topps Update Jumbo Box Break - Packs 1 and 2

Time to dig into an end-of-season box. 2 packs at a time.

Pack #1:

My first card of update is...

Byung-Ho Park

All-Star photos can be bland at times, but this one nicely recreates Bartolo Colon's entry from 2013.

But in terms of casual photos, nothing beats AJ Ramos, since the card gives you a chance to see his ASG socks.

As expected, the big winners photographically in this pack are the horizontal entries. Celebratory photos. There are a couple great catches in there, including a beauty with the Wrigley ivy as a co-star, but I love the Trout, as it is beautifully framed and everything seems placed just perfectly to work with the smoke effect.

Blue Jays content, much like their offense in the ALCS, was absent in Pack #1. Fortunately, I did get a trio of Mets. Not sure if Niese really belongs in this, though. He had a Mets card in Series 1, and his only Pirates card seems to have been in Heritage. Jose Reyes' return makes it in, and Hansel Robles makes back-to-back appearances in Update.

And the inserts and parallels. Pink parallels are 1:51 packs, so getting one of those /50 cards is a nice pull. It is of Derek Law, for those that don't want to risk their eyes on the foil. Golds are 1:2 (Adam Duvall), but I ended up with 8 from this 10 pack box. It is interesting that two media types from other sports, both of whom are famed for gaudy attire, have shown up in First Pitch sets dressed in a relatively understated style. The set is 10 cards deep, and each pack has that as the final card. Complete subset in this box! WOO-HOO! Fire makes its move over from football with an insert set that falls 1:2. I can see myself chasing this insert set once prices drop.

Pack #2:

Starting this pack off with what will likely be Jose Fernandez in his final Topps base card.

Much like with the Trout in pack 1, there's a card here that works perfectly with the smoke effect.

Finally, a Blue Jays card.

And here's a Met card to keep it company.

Ji-Man Choi is the gold among these. Jeff Bauman, who did get a first pitch card of his own, is shown alongside Jake Gyllenhall on his card. The Padres are yet another team that I totally blanked on Rickey Henderson spending time with.

2 packs down! 8 more to go!