On April 15, 2026, the Cubs were mired in last place within the NL Central Division. They were 9-9 at that point, taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies and were now facing a 20-game stretch facing the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Reds. At the rate they were treading water, I had thought originally that if they can win at least 12 of the next 20 games, they'll be in good shape and have a fighting chance when they start playing their division rivals some more.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Since my last post, the Cubs have won 17 of the 20 games, sweeping the Mets, Phillies, D-Backs and Reds. They were 3-3 on the road, but still, an even record on the road is always welcomed. But the fact that Cubs have won 15-straight games at Wrigley Field has them now heading into today 14 games above .500, and in sole possession of 1st place is mind-blowing to me.
But I'm not here to wax poetic about the Cubs (there are others who are well versed in this better than me), and I'm starting to worry that now that I've written something in May will cause the team to slide (please don't).
I'm here to talk about my recent exploits within the Hobby. So here goes.
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| 2023 Topps Japan Edition Strength In Numbers Aaron Judge SS-1 |
I don't often buy from Check out My Cards, at least not for last minute replacements or for cards that will help me finish sets (like my recent escapades to finish this year's S1). But if I can find a full set of cards that I'm interested in, and the total price is within reason, I'll go for it. And so it was that, in my interest in looking for 2025 Topps Update Series Japan insert cards that I looked backwards and found a set from a Topps Japan Edition that piqued my curiosity.
Called "Strength in Numbers," this 15-card insert set featured MLB players and a specific stat, not necessarily from the previous season, but a number high enough that warranted inclusion. Examples include: Aaron Judge's 62 home runs in 2022, Joey Votto's 1.032 OPS in 2017, and even Ken Griffey, Jr.'s 147 RBI's in 1997. Strength in Numbers was one of three basic insert sets included with this product, the others being a 35-card Cherry Blossom-bordered variation of the 1988 Topps set and a 25-card set featuring the roster of the 2023 WBC champion Japan team.
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| 2023 Topps Japan Edition Strength In Numbers Vladimir Guerrero Jr SS-8 |
The insert set was originally featured within Topps' 2023 NPB set and featured players who are now making an impact in MLB, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Munetaka Murakami, and Shota Imanaga. It makes perfect sense that the MLB Japan edition would include this insert set as well.
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| 2023 Topps NPB Strength In Numbers Taisei SN-20 |
In the past, COMC purchases came I thought rather quickly considering that all cards are kept in one warehouse (or two) and my impression was that they have people picking cards akin to food distributors pulling cases of food and then having them prepared for shipment. The price for the 15 cards totaled $28.48, which was a lot cheaper than I had hoped for. There were no complete sets on the Bay, nor were there enough auctions/bin to be able to compile a full set. The only other place that may have had a full set was selling for $45.00 (it's now down to $35.00...just looked). The most expensive card of the bunch was SS-1 Aaron Judge at $8.25. It was also the last card available on the site. If it wasn't there, this post probably wouldn't be written. The other 14 cards ranged from $0.63 to $5.75. being SS-14 Shonei Ohtani. With tax and "standard shipping" the final price for the set came out to about $40.00.
Again, reasonable.
But then, the waiting.
This is where I got to thinking about the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song "The Waiting." The lyrics are spot on:
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
I bought the cards on February 18, 2026. By mid-April, the cards hadn't arrived, and when I checked on the site for progress, none of the cards had even been "picked."
WHAT??! How is that even possible? I get it's not something I needed to get right away, but it's never taken this long to receive cards from COMC. The last time I bought from the site, the turnaround was 11 days from purchase to arrival. Was it because I used "standard" shipping this time compared to "economy rushed" previously?
The tracking site showed that the cards were finally shipped on April 29, and arrived on May 4, over 70 days between purchase and shipment. TEN WEEKS!
The cards look great as you can see. A horizontally-designed set (compared to the vertically-oriented Japanese cards),
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| 2023 Topps Japan Edition Strength In Numbers Oneil Cruz SS-13 |
The numbers, which are pretty much the point of the set, are featured prominently on the lower right corner, big and bold, with what that number represents up the side of the card. The backs give a brief summary about the significance of the number and the impact it had for the player during that specific year.
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| 2023 Topps Japan Edition Strength in Numbers Bryce Harper Reverse SS-3 |
Which, compared to the back of the Japanese NPB version, includes a lot more information:
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| 2023 Topps NPB Strength In Numbers Taisei Reverse SN-20 |
- SS-1 Aaron Judge (Yankees) 62 Home Runs (2022)
- SS-2 Freddie Freeman (Dodgers) 199 Hits (2022)
- SS-3 Bryce Harper (Phillies) 1.044 OPS (2021)
- SS-4 Pete Alonso (Mets) 53 Home Runs (2019)
- SS-5 Ken Griffey, Jr. (Mariners) 147 RBI (1997)
- SS-6 Mike Trout (Angels) 1.088 OPS (2018)
- SS-7 Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) 301 K's (2015)
- SS-8 Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (Blue Jays) 48 Home Runs (2021)
- SS-9 Joey Votto (Reds) 1.032 OPS (2017)
- SS-10 Gerrit Cole (Yankees) 257 K's (2022)
- SS-11 Mookie Betts (Dodgers) 117 Runs (2022)
- SS-12 Ronald Acuña, Jr. (Braves) 428 Average Home Run Distance (2022)
- SS-13 Oneil Cruz (Pirates) 122.4 Max Exit Velocity in MPH (2022)
- SS-14 Shohei Ohtani (Angels) 78 Barrels (2021)
- SS-15 Fernando Tatis, Jr. (Padres) .615 xSLG (2021)
For those wondering why I am using the COMC images instead of the usual scanned images, it's because I don't have the cards on me at the moment. I figured that since I bought the carts on COMC, I might as well use the images. After all, the pictures are of the cards I bought. I may change them later.
Pictures of 2026 Topps Series 2 have come out this week. Once again Topps is pairing two legends with two current players. This time pairing Paul Skenes and VGJ with Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays.
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| 2026 Topps Series 2 Hobby Box Design |
The blue to S1's red. June can't come fast enough.
Now, let's hope the Cubs can keep winning even after this post.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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