Insert Sets Not Talked About Enough: 2023 Topps Japan Edition Strength In Numbers

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.

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.

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. 

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), 

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. 

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:

2023 Topps NPB Strength In Numbers Taisei Reverse SN-20

The full checklist:

• 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)

Those last four cards could have been part of a Significant Statistics subset.

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.

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

Why the Costco Sets Were Removed From the 2025 Topps Binder

The first page of the 200-card 2025 Topps Flagship Binder

Don't get me wrong. I love the Costco...I mean...the Topps Flagship Collection insert sets that are exclusive to the Costco Super Boxes. Since 2023, these have been a nice complement to my collection. But you know me and patience when it comes to the Hobby, we don't really see eye to eye. So when a daring person on the Bay puts up a full set on a reasonable BIN, I'll bite.

Now, if I was an Athletics team fan, I'd be upset to find out that none of my favorite players were even included in the 2023 set. If I was a Nationals team collector, I'd be upset as well to find that Topps didn't have anyone representing my team in the 2024 set.

If I was a White Sox team collector, I'd be upset to find that only one player, Luis Robert, Jr, was worthy of making the 2023 set. But would I forgive them knowing that in 2024, Topps would include two White Sox cards in the 100-card set? Probably not only because both cards in that year's set was of, again, Luis Robert Jr (the man was the subject of both card #'s 11 AND 21!!!).

2024 Topps Flagship Collection Luis Robert, Jr. #11

2024 Topps Flagship Collection Luis Robert, Jr. #21

But I'm not a team collector. I'm a set collector. I need EVERY CARD! So I'm not upset at any of the above situations. Not at all.

What I'm kind of miffed about is the fact that the 2023 Flagship cards are as thick as a regular relic card. They are the same thickness of two regular base cards. Which means that I can't put them back to back in an Ultra-Pro Platinum page as I do with almost every other card in the binders. Each card gets it's own page. 

"What's the big deal?" most people would ask. "Why should you be upset? At least you can read the backs of each card without having to take the card out and...heaven forbid...put it back and risk dinging the corners."

Because the more plastic pages used, the less space I have for the cards. Putting cards back to back allows me to put a 792-card set in 44 pages instead of 88. And when it comes to a six-inch binder, space, which I had thought would be enough, suddenly isn't.

In my Anatomy of a Six-Inch Binder post for the 2025 Topps set, I listed the 100-card Flagship Collection set as one of the many sets contained within. Each card, double the thickness of a standard card, took up 12 pages of space, a half-inch worth of the binder. Which normally would be fine.

Except Topps produced out a second Costco-exclusive Flagship Super Box. 

To review, the first super box included 5 packs each of Series 1 and Heritage along with 3 packs of the exclusive Flagship inserts, one jumbo card, and one "companion" card.

The contents of the Series 1 Costco Super Box

Which in previous years, (2023 and 2024) were enough. But sales must have been great because Topps decided to distribute a second Super Box, this time containing 5 packs each of Series 2 and Archives along with the bonus packs and jumbo/companion cards.

The contents of the Series 2 Costco Super Box

So now what? The six-inch binder as it stood at 2,161 cards, was already full to bursting. Adding another half-inch of cards and pages would make it hard to close the binder properly, with pages of the base set beginning to go over the curve of the metal, which would be as one Pokémon collector who for some reason shows up on my FB and YouTube feeds (even though I don't collect the stuff)...

BAD BINDER BEHAVIOR!!!

While binder "technology" has evolved (I've seen 12 and 16-pocket pages, zippers, etc), nothing beats a six-inch d-ring binder. NOTHING. But still, these new binders would not be enough to hold the cards of even one regular set. So no, I'm not interested (but if one of these binder companies want to send me a sample to prove me wrong *hint, hint*, please email me at bdj610@hotmail.com).

So back to the point.

I've decided to take the Costco Flagship set out of the six-inch and move both sets into it's own one-inch binder. 

 

The binder for the Costco Flagship.

Yes, again, the picture isn't the greatest. But you can see that the binder will hold the cards just fine. 

The transition page from Series 1 and 2.

This is not a precedent. I've separated huge insert sets from binders before:

• 2007 Topps Generation Now...582 cards
• 2010 Topps The Cards Your Mom Threw Out (Original Backs)
• 2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps + Lost Cards (Original Backs)

The last two are in the same binder. No sense in separating. They look good together.

Taking the spot filled by the Costco Flagship sets are a master set of 2025 Topps All-Star Game, which was a product with it's own mega box introduced last summer during the ASG break. The set consists of:

• 100 base cards
• 25 Hometown Heroes cards, featuring players past and present of the Atlanta Braves, honoring the team hosting the event
• 25 Classic Swings cards
• 50 All-Star Game Greats, recognizing players from past ASG's

Replacing 100 cards that are, again, twice as thick as regular cards, with 200 is an even exchange space wise. And the binder can now claim a whopping 2,261 cards...

Two thousand, two hundred sixty-one cards

And everything still fits comfortably in the binder.

Still is heavy as heck though...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Adventures in Trading: All Rise! Judge is Going to California

2025 Topps Update 1990 Chrome Aaron Judge #U90C-44

It's been a week and it's been a quiet one in my Hobby journey. But just because I'm done with the Series 1 set doesn't mean that trading has ceased. 

Even though it's been years Topps produced team-specific factory sets (the Yankees and Red Sox always seemed to be on the short-list), there are still a number of bonus cards that were included in these sets that I am still searching for. When these first came out in 2004 (I believe), nobody was opening factory sets. Auctions and BIN's for the 5-card bonus cards were rare occurrences on the Bay in the early years. So I made the costly...shuddering...mistake of buying full factory sets JUST so that I could get the bonus cards. I still have factory sets from 2004 and 2005. By now the cards are bricked to the point where it would be impossible (unless I want to experiment with a humidifier or steamer) to separate the cards within. Looking back, that was a very costly lesson in how my patience could betray me. 

Now that everybody has no fear in opening full factory sets, bonus cards are a bit more prevalent on auction sites and elsewhere. And while those certainly have been helpful to me to acquire all of the bonus rookie cards over the years, I've managed to put many of the team-specific bonus cards from 2006 through 2010 lower on my priority wantlist. It's not for lack of trying, but it's just focus has been shifted towards the current year's cards and sets. But when an opportunity arises, like one did earlier this week, I thought why not chance it.

With my 2026 Topps wantlist currently at zero on the TCDB, my notifications for new cards appearing in my Recent Matches have been few and far-between. But a gentleman in California added two bonus cards from the 2006 Topps New York Yankees factory set, Wil Nieves and Alex Rodriguez, on his trade/sell list. What he did with the other three cards, I do not know. Funny enough, I did get the Derek Jeter card from this set ages ago, so at least I have something to start with here. The man had 10 cards on his wantlist that I could offer to trade. So I reached out to him, offering a 2025 Topps Update 1990 Chrome Aaron Judge card for both the Nieves and A-Rod bonus cards. He accepted yesterday. The Judge card is now on its way to Cali.

2006 Topps New York Yankees Bonus Wil Nieves #1 of 5 and Alex Rodriguez #2 of 5

With the Jeter card in my possession, I only need the card #'s 4 Mariano Rivera and 5 Randy Johnson and I can add them to the 2006 Topps binder.

It's only been 20 years. I can wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2008 Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, April 1, 2026:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2008 Topps #FS1.
• Player Name, position, team: Kazuo Uzuki, pitcher.
• Major League Debut: n/a
• Last Line of Statistics: n/a
• Any special information about player: Throws: right. Bats: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 1. This is his first and only Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Already being called "The Uzi" by some for his 104 MPH fastball, Kaz will be the first Japan-based high-schooler to jump straight to professional baseball in America when he graduates in 2009. "He is, hands down, the best pitching prospect I've seen in 230 years,' said one MLB scout. And one unnamed American League GM said, "The contract this kid is going to get will be astronomical." At age fourteen, he was the youngest player invited to the WBC squad trials and - though he was cut on the last day - he made a lasting impression with his 17 Ks in 7 innings of work during intrasquad matches."
• Commentary: Inserted into packs of 2008 Topps Series 1 at a rate of 1:72 packs, this gimmick card became such a polarizing item during the beginning of my Hobby Blogging Journey. It was panned by many, but as the years have gone by (has it really been 18 years??!) has become a card of legend. Uzuki's name, Japanese for "The First Son of April" which should have been a hint about the player. But how many prospectors would have understood the joke when they were buying and selling this card for up to $15.00 when it first came out?
• Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.





I wrote about the man behind the glove, Sensen Lin, eight years ago. An alum of the New York University School of Law (class of 2008), he still works for GIC, a Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund that manages the country's foreign reserves. He is now the Managing Director, Regional Lead (Americas) within GIC's Legal & Compliance Department. 


Happy Kazuo Uzuki Day to those who celebrate. Just please keep the pranks to a minimum.


Sincerely,


JayBee Anama

Mission Accomplished: 2026 Topps Series 1 Master Set

Pictures of the six-inch binder are to come later (I did say it was ordered). 

Last night, the final three cards that I needed to complete the 2026 Topps Series 1 Master Set (base and basic insert cards) arrived:

• 2026 Topps 2025 All-Topps Team #ATT-5 Bobby Witt Jr
• 2026 Topps Big Ticket Players #BTP-7 Ronald Acuña Jr
• 2026 Topps First Pitch #FP-7 Jackie Hornung (a social media creator with a dog named Lumi)

All three cards are now in the binder and the set is done (for now).

Presently, this binder contains the following sets (with number of cards):

• 350 cards from Topps Series 1
• 1 miscellaneous advertisment card
• 1 Super Box Companion card (Francisco Lindor)
• 1 Super Box Jumbo card (Mike Trout)
• 9 First Pitch cards
• 12 2025 All-Topps Team cards
• 28 2025 Greatest Hits cards
• 26 Big Ticket Players cards
• 25 Topps ProFiles cards
• 100 1991 Topps cards
• 30 Stars of MLB cards
• 20 Titans of the Game cards

That's a total of 603 cards.

But wait, there will be more.

Topps Celebration came out last week. And impatient me (I really need to tone this down), got caught in the hysteria and bought the insert sets without thinking. I may have overspent, but the important thing is that they're coming this week (hopefully before the end of the week).

So expect another 100 cards to be added soon...and that's before someone will eventually put a Costco Flagship set up on the Bay...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Adventures in Trading: The Last Trade for Series 1 Cards

The TCDB well has finally run dry. Not too many people want to do 1 for 1 trades because of postal rate hikes, and I get that. It doesn't mean I'll say no to a simple card-for-card exchange. But with this last trade, my want list for 2026 Topps Series 1 inserts is now in single digits. It is at this stage in the game that I go to Sportlots and look for the last 9 cards I need to put this set into the 6-inch binder (which has been ordered and will arrive hopefully tomorrow).

On Monday, I sent two trade requests for cards through the TCDB, and one person responded right away with a counter-offer. None of the cards I initially offered were requested, but he did find other cards that he needed that he requested in exchange for the pair of insert cards I was asking about. In all of my trade requests, I ask that the potential trade partner look through what I have available and make a counter-offer if they would like to get other cards instead of what I was submitting. This gives the person I'm corresponding with a chance to look and see what else I have available instead of just outright rejecting the trade. So he did.

So instead of the pair of 8-Bit Baller cards I was offering, he asked for a 2025 Topps Update Nick Kurtz card, along with a Titans of the Game Bryce Harper and the last of my Evergreens, the Aaron Judge. In return, he offered a Big Ticket Jacob Misiorowski and a ProFiles Jackie Robinson. Of course, I agreed.

The cards are now on their way to North Carolina after a bit of a delay (weather here has been crazy lately). 

Now with 9 cards left on the wantlist, I made my way to Sportlots. After finding out that a lot of my "loot" was going to expire (since when was this a thing Sportlots??!), I filtered out the sellers that I needed to cash in with and bought them all for under $10.00 (not including the extra $14.00 in shipping costs plus tax...ouch). 

When the binder arrives, I'll start adding pages and will post the final results here on the blog. At least this project will be finished before Celebration goes live. 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Adventures in Trading: On the Day After the Chicago Sports Spectacular, Pedro is Going to Colorado

2026 Topps 1991 Chrome Purple Refractor Pedro Martinez #91C-41

As soon as I got home from the Chicago Sports Spectacular last night, I received a message through the TCDB regarding a trade request. A gentleman from Colorado was offering five insert cards for the 2026 Topps 1991 Chrome Purple Refractor Pedro Martinez card that I got from the Jumbo Box break late last month.

Of the 5 cards he was offering, I had already purchased two of them earlier at the show. So I needed to counter. Doing a quick trade matching, it turns out that the Pedro card wasn't even on his wantlist. But who am I to say no to a trade that would help my cause. The card would just be sitting in my trade pile. And yes, it's a numbered card. The fact of the matter is that I still needed 14 cards to complete the S1 master set.

So I countered, and explained that I bought two of the five cards he was offering, but I'd still trade for the remaining 3 for the Pedro refractor. A couple of hours later, he agreed.

So going to Colorado is the refractor card. The cards coming my way are listed below.

I will be on my way to the post office shortly to drop off the card, then it's off to meet my sisters for breakfast to continue the birthday festivities. 

If you're going to attend the card show at the convention center, have fun. Good luck with your collecting goals today.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama