2005 Topps Update Box Recap (Black Friday Box #5)

We have come to the final box of the Black Friday specials, 2005 Topps Update. I think everyone knows the deal behind the set so let’s dig right in to the meat of the box.


Here’s the design if anyone isn’t familiar with it. Did you know this is Al Leiter’s last baseball card?

Update is (in)famous for its Postseason Highlight cards, which can be incredible annoying to a collector who’s team didn’t make the World Series that year. I don’t necessarily mind the two teams that frequent this subset (White Sox, Astros), but I’m not a fan of the design, especially the big, ugly black bar plopped right on the card.

How many people remember these bad boys? A few inserts are scattered throughout the set, including the Barry Bonds Home Run History cards. I pulled about ten of them. After all the Mantle Home Run History cards I had to go through with all that 2007 Topps Chrome, seeing Bonds is quite refreshing.

To commemorate the Nationals’ inaugural season, Topps issued a ten-card insert into Update showcasing the first game the Nationals played in Washington, including the stats of the game (they, not surprisingly, lost), the starting pitcher, and the starting lineup. I’m actually a big fan of these cards; the American-esque design and the hilarious close up shots of the players has me coming back for more.

Ah, yes, the Gold parallels. Can’t go wrong with gold. The box yielded us about nine of these cards, all numbered to… yup, 2005.

I’m not sure what the odds were on All-Star relics, but I’ve seen and heard around one or two a box. I guess I got lucky, but then again, these really aren’t players to write home about (remember when Morgan Ensberg was relevant?) and the jersey colors are so boring. And speaking of which, I just checked and it’s confirmed I actually now have two of the Manny card. Fan-friggin-tastic. All the swatches are up for trade.


And some may wonder why bother with this set? It’s just another Update set after all, nothing too exciting. Well friends, here’s why you bother with this set. The last thirty cards contain these players.

Um, yeah. That’s one helluva lineup, and not to mention I left off another four or five star players I found scattered throughout the set. You never really hear 2005 Topps Update involved with a great rookie checklist, but there is definitely a case to be made for it. If you find a box of this stuff for a good price, take it. You’re almost guaranteed a complete set (I came about six cards short) and you can get a lot of great rookies.

That concludes all the baseball-related Black Friday boxes I got many months ago. However, I picked up a couple of basketball and hockey boxes, so expect a recap of those one of these days. Overall, this was a lot of fun and I got some great cards and narrowed my wantlists down considerably. But, I have no more boxes to open.


Wah.