2016 Topps Throwback Thursday Set #5

Wow, another week has flown by and it's time for another post showing off some of the Topps Throwback Thursday cards. Week 5 ran in early July so the theme was a fitting first time All-Stars, mimicking the 1959 Topps All-Star design. National Leaguers got a red background, American Leaguers with the blue. The main difference is that it says Topps across the top of the card rather than The Sporting News on the original.

Player selection was an issue again this week as while they fit the criteria, three of the six had already been featured in the first four weeks of these Throwback Thursday sets. And only one of the six was actually a starter, Xander Bogaerts. Two of the six cards were American League and they were both shortstops?

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts joined Bogaerts as first timers and starters for the the American League but I guess that would have been a Red Sox heavy card set. On the NL side, Addison Russell started at shortstop but with Jake Arrieta already in the set, that's too many Cubs? The first timer Dexter Fowler (another Cub) was injured and replaced by fellow newcomer Marcel Ozuna of the Marlins but both of them were overlooked as well.

Maybe top 3 vote getters from each league would have been better? I mean if you are trying to sell card sets, what better way than the six most popular players? Although, without looking at the numbers, I'm guessing a third Bryce Harper would have been included there.

Anyway, enough griping. I know, I know, I don't have to give them my money. Here are the cards.

#25 Jake Arrieta

#26 Francisco Lindor

#27 Corey Seager

#28 Xander Bogaerts

#29 Noah Syndergaard



#30 Aledmys Diaz

As for my tracker, there have been 30 cards in 5 weeks. Perfect distribution would yield one card per team but only 16 teams have been represented. So far the Dodgers rule the roost with six cards. The Cubs, Mets and Nationals all have three. The Cardinals, Rangers and Red Sox round out the teams that have multiples, sitting at two apiece. Seven teams represent 21 of the 30 cards. Cleveland is the only new team this week. Fourteen teams remain unrepresented.

In terms of players, as mentioned, three players joined Clayton Kershaw and Bryce Harper in the two-timers club this week, with Arrieta, Seager and Syndergaard.