2013 Topps Triple Crown Miguel Cabrera Jersey Card

This has got to be one of my favorite cards that I have picked up in 2013.  I will wait until the end of the calendar year to declare it the best of the year, but it's the leader in the clubhouse so far.  Topps actually has a pretty long history of issuing single cards and sets to honor the accomplishments of different record setting players and teams.  One of my favorite in recent years was the 1999 Topps Mark McGwire 70 home run cards.  Of course, Topps also issued a similar Sosa card in the 1999 Topps set.

1999 Topps McGwire Home Run #11

The 1999 Topps McGwire and Sosa cards were printed as a part of the regular base set, but the McGwire card had 70 different variations, one for each of his 70 home runs in 1998, and Sosa had 66 variations.  Topps followed suit in 2002 by issue a similar run of cards after Barry Bonds broke the home run record again.  Take a spin around Ebay and you can find dozens of other sets and special cards Topps has issued over the past decade to celebrate different teams and players.  Which brings us to the question of how Topps did recognizing the Miguel Cabrera Triple Crown.  So, here's a look at the card: 

2013 Topps Triple Crown Miguel Cabrera Jersey Card

First, I really like the design of the cards.  The die cut is cool and I love the blue and orange colors with the centered picture of Cabrera with the triple crown design at the top on the rounded part of the die cut.  There are a total of 10 different jersey cards and 10 different autographed jersey cards.  Both were inserted into packs as redemptions, but the jersey cards have obviously been mailed out by Topps.  I am excited that Topps decided to put out an autographed version of these cards and will be curious to see whether the cards are signed on-card or on stickers.  I guess it will be cool in either case.

Overall, the best part of the Cabrera Triple Crown cards is the fact that the cards are inserts and are a good challenge to find.  While the McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds cards have still maintained some value and collectability with fans, I believe the fact that they were inserted into the regular base set has caused their value to pull down over the past decade.  I would guess that the Cabrera Triple Crown cards will run dry pretty quickly and will be hard to find past the year without a nice price tag, or some seriously competitive bidding.  Well done set of cards by Topps.