Wave 2 of Topps Total was a bit of a mess, so even with a few errors, this one is an improvement. Two players have a number different from the checklist, resulting in two numbers doubling up. The parallels are continuing without the letters used in wave 1.
With a print run of 3702, this wave sees a bit more than the previous wave, but still well below the first wave. This wave includes stars such as Clayton Kershaw and Paul Goldschmidt, while featuring Bo Bichette as top rookie. Again, the release has a base set, with red, black, and gold possible parallels. There are also a limited number of autographs as well as a retired legend as available inserts. Each pack is advertised to have ten cards. Any inserts or parallels are an additional card in the pack.
The print run is down significantly from wave 1, with only 3289 packs this time. With headliners like Anthony Rizzo, Albert Pujols, and Gavin Lux, this wave actually stands out for other reasons.
This release is filled with, let’s call them irregularities. This pack contained two that stood out, and there are others where the player named does not match the player pictured or the team labeled. This pack contained one player with the wrong team logo, and another card mis-numbered as part of wave one. That’s not all, though. Last year, as well as wave one this year, featured a different numbering scheme for all the parallels, including different letters for each type. Those are all gone for parallels in wave two.
This is an interesting release. There was a lot of confusion regarding this release. and the released checklists don’t really seem to address the questions very well. The box mentions 237 stickers to collect, and that’s true, but also a bit misleading.
The majority of stickers are full card sized, with a player card on the back. Some, such as those featuring trophies, have two stickers on one card, while the mascot stickers are one quarter of the size of the card. The original checklist also has four numbers not listed. It turns out these four stickers are included in the sticker album, and not available in packs. There are no hits or other inserts in this set. It’s a basic level set, that can be collected for the stickers in the album or for the cards on the back. It appears that a given sticker always has the same card back, but the numbers do not match.
A box advertises 50 packs with 4 stickers per pack. If they’re going to advertise the set as 237 stickers, that is pretty misleading. A pack contains 4 cards with up to 4 stickers on each card.
The first wave of 2020 Topps Total had a print run of 4812 packs. It’s not a cheap set, but by now, I think most people should be familiar with it. This wave features hot rookies like Yordan Alvarez and Aristides Aquino along with stars such as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.
The configuration is basically the same as last year, with three parallels, numbered /10, /5, and /1. There are also a few possible autographs, although there is no guarantee. New this time is an insert of retired legends, featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
The print run continues to decline with Wave 7 of Topps Total. This release has a run of 3653 packs. This wave leads off with Kris Bryant and features stars and rookies such as Keston Hiura, Manny Machado, and David Price.
The one advantage of the smaller print runs is that the parallels are slightly more likely, although none are guaranteed with pack purchase. There are some possibly autographs, but they were not advertised before the purchase window completed.
