We Need to Talk About Topps Bunt

2017 Topps #12

2017 Topps Bunt Blue Base

Reds 2, Phillies 0
Game 2 - Wednesday Night, April 5th in Cincinnati
Record - 1-1, Tied for 2nd place, 1 game behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jared Eickhoff ran into trouble in the seventh inning and the offense managed only four singles in this 2-0 win for the Reds.

What It Means:  The Phillies one-day stay at the top of the division is over . . . for now.

What Happened:  Eickhoff threw six shutout innings but allowed a home run to Joey Votto to start the seventh.  Zach Cozart then singled home Adam Duvall, who had doubled right after Votto's home run.  Tommy Joseph struck out to end the game, and through the first two games of the season he's 0 for 8 with five strikeouts.

Featured Card:  We need to talk about Topps Bunt.  This is my second year as an active Bunt user, and while I'm not as active as other users I do find myself checking out the app on a daily basis and making a few trades a day with other users.  For those of you unfamiliar with Bunt, this is the Topps app that allows you to collect and trade virtual baseball cards.  You can buy these virtual baseball cards if you want, or you can just casually open packs with your daily allotment of virtual coins and then trade with other collectors for the cards you want.  I chose the latter path, and I haven't spent any actual money on my virtual Topps Bunt collection.

The reason I'm bringing Topps Bunt up here is that the design of these virtual cards is much, much better than the design of the Topps flagship set this year.  Of course, this is only my opinion, and I've presented Eickhoff's cards above from Topps Bunt (virtual card) and Topps Series 1 (real card) so that you can compare for yourself.  I personally don't think there's any comparison here.  The Topps Bunt card's design is clean and looks like a set I'd enjoy collecting.  (The 1.7X designation is a boost multiplier used in the daily fantasy baseball contests within the app.)

So what do you think?  Should Topps have used its Topps Bunt card design for its flagship set this year?  Or do you like the design of the 2017 Topps set?

2017 Chachi Departures #18

Transaction:  Before the game, it was announced that outfielder Tyler Goeddel had been claimed off waivers by the Reds.  He was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.  A Rule 5 pick last winter, Goeddel spent the entire 2016 season on the Phillies roster.  He contributed to one of the best highlights of the season when his throw from the outfield to Cameron Rupp nailed Eugenio Suarez at the plate to preserve a Phillies victory.  I created a
Chachi card here to commemorate the highlight.

Tyler Goeddel Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #7
2016 Chachi #14
2016 Chachi Photo Day #17
2016 Chachi Fan Appreciation #5
2017 Chachi Departures #17

Phillies Debuts:  Fellow baseball card collector Pat Neshek is now officially in the records as a Phillie.

• Pat Neshek (rhp) - Pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two.