Card of the Week: Tim Anderson is one of the corn

Over the past couple of years, I’ve adopted baseball card collecting as a hobby. I joined during a peak time due to the pandemic, but also an opportune time given a renewed relevance for the White Sox, and how sought after some of their cards are to collectors.

Topps released its Series 1 set in mid-February, and unsurprisingly, they took advantage of the Field of Dreams game. While multiple cards used photos from that game, arguably none are better than Tim Anderson’s short print (SP).

Despite being one of the game’s best shortstops, TA mainly has been limited to base cards in Topps sets since his rookie season. That said, he’s had some amazing base cards, such as the photo of his epic bat flip used in 2020:

Topps

This year’s is undoubtedly one of his coolest cards, though, with it encapsulating the bravado that makes him one of the faces of baseball. It’s also a nice reminder of one of the best moments of the 2021 season.

Receiving a SP isn’t reserved for the game’s biggest stars — for example, Gavin Sheets also has a Field of Dreams-inspired card — but it does seem somewhat indicative of how Anderson and the White Sox are considered one of the game’s best/most compelling products.

Trying to put aside my bias as a Tim Anderson card collector, it’s one of the most collectible cards in Topps’ first series. It’d be smart for them to continue trying to capitalize on his image, similar to the likes of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatís Jr. Anderson might not be quite at their level, but his theatrics are on par with anyone.