
On Tuesday I saw some new stuff and was overjoyed. So, I bought a blaster of 2020 Topps Fire baseball. Topps Fire is a retail product that has been exclusive to Target since 2017. Collectors have the option of buying a blaster for $19.99 or a hobby box for $69.99. The biggest difference, of course, is that Topps is promising two autograph cards per hobby box.
The blaster box included seven packs, with six cards to a pack. In addition, there was a special four-card pack of Gold Minted base parallels.
The base set for Fire contains 200 cards, with a generous assortment of veterans, rookies and former stars. The design of the cards, to say the least, are wild. Lots of lines, splashes of paint, circles, triangles and intersecting lines. The card fronts sport three distinct looks. And so do the card backs.

Other collectors, however, might find these cards stimulating. So, it is just a matter of preference. Decide for yourself.
The box I bought yielded 36 base cards, which included four rookie cards. Some of the retired greats included Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Craig Biggio, Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz and Tony Gwynn. I also pulled a pair of flame parallels of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Willy Adames, along with an orange parallel of Chris Paddack, numbered to 299.
There were three inserts inside the blaster box I bought. Arms Ablaze featured a card of Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, which clocked how fast one of his throws to home plate was (96.6 mph). The card also notes that Bellinger threw a 98.9 mph, 261-foot strike to nail a runner at the plate during a 2017 game. Impressive. The card is shiny and gold looking. There are 20 inserts in this subset.

The final insert was a Smoke & Mirrors card of Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. This card is part of a 20-card subset and shows two photos — one a glorified posed shot, while the smaller picture shows Chapman in his pitching form.
The four Gold Minted cards I pulled included Alex Bregman, Trevor Story, Brendan Rodgers and Trent Grisham.
Topps Fire has an appeal for collectors who like to push the envelope in design. It is bold and flamboyant, and it’s an easy set to build.