Overview:
Todd Tobias has been a card collector all his life and has written about the hobby for a variety of publications. He manages the Lax Card Archive (www.laxcardarchive), the hobby's most complete lacrosse card resource. Todd welcomes contact from lacrosse fans and collectors, and can be reached at toddtobias1942@gmail.com
After nearly 18 months since the release of the 2022 Topps Premier Lacrosse League Flagship set, the PLL announced a new card set on May 22. Dubbed the 2023 Snapshot Set, this 58-card issue is being sold on the PLL website where collectors can purchase 16-card packs for $7.99, a significant discount over previous Topps/PLL OnDemand cards that retailed at $9.99 per eight-card pack.
Similar to the 2021 First Edition set, 2023 Snapshot consists primarily of All-Pro players and rookies from the 2023 season; Matt Rambo, Josh Byrne and Rob Pannell are the only three athletes in the set that do not match that criteria. Four base parallels are also included: Blue (/77), Black (/25). Red (/10 and Gold (1/1).
A major improvement over First Edition is the addition of a 22-card base autograph set and accompanying parallels. In fact, auto parallels outnumber base parallels: Base Auto (NNO), Blue (/99), Yellow (/49), Black (/25). Red (/10) and Gold (1/1).
Collectors have estimated a print run of 29,000 packs based on stated parallel information. If that number is correct, buyers can expect to find an insert of some sort at a rate of 1:2.74 packs.
While the autos and parallel numbers offer a great opportunity for fans to pull exciting cards, the most significant change in this newest PLL offering is that Topps had nothing to do with it. In fact, the PLL produced this set without the involvement of a major trading card company. Team- and league-issued cards have been part of the hobby for decades, but none of those sets, at least in the lacrosse world, have been as ambitious as what the PLL just released.
In a press release, Mike Rabil, co-founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League, said: “[I]n producing our own trading cards and launching PLL Collectibles, we can deliver high-quality cards and memorabilia directly to fans and collectors, and ensure every aspect meets the high standard and excitement of lacrosse and trading card enthusiasts.”
Editors note: Mike Rabil also discussed the cards in this tweet and the corresponding Youtube video.
That is true. Being able to produce their own cards gives the PLL the freedom and opportunity for creativity that is not always available when relying on another company to produce their cards from the ground up. However, it also means that the PLL has to be on top of their game as the hobby has evolved to the point where few collectors are content simply adding base cards to their collections. Parallels, autos, relics and other specialized inserts are driving forces behind the modern hobby, which adds significantly to the complexity of design and production.
Prior to release, the PLL sent out three packs each to active members of the lacrosse community and I was fortunate to be included on their list. Three packs of cards arrived at my home on the same day as the PLL’s announcement.
At first glance these cards are quite attractive. The design is reminiscent of previous Topps layouts, but the PLL fixed the issue of vague and indistinguishable parallels found in ‘22 Flagship by implementing full borders and easily recognizable differences between the different parallels.
I got a /77 Tom Schreiber and a /49 auto Brett Makar, so the insert ratio was in line with projections. The type fonts are all clear and easily readable which is a real benefit to those of us who have moved into the “reading glasses” phase of our lives. Image selection was greatly improved as well with better action and seemingly crisper images than past sets. One slight improvement would be in cropping the original images in a way to fit the entire lacrosse stick into the card; I see a lot of headless sticks in this set.
As for things the PLL still needs to work on … I did not find many, but the ones I did see stood out quite a bit.
Information
These cards seem to lack pertinent info. Player positions were unnecessarily reduced to one-or two-letter abbreviations; M instead of Midfield, D instead of Defense, etc. If a goal is to interest newcomers to lacrosse, then cards should offer as much information as possible.
Along those lines, there are no statistics on the card backs. Each player is described in two or three sentences on the back of his card, but there are no stat lines showing their production over the years or even from last season. This can also cause confusion as there is no date located on these cards. Should the PLL reuse this basic design as they did with 2020 Championship Series and 2021 First Edition, collectors could easily lose track of which cards belonged to each set.
Collation
This was the biggest issue that I encountered and in talking with other collectors I learned that I was not alone in getting heavy duplication in my three packs. Of the 48 base cards I received (three packs with 16 cards each), only eight cards were not either duplicated or triplicated. Each of my packs contained the same base cards for Blaze Riorden, Mike Sisselberger, Tye Kurtz, Grayson Sallade, Mike Chanenchuk, Zach Currier, Ryan Drenner and Bubba Fairman.
I got two cards each of Jack Kielty, Garrett Epple, Connor Maher, Piper Bond, Brett Dobson, Xander Dickson, Garrett Leadmon and Owen Grant.This means that I have a long way to go before I complete a base set for my collection; so much so that I might be better off waiting to buy one when base sets hit the secondary market.
It is difficult to judge a complete card release based on opening three packs and talking to a few collectors online, so I think this is a nice initial effort by the PLL. I also believe ‘23 Snapshot would have been better received had it supplemented a standard flagship issue. I envision these Rookie & All-Pro sets being issued post-season in the same manner as Topps issued Traded sets at the end of each baseball season. Basically use them as a way to catch up on player movement, rookies who don’t yet have cards, and recognize individuals who receive post-season honors. But as a stand-alone set it falls a bit short.
However, this is where the flexibility of the PLL issuing their own cards becomes beneficial, as they will be able to read the overall reception to these cards and react accordingly. If the league can streamline card production to the point where they can offer regular and reliable flagship sets, supplement those with All-Pro and Rookie issue at the end of the season, and drop in specialized OnDemand releases when appropriate, they will have gone a long way in legitimizing the lacrosse card space as a true hobby genre.
And I believe that is exactly what we all want.