2013 Topps Atlanta Braves Team Set

One of the best things about having a minor league team in your back yard is the chance to see up and coming players and major leaguers on rehab assignments up close and personal.  Over the weekend I took in a Charlotte Knights game versus the Gwinnett Braves.  My wife and I always like to try and catch Gwinnett when they come to town as a trip to Fort Mill, SC is so much faster and cheaper than driving down to Atlanta to catch "the big boys" play.  On this night I got to watch Freddie Freeman go 5 for 5 with with RBIs and 2 runs scored.  Also on the roster was Tyler Pastornicky and Paul Janish and Jose Constanza...all of which spent some good time with the Atlanta club in recent seasons.  In fact there was one awesome play where Janish snagged a ball and jump and spun throwing the ball to first base.  Freddie had to do a huge split to stretch and catch the ball for an out.  Gwinnett won the game 6-0.

Another highlight of going to the minor league games is the team store.  Of all the hobby shops, Walmarts and Targets I can go to in the greater Charlotte area, the only place I can consistently find the annual Topps team sets are at the AAA Charlotte Knights team set!

Unfortunately most of the photos on the team set cards are the same ones used in Series 1.  Even the Upton brothers have the same airbrushed photos!  The saving grace (for me at least) is the inclusion of Brandon Beachy and Paul Maholm.  There are a few other players not in Series 1 as well so that is cool.  I mentioned via Twitter Saturday night about these cards and was asked about the photos, so I just decided to scan all the cards for your viewing pleasure.