I have never been a fan of All Star games in sports, with the exception of one – the MLB all star game. Even before Selig assigned the asinine rule of World Series home field advantage to the winner, the game still mattered to many of the players. Not only did they take it as a sense of pride, and played hard, but the fans loved it too. This week, with the All Star game in my hometown of Minneapolis, MN, we are getting another dose of the fun times that surround this event. It is a very big deal for the hobby as well, as there are many collectibles that are created for the Fan Fest that happens during the whole week.

Here are some of the higher end all star cards from this year’s festivities:

2014 MLB All Star Fan Fest Derek Jeter Commemorative Patch /150

2014 MLB All Star Fan Fest Miguel Cabrera Foil Exclusive

2014 MLB All Star Fan Fest Mike Trout Wrapper Redemption

Here are some of the ways Topps will use the All Star game in upcoming sets:

2014 Topps Mike Trout All Star Logo Jumbo Patch Auto

2011 Topps Triple Threads Miguel Cabrera Logo Patch Booklet

2012 Bowman Chrome Manny Machado Futures Game Auto Patch

Although I despise the fan voting and the odd choices that casual baseball fans make, its always a great experience to watch your favorite team’s players compete in both the game and the Home Run derby. Topps has issued cards for anything and everything all star game over the last few years, some good some completely awful. Yet, because collectors value the circumstantial nature of the game only happening once per year, it provides a big spark whenever Topps chooses to celebrate it.

Its funny, because most of the jerseys that are used for cards commemorating the game are not used during play – rather in events and warm-ups all week long. Because many of the casual fans out there really dont realize this fact, there is a sense of inflated value for me. However, I know that some collectors would buy regardless if it were another event used card, as they love the game just as much as I do.

Added to the other cards that are given out at the fan fest itself, and its easy to see why there is so much money to be made. This is actually the start of a big few weeks with the national collectors convention coming in late July. Being that there are so many Minnesota themed items to collect, Im getting a bit overwhelmed in my player collection. Pay very close attention, as many of the players in this game will populate checklist for most of next year.