Stats!: Team Distribution Edition

This blog is now a week old. If you've followed along so far, you've seen the different kinds of things I'm tracking and each Sunday I'll pick a different category to dissect. I'm still adding all of the information into my spreadsheet so I'm going to start with an easy one, teams.

By my count, when you open a pack of 2018 Topps Opening Day, you have a chance at 504 unique cards. Throw in the base parallels of blue (unnumbered, but limited to 2018 copies), 1/1 edition and four printing plates and you've got an opportunity at another 1,200 cards. For the purposes of the statistics, I'm going to keep the parallels out of the equation and stick with analyzing the 504 unique cards.

Let's start with a breakdown of the cards by set.

The only sets where it is possible for every team to be represented are the base set, with an average of 6.67 cards per team (CPT) and Opening Day Stars with a 1.47 CPT average.

The columns on the left represent the base set team distribution. There are 14 teams above the average leaving just more than half  of the teams below. The columns on the right are for the Opening Day Stars set. There are more than enough cards for one per team but the Marlins are the only team to get the shaft.

Above is the team distribution for the total 504 card set. As you can see, the rich get richer. Half of the Marlins' 8 cards are for Billy the Marlin, their mascot. The Red Sox, Brewers, Royals and Twins also see 4-card boosts from their mascots. 

I understand Topps is in the money making business so I get the need to fluff up the checklist with the big market teams. But how do the leagues stack up? Divisions? Regions?

I was actually kind of surpsied by the base card break down. What are the odds that Topps planned an exact 50-50 split between the American and National Leagues? The American League pulls ahead slightly when factoring in the inserts.

The disparity shows up again when we break it down by division. The AL East leading the way is no surprise with both the Red Sox and Yankees. East coast bias? I don't know, the NL East is the worst in the NL.

But when you add them together, there is a clear east coast bias.

I still have a lot of data collection to do and but I'll be working this week to compile something for next week's post. I'll put everybody who has followed the blog into the randomizer tonight for the base set(s) giveaway and will post the winner(s) to Twitter. If you aren't on Twitter, I'll include it here on Monday's post as well.