Some of the Best Baseball News of the Week

Aside from the historic start that the Red Sox have continued over the last few days, the best news of the week came when I found an informative article on Cardboard Connection about the 2018 Topps Archives set. 

I couldn't have been more pleased to see this a couple days ago since the Topps Archives set info is usually released much earlier than mid-April. I had begun to speculate if Archives would even be released this year, but I maintained faith. I tried telling myself, "would Topps really pass up an opportunity to replicate vintage sets and get away with it?" The answer was no, however, the set being released relieved any worries and guaranteed that my favorite set of 2017 would return this year.

As you can see, there are 3 sets being chosen for this year's Archives as there have been for the past number of years. 1959, 1977, and 1981 have all been selected and personally, I don't think Topps could have done a better job choosing the sets.

1959 is the oldest set chosen for this years' Archives and is also the one I'm most excited to see replicated. One of the most underrated sets ever made, 1959 has not seen much love since being the set in 2008 Topps Heritage 10 years ago. It's very reminiscent of the 50's since it includes a circle with the player in it to go with a colorful yet simple frame that is usually red, orange, yellow, green, or blue. It's a pretty simple set overall, but it happens to be one of my favorites from the 50's and likely top 15 all-time. I'm glad it's finally getting the attention it deserves.

Unlike 1959, 1977 Topps has yet to be included in a Heritage set and won't be until 2026. The closest this set ever came to being replicated was the 1977 Topps Cloth Stickers included in both 2011 Topps Lineage and 2012 Topps Archives, but it hasn't been fully replicated until now. It's similar to '59 in terms of being underrated, which I assume is due to closely following iconic 70's sets like 1975 Topps. It's fairly underappreciated and has some strong details that I'm excited to see replicated once the set is released later this year.

1981 completes the set as well as the theme of this year's Archives as it too hasn't been replicated to a full extent since it's release 37 years ago. 1981 Topps lovers will have to wait until 2030 to see the set in Topps Heritage, but they'll get a glimpse of what that will look like once this years' Archives comes out. I must say that even though many people love 1981 Topps, I just don't see what's so special about it. The photo quality isn't too great and the design is kind of boring. Still, I know Topps has done well with Archives over the last few years, so I truly believe I'll be eating my words when the set comes out.

As soon as I learned which sets would be included, 2018 Topps Archives immediately jumped out at me as one of the finest efforts Topps has done in terms of sets included in Archives in many years. In fact, it reminded me a lot of the sets chosen for 2015 Topp Archives and how much I enjoyed the product, mainly because 2 of the sets chosen are in my top 10 list of favorite Topps Flagship sets.

I guess the reason I like the sets chosen for 2015 and 2018 Topps Archives is because of how each set is from a similar era as the corresponding set from the other year of Archives. 1957 and 1959 Topps are just 2 years apart. 1976 and 1977 are only 1 year. Finally, 1981 and 1983 have just 2 years between them. Each group of sets represents its own era of Topps baseball cards and when put together, that creates a recipe for the perfect Topps Archives set.

Also, it's not too late to enter my 200th post giveaway. You have until next Wednesday, April 25th, at 6 PM to enter. Info. on how to enter is included on the 200th giveway post.