Before you say anything, I have a very valid reason as to why I broke my promise of not to buy cards 'till at least September and ended up taking a trip to Target yesterday afternoon in search of a blaster of the newly-released 2018 Topps Archives set.
Not only did I have some errands to do near Target, including a trip to the Best Buy located directly next to the store, but I also didn't go into my budget to buy this blaster. Rather, I cashed in the coin cup that I've been adding to for the last 2 months, and I got $20 back, meaning I only had to pay tax for this purchase. So technically, I put the coins to use instead of paying for this with my cash or card, so it's a much better option altogether.
As for my opinions on Topps Archives, I have to say it's always been one of my favorite and most anticipated releases of the year. Sure, I don't expect the sets to be as well re-created as the Topps Heritage sets, but I will say that the 3 sets chosen for the last few years of Topps Archives have all been fantastic, and even if one of the sets isn't a favorite of mine (1981), Topps still does an excellent job at making it appeal to myself and other collectors.
Before I get too into what I ended up pulling, here's a look at each set chosen for this years' Topps Archives set as well as how well, in my opinion, Topps did to re-create their old sets.
Firstly, we have the oldest set chosen for this years' Topps Archives, 1959 Topps. The last time we saw 1959 Topps was in 2008 Topps Heritage, a decade ago which proves how fast time can go. As for the design, most of it was very well re-created. The only spot for improvement has to do with the placement of the player name. The centering isn't perfect for a lot of the cards, and the player name is not quite this slanted in the original set.
Although they did a nice job and I was very excited to hear that 1977 Topps would be included in the 2018 Topps Archives set, I chose this Anthony Rizzo card in order to point out a major problem I have with some of the '77s. For whatever reason, Topps chose to put a white font over the yellow flags showing players' positions on some of the 1977 cards. In-person and when scanned, the position on cards like these is almost illegible. Thank god not every one of these cards has a yellow flag on it. Only some of them do.
As for the final set chosen, 1981 Topps, I can't say I have any complaints. Maybe it's because I'm not that familiar with the set, or maybe it's due to the fact that Topps was able to perfectly re-make these cards. Sure, there are probably some instances in which Topps did not exactly recreate the hats perfectly, but I personally think 1981 was the best-re-created set of this years' Archives.
When it comes to the base set, there are a ton of Hall of Famers and retired players represented. After all, Archives is a historical set paying homage to older Topps sets, so you kind of have to include old-time players. In addition to the spectacular jersey on the Robin Yount card and the near-perfect card of Roberto Clemente, it was nice to see Orlando Cepeda and Jim Thome get cards in this set. After all, it's not too often you see either of those 2 included as retired players in today's sets.
In addition to base cards, each and every one of this years' sets includes a special type of card; either a short print or an insert. Starting with the 1959 set which incorporates these iconic combo cards that originally included pairings such as Richie Ashburn and Willie Mays in the original set. In 2018 Archives, these combo cards are SPs, and I ended up pulling one of the 3 Dodgers outfielders; Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, and Matt Kemp.
Another example of short prints in the 2018 Topps Archives set, the 1977 set adds their Turn Back the Clock cards to the SP checklist, originally including highlights such as Carl Yastrzemski winning the 1967 AL Triple Crown. For my Turn Back the Clock SP pull, I was very pleased to end up with a Willie McCovey highlight card, commemorating his 500th career home run back in 1978.
In terms of the 1981 set, the Future Stars cards that grouped 3 teammates together were included in this years' set, but as inserts instead of short prints. While I can't say the Marlins would be high on my list of choices, I've heard good things about Sandy Alcantara and Garrett Cooper. However, getting the Marlins doesn't bother me too much. It's just nice to see classic card designs such as these with today's players. I almost don't care what team I get, though an Angels one with Ohtani would be the dream.
Last year, it was the Derek Jeter cards that were re-made with a glossy card stock, now it's classic rookie cards in an insert set called, oddly enough, Topps Rookie History. I'm disappointed in these cards, mainly because seeing these same buybacks recreated as if people actually enjoy these cards, is starting to get irritating. There were enough last year with Rediscover Topps. We don't need anymore buybacks like these. I'll stick to the stampted Topps Heritage buybacks, thank you very much.
I've never seen The Sandlot movie ever before, so I couldn't tell you who Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennan is if my life depended on it. That being said, this card is available for trade if any Sandlot fans out there would like it. Otherwise, I'll list it on Sportlots and try to sell it there.
With parallels in mind, though at slightly difficult odds, I knew that if I pulled one out of this blaster, I would want it to be in the 1981 design due to this set having the perfect amount of border space for a parallel. While I didn't get the best name (your current MLB leader in strikeouts), I'm hopeful that someone would like this purple parallel of Yoan Moncada, numbered out of 175.
In addition to the 7 packs, each blaster of 2018 Topps Archives includes 2 exclusive coins in a special coin pack based off some set from I believe the 1980's. Last year, I didn't pull the greatest names, but I landed a Mike Trout coin in this year's blaster box along with Andrew McCutchen on his new team, the Giants.
A Mike Trout coin, a purple parallel, a couple SPs, and a ton of interesting base cards are the highlight of my Topps Archives blaster. To me, that makes the $20 and (half) breaking of my promise not to buy cards for a while worth it.
After all, this blaster was from change that I saved which is much better than blowing $20 cash right out of your wallet. So, it's not really breaking my rule, is it?
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