A Stocking Stuffer Archives Pack

Like many others, I failed to even leave my house yesterday. Surrounded by family food, and crumbled wrapping paper, I spent the day making cookies and watching Basketball. For the 3rd consecutive year since I began blogging, posting on Christmas Day did not so much as cross my mind.

Yesterday was far from the only day of December in which I did not write a blog post. Today's will be  #12 out of 26 days, meaning I opted not to post more times than I actually sat down and put one together.

In case you haven't noticed, the past few months have seen a decrease in the number of blog posts from where I was 6 months and, especially, a year ago. While I used to aim for 24-25 posts per month, I've gone down to anticipating 18-20.

12 posts in 26 days, however, is too low, even for me. Hopefully, I can become inspired over the last few days of the year and finish up the year with a bang.

After all, I still want to rank the set designs from 2019, analyze how well I did in achieving my goals from the beginning of the year, and, potentially, review this entire decade in Baseball cards.

The last of the 3 ideas is quite ambitious, but it would hopefully make up for my lack of posting this month.

Now, let's shift away from that topic and get to today's post, a rack pack of 2019 Topps Archives that I found as a stocking stuffer this Christmas. The first card was #2, Patrick Corbin. Here's the rest.

#4 Michael Chavis

For whatever reason, Chavis' Topps Archives rookie card not only stands out to me as one of my favorite cards of the base set but one of the best Red Sox cards of 2019.

The simplicity of using primarily 3 colors (red, yellow, and white) makes for a gorgeous card that compliments the 1958 Topps design extraordinarily well.

#67 Goose Gossage

#78 Hank Aaron

I purchased a fair amount of retail Archives upon its release, and I bought even more as they appeared in the dime boxes at the card show. As a result, I'm familiar with most of the base set, but that doesn't make this Hank Aaron card any less special.

The one thing that surprised me, however, was that Topps chose a picture of the 21-time All-Star with their old logo, as a shoulder patch, being incredibly visible. Considering the controversy, you'd think they'd just choose another image.

#97 Bob Gibson

As if the background of this standout card could be anything other than bright red to go with the St. Louis Cardinals team colors. I'm not sure if they keep the colors consistent for each team, but I'm telling you that this card wouldn't be the same without the red background.

#88 Chipper Jones

#107 Bernie Williams
At this point, we've now moved onto the 1975 Topps design after 6 cards from '58.

#149 Frank Thomas

Up next on the list of players that I definitely need to start collecting is Frank Thomas, one of the most talented power hitters of all-time.

The problem is, for one reason or another, I never seem to find that many of his cards at the show or online even though he timeline of his career lines up with some of my gold tier player collections such as Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell.

He also didn't play for a team that I collect avidly; as a result, I simply haven't amassed all that many Frank Thomas cards, and I'm skeptical as well about my ability to do so in the future.

#184 Danny Jansen

#200 Bryce Harper

Even my dad, despite his feelings towards Bryce Harper, agreed that this was one of the better cards of the pack, an impressive feat when you consider the number of fabulous base cards we've pulled thus far.

Whereas some of the previous cards featured minimal colors and a plain background, Harper's makes use of red, green, and blue in addition to a background that features actual fans rather than just 1 bold color taking up all the space.

#146 Kyle Hendricks

#320 Ronald Acuna Jr. SP

As much as I love how Archives has done their short-prints over the last few years, this Ronald Acuna Jr card is a duplicate, and my post from earlier this month outlined what I've been doing with duplicate cards.

That said, I can always save Acuna for a future frankenset. It'll be nice to have a non-Topps (or any other company) base card past spot #300 in the set.

#TM-15 Topps Magazine Rhys Hoskins

In addition to a couple of different SP designs, Topps recreated their 1990s magazine covers as an insert set in this year's Archives which was, in my opinion, a highlight of the 2019 release.

Rather than paying homage to another card design from decades ago, Topps decided to be creative and replicate magazine covers, a risk that I certainly appreciate and that they don't always due because of their monopoly.

#218 Ernie Banks

 We've now reached the 3rd and final design and one that I didn't think would work that well in Archives: 1993 Topps.

Even though they exceeded my expectations in how past and present players would look in this design, some players, like Ernie Banks, just don't look right in an early 90s base set.

#274 Ozzie Smith

#291 Nomar Garciaparra

#251 Williams Astudillo

#222 Pete Alonso

I can think of much worse ways to end the pack than with a terrific card of this year's almost unanimous NL Rookie of the Year award winner.

Though some of the 1993 cards looked a little off, the combination of the Mets home uniform with the simple design works the best out of all the '93 cards I've seen thus far.

2019 Singles and Red Sox Cards; Card Show Recap #24 Part 2

After I landed a superb deal before I even took a step into the main room of yesterday's Baseball card show, stopped by the booth of the show's case breaker as I do virtually every time I'm there. Per usual, I struck up a conversation about the new releases while shuffling through stacks of 2019 singles.

I haven't had as much time as I would've liked over the last few weeks for any Baseball card organization, but that changed over the weekend thanks to an extra day off today.

This free time allowed me to add 15 new player collections to my tiers list, including many last year's rookie superstars. The last of the PCs were made official on the online inventory earlier today, but I still made some purchases for the new player collections as yesterday's show.

The Juan Soto Obsidian card is going to stay with the collection of 2019 Panini Chronicles that I have amassed, but the Leather & Lumber die-cut above will go straight to the new PC.

Panini revived this release earlier this year, but the price point and the number of cards per box had no appeal to me whatsoever. That said, I've picked up a handful of die-cuts from the various insert sets because of how reasonably priced the singles are.

On a separate note, you can't go wrong with the combination of Yankee pinstripes and a silver border, much less of Miguel Andujar, last year's AL Rookie of the Year runner-up.

Baseball fans have been quick to forget about the 24-year old, who missed most of 2019 due to injuries, but I foresee him coming back strong in 2020.

The 2nd duo of cards is very similar to the first in that there are a Leather & Lumber die-cut and a Topps Archives parallel. The major difference is that I've been collecting cards of Randy Johnson and Starlin Castro for years whereas I only made Soto and Andujar official the other day.

While I admire Panini's boldness in creating a surplus of insert sets for the Leather & Lumber release, sometimes, simplicity rules, and that's exactly the case with the 2 cards above.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Benchmarks die-cut is a great card, but there's something about the purple parallel Starlin Castro card that I love. Maybe, it's the combination of the green background with the dark purple border.

Because the card shows I attend are only 30-45 minutes outside of Boston, vendors usually make an effort to sell Red Sox singles no matter what else they feature at their booths. In addition to selling base sets and singles from all the new releases, this vendor has stacks of Red Sox cards at his table every time I visit the show.

Whether I'm looking for a superstar from today's team (Martinez; please stay) or the past (Garciaparra), I can always count on there being a wide range of inserts, parallels, and numbered cards priced fairly.

Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers were responsible for carrying the Red Sox offense as well as the entire team throughout the 2019 season. As disappointing as they were, who knows how much worse Boston would've been if not for these 2?

Because of their respective stellar seasons, I've been taking virtually every chance I get to boost the Bogaerts and Devers player collections; this includes a fabulous Xander Finest reprint from 2014 or a rookie card of the 22-year old from 2017 Topps Inception.

In addition to a brand new rookie class (no more Ryan O'Hearn or Cedric Mullins!), I'm excited about 2020 Baseball cards in that there will be cards available of guys like Fernando Tatis Jr that aren't rookies.

I've been picking up Tatis Jr singles whenever I can since I firmly believe that he has the most potential out of everyone in this years' rookie class. Once 2020 rolls around, however, I'll be able to add numbered cards to my collection without breaking the bank.

Until then, there are a few more releases in 2019 that I'd like to get my hands on (Update, Gallery, Bowman's Best), so I'm going to get my fair share of O'Hearn's and Mullins' in the meantime.

The light at the end of the tunnel, however, will be the first 2020 product where there won't be an RC symbol next to Tatis' name. Then, I can officially begin "super collecting" the 20-year old phenom.

A Retail Calm Before the Card Show Storm

For no real reason other than I wanted to get a look at the brand new 2019 Topps Archives set, I made a small retail purchase at a Target near my house today even though I'm heading to the Mansfield show tomorrow.

To be fair, most of this 4-value pack purchase was covered by a coin cup that I cashed in at one of those Coinstar machines. I had to resort to value packs since the store was out of blasters, though this wasn't a huge deal given the luck I had with last year's set.

Although collectors have mixed emotions when it comes to Archives, it's always been one of my favorite retail releases each year. I don't understand why Topps can't replicate the sets as well in Archives as they do in Heritage, but they typically do a reasonable job.

The autograph checklist, however, prevents me from buying a hobby box of this release every time it comes out. I enjoy pulling the Fan Favorites cards out of retail packs, but it's another story when you're paying $100 for those 2 autographed cards.

Plus, I've pulled autographs out of retail Archives over the last 2 years, so I don't feel the need to spring for a hobby box.

As has been typical with Archives for many years now, the 300-card checklist pays homage to 3 Topps Flagship design. Though many of us would prefer only for vintage sets to be represented, they represent all the decades equally, and 2019 is no exception.

We haven't seen 1958 Topps since Heritage came out 12 years ago, so it's nice to see these beautiful vintage cards replicated once again. There is a surplus of vintage sets that capture my attention, but the colorful backgrounds from '58 establish this set as one of the greatest of all-time.

I wasn't lucky enough to pull any of the '58 SP All-Stars, but those cards, based off the originals, are also part of the 2019 Topps Archives set. The red and blue backgrounds are flooded with stars, so much so that they are the first thing that comes to mind when I think about All-Star baseball cards.

I may not have landed as many retired players as I would like, but if I choose to, I can pick up some singles from Archives at tomorrow's show. I'm just pleased to pull any cards of players I collect, from HOFers like Duke Snider to active players like Kyle Schwarber.

Another of my favorite Topps Flagship sets ever produced, 1975 made its appearance in 2019 Topps Archives before we see this release again in 2024 Topps Heritage.

I still believe it would be a better idea to recreate this set several years ago to have more than 5 years between when '75 Topps is in Archives versus when it will be in Heritage. However, that doesn't mean I'm not elated to see stars, both past, and present, represented in the most colorful Flagship set of all-time.

The 2-color combinations on each card are one of the main reasons why I collected and, eventually, completed the 1975 Topps set in the first place.

I'm sure any given page of my '75 Topps binder features at least 6 different colors, and if you know what I like when it comes to Baseball cards, it's colorful cards of any kind.

However, there does appear to be some problems with this set as there typically is with Archives. The 2 Giants cards at the top have different color combos as well as different colored names.

My only guess is that Kevin Pillar was photoshopped from a Blue Jays uniform into the Giants, and Topps didn't have the time to alter the rest of the card.

The final of the 3 Flagship sets represented is 1993 Topps. I don't have any strong feelings, positive or negative, about these cards. I'm far more interested in '58 and '75 while '93 seems to be along for the ride.

Although the photography for the 1993 part of the set is superb, this is what I'm talking about when it comes to representation of all decades. They didn't include this set because of how iconic the original cards were. Rather, Topps needs to appeal to fans of all eras.

There seems to be 1 set in Archives each year that I'm not a huge fan of, so I don't care too much about '93 being included. There's plenty else in this set for me to appreciate.

Most of the market for 2019 baseball cards has been dominated by the big 4 rookies (Vlad Jr, Tatis Jr, Alonso, and Jimenez) which is why I was so pleased to see a couple of them show up in my 4-value pack purchase. 

Tatis may be out for the season, but his rookie year numbers speak for himself by showing that he's already one of the most well-rounded players in the game at just 20 years old. Meanwhile, Alonso is on pace to break the single-season rookie home run record set by Aaron Judge 2 years ago.

Though nothing may ever top the historic 2018 rookie class, 2019 is standing its own thanks to those 4 stars along with guys like Austin Riley, Nick Senzel, and Yordan Alvarez.

I'm just waiting for that major rookie hit to come along that'll make all these 2019 Baseball card (retail and hobby) purchases worth it.

The 2 cards above (along with the Lindor at the top of this post) are SPs along with the '58 All-Star cards that alluded me.

I haven't followed Eloy or Kikuchi very closely this year, but I enjoy that Topps took the opportunity to recreate the '93 rookie card design, most famously featuring Derek Jeter, for this year's Archives set.

I was able to continue my autograph luck with retail Archives for the 3rd consecutive year while landing a nice on-card auto for the Cubs PC. A member of the Cubs for 8 seasons, Davis played a role similar to Jason Varitek for the 2000s Red Sox.

He was a terrific defensive catcher and a 2-time All-Star who even earned MVP votes. If that wasn't enough, the autograph is a purple parallel numbered out of 150, not bad for a $6 value pack.

But the autograph fun didn't end there.

Somehow, 2 consecutive value packs on the Target shelf yielded 2 autographs, both of which are on-card and serial numbered. The 2nd hit is an autograph of Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers from an insert set that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the franchise.

There's a regular insert set that features Expos players in the '69 Topps design, but I was fortunate enough to pull a green foil auto which is far rarer (1 in every ~800 packs).

Steve Rogers isn't the greatest name, but that's not what Archives is about, to begin with. Plus, my Dad and I are major Expos collectors, and he grew up a Cubs fan, so we lucked out big time when it came to the teams.

For about 1/4 the price of an Archives hobby box, we got the same number of autographs that one of those promises, not to mention they're both serial numbered hits.

This is why I've always praised Archives for being such a spectacular retail product. You get beautiful base cards, cool inserts/SPs modeled after previous Topps sets and the chances of pulling an autograph, even if it's not a huge name, are in your favor.

It's hard to believe my weekend is already this exciting when it comes to cards, and I haven't even made it to the Mansfield show yet.