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.

Frankenset Page #73

In roughly one week or so from today, my 74-page frankenset series, which has spanned well over 1 1/2 years, will draw to a close with cards #658-666 wrapping it up. After that, I'll likely take a couple weeks off from posting frankenset pages before I begin my new series towards the beginning of January 2020.

As for December, there's a lot of material for me to post in the absence of weekly frankenset pages. Bowman's Best will be released around Christmas time; I have a secret Santa gift heading my way (thanks again to Jon from A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts for organizing it).

I'll recap 2019 in card collecting, including my favorite releases of the year, and I have a special sports card package coming in the mail tomorrow (not Baseball!) that I haven't quite decided what I'd like to do with.

So, December should be a pretty exciting month for the blog, but before all the festivities begin, let's get to the second to last frankenset page, featuring cards #649-657.

#649 1976 Topps Traded Dave Roberts

I opted not to include the Traded cards in my quest to complete the '76 Topps set, but that doesn't mean I'm not a huge fan of the news headlines, featuring dates, that make up the checklist.

Guys like Oscar Gamble and Fergie Jenkins instantly come to mind when I think of the '76 Traded checklist, featuring several dozen players. Dave Roberts, card #649 in the base set and #T649 in the traded set, is the final one; this card commemorates his trade from the Astros to the Tigers.

#650 2014 Topps Jacoby Ellsbury

The timing of this card would've been better a week or so ago, but it's not too late to talk about the disastrous and disappointing, to say the least, Jacoby Ellsbury signing made by the New York Yankees.

The $153 million acquisition never eclipsed 2,000 at-bats in his time with New York, and now the Yankees are seeking to recoup some of his money, stating that he had some sort of unauthorized procedure that affected his ability to contribute to the team.

Though his time in New York was marred with injuries and controversy, I'll never forget Ellsbury's monstrous 2011 when he should've taken home AL MVP honors (sorry Verlander).

#651 1994 Fleer Todd Zelle

Fleer's base sets from the early 1990s do very little to impress me. First, there's the 1990 design when someone made the unfathomable decision to feature bright yellow borders across the entire set. Then, there's the bland and forgettable '94 design.

A decade or so later, Fleer made up for these boring designs by introducing some of my favorite finds from the dime boxes, like Tradition, Showcase, and Greats of the Game. I wish I had one of those cards to feature instead of Todd Zelle's '94 base card.

#652 1988 Score Vince Coleman

One of the most underrated players from the 1980s, Vince Coleman stole over 750 bases throughout his 13-year career. He achieved most of his success in St. Louis where he was a 2-time All-Star and stole 100+ bases on 3 separate occasions (1985-1987).

As far as Score is concerned, this '87 highlights card isn't too bad. It features a nice action shot and orange border that could be better, but could also be worse. Overall, the card is very middle of the road.

#653 1991 Topps Anthony Telford

In a couple of years, Topps will be celebrating its 70th anniversary, a monumental milestone in the company's history. Given all the special inserts and parallels that Topps included back in 2011 for their 60th anniversary, I'm eagerly awaiting what's going to be done to celebrate 70 years.

More significant, I presume, will be their 75th anniversary in 2026, but we have a while to wait before that gets underway. Until then, let's get through 2019 without anymore 150th anniversary of professional Baseball tributes.

#654 2015 Topps Alfredo Simon

I apologize for how lackluster this page has proven to be thus far. As the checklist grows, it becomes increasingly challenging to find intriguing cards due to the decreased range of cards numbered in the 600s as opposed to the 100s.

Still, when I created this set a couple of years back, I had a reason for each card, and the one above is no exception. For starters, I love the 2015 Topps design, and this isn't a bad action image whatsoever.

#655 1977 Topps Tony Perez

Finally, something of interest! Without a shadow of a doubt, Tony Perez's 1977 Topps card will rank as my favorite card of the entire page. The photograph is an absolutely perfect pairing for the bold text that accompanies every '77 Flagship card.

Not only is Perez's card the crown jewel of page #73, but it's also one of my favorites of the entire frankenset as well as the '77 Topps set. In some ways, the card is rather simple, but there's so much to appreciate about it.

#656 2016 Topps Randal Grichuk

The rookie cup and classic Cardinals uniform definitely influenced my decision to feature this Randal Grichuk card in the frankenset because, let's be real, the 2016 Topps design does not do it any favors.

There's something about rookie cup cards, particularly those from the 1960s with the much larger trophies, that captivates my attention. The cards are always stunning and less expensive than standard rookie cards. It's a win-win situation in my book.

#657 1992 Sporting News Conlon Collection Chick Hafey

This isn't something that happens too frequently, but 4/9 cards on this page featured St. Louis Cardinals players, something I'll try to avoid when it comes to my subsequent frankenset.

With that being said, if I had to cut one of these cards, my last choice would be the Conlon Collection Chick Hafey. Anything from this set is more than welcome in my frankenset, for the cards are a nice contrast to the traditional color photography.