I saw a blaster of Archives during a visit to Wal-Mart over the weekend. I didn't have enough coin to buy it (you don't know how silly that sounds coming from me), so I grabbed a rack pack instead.
Here's what I ended up with.
165 - Stephen Strasburg (Nationals) - 1990 Design
27 - Manny Machado (Orioles) - 1972 Design
88 - Derek Holland (Rangers) - 1982 Design
102 - Matt Moore (Rays) - 1985 Design
83-BH - Bryce Harper (Nationals) - 1983 Design
63 - David Freese (Cardinals) - 1982 Design
134 - Wei-Yin Chen (Orioles) - 1985 Design
198 - Jason Heyward (Braves) - 1990 Design
48 - Ryne Sandberg (Cubs) - 1972 Design
140 - Dylan Bundy (Orioles) - 1985 Design
168 - Pablo Sandoval (Giants) - 1990 Design
29 - Angel Pagan (Giants) - 1972 Design
96 - Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays) - 1982 Design
106 - Tim Lincecum (Giants) - 1985 Design
55 - C.C. Sabathia (Yankees) - 1982 Design
149 - Hisashi Iwakuma (Mariners) - 1985 Design
186 - Brett Lawrie (Blue Jays) - 1990 Design
6 - Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers) - 1972 Design
Now, if you want an unbiased opinion of Topps Archives, you've come to the wrong place. I am a big fan of the Archives issues and always buy some. This time it seems to be based around the 1972, 1982, 1985 and 1990 sets. Short printed cards are supposed to include designs from all years, and the 1983 All-Star design is used for standard cards and autographs (hence the 1983 design for the Harper). Of course, there is all sorts of relics and autographs which I rarely get, so there's not much point in discussing those. The backs of the cards are pretty similar to the actual releases, although the card stock is obviously different. I think it would have been kind of cool to use the same card stock as they used in '72, 82, etc., but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment I get from seeing the designs of yesteryear. (I wish they had used the 1978 or 1979 design. Maybe next year?)
There also seems to be a small amount of controversy as one of the inserts features the '71-72 Topps Basketball design, which I do not see the point of using in a baseball release. Once again, I'm pretty sure I won't be pulling any anyways, so the "Pop-Up" is not going to lose any sleep over it.
I will however be trying to complete this set, so it's almost a guarantee I'll have some dupes to trade somewhere down the line.
Whoa, you got Machado, Bundy, Strasburg and Harper all in the same rack pack?? How'd that thing escape the Delmarva!? Anyhow, that's a pretty darn good how-do-you-do!
ReplyDeleteI'll also be vying for a complete set, so I'll squirrel away my doubles for ya.