2015 Topps Archives

I've been on vacation (way out of town) for most of the last 2 weeks and see that Topps Archives, Topps Series 2 and Topps Stadium Club came out in my absence. I got some Archives and Series 2 at Target. I haven't looked to see how much Stadium Club is going to set me back yet. 

I always kind of like Topps Archives but I don't buy much of it. My local Target only had 5 18-card packs, so that's what I bought. It's probably all I'll buy.  Usually Topps goes with four previous Topps designs but this year they only have three, 1957, 1976, and 1983.

1957 Series

I'm sorry, but 1957 is one of my least favorite Topps sets. I like the large photo and the simplicity of the design, but I just don't like the lettering at all.  But I'll take a Robin Roberts card anytime. As represented by this card, each series has former players, current players, and rookies.

I also got an Astro. Quite unexpectedly, the Astros are one of the best teams in baseball this year and I think I'm seeing more Astros cards this year. There were a lot of 'Stros in the Series 2 I bought.

1976 Series

By contrast to 1957, I have always liked the 1976 design, front and back.  As usual, the rookie cards are designated by the discrete RC logo.

1983 Series

1983 is another year I like, although I may be affected by the fact that the Phillies were in the World Series in 1983, and my first 1983 cards were Phillies.

I pulled two Pirates cards from the 1983 series. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this card in the scan, but in person, the yellow against the white background is almost impossible to see. At first I thought this was a printing error. More like a design judgement error perhaps.

I also pulled a silver parallel of the 1983 series, numbered to 199.

Topps Archives All-Star Rookie

At first I thought that there was a fourth series, 1990. What's up? I thought, 1990 was used in the 2014 set. Then I noticed the number on the back. The 1990 design is used for All-Star Rookies and Draft picks. 1990 Topps is perhaps my least favorite Topps design, especially the purple bordered ones. I really don't want to see another card using the 1990 design until the 2039 Topps Heritage set (if I figured that correctly). If I'm still interested in collecting baseball cards when I'm 87 years old, I'll welcome the set then.

1968 Game

This is the only other card of note I pulled. Archives usually has some insert sets based on inserts of the past, which I guess is what this is. I'm too lazy right now to figure it out.