Once again dipping into the Archives Reserve

Splurged on a few more cards for my Topps Archives Reserve master setbuild over the past few weeks.

Love this Harmon Killebrew!

2002 Archives threw a wrinkle into the backs by including the stats from the year the original card came out (e.g., stats from the 1969 season on the back of a reprint of his '69 Topps card.. kinda hurts your brain to think about, but I suppose it's kinda cool. It's not like Topps to give themselves more work to do on reprints. The stats here get blocked somewhat by the authenticity hologram that Topps was using at the time.

From one Twins legend to another, here's the first Kirby Puckett relic added to my collection. Looks good with the pinstriped swatch. Magnifique!

We round out the trio of 2002 Archives Reserve hits with this lovely Big Dave Winfield bat card. As a Padres fan, I always appreciate seeing a young Winfield in the brown and gold. I kinda dig these relics that are essentially mini refractor reprints with some extra stuff included around it. 

Unlike those above relics, this little fella really is a mini card (though framed). It's regular Archives (not Reserve), but I'm squeezing it in as a bonus into this post for the heck of it.

2013 Archives was among the first new sets I got into after returning to the hobby as an adult. Ripped a fair amount of it hoping for something cool like one of these 1973-style minis, but to no avail. But now here a few years later I ponied up for this Will Middlebrooks. Not a big name today, but well, the big names are very expensive. The fact it's a Christmas Card helped me justify biting at the cost-of-a-blaster asking price. 

Middlebrooks had a sharp decline after his promising '12 debut, and his days as an active player are already behind him. He was able to taste the thrill of victory with the 2013 Red Sox, so he's got that going for him. I suppose the fact that he was a Padre (for 83 forgettable games in 2015) is a plus for me. And Will seems to have kept "on the scene" thanks to a good social media presence (@middlebrooks), plus the fact that he's married to a sports reporter who's also good at social media (@JennyDell_).

Back to the card, yeah, it's right up my alley. I'd probably say 1973 Topps is my all-time favorite design, and I think the mini interpretation is cute. I also really like the frame design.. I'm pretty sure that's paying tribute to a vintage card thing, though I couldn't tell you which off the top of my head.

Nice that they made a full back for it, too. 

So yeah, fun pickup for my 12/25 collection.

Oh, and the seller of the Kirby relic threw in a couple random Nolan Ryan cards. Cool.. pretty sure I needed them for the PC.

Thanks for reading. This is my first post written with Blogger's annoying new site design, so hopefully it looks ok. Took a few more clicks than the old site, so that's a bummer. But hey, as long as it keeps working and is free..!

Parallel Universe: 2014 Topps Archives turns back the crotch

I generally like Topps Archives. It's a very divisive product, I know. But back in 2012 when I was just giving a curious look at what the hobby had been up to for the past couple decades, it was 2012 Archives that made me say, "Hmm, it'd be fun to rip a few packs of that!" Drawing me in with sentimental, familiar designs, and a mix of old-timers I knew and new guys I mostly didn't, next thing I knew I had dropped probably about a hundred bucks on blasters chasing a hit, any hit (never did pull an auto or anything really cool like that, sadly). And that was basically how I stumbled back into collecting baseball cards. Here we are a couple years later and I've pretty much gone full-bore and I'm even blogging about it a few times per week.

So call me a softy/sucker for Archives, but I pre-ordered a hobby box of the 2014 product the other day and eagerly expect it at the end of the month. With 2 guaranteed autos per box, looks like I'll finally get the longed-for hit that several blasters of 2012 and 2013 Archives couldn't deliver. Sure, I'll just pull the likes of Wally Backman and Adam Eaton, but I'll take them, even though I'll have overpaid a bunch. ($90 for the hobby box.. ugh.. no more 2014 product for me. I'm done.)

Stay tuned for a future post where I bust the box (At least I had the self-restraint not to spend a grand to crack a case.. believe me, I wanted to!)

But for now, let's enter the world of imagination and take a look at some fun/fake highlights that 2014 Topps Archives features! This is a silly recurring feature called Parallel Universe.

"Game-used" Charlie Sheen condom relic

This year Archives celebrates the 25th anniversary of the film Major League with special inserts. The most sought-after will surely be this auto/relic featuring a piece of a condom from a lovely night Charlie had with an escort whilst filming the motion picture.

1980 Topps "hot packs"

They sure do fuckin' love 1980 Topps. It was just back in 2012 Archives when 1980 Topps was a featured design. And now this year, 1980 Topps is again one of the four featured designs in the base set. And they didn't just stop there! Certain "1980 hot cases" will be nothing but a case of 1980 Topps wax packs that the company had sitting unsold in a warehouse upstate. Good luck pulling a Gem-Mint 10 Rickey rookie! (Actually, this would be pretty cool. Who would be upset finding out the case of 2014 Archives they bought was actually 1980 Topps? But 1989 Topps on the other hand, you've got a lawsuit on your hands.)

Uglifractor, /10

In an effort to create "the ugliest card design of all time" Topps has taken 1986 Topps and made a purple border version. The result is, in a phrase, A delightfully nauseating affront to all of God's creation. (This is not a fake card, this is apparently real!)

That's it for this time. (Sorry if this episode was a bit phoned-in. And I hope the condom thing wasn't offensive to anybody.. forgive my occasional lapse in good taste.) We'll catch ya next time.. here in.. the parallel universe!!!

2013 Topps Archives blaster breakdown

Before I started reading baseball card blogs, I had no idea what a "blaster" was. Hell, I'm still not exactly sure. But I think I recently bought one on eBay for $20. I don't really mess with new cards much at all. I haven't bought a pack of any current Topps flagship set since 1993 (not counting a single 2008 pack I bought at the dollar store).

But I'm drawn to Topps Archives, what with the classic designs from yesteryear and the old school retired players mixed in with guys from today. I've never heard of half of the current guys (I don't really follow baseball much these days), but the old guys are cool. Man, I flushed damn near $100 last year on 2012 Topps Archives packs. I was really hoping to pull a certified autograph. Even a "common" auto like Wally Backman would have been ok, but preferably a badass like Bob Gibson. But I got shut out. The best I got out of, what, 20-something packs was a jersey Andy Peditte. Also a jersey of some Braves dude (Jason Heyward, I think? Oh, and I should mention I don't really care about jersey cards and fully expect them to be "fake" but whatever, still cool to pull) and a gold parallel of Josh Hamilton. ("Parallel", there's another baseball card term I wasn't familiar with until I recently got back into the hobby a few years ago.) So, yeah, my 2012 Archives "chase" was not, in fact, caught. It's ok, though. I like the cards, especially the old guys, like I said. And I was going through some tough times around the time I was ripping packs (somewhat of a "breakdown", if you will-- See tying in the blog name! lol), so they were a nice little distraction. I remember the day my super amazing dog Lucy died (no fooling, she was such a great dog-- I know everybody loves their own dog n' all, but damn, I can't overstate how much she enriched our lives, and everyone she met, really; imagine Winnie The Pooh as a dog; like a sweet, cuddly living teddy bear; so sad to lose her so soon), but anyways, that night, in the lowest depths of my sadness, I pulled a Roberto Clemente rookie reprint from an Archives pack. Of course I couldn't help but see a parallel (I need to learn how to spell that word without spellcheck's help) but yeah, the parallel between one of the greatest humans of all time and one of the greatest pooches of all time, both taken from us too soon. Now I always think of Lucy and smile when I see that card. I think it's currently visible on display in the header pic of this blog.

man, we still miss her everyday.

some of my 2012 Archives bounty

So anyways, I think Topps Archives is kinda cool. The 2 or 3 reviews by other bloggers I've seen are not crazy about the 2013 set. I'm definitely not planning on buying a bunch this year like I did last year, though; just this one blaster will likely do me fine.

So what did I get brag-worthy this year? Not much. A jersey card of Hanley Ramirez is my only real "hit" so far (I've currently got 1 more pack to rip). Also got a couple mini tall boys which don't do much for me to begin with, but especially not Braun and Strasburg. Other short prints include All-Star cards of Fisk and Schmidt (I like those guys, but not these cards-- blah) and a '68-style Denny McLain. So yeah, nothing to really get excited over. As far as base cards I'm happy to have pulled: non-actives Griffey Jr, Eddie Mathews, Yogi, Jackie, Ryne, and Stargell. For current guys, there's Adrian Gonzales (my Padres allegiances cause me to still like the guy, even in a Dodger uni) and Dylan Bundy, who I must admit I'm not really familiar with, but is supposed to be a semi-hot prospect.. maybe?

could be worse

Ok, for some blog excitement, let's open my last pack here "live"! whee!! HEeeer Weee GOOOOOOO!!!!

Card back on the back of the pack.. Babe Ruth! Hey, the game's all-time greatest player! I'll take it. Topps gave him #1 placement. Nice. Turning the pack around..
Kyle Seager.. never heard of him
Doug Fister.. never heard of him, but cracked a smile at his vaguely obscene name
oh, a 4-player sticker peeked out at me from later in the pack.. joy! can't wait!
Todd Frazier.. never heard of him
ok, here's the 4-shot.. Cobb, Mays, Griffey, Trout. not bad.
next up, Carlos Gonzalez.. never heard of him
Dustin Pedroia.. yep, I've heard of this guy
Giancalo Stanton.. never heard of him.. wow, this guy puts up decent power numbers, I must be really out of the loop.

and finally, here's the front of the Babe card whose back greeted me when I opened the pack. Love the tiny full stats on the back, even the crappy last year with the Boston Braves!

So anyways, looks like I'm shut out once again for any Archives fan favorite autos. Bummer. Maybe next year.
I'll pick out some of these cards to add to my collection and the rest will go into the "for Listia" stack. Maybe if this here blog ever gains traction, someday I'll start trading with other guys from the blog community. I don't think I've ever traded cards over the internet with anyone. I've gotten some card in exchange for music bootlegs (I've got a pretty big selection of live/rare music from a select few bands I like, and make it known that I'll trade copies for cards). But yeah, I haven't done much trading. I guess Listia is basically trading, since I auction off cards for credits, then use those credits to bid on other cards, but that's not quite the same. Oh man, this would be the perfect time to post my referral link in case anyone reading this hasn't signed up for Listia yet! If you're not familiar, it's like a "free eBay" marketplace where you buy and sell stuff for credits (instead of money). Sorry for the spam-ish end to this long, rambling post, but yeah, if you want to sign up for Listia, pretty please use this link because that'll get me some bonus credits and potentially pull me back from the brink of another breakdown (see, tied it all back into the blog title! score!)