First Impressions - 2019 Topps Archives

I've got to be honest here: When it comes to Archives, I genuinely don't care that Topps can't/won't match the cards exactly to the originals. I don't really care if the shading, color, or font is off (although I did find it fascinating that it so mind-boggling inconsistent this year!) As long as it's within the spirit of the original set, I'm cool with it.

Also, a fair warning: All my local Wally World had were the 7 packs plus 2 coins boxes. I could have just picked a couple of the packs and gone with a shorter list, but in the end I figured the inserts were all worth showing off.

#20 Duke Snider

The honor of the first card goes to the Silver Fox. This is part of the joy of Archives. Over 60 years after the move to Los Angeles, and we still get to pull Brooklyn Dodger cards!

#26 Justin Verlander
#104 Paul Goldschmidt
#197 Andrew Benintendi

First pack opened, and I get a Red Sox player! Good start!

#318 Kris Bryant (HL, SP)

This short-print threw me off a little, because it is glossy as opposed to the regular base set.

#232 Victor Robles
#242 Zack Cozart
#212 Robin Roberts

The 1993 cards are glossy too. I find that a bit weird, having one of the three tributes shinier than the rest.

#95 Hoyt Wilhelm
#64 Don Larsen
#7 Roberto Alomar

Here's a look at the back. I love the cartoons. Topps needs to bring back cartoons for the base set in the near future.

#142 Deion Sanders
#136 Ty Cobb

Here's a look at the back of the 1975 design. See? Cartoons!

#310 Mike Trout (AS, SP)

I'm thrilled that the base set's All-Star cards now reflect everyone who was chosen to play, but I miss the distinctive designs we used to get. This is one of the best Topps ever did.

#239 Willie McCovey
#231 Ralph Kiner

No cartoons for the back of the 1993 set. At least we get stat lines aplenty!

#31 Ramon Laureano (RC)
#100 Ronald Acuna Jr.
#186 George Kell
#177 Josh Donaldson
#174 George Springer (Silver parallel)

I thought this was just a normal base card at first glance, and didn't realize it was a silver parallel until I flipped it over and saw the serial number. See the slight hint of silver on the inside border? I hate it when it's not obvious. At least it's a star player!

#215 Tris Speaker
#264 Don Mattingly
#269 Bryse Wilson (RC)
#70 Jeimer Candelario
#30 Robinson Cano
#73 Andrew McCutchen
#152 Walker Buehler
#180 Manny Margot
#94FS-13 Willy Adames (1994 Topps Future Star insert)

Ah, the graphical overindulgence of 90's baseball cards! It was ugly then, it's still ugly now.

#221 Justus Sheffield (RC)
#285 David Ortiz

Big Papi! I'm surprised the story of his shooting has died down. There was some high level drama unfolding when the police were first investigating this. Was he the intended target or not?

#2 Patrick Corbin
#4 Michael Chavis (RC)
#133 Nick Senzel (RC)
#156 Blake Snell
#108 Catfish Hunter
#I-3 Ichiro (Ichiro Retrospective insert)

Has anyone other than maybe Jeter had so many insert sets dedicated purely to one player? This is at least the 3rd that I'm aware of.

#289 Sammy Sosa

Interesting choice here. Sammy as a White Sox? What's really funny is the back shows only the last 15 years of his career, which doesn't include his time in the Pale Hose!

#235 Rogers Hornsby
#67 Goose Gossage
#78 Hank Aaron

The law of card blogs compels me to show you this Hank Aaron card.

#121 Tony Gwynn
#109 Andy Pettitte
#172 Steven Duggar (RC)
#275 Joe Morgan
#299 Michael Givens
#214 Whit Merrifield
#97 Bob Gibson
#88 Chipper Jones
#56 Luis Urias (RC)
#199 Jacob deGrom
#158 Richie Ashburn
#325 Luis Urias (RC,SP)

One final SP to show off - The box netted me 3 of the 30 short prints, which isn't horrible!

#224 Gary Sanchez
#230 J.P. Crawford

Here's what I got in the Topps Coins pack:

#C-22 Michael Kopech
#C-18 Max Scherzer

I've been doing these card set reviews for awhile now, but other blogs do them better. One of the best in the blog-o-sphere is at Sports Card Collectors. His reviews are very informative! (You can read his review of 2019 Archives here!). He's running a contest where you can win a lot of cool cards, including a Bartolo Colon autograph!