2018 Topps Archives

Year: 2018

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Archives

Card Type: Base

Card Number: 113

Want to know something crazy?  This is the first 2018 card featuring Robin Yount I've picked up this year. Sure I already featured his 2018 New Era card, but this card was the first to arrive and it came via a trade with Julie over at A Cracked Bat. 

This also happens to be Robin's first and only base card this year.  Most of the cards issued for Robin have been low numbered autograph, relic, and auto relics from the high end products so it's nice that there's a easy card to add to the collection and of course parallels to chase.  It should be noted that Topps has only released the retail part of Archives and delayed the hobby release till sometime this month, but Topps has yet to confirm a release date.  Robin also has an card in the Rookie Card History insert set with multiple parallels as well.  You can see his whole checklist here.  

Thanks again Julie.

All About the Base - 1991 Topps

Year: 1991

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Flagship

Card Number: 575

Card Type: Base

While I loved the 1990 Topps set, I'm very smitten with this set as well.  I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the color coordinated borders.  Maybe it's the 40th Anniversary logo or the fact that logo is watermarked on the back of the card.  Maybe it's the bubble gum pink backs. Maybe it's the nostalgia that this will be the last flagship set printed on this kind of card stock.  Either way we get a great Yount card featuring Robin swinging.  The font size for the career stats continues to get smaller and smaller.  

All About the Base - 1989 Topps

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Flagship

Card Number: 615

Card Type: Base

I wonder out of the hundreds of this card I probably have squirreled away I managed to grab one with grease stains on the front?  Well I'm not going into the archives to scan another one.  I'll be honest I have a huge love for this set in general.  I love the simple border design and the ballpark font for the team name with the player name in the tail. I chewed a lot of gum from these packs.  And for some reason I really loved the smell of this set, yes the smell.  Topps brings back the red and black color scheme for the card backs.  Topps used that color scheme just a few years ago with the 1985 set and I liked it then as I much as I liked it for this set.  In last year's issue Topps brought back the baseball graphic to the backs of the card, but this year Topps returns the graphic to it's place of glory framing the card number.  The last time Topps did that was in the 1981 set.  Again no room for anymore trivia, but we do get the game winning RBI stat squeezed into the bottom.

2002 Fleer Greats of the Game

Year: 2002

Manufacturer: Fleer

Set: Greats of the Game

Card Type: Base

Card Number: 66

The early 2000's marked a time where card companies were starting to cash in on the Hall of Fame and retired player marked.  Fleer's Greats of the Game was just one in a long line of products to fill that niche.

Robin has a base card in the set and a bunch of relic and auto cards to chase.  But here's something unique, and maybe it's just early in the trend, but this set has no base parallels.  I do love the full career stats on the back.  Plus the card has a nice feel to it.  And I actually me the feel you get when you touch it.

2009 Topps Tribute base

Year: 2009

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Tribute

Card Number: 56

Card Type: Base

I've always liked Tribute.  I don't like the steep price for boxes and packs, but I do love the look of the cards, the parallels, the inserts, and the hits.  Robin has been featured pretty consistently since Tribute came out in the early 2000's.

The card looks great in hand, it doesn't scan too well, like most shiny cards.  We get a great posed fielding shot of Robin in a classic mid-70's uniform.  As a matter of fact we can place this photo somewhere between 1974 and 1977.  I'm sure it's been used before, but not so much I can place the photo or the  usage elsewhere.

On the back we get the standard write up and career stats.

2012 Panini Cooperstown

Card Manufacturer: Panini

Year: 2012

Card Set: Cooperstown

Card Number: 106

Card Type: Base

The inaugural year of Panini's Cooperstown brand.  Panini has got a lot of mileage out of it's Hall of Fame license and it all started here.  The design is interesting, I have a hard time deciding if I like it or not, but with so much information hidden around the card it's hard not to like it even if Panini used black and white photos, can't use logos, and opted for only one stat year on the back.  But I like the induction year on the top of the front of the card, the active playing years bracketing the player name on the back, and nice write up on the back.

Robin has a bunch of inserts in the set and an autograph.  This base card has one parallel, the Crystal Collection, serial numbered to 299 that were seeded 3 per hobby box.

2003 Upper Deck Play Ball

Year: 2003

Card Manufacturer: Upper Deck

Card Set: Play Ball

Card Number:34

Card Type: Base

I personally believe that base cards just don't get enough love.  Now days it's all fancy relic auto button cards, but there was a time when all you got was base cards.  It was possible your favorite player might be featured on more than one and it's also possible he  might be in a special mail in offer or even get a Hostess card.  Ahem, I'm not that old, but it's true, seems like the base set in any given series is just filler for the hits, where it use to be the an inserted autograph or relic was like winning the lottery not mandatory in selling a product.

Well 2003 Upper Deck Play Ball sure isn't a throwback to just base cards, but there are some nice ones in the set.  Besides the base there were two parallel sets to chase, the red backs and minis.  Plus the set does have relic cards to chase and other goodies.  I should note that the mini cards have a different background.

Play Ball was Upper Decks answer to Topps' 206 and 205 and Donruss Diamond Kings artcentric releases.  I don't remember ever opening a pack of this, let alone a box, but in 2003 there was more baseball sets produced than anytime in history so it doesn't surprise me that I missed it. 

Over all the card is fairly simple and pays homage to the 1941 set.  Choosing to copy the colorful 1941 release over the black and white 1940 cards seems like a no brainer.  Looking through the set the artwork is pretty well done and was one of the selling points of the set.  

2007 Topps Triple Threads base card

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Triple Threads

Year: 2007

Card Number: 124

Card Type: Base

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 0939/1350

Triple Threads is one of those issues that it's the base that changes and the relics and hits seem to stay the same.  Robin has base cards in the first 3 sets issued from 2006- 2008 and then didn't get another base card until 2013.  Early in the brands days the base cards were numbered, but Topps stopped that a few years back.  Robin has card #124 in the set and gets all the associated parallels.

Not a bad looking card and it's an image that Topps didn't use too much. I like the feel of these card. It looks like it would take an autograph well and the red base cards make a pretty bold statement.    

2014 Topps Museum Collection base card

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Museum Collection

Year:  2014

Card Number: 67

Card Type: Base

Sorry I've been gone so long. Went on a month long vacation with the family down to see the rest of the family. So really it wasn't much of a vacation.  But just because I was gone doesn't mean I wasn't picking up new Younts.

I finally got my hands on a base card for this year's Museum Collection.  I do like the art deco design and overall marquee feel of the card. I also like the very think card stock and bright crisp photo. I don't like the price tag on the product, so picking up singles is the way to go.   I've posted a whole gallery of cool cards from this set.  A lot of those cards I'm sure I'll never own, but I like putting the galleries together, because a lot of the rarer cards will eventually disappear into private collections never to be seen again.  

But I still plan on posting the individual cards I get for my collection. 

So here it is Mr. Yount's 2014 Topps Museum Collection base card #67.

2013 Panini America's Pastime

Card Manufacturer: Panini

Card Set: America's Pastime

Year:  2013

Card Number: 127

Card Type: Base

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 044/125

I just finally was able to get my hands on this one.  Panini's America's Pastime wasn't as high end as National Treasures, but it's still a pricey pack at about $225 and base cards are all numbered to 125.  Each box had one pack of 10 cards.  You got 1 book card, 3 autographs, 2 relics, 1 to 2 inserts, and 2 to 3 base cards numbered to 125 or less.  Each base card has 3 parallels.  The gold numbered to 25, the green foil numbered to 10 and the black 1 of 1 cards.

Robin's card in #127 in the set and while I give Panini some slack for not having the MLB license to use logos this picture is one of the worst I've seen used.  The overall design isn't bad, but this card looks more like something I would have pulled out of a food issue back in the late 80's instead of a $200+ pack of cards. And these are kind of hard to find. I'm guessing that not many people are rushing out to bust an expensive non-licenesed product.   But still a great addition to the collection.