Card Critic: 2014 Topps Archives

Before I get into what I think about the 2014 edition of Topps Archives, a little background on the three shifts in the hobby landscape that were needed to support a weird mishmash of a set like this. 

In the summer of 1989, political scientist Francis Fukuyama published an essay in The National Interest titled "The End of History?" Fukuyama argued that Western liberal democracy marked the end of humanity's social evolution and that, contrary to Marx, democracy would be the prevailing style of government going forward.

If we replace "Western liberal democracy" with "nostalgia," this thesis could also accurately describe the approach and mind-set of Topps in 1989. Nineteen eighty-nine saw Topps's re-introduction of the Bowman brand, complete with oversized cards, a la 1953. While oversized cards were used for only the inaugural set, the design choices put forth in 1989 Bowman catered to those nostalgic adult collectors, and set the company on the path to today's hobby landscape: obsessed with retro designs, with fewer and fewer original designs and new ideas.

I could write an entire essay on the design decisions (or lack thereof) of Bowman, but let's talk about Topps Archives instead. When the brand started in 1991, it was strictly as a reprint of the 1953 set, with a few cards tacked on at the end of the checklist of players not originally included in the set (Ted Williams, Henry Aaron, Lou Boudreau, etc.). The "Ultimate 1953" set was a big hit with collectors. (So much so that Archives would pop up again in 1994 with the "Ultimate 1954" set, with a Brooklyn Dodgers set in 1995, and with mixed-years sets in 2001, and 2002, before disappearing for another 10 years.)

But while Topps was using Archives as a reprint brand for baseball (and football), the company took the innovative route and lent the Archives name to a basketball card set that predicted the direction of the brand today: a smaller set using legacy designs and heavy with contemporary stars.

The set was called "Topps Archives: The Rookies," featuring NBA players shown in their rookie years, using the baseball card designs from those years. This was significant because Topps did not create basketball cards for 10 seasons (1982-83 to 1991-92), thus missing out on a decade's worth of star rookies. I really liked this set; its concept, designs, checklist, and price per pack appealed to me as a collector (and the fact that you can still find boxes of unopened wax for under $15 is pretty cool as well).

The current iteration of Archives could not exist without a third nostalgia-tinted brand: Topps All-Time Fan Favorites. Released from 2003–2005, these sets featured popular regional favorites from the last 50 years—not necessarily each team's biggest stars. Designs included every year of the Topps canon, from 1952 on. And while the checklist got more and more tired with each passing year, the brand concept was fresh (though it did start to border on my parody idea of an Archives set comprised entirely of commons).

This combination—a yen for nostalgia, legacy designs, and a mix of contemporary and retired players on a shorter checklist—is what makes a set like Topps Archives tick.

But yes, it's a hodgepodge. The checklist is a mix of today's stars and rookies and retired Hall of Famers. The set's got a bit of history for younger collectors who don't know the legacy designs, it's got parallels (like every other Topps product), and it's got short-printed hot-stuff rookies (Masahiro Tanaka and Jose Abreu).

It's also devoid of original thought, or new ideas, or really any ideas that go outside the box. And if you don't like the designs included in the set, you're probably not going to want to collect it. The brand has also, in its three years of existence in this form (2012–2014, so far), been plagued with lousy paper stock, odd inserts (Karate Kid villain autographs, anyone?), photography shared with other sets, and eerily similar checklists from year to year.

But did I mention it has on-card autographs? Of current stars and retired fan favorites? I never wanted a Shawon Dunston reprint 1990 Topps card, but I do cherish the auto'd Dunston reprint I got in a pack of 2012 Archives. But with 2014 Topps Archives pushing $100 a box, I hope I would find an autograph of someone better than Shawon.

This year's crop of inserts presents a nice mix of designs; my favorites are the 1969 Topps Deckle (what, no short-printed Jim Wynn or Joe Foy or their more recent equivalents Ron Gant and Alex Gordon?), and 1987 Topps Future Stars. Both of these inserts will fit nicely as I build mega master sets for both of these years (1969 Topps and 1987 Topps, respectively).

And it's here that Topps's dumpster dive into the past connects with me. I'm actively collecting cards that use a particular design to create a "mega master set." I'm doing this for a handful of years: 1965, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1986, and 1987 Topps. It adds a new wrinkle to collecting these sets and makes newer brands like All-Time Fan Favorites, Heritage, and even Archives worth paying attention to.

Have we reached the end of original thought in the hobby? Well, nostalgia is the prevailing selling point for many, if not virtually all, of the new baseball card sets in 2014. Gypsy Queen, Allen and Ginter, Heritage, Archives, Turkey Red—all of these sets are based on old designs. Topps flagship base-card designs have been interchangeable since 2010. Bowman? Ditto. And inserts in these flagship sets hark back to the legacy of each brand.

Don't let your set be a victim of repetitive photography!

So while 2014 Archives lacks the new idea to make it a memorable set, that's not a surprising development. It would be truly surprising if it did present something new.

The Coach's Coach

The 1988 San Francisco Giants did not lack for leaders. They had Will Clark, Rick Reuschel, Mike LaCoss, Rusty Tillman ... all famous leaders. But their greatest leader stood at third base, and his name was Matt Williams Bill Fahey.

Giants Leaders, 1989 Topps

If you did what Bill Fahey told you to when he tugged on his ear - hit a home run - you could have the good fortune of shaking his hand as you rounded third, provided you shook like A MAN and not some ninnypants jerkface.

But how did Bill Fahey even get to third base?

Well, he got there mainly because the Giants are not afraid to try new ideas.

The first new idea was: Let's put a coach at third base who has never coached there before and see what happens.

The second new idea was: What happened was magic.

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Whoever said there is nothing new in big league baseball should have been here Tuesday. A big league third-base coach, Bill Fahey of the San Francisco Giants, was receiving instruction from another third-base coach. Or to put it more simply: one coach is coaching another.

This is pretty much the greatest lede ever. One coach coaching another? WHA WHA WHAAAAAAAA????? That is new to baseball and happened in 1988 for the first time. It used to be like:

Coach: Hey player, do THIS.

Player: Got it coach.

Other coach: No, no, no. Tell him to do this like this. Do THIS.

Coach: HEY WHAT THE HELL BUDDY I'LL DO THE COACHIN' ROUND HERE! GET OFF THE FIELD DAG NABIT!

But:

"It takes a true leader to be led." -- Garfield (the cat)

More:

``I don`t think it`s ever happened before,`` conceded Herman Franks, 74, the coach doing the coaching. ``I`ll tell him all I know.``

This card would be much more accurate if there was a dream-like image of Herman Franks standing in the outfield and nodding his approval as Fahey shook hands with whatshisface.

``I think he`ll be all right,`` Franks observed, speaking of his pupil. ``He`s got to know every arm out there and when to gamble. I can only teach him so much. A lot of it is horse sense and instinct.``

Pretty sure Fahey was using his horse sense here, when he horse-sensed the sign for "hit a dinger, fella."

The third-base coach is, in effect, an assistant manager. He gets the signs from the dugout and relays them to the first-base coach, the hitter and the baserunners. He must be constantly of (sic) aware of the game situations-the speed of the baserunner, accuracy and arm strength of all the outfielders and which hitters are due up next.

WHICH HITTERS ARE DUE UP NEXT (!!!)

Player: Who's up next, skip? Ain't nobody in the on-deck circle ...

Manager: Confarnit how should I know? Ask the third base coach ya' dingbat!

Seriously everyone please read this spring training column from 1988. It is awesome, and features phrases like:

horse sense
skull session
Connie Mack
chalk talk
10-gallon hat
John Wayne
pearl-handled six-shooters
"All we had was the damn salad."

Anyway, the point is that third base coach Phil Bill Fahey is the greatest leader to have ever led. A true pioneer, he is the reason why no coach or player has since worn No. 42. A bust of Fahey is the first thing you see when you walk into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and below it is inscribed the phrase, "The first coach to have ever been coached by another coach with coaching, Bill Fahey coached with #horsesense."

The BMC Blog

Batman, 1989 Topps, No. 3

First, allow me to apologize. This is not a baseball card. This is a Batman card that I found in my baseball cards. I am sorry. I mean, not really. I am not really that sorry or else I just wouldn't have posted this. But really - I am sorry.

Guys, though, seriously. This card. You got your Kim Basinger, your Michael Keaton ... some books. This card has everything. Now, I know this is from the movie, but like, this very shot? Is this a still shot from the movie? Maybe a part where that guy from Arli$$ is badgering them about something and Kim and Mike are all like, whatevs, but also don't want to be rude? Maybe. I don't know, haven't seen the movie in a while. OR - and hear me out now - is this a posed shot for a Topps Batman card? I think it might be - I want it to be - a posed shot for a Topps Batman card.

"Alright everybody, CUT! Gonna take a 20 here. Fred, you ready? Guys, this is Fred from Topps ... " - Tim Burton

I don't know. All I know is, you can cut the sexual tension in here with a Bat-knife. If you look up "smoldering" in the dictionary, there is a picture of this Batman card. Where is Alfred? Someone needs to hose these two off with a fire extinguisher, amirite? #batman #batsex #exposedshoulders

The other cool thing about this card is that it's a sticker?

That is great because the places one would want to stick this Batman sticker are limitless. I cannot think of one place 11-year-old me would NOT want to proudly display this sticker of Micheal Keaton and Kim Basinger looking harrowingly into my very soul. I don't know though, this "peel" might be a typo because I have been trying to peel this sticker off for the better part of a morning - SORRY BOSS, NOT NOW, TRYING TO PEEL OFF THIS BATMAN STICKER - and it is not budging. It's possible a quarter century of dormancy has atrophied the stickiness, but I honestly thought Topps was better than that. Or was this made in Vietnam? Sheesh.

But all is not lost because whether this is a sticker or not, the back of the card features The Joker's hat and crotch.

If anybody out there has the other parts of this Joker puzzle, please keep it to yourself because this is embarrassing for everyone. Also, Ben, is it cool if I post a Batman card this week? If yes, say nothing.

Cool.

What Ben's Thinking About

It's no secret: my interest in collecting sports cards waxes and wanes like the cycles of the moon. But there are certain things about the hobby that pique my interest. Here they are for the week of June 15, 2013.

1. I'm still marveling at the profile page our own Travis Peterson got in June's Beckett Sports Cards Monthly. Hey Topps, how long before you wake up and give this guy some sketch cards in a new product? 

2. My excitement for Topps Heritage 2014 is palpable. Not too long ago I finally put the finishing touches on my 1965 set, and since its one of the more popular Topps years, I wonder if the company is also counting down the days till its release. I'm convinced that it will be a surefire hit, especially if they include a full 72-card Embossed all-stars insert set. The Heritage line has seemed like it's been phoning it in the past few years...

3. I bought some Topps Tiffany cards a few weeks ago. No wonder I lusted after these cards as unattainable in my youth—they still look great; glossy and bright as the day they were born. Too bad the last owner was definitely a smoker. I never it would matter much if a previous owner smoked, but you can tell just from one sniff. It's kind of gross.

4. One of the biggest steals of the last few years has to be sealed Topps buybacks on eBay. Head over to our Facebook page and watch my pack break if you don't believe me. I paid $2 for that sealed pack on eBay.

5. I'm debating which vintage set to collect next. The choices are 1953, 1954, or 1955 Topps, or 1988 or 1989 Topps. I know what you're thinking: Why would anyone willingly spend money on junk wax? Well, I must've put together at least three full sets from both years back in 1988 and 1989, but I didn't save any of them. And it turns out that as I put together the mega master sets for 1986 and 1987, I'm reminded how much I like the designs from 1988 and 1989. And it would be super-cheap to accomplish, even without plunking down the $7 for a factory set.

6. I'm not sure how others feel about 2013 Topps Archives, but I don't really like the idea of mixing sports designs. Topps Basketball had some great designs in the 1970s, but that doesn't mean I'll take a shine to seeing Ted Williams on a 1972–73 card. Is it that they feel they've tapped the well of baseball designs too many times?

7. I just re-read Ken Kaiser's autobiography Planet of the Umps. Definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, lively read. Makes me sad that umpires never got into a major baseball card set after 1955 Bowman. Maybe that will be our next great custom set...

8. Can I consider my 1976–79 mega master Topps sets complete without custom cards from Bob Lemke?

9. Since Topps has included mini cards as an insert set the past few years now, what will be the throwback design for 2014? My money's either on 1965, as a tie-in to the Heritage set, or a set from the 1990s, like 1992 Bowman. Or they'll pull an Upper Deck and steal a classic design from a one-time competitor. Who wouldn't love mini 1984 Donruss?

Cerone Alone

Rick Cerone, 1989 Topps

PUTTING PINE TAR ON MY BAT SO MY HANDS WILL STICK TO IT.

LA DI DA DI DA ... THERE'S TWO HITS IN THIS BAT I CAN FEEL IT.

WHY YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?

WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM BRO I'LL BE FINISHED WITH THE PINE TAR TOWEL IN A MINUTE DAMN.

PEOPLE BE LOOKING AT ME WEIRD ALL THE TIME HERE.

WHAT YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A HANDSOME VETERAN BACKSTOP BEFORE?

TAKE A PICTURE IT'LL LAST LONGER ACTUALLY DON'T OR I'LL BREAK YOUR CAMERA SONNY CORLEONE-STYLE.

THAT'S A COINCIDENTAL REFERENCE NOT A STEREOTYPE, OKAY?

JUST TRYING TO BE A LEADER MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS JERK.

FEELS LIKE THERE ARE ENEMIES ALL AROUND ME.

CLOWNS TO THE LEFT OF ME JOKERS TO THE RIGHT LIKE FROM THAT STEVIE WONDER SONG.

NEVER SHOULDA LEFT NEW YORK.

YO YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY TOUGH GUY?

DOES THIS LOOK LIKE THE FACE OF A GUY WHO TAKES ANY GRUFF?

I'LL BE FINISHED WHEN I'M FINISHED - THERE'S MORE PINE TAR TOWELS IN THE CLUBHOUSE DAMN.

HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT GUYS WERE TRYING TO GET ME.

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER.

JESUS SAID THAT, PRETTY SURE.

WISE MAN.

I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHO MY FRIENDS ARE ANYMORE YOU KNOW?

NEVER SHOULDA LEFT NEW YORK.

WHAT WAS THAT?

DID YOU HEAR THAT?

SOUNDED LIKE SOMEONE WAS CALLING MY NAME, TRYING TO LURE ME INTO A CAVE OR SOMETHIN'.

AIN'T GONNA FALL FOR IT WHOEVER YOU ARE!

CAN'T SCARE ME, THESE PUNKS.

I SWEAR IT'S LIKE THEY CAN SMELL THE YANKEE ON ME.

I DON'T EVEN TRUST MY OWN TEAMMATES.

IS SOMEONE BEHIND ME?

Don't stop, belieeeevin' ... hold on to that feeeeeeeling
/fade to black/

The Inspiration

Wayne Tolleson, 1989 Topps

Guys, Wayne Tolleson stole my heart and will steal yours, too.

Where do I begin? How about here:

Love and first sight. Let's go to Wikipedia:

Jimmy Wayne Tolleson

That's his full name, for reals. It's so dang AMERICAN I want to hop on a bald eagle and sail above Mount Rushmore. His Wiki bio photo is him at pregame with two boys, prolly his baseball-loving, well-behaved sons. I already feel like a terrible person being around Wayne Tolleson on the Internet.

A switch hitter who threw right-handed, Tolleson was listed at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall and 160 pounds during his playing career.

Five-feet, nine inches tall is, depending on your Eckstein source, just one-to-two inches taller than David Eckstein. Wayne Tolleson was, however, not Albino. But David Eckstein weighed (weighs; still alive, but unsure of post-retirement weight fluctuation) 170 pounds. David Eckstein would not have been allowed to box Wayne Tolleson on account of being too large. Speaking of other sports: did Wayne Tolleson play any other sports?

 

At Spartanburg

Spartanburg. That is awesome. I feel like the essence of Sparta is truly enhanced when you put a "burg" at the end.

(S.C.) High School, Wayne was a football teammate of former NFL Quarterback Steve Fuller.

I don't even know who Steve Fuller is; am I supposed to be impressed? From what I know already of Wayne Tolleson, I think the back of Steve Fuller's football card should read, "Was high school teammate of major league baller and generally amazing person and true American hero, Jimmy Wayne Tolleson. Go get his card and throw this one in the garbage can." (No offense there to Steve Fuller, who is maybe a nice person.)

You know, Darin Erstad played football. He was a punter for Nebraska, and he really took the grittiness of being of a punter to the major leagues, with the way he punted proverbially and willed his team to win like in football with good punts. I wonder what type of gritty punter Wayne Tolleson was ...

Tolleson was also a star football player at WCU, hauling in 105 passes for 1,747 yards and 14 touchdowns over two seasons. Tolleson was named All-Southern Conference as a wide receiver after leading both the conference and the NCAA Division I in receiving in 1977 with 73 catches for 1,101 yards and seven touchdowns.

Oh he was a diva wide receiver? That's not as a gritty as I thought. Too bad he didn't kick anything.

In 1977, he was WCU's emergency placekicker and was a perfect 6-of-6 on field goals, and connected on 22 of 24 extra point kicks. 

Okay that's pretty cool. But let's everybody relax. It's not like the guy played special teams or anything.

At the first-ever Canadian-American Bowl in Tampa, Florida, Tolleson returned the opening kickoff.

I am sitting next to my Grit Meter 3000 right now, and I am not kidding when I say that it just exploded. There are pieces of it everywhere. Wayne Tolleson did this, and I'm not even mad. I'm not even going to bother buying a new Grit Meter until the grit scientists go back to the drawing board and make a much more powerful model on this information I have just provided re: Jimmy Wayne Tolleson.

Guys, Jimmy Wayne Tolleson > Darin Erstad AND David Eckstein (!!!). Had his playing career fell into that niche of time after the Internet got big but before FJM, he likely would have caused several sports writers to have orgasmic heart attacks.

To recap, his name was Jimmy Wayne Tolleson, and he was 5'9", 160 pounds, and was possibly vision-impaired. He overcame all these obstacles to kick and catch footballs, and then hit baseballs professionally from either side of the plate, didn't matter to him. He was a Spartanburger through and through, and more importantly, a Yankee. Less importantly, he was a husband and father, but that's cool, too. In 1987, the "New York Press Association" - which I think is just Mike Lupica yelling in a large empty room - awarded him the "Good Guy Award." He donated the award to Haitian refugees. Maybe. I didn't look that up, but we can assume, safely.

Now let us all go forth and be better men. I mean you guys. I have cards to post.

Cap'n Red Hat and the Black Dirt Chronicles of Effort

Mike Schmidt, 1989 Topps Cap'n Crunch

What's left to say about Mike Schmidt? He played for the team with the red hats. He enjoyed/was sponsored by Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal. These are the two most common things people know about Mike Schmidt. "Is there anything else I should know?" you ask. Great question. Not really.

Unless ... do you like the Internet? Because guess what? Mike Schmidt has a website.

Here is the header/tagline/whatever you call that thing that appears on the very top of the browser of Mike Schmidt's website:

The best of the Sports Stores is Mike Schmidt Fan Shop; compare to the other Sports Stores, Sports Stores, Sports Stores and see.

There is no doubt we are required to do some comparison here. But before we do that -- and we won't do that -- the homepage features a very important quote by Mike Schmidt which, judging from the picture, he first uttered while hitting a home run over the Liberty Bell and winning America her freedom from France or whatever.

"If you could equate the amount of time and effort put in mentally and physically into succeeding on the baseball field and measured it by the dirt on your uniform, mine would have been black." -- Mike Schmidt

This is a very long quote that I had originally and mistakenly attributed to Winston Churchill. I think we've all wished, at one point or another in our lives, that effort could be manifested through dirt on our bodies. Effort, however, is typically only manifested by results, and unfortunately for Schmidt, he has only his 500 home runs and Hall of Fame career to serve as an indication that he did, many times, practice baseball. I also was not aware that brown dirt on top of more brown dirt will become black dirt. I thought it would just mean more dirt.

The point is that: hey you -- dive for that ground ball! Don't stand there and let it go by you because you don't want your uniform to get dirty like so, so, so, so, so, so many other baseball players. When you do that it looks like you're not trying. Do you even like baseball? Oh ... you don't? Then why are we even out here? I'm sorry; this is my dream, not yours. Let's go to the movies.

(If you are skeptical as to Mike Schmidt's belief in dirt, scroll over the Mike Schmidt logo on the website and experience the puff of dirt that magically appears. Don't worry though -- you won't get dirty.)

The other point is that: hey you -- buy some sports apparel and memorabilia at Mike Schmidt's online store! Don't just be all browsin' around without getting your uniform dirty (metaphor for consumer purchase).

It's uncertain what role, exactly, Cap'n Crunch played in the creation of mikeschmidt.com. It's possible that this card and Mike Schmidt's website are mutually exclusive. But who knows? The long arms of Cap'n Crunch spread wide across corporate America.

Best Set Countdown: 33 – 31

I’ve been putting the rest of the countdown off for the past few days, if only because, as I was thinking on the subway going in to work yesterday, now is where things get difficult. The sets become more iconic, pitfalls become less obvious and the merits of each deserve more attention.

Invariably the countdown will step on collectors’ toes: I am aware that from now on there will be people out there who think I’m full of shit for listing ’83 Fleer over ’81 Topps, or ’89 Topps Traded in the top 33 at all. I’m prepared that every set will be somebody’s favorite; maybe someone’s first set was ’84 Topps, someone else’s last set ’86 Donruss or ’83 Fleer and therefore that set is firmly planted at the top of their own Best Set list. I guess all I can say is that I’m not letting nostalgia cloud my review and ranking of the remaining sets. If there was a Canseco rookie in a given set (for example), and mostly everybody spent their youth pining for it and saving up the $35 to buy it, you bet I’m going to take that into consideration. But no way in hell does that make that set better—especially if it was just Canseco and a pile of commons—than one with a wider selection of quality rookies, stars and cards in general.

By the way, I would like to thank everyone for noting that I can’t add or do simple multiplication. And now, nearly every night, I wake up in a cold sweat…the number 132 haunting my every dream.

Right. Enough explaining.

33. 1986 Fleer
Not exactly a Canseco and a pile of commons, but pretty close. Okay, that’s not a fair assessment, but this Fleer set is so uninspiring. And this was right in the middle of the Fleer/Donruss golden years from 1984 to 1987, so why so many goddamn headshots? I mean, c’mon. You’ve got second years of Puckett, Clemens, Gooden; you’ve got a Coleman rookie, a Canseco rookie—on one of those awesome rookie doubleheaders found at the back of the set, no less (Fleer’s neat but ultimately pathetic stab at the Donruss monopoly on rookie-cool)—and a sleeper rookie in Cecil Fielder (also on one of the rookie doubleheaders at the end of the set).

But this set lacks charisma. It doesn’t have any recognizable style, or maybe more accurately, it extends the ‘boring non-border’ sets of 1983 and 1985. But while those designs were decidedly non-busy to counteract the classic Topps designs and the ‘hey-look-I’m-a-baseball-card’ Donruss front of 1983 and the über-technological, Kit voice LED equalizer, Knightrider-esque Donruss design from 1985, it was old and over-extended by the time the blue non-border ’86 Fleer set rolled out.

So while this set gets negative points for design, it does get back a few of those points when it comes to graded cards. I can imagine that, like with the ’86 Donruss set, it must be hard to successfully slab a card from this set at 9.5 (or even at 8.5). Those blue borders were a bitch to keep sharp.

Here are the positives: the special cards, the rookies and the player selection. Again, here’s where the Canseco helps and hurts this set. It helps because it firmly sets itself apart from Topps (Topps waited until the 1986 Traded set to unveil Canseco), and in the company of Donruss, it’s true arch-nemesis. It gave collectors something to buy packs towards finding, and if I remember correctly, the card was worth more than the entire ’86 Topps set at one point. Finding a card worth over $30 in a pack was a life-changing event, one that others would reverentially discuss in hushed tones. But for me, and I would gather many others then under the age of ten, that experience was never going to happen because packs were out of our price range.
So unless you got a pack of from this set as a birthday present, you never saw these cards until later in life. That’s why this set is mired at #33.

32. 1989 Topps Traded
I would argue that Topps never really went away in the 1980s. They never put out a forgettable design, nor did they ever really miss the boat on players (and if they did on some, then they didn’t on others, or had others that Fleer or Donruss didn’t have. Future Star Pat Dodson, anyone?). So I don’t think that it’s a stretch to have the ’89 Traded set on the cusp of the top 30. And yes, I would rate it higher (and thus more deserving) than ’86 Fleer, for a couple of reasons.

First, this set is helped by the Griffey Factor, and not at the expense of the regular 1989 Topps set, which is a great set without a Griffey rookie. In contrast, I would argue that the 1989 Score Rookie/Traded benefited from the Griffey Factor at the expense of the regular Score set, because 1989 Score needed all the help it could get. I’ll admit, the logic is a bit confusing, but I would say that because of a strong regular Topps set, the Griffey Factor is doubly beneficial to the Traded set.

I would also argue that 1989 Topps Traded benefits as the last set that qualifies for ‘pre-Upper Deck’ status (even though, because it came out in 1989, that’s technically not true). This set is the last set pre-UD to showcase ‘event cards’, like the Griffey and the Nolan Ryan wearing his Rangers cap like a trucker (or a model train engineer). I think you could say that Upper Deck redefined the event card, making it more difficult for cards to attain this status.

As a definition, an ‘event card’ was a card that, at one point or another, could represent an entire set. It could’ve been from a subset (like an All-Star or a Future Star), or a special card, but it had to transcend its status as subset or special card. 1989 Topps was full of event cards (one reason why it’s a great set), most notably the Gregg Jefferies.

Within the 1989 Topps Traded set, the Griffey rookie was the obvious event card, because it was in every set that year. The less obvious event card was the Nolan Ryan. (For some reason—and this is something I’ve never quite understood—Nolan Ryan is a hobby god. I won’t get really deep into this tangent right now, but if some of Dave Stieb’s one-hitters had been no-hitters, would he have been a hobby god too? I doubt it; there must be more to the Ryan Mystique…) Seeing Ryan in his new Texas Ranger duds was shocking, especially for someone who didn’t really have a good grasp on what free-agency was at the time. And besides, that’s a really white uniform he’s got on and it’s a little disconcerting in combination with his pasty white skin. Another less obvious event card was the Eddie Murray-as-a-Dodger card. When I first saw this card I totally thought Murray had sold out. He had always been one of my favorite players and had made it acceptable to silently root for the Orioles, even as a diehard Red Sox fan. For him to go to the Dodgers was blasphemous. Not only did he desert his lifelong team, he deserted me. Whenever I think of 1989 Topps Traded I think of that Murray card, more so than the Griffey.

Lastly, this set is worthy of its position because it had the two things that generally decent sets have in common: good player selection and a serviceable if not great design. It’s missing a Belle, but the set doesn’t suffer because he’s not included.

31. 1981 Topps
1981 Topps was the last set to denote an All-Star on his regular card. That changed in 1982, when All-Stars were given their own subset for the first time since 1974. 1981 was also the first set to include team rookie cards since 1972, and the first to split the cards up (not put them all together at the end of the set) since that same year, 1972. As for design, it was one of the best
of the decade (if you ask me). The fronts were colorful, the team name displayed on a cap in the lower left corner and a big photo surrounded by a color border. The cap was cool, and doubly cool when it was an Expos player, because then the cap was multicolored.

Other neat things about this set:
• I had about five or six of the Carlton Fisk card, even though I never bought packs of this set (I started collecting in 1986). I got the team set as a birthday present one year, got one in a trade, bought one at a card show, and then, left alone in a box, they had sex with each other and multiplied like rabbits from there.

• This set is better than the 1986 Fleer set because of the rookies. Canseco, Fielder and Coleman cannot go head-to-head with the Valenzuela/Gibson/Baines/Tony Pena/Bruce Hurst/Tim Raines/Lloyd Moseby combination and expect to come out victorious. It’s just too strong.

• The set featured a lot of guys sitting on the bench, doing nothing. One of the best shots of a guy doing nothing is Dwight Evans’ card. He looks genuinely pissed that there was a strike, if only because he was on his way to a career year with 22 home runs when the season ended after 108 games. It’s as if Nostradamus had been working for Topps that year:

Topps Executive 1“Hey, Nostradamus! What did you think of the photographer’s presentation earlier?”
Nostradamus “Should’ve had more shots of guys doing nothing, if you ask me.”
Topps Executive 1 “Why’s that?”
Nostradamus “There’s gonna be a strike this season.”
Topps Executive 1 “Oh yeah? Where’d you hear that?”
Nostradamus “Heard it in a dream.”
Topps Executive 1 “Heard it in a dream, huh?”
Nostradamus “That’s right.”
Topps Executive 1 “You hear that, Jack, old Nostradamus had a dream that there’s gonna be a strike this season.”
Topps Executive 2 “A strike, huh?”
Nostradamus “That’s right.”
Topps Executive 2 “Well, I guess we should’ve had those photographers show more shots of guys doing nothing.”




Coming Soon: Sets 30 - 28