I ordered two boxes of 2018 Topps Archives Snapshots. I was going to order more of it, but I watched some breaks online and they were mostly pretty brutal. That prompted me to stick with a 2-box break.
Each box has 12 cards total, with one of them being an autograph. There are a number of parallels available, as well as parallels of the autographed cards.
The cards are packed in a clear plastic bag. The box promises a look at photos from the Topps Vault. That means a lot of posed shots. If there are cards with action photography, I haven't seen them yet.
You do get a mix of rookies, veterans, and retired players in the checklist. I like the design of the cards, although I like cards better when the player's position is somewhere on the front.
The cards have a glossy front, which goes well with the photographs. I was happy to see an Astro in this first box, with an appearance from Carlos Correa.
I think the Black & White parallels, like that Amed Rosario card, are one per box. Tyler Mahle doubles up in this box, which gives a look at the difference between the base cards and the autographs. Having on-card autographs is nice. I think stickers would look pretty tacky on this set.
Starting off the second box is a bunch of retired players. John Olerud shows what the backs of the cards look like.
Pretty cool to get the Shohei Ohtani card in this box. Rick Ankiel is an interesting addition to this set. He is attempting to make a comeback as a left-handed relief pitcher. He was the first player since Babe Ruth to win 10 games as a pitcher and hit 50 home runs as a batter. Ohtani has 4 wins and 22 home runs. I wonder if he will make it to 10 and 50?
There are some pretty nice cards here, with Gleyber Torres and a Black & White parallel of Rafael Devers. The autograph in this box is Paul DeJong.
So that's the break. I like the base cards enough that it would be fun to collect the whole set. I don't think I would like to build the set through opening boxes, though. You get ten base cards per box, so you need at least 5 boxes with perfect collation to build a set. It is likely that you would need many more, because collation is unlikely to be perfect.
I’ll trade for the B&W Devers if you don’t want it.
ReplyDeleteI will set it aside for you.
DeleteCool. I’ll pull something for ya. Thanks
DeleteMy favorite cards are the Thome and Eckstein and think it's because they aren't as posed. I like the design. Simple and clean, but I miss the position label like yourself.
ReplyDeleteI agree that on a set like this, the unposed or less-posed photos really stand out.
DeleteHmmm. I might need to pick up one of these sets... and assuming everyone in this set has an autograph... I'm definitely going to track down one of those Khris Davis autographs.
ReplyDeleteKhris Davis is on the autograph checklist. The product has apparently sold out on Topps.com in the last day or two, but I'm sure you'll be able to find sets and singles online for the next little while.
DeleteThanks for showing off the set; those boxes are always too much for my budget!
ReplyDeleteA lot of these photos look like they were used in Heritage sets, so it's nice to see the retired players mixed in. Especially that Eckstein.
ReplyDeleteI like the retired greats inclusion but the static shots aren't a favorite of mine. And yes a position is a must on the fronts of cards. Thanks for sharing. I've never seen these and might look at some of the singles.
ReplyDelete