2015 Topps Archives

Recently I won an eBay auction and acquired some cards from the 2015 Topps Archives set.  One of the cards I got was Willie Mays.  The Willie Mays card from the 2014 Archives set is nice, but it is a short print so I probably won't ever add it to my collection.   With this new set, I was happy to get the Mays card.

Topps 2015 Archives Willie Mays Card #300.

A big disappointment with the new Archive product, was that you can't read the players names on some of the cards.  Last weekend, I was at a local flea market and it was the first time I had seen any of the new Archive cards.  The first thing my friend Mark showed me about the new Archive product was that on some of the cards you couldn't read the players names.

From the eBay auction, Andrew McCutchen was one of the cards that I got. 

Topps 2015 Archives Andrew McCutchen Card #257 

His card was a reprint from the Topps 1983 set.  Note that his name is printed in yellow and you can't read it.  There were also other cards with this same problem.  After noticing this, I would have believed that Topps, before issuing the set, would have seen that you couldn't read these player's names and they would have possibly used a different shade of yellow so the name could be read. 

 

I compared the 2015 Archives cards with cards from the original Topps 1983 set.  I don't remember this being a problem with the 1983 set.  For Pirate cards from that set, Topps used a different shade of yellow and you can easily read the players names.

Topps 1983 Jim Morrison Card #173

I am wondering why Topps didn't use a darker shade of yellow for the 2015 Archive product.  As a consumer of baseball cards, Topps has the best product on the market.  Yes, Panini is out there, and some of their product is ok, and it is getting better, but whenever I see their cards I am reminded of Topps football cards from the early 1970s. 

 

Topps 1972 Roman Gabriel Pro Action Card #128

 

The airbrushing job of the Rams players' helmet makes it look like they are crystal balls.  If you look deep inside one of these helmets the future would show that the Rams aren't going to win a Super Bowl until they get a quarterback who worked stocking shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store for $5.50 an hour.

Here is a photograph of the actual helmets the Rams wore in the early 70s.

So I am wondering if Topps is producing cards, even if they are undesirable like some of these Topps 2015 Archives, knowing that collectors will buy them anyway.

 

Oh, I did get a Chipper Jones card.  I was able to pass it on to my best friend who collects Chipper Jones. 

Topps 2015 Archives Chipper Jones Card #72