Thursday, January 18, 2018

2017 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autograph #FFA-TWA "Red" #/25


 Card Review: 8.7
This "Red" variation is pretty nice.  In hand it looks much more red than it does in the scan.  This is the 4th variation of 2017 Topps Archives I've posted.  There's still a "Gold" variation out there, and I mean literally "a" gold variation, as it's numbered 1/1.  So I'm not holding my breath on seeing that in my hands anytime soon.  More likely than not it's buried away in a box somewhere sealed in a pack.  Destined to collect dust someplace that looks like the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I've slowly become a fan of this annual release from Topps.  The last few years I've bought more packs of Archives than I have of Heritage.  That's not to say I love it, I don't, but it's fun.  Which is why I have to cringe a little when I hear other collector's online whine about the Fan Favorites Autograph checklist in this set.  Guess what, maybe isn't this set isn't for you.  I actually pulled Dave Stieb and Kevin Seitzer autographs from packs this year in a run of what I would call extremely unusual luck compared to my normal pack opening experiences.  It was fun.  They were immediately recognizable names and looked really familiar on the 1990 and '89 card designs.  It gave me a little warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia.   Which is what this set is supposed to do.  If there was disappointment, it's that I would have liked to have pulled a Tim Teufel, George Bell or maybe Kevin Mass instead of of Seitzer, but that's nit picking.  I don't really expect to get anything other than regular baseball cards out of my packs.

So a lot of collector's have a problem with Tim Teufel.  Not liking Skip Bayless or that ball hawk, I get those complaints, as I have zero fond memories of them or the teams they played (or rather didn't play) for.  On the other hand, I don't get whining about an 80's staple like Teufel.  That problem lies with you if his autographed card falls out of your pack and you have the nerve to get upset.  I get it, it's not worth anything.  Honestly, would I have been more excited to pull Aaron Judge?  Of course, and I would have listed it on eBay by the end of the day.  Everyone likes money.  But I'm not buying these for "value." I buy them because it's fun.  I'd also get very excited if I won a $1,000 on a scratch off-lottery ticket, but that's not the thrill I'm seeking when I open pack of baseball cards.  My point being, and I'm not trying to tell anyone how they should collect, is that maybe people should just relax a little.  There are a lot worse things than having a Dave Magadan autograph card appear in your $2 pack of cards.  For instance, I once bought and opened pack that had nothing but 1992 Donruss cards in it.  I survived, and trust me, those packs were far more harmful to the hobby than autographed cards of well known guys who fell short of Cooperstown.

Number of this card in my collection: 1  (only 24 more to go)

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