2023 CARD SHOW - PART 2: THE DEALER WHO COLLECTS - ARCHIVES

AFTER CRACKING OPEN THE WALLET AT THE MAGICAL QUARTER BOX I CONTINUED DOWN THE BACK ROW OF THE SHOW. OTHER THAN PATRICK'S TABLE, I HAVE HAD LITTLE LUCK HERE AS IT IS USUALLY POPULATED BY SLAB SELLERS AND DUDES WITH THOSE GRAY PLASTIC CARD BINS THAT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE BUYING SOMETHING FROM GRAINGER INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY INSTEAD OF BASEBALL CARDS. THERE WAS EVEN A GUY WHO SOLD NOTHING BUT POLITICAL MEMORABILIA AT THE END. HOWEVER! RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROW WAS A TABLE WITH ACTUAL CARDBOARD BOXES, SOME RANDOM MEMORABILIA AND ALMOST NOTHING ENTOMBED IN PLASTIC. THE FIRST THING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE WAS A ROW IN A BOX FILLED WITH RANDOM MINI SETS FOR TWO FOR FIVE DOLLARS. STUFF LIKE OLD 80S AND 90S BOX SETS AND SUCH. I WAS CONTEMPLATING A SET OF 1988 DONRUSS POP-UPS WHEN SOMETHING CAUGHT MY EYE: TWO ROWS FILLED WITH EARLY 00S ARCHIVES AND FAN FAVORITES 

AND NOT ONLY ARCHIVES CARDS BUT EIGHT FOR A DOLLAR ARCHIVES CARDS! I IMMEDIATELY ABANDONED THE SETS, PULLED UP THE WANTLIST AND STARTED DIGGING. I HAVE FOUND EXACTLY THREE CARDS I NEEDED FROM THESE 2001-2005 CARDS IN THE PAST FIVE - MAYBE TEN? - YEARS SO I WAS COMPLETELY PSYCHED TO SEE TWO WHOLE ROWS OF THEM TO DIG THROUGH NO MATTER HOW MANY I ULTIMATELY FOUND. THE SELLER SAW ME ATTACKING THE BOX WITH PURPOSE AND RECOGNIZED ME AS A FELLOW FREAK JUST AS I HAD RECOGNIZED THE DUDE MONOPOLIZING THE VINTAGE BOXES IN THE PREVIOUS POST. HE CHATTED WITH ME ABOUT ARCHIVES, ASKING IF I KNEWTHE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2001 AND 2002'S BACKS AND WHEN I REPLIED IN THE AFFERMATIVE WAS LIKE "OK YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING" AND LET ME DIG. AND DIG I DID. OH MY GOD DID I DIG. AND HOO BOY DID I PUT A MASSIVE DENT IN THOSE LISTS

FIRST UP IS 2001 ARCHVES. I BOUGHT A SHITLOAD OF THIS STUFF IN 2001 AND MOSTLY COMPLETED THE SET BUT I WAS STILL MISSING A DOZEN CARDS AFTER IT WAS ALL SAID AND DONE. ONE IS AN ANDY PAFKO CARD I TRADED AND THE OTHER IS A JIM BOUTON CARD I'M CONVINCED IS HIDING IN A BOX SOMEWHERE, BUT A DOZEN CARDS WAS ON THE LIST. I KNOCKED THAT DOWN TO SEVEN WITH THESE FIVE. I WOULDA BOUGHT CASEY AND MINNIE REGARDLESS OF THE WANTLIST. THE WORLD SERIES CARD IS MAURY WILLS' STEALTH ROOKIE CARD THAT ALLOWED TOPPS TO USE THIS 1960 CARD AS MAURY'S RC INSTEAD OF HIS 1967 CARD WITH THE PIRATES OR THE FAKE 1962 CARD THEY USED IN THE 75 MVP, 82 K-MART, AND 87 TURN BACK THE CLOCK CARDS. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUPER FUNNY ON AN ARCHIVES CARD. THE STEVE CARLTON HIGHLIGHTS CARD IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FRUSTRATIONS I HAD WITH THIS SET. THERE WERE WAY TOO MANY CARDS IN THERE WHERE IT WAS FAR EASIER TO FIND THE ACTUAL VERSION INSTEAD OF THE ARCHIVES VERSION. I'M ALSO EXTREMELY THANKFUL I HAD THE FORESIGHT TO PUT THE DESIGN YEAR OF THE CARDIN MY WANTLIST AS THE CARD NUMBER ON 2001 ARCHIVES CARDS IS NOT ONLY MICROSCOPIC, BUT HIDDEN RANDOMLY ABOUT THE CARD ON WHEREEVER TOPPS CRAMMED THE COPYRIGHT LINE. THE SELLER ALSO COLLECTED THIS SET AND HAD IT COMPLETED EXCEPT FOR ONE VARIATION. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WERE VARIATIONS. MAN IT'S GREAT WHEN ACTUAL COLLECTORS SELL THEIR CARDS 

THE 2001 AND 2002 ARCHIVES WERE ALL MIXED UP IN THEIR ROW BUT THAT WASN'T A BIG PROBLEM AS THEY ARE ON VERY DIFFERENT CARD STOCK AND THE 02 VERSION HAS A COPYRIGHT BAR ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BACK WITH A STILL TINY, BUT READABLE CARD NUMBER. WHILE THE 2001 SET'S THEME WAS FIRST AND LAST TOPPS CARDS FOR A VARIETY OF RETIRED PLAYERS, THE 2002 SET WAS LESS THAN HALF THE SIZE AND FEATURED PLAYERS ON THE DESIGN OF THEIR 'BEST' YEAR. I KNOCKED OUT A FEW GOOD ONES HERE WITH SANTO, SANDBERG AND A PAIR OF PALMERS. THESE KNOCK THE 02 LIST DOWN TO FOUR CARDS. I WAS A GOOD BOX DIGGER AND SEPARATED THE 02S FROM THE 01S AND PUT THEM BACK WHERE THEY BELONGED. THIS WAS DONE FOR PURELY SELFISH REASONS AS IT MADE THE 02S EASIER TO LOOK THROUGH BUT IT'S STILL A NICE THING TO DO

THE OTHER ROW OF CARDS WERE ALL-TIME FAN FAVORITES CARDS FROM 2003-2005. THESE SETS SHIFTED THE ARCHIVES BRAND FROM REPRINTS OF EXISTING CARDS TO NEW CARDS OF OLD PLAYERS ON OLD DESIGNS. ALL THREE SETS PUT TOGETHER TOTAL 442 CARDS, WHICH IS LESS THAN THE ORIGINAL 2001 RELEASE AT 450. THE BOX HAD VERY FEW 2004 CARDS IN IT AND I DID NOT NEED ANY 2003 CARDS BECAUSE REASONS (FORESHADOWING A POST THAT WILL GO UP SIX MONTHS FROM NOW) BUT DAMN DID I FIND A SHITLOAD OF 2005 CARDS I NEEDED. TWENTY-FIVE CARDS TOTAL! THAT'S ONE-SIXTH OF THE WHOLE SET! IF MY WANTLIST IS CORRECT I'VE GOT FIVE MORE CARDS TO GO ON THIS ONE. THERE IS A 99% PROBABILITY THAT IT IS NOT SO WHEN I FINISH WRITING I'M ADDING ALL THESE CARDS TO THE BINDER TO SEE HOW WRONG IT IS. IN THE MEANTIME, HERE'S ALL THE ONES I'M CERTAIN I HAVE

BO JACKSON IS A HUGE GET HERE BECAUSE WHILE BO JACKSON CARDS ARE FAIRLY PLENTIFUL IN QUARTER BOXES, TRYING TO FIND ANY ONE SPECIFIC BO CARD ONLINE WILL GET SPENDY. THE CURRENT CHEAPEST I CAN FIND ONLINE IS THREE BUCKS, MORE THAN I PAID FOR ALL OF THESE COMBINED. JIM LEYLAND BECAME A HALL OF FAMER ALL OF A SUDDEN, SOMETHING FREEHAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN A WHILE AGO. IT IS SOMEWHAT OF A CHOICE TO HAVE LEYLANDS CARD BE ON THE 1991 DESIGN INSTEAD OF THE 1997 DESIGN. I MEAN, I GET IT, BUT I'D INTERPRET HIS BEST SEASON A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THAN TOPPS DID. IT'S NICE TO SEE THE 1986 DESIGN, THANKS JESSE

 

HERE'S A NICE GROUP OF GUYS WHO WEREN'T REALLY SUPERSTARS BUT DESERVE TO BE REMEMBERED MORE THAN THEY ARE. PEPITONE IS OF COURSE A STAR OF JIM BOUTON'S BALL FOUR AND QUITE A CHARACTER IN HIS OWN RIGHT. MIKE NORRIS IS A MEMBER OF THE 20 WIN BLACK ACES CLUB. ROGER CRAIG WAS A GOOD PITCHER FOR THE DODGERS (AND TERRIBLE ONE FOR THE METS) BEFORE WRECKING A BUNCH OF ELBOWS TEACHING THE SPLIT FINGER FASTBALL. GANT WAS A NICE FIND ON THAT GREAT 1991 DESIGN. ALL THESE CARDS ARE REALLY GOOD INTERPRETATIONS OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN AND WOULD FIT IN WELL WITH THEIR ORIGINAL SETS

METS AND TWINS. UGH. I DEFER ON THIS QUARTET

THAT CLEON JONES CARD IS PRETTY DOPE THOUGH

JOHNNY PODRES IS THE ONLY HORIZONTAL DESIGN SO IT GETS A SOLO PHOTO. I GOTTA SAY THIS CARD DON'T LOOK GREAT. IT'S DIFFICULT TO REALLY CAPTURE THE VIBE OF 50S CARDS AND TOPPS DID NOT SUCCEED HERE. POOR JOHNNY LOOKS LIKE TED TURNER COLORIZED HIM

MOAR HALL OF FAMERS! I'M NOT A HUGE JOE MORGAN FAN BUT THE 1975 DESIGN LOOKS GREAT, ESPECIALLY THE ALL STAR CARDS. I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT PHOTO, THAT DOESN'T LOOK VERY 1975ISH. THE MARICHAL LOOKS FANTASTIC, THAT COULD ABSOLUTELY BE A 64 CARD. JEFFREY LEONARD WAS A REALLY GOOD PLAYER BACK IN THE ERA WHERE 20 DINGERS MEANT YOU WERE A POWER HITTER. I ALWAYS FELT JEFFREY CAUGHT TOO MUCH FLACK WHEN HE WAS PLAYING AND HIS B-R BULLPEN ENTRY CONFIRMS THIS. PENITENTARY FACE?? JESUS. MAN IT WAS NICE WHEN WE COULD GET GUYS LIKE JOSE OQUENDO IN SETS LIKE THIS. YES, I DID HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK THE 2023 PANINI CHRONICLES CHECKLIST TO MAKE SURE THAT ERA WASN'T NOW

1976 DESIGN OSCAR GAMBLE IS AN INSPIRED CHOICE. AT ONE POINT IN TIME TOPPS REALLY DID CARE ABOUT THEIR CARDS. THE 84 HERNANDEZ LOOKS OK BUT IT WILL NEVER MATCH THE ORIGNAL BOOTY CARD. MY ONLY INTEREST IN THE JOCKETTY CARD IS THE ODDITY OF USING A 2004 CARD DESIGN IN A 2005 ARCHIVES SET. THE ROD CAREW CARD FUCKING RULES. OF COURSE ALL ROD CAREW CARDS FUCKING RULE. THEY'RE ROD CAREW CARDS

THE LAST BATCH IS THREE GREAT LOOKING CARDS AND SCOTT BROSIUS. OF COURSE THE 1998 SET IS RATHER AWFUL ITSELF, I'M REALLY WONDERING WHY I THOUGHT IT WAS FANTASTIC WHEN IT CAME OUT NOW. THAT CEPEDA CARD IS VERY 1962 (ALTHOUGH THE ORIGINAL IS ONE OF THE BEST CARDS IN THE SET) AND I ALMOST THOUGHT THEY JUST REPRINTED DIBBLE'S ORIGINAL 1990 CARD HERE. THAT RAINES CARD IS ONE OF MY FAVES, DIG THAT CAMERA IN THE BACKGROUND. GREAT STUFF

I ALSO HAD TO PICK UP A FEW CARDS THAT WERE NOT ON MY WANT LISTS. FLOATY HEAD BOUTON LOOKS LIKE HE'S ABOUT TO CHANT MEKKA-LEKKA-HI MEKKA-HINEY-HO. 1995 LEMMER IS NOT OPTIONAL EVEN THOUGH I ALREADY HAVE THREE OF THEM INCLUDING THE AUTOGRAPHED VERSION. AND THE SATCHEL IS GOING IN MY 1953 BINDER AS A PLACEHOLDER. THIS IS NOT THE LAST TIME YOU'LL BE SEEING THAT SATCHEL BY THE WAY

UP NEXT: SOME JUNK THAT SETS UP THE FOLLOWING PICKUPS. THIS DUDE GETS FOUR POSTS