First Buzz: 2025 Topps Archives baseball cards

[DylanPowers92]

Originally Posted by corockies

The name font looks wrong on the 2005 Kurtz pictured. The letters are too close together.

I hope Verlander has a card in this, and it's a 2005.

Yeah the letters do look too close together now that you mention it

[scotchtape0]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Yep....over half the "Fan Favorites" are now rookies!

And I think Rollie Fingers is the only HOFer.

Epic fail.....

2024 Topps Archives only had 2 HOFers on the Fan Favorites checklist (Ted Simmons & Goose Gossage) and over half the names were rookies so not really much difference from 2024 to 2025. I'm not saying the checklist is great, just that it is pretty much in line with last year.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by scotchtape0

2024 Topps Archives only had 2 HOFers on the Fan Favorites checklist (Ted Simmons & Goose Gossage) and over half the names were rookies so not really much difference from 2024 to 2025. I'm not saying the checklist is great, just that it is pretty much in line with last year.

Yeah, but it's not in line with the way the product used to be.

Fan Favorite autos were popular because they were often some of the only autos of retired non-stars.

It's just another example of how the idiots at Fanatics have no clue who the audience for this product is/was.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Fan Favorite autos were popular because they were often some of the only autos of retired non-stars.

Man, good times -- I even have an Topps Archives autograph card of Tony Clark as head of MLBPA.

[vinson24]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

Man, good times -- I even have an Topps Archives autograph card of Tony Clark as head of MLBPA.

I remember finishing the whole 2012 Fan Favorite auto set… wasn’t Harper or Griffey or Mays or Koufax that was hard to get but the damn 9 Oquendo’s lol

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Yeah, but it's not in line with the way the product used to be.

Fan Favorite autos were popular because they were often some of the only autos of retired non-stars.

It's just another example of how the idiots at Fanatics have no clue who the audience for this product is/was.

100%. It is right there in the name. Players who were local stars but don't necessarily have the national appeal of superstars and HOFer level players. This checklist looks just like any other Topps product checklist.

[smanzari]

Originally Posted by vinson24

I remember finishing the whole 2012 Fan Favorite auto set… wasn’t Harper or Griffey or Mays or Koufax that was hard to get but the damn 9 Oquendo’s lol

I think it was Koufax, though the Harper RC was pretty SP too; I actually pulled one and sold for $2k (which was tons of money for a card in 2012)

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The problem is that Topps/Fanatics doesn't understand what made this product popular....i.e. the 50's/60/s/70's/80's designs.

Topps designs went off a cliff after 1990.....

My general rule of thumb has been that I buy enough boxes to build the set if I like two out of the three designs......this year, 1964 is the only design I like, so it's an easy pass.

You know, a kid that started collecting in 1990 has a lot more to spend in 2025 and has a fondness for those designs

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

This checklist looks just like any other Topps product checklist.

Topps, under ownership of Fanatics, has been steadily making their products more and more similar. This so-called "sameness" is formulaic and designed to focus on making products more efficient. It's bland corporate slop. It's what other big corporations do -- see Cracker Barrel for a recent example.

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

Topps, under ownership of Fanatics, has been steadily making their products more and more similar. This so-called "sameness" is formulaic and designed to focus on making products more efficient. It's bland corporate slop. It's what other big corporations do -- see Cracker Barrel for a recent example.

Heck, look at automobiles.

[vinson24]

Originally Posted by smanzari

I think it was Koufax, though the Harper RC was pretty SP too; I actually pulled one and sold for $2k (which was tons of money for a card in 2012)

Yeah the Koufax actually wasn’t too bad back then and the Harper was by far the most expensive

[mudder35]

Reading these comments gave me an idea that would be in line with what people want archives to be. What if Archives featured an auto set of full roster World Series winning (or even just very impactful) teams that mattered a lot to their fan bases. They could even make them on the design of that year. As a Royals fan, a 2015 or even 2014 auto set would be awesome to put together. They could do a couple "curse breakers" sets with 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs. Or they could do a "heart breakers" sets of teams like 1995 Mariners, 1982 Brewers, or even the 2025 Blue Jays in a few years. Obviously the appeal would be mostly limited to a single fan base, but I would think that it would make low end autos more desirable and valuable then normal low end autos. I could be wrong about that though.

Would other people be interested in this and what other teams would people like to see? I thought of 1997 Marlins, 2001 D- Backs, 2002 Angels, and 2005 White Sox off the top of my head.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by mudder35

Reading these comments gave me an idea that would be in line with what people want archives to be. What if Archives featured an auto set of full roster World Series winning (or even just very impactful) teams that mattered a lot to their fan bases. They could even make them on the design of that year. As a Royals fan, a 2015 or even 2014 auto set would be awesome to put together. They could do a couple "curse breakers" sets with 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs. Or they could do a "heart breakers" sets of teams like 1995 Mariners, 1982 Brewers, or even the 2025 Blue Jays in a few years. Obviously the appeal would be mostly limited to a single fan base, but I would think that it would make low end autos more desirable and valuable then normal low end autos. I could be wrong about that though.

Would other people be intered in this and what other teams would people like to see? I thought of 1997 Marlins, 2001 D- Backs, 2002 Angels, and 2005 White Sox off the top of my head.

That would be cool if you're a collector, but I think because nearly everything from Topps is geared towards gambling and group breaking now, most of the sets wouldn't make sense from their perspective -- they want general chase cards that appeal to non-collectors and casual fans.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by mudder35

Reading these comments gave me an idea that would be in line with what people want archives to be. What if Archives featured an auto set of full roster World Series winning (or even just very impactful) teams that mattered a lot to their fan bases. They could even make them on the design of that year. As a Royals fan, a 2015 or even 2014 auto set would be awesome to put together. They could do a couple "curse breakers" sets with 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs. Or they could do a "heart breakers" sets of teams like 1995 Mariners, 1982 Brewers, or even the 2025 Blue Jays in a few years. Obviously the appeal would be mostly limited to a single fan base, but I would think that it would make low end autos more desirable and valuable then normal low end autos. I could be wrong about that though.

Would other people be interested in this and what other teams would people like to see? I thought of 1997 Marlins, 2001 D- Backs, 2002 Angels, and 2005 White Sox off the top of my head.

That would be a fantastic idea! Any sort of peripheral-themed chase set would enhance this product greatly as it has done in the past.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by mudder35

Reading these comments gave me an idea that would be in line with what people want archives to be. What if Archives featured an auto set of full roster World Series winning (or even just very impactful) teams that mattered a lot to their fan bases. They could even make them on the design of that year. As a Royals fan, a 2015 or even 2014 auto set would be awesome to put together. They could do a couple "curse breakers" sets with 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs. Or they could do a "heart breakers" sets of teams like 1995 Mariners, 1982 Brewers, or even the 2025 Blue Jays in a few years. Obviously the appeal would be mostly limited to a single fan base, but I would think that it would make low end autos more desirable and valuable then normal low end autos. I could be wrong about that though.

Would other people be interested in this and what other teams would people like to see? I thought of 1997 Marlins, 2001 D- Backs, 2002 Angels, and 2005 White Sox off the top of my head.

Great idea, but waaaaaaaaay too much effort for Fanatics to even consider.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by ewokpelts

You know, a kid that started collecting in 1990 has a lot more to spend in 2025 and has a fondness for those designs

They might have a fondness for Upper Deck/Donruss/Fleer designs from that era, but Topps flagship designs from roughly 1991 to 2009 were absolutely atrocious.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by mfw13

They might have a fondness for Upper Deck/Donruss/Fleer designs from that era, but Topps flagship designs from roughly 1991 to 2009 were absolutely atrocious.

True -- 90s Bowman has much more memorable and popular designs than 90s Topps. 2000s Topps, on the other hand, has some popular designs.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Great idea, but waaaaaaaaay too much effort for Fanatics to even consider.

Exactly -- it's about doing as little as possible to sell out product. Collectors need to understand this, because it's only going to get worse.

This is the low-effort era of Topps -- don't expect things to get better going forward.

[IronCladLou]

I'll buy a box. It's the only box I can afford and I love getting murdered on this stuff.

Hit a chipper Jones /50 auto once. That was a good day

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by mudder35

Reading these comments gave me an idea that would be in line with what people want archives to be. What if Archives featured an auto set of full roster World Series winning (or even just very impactful) teams that mattered a lot to their fan bases. They could even make them on the design of that year. As a Royals fan, a 2015 or even 2014 auto set would be awesome to put together. They could do a couple "curse breakers" sets with 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs. Or they could do a "heart breakers" sets of teams like 1995 Mariners, 1982 Brewers, or even the 2025 Blue Jays in a few years. Obviously the appeal would be mostly limited to a single fan base, but I would think that it would make low end autos more desirable and valuable then normal low end autos. I could be wrong about that though.

Would other people be interested in this and what other teams would people like to see? I thought of 1997 Marlins, 2001 D- Backs, 2002 Angels, and 2005 White Sox off the top of my head.

I always wanted Topps to make archives sets around one team. As a white Sox fan, I would love to see the 2005 guys on the 59 design, and have all sorts of players from throughout the Sox history.

[corockies]

I know nobody cares, but has there ever been a time when an active player has a card in an Archives set that represents the year of their original RC?

Verlander is the first one as far as I know. It would be kinda cool if they took a picture of him in his Giants uni exactly like the one on his Draft Pick 2005 card.

[eldustino]

Originally Posted by corockies

I know nobody cares, but has there ever been a time when an active player has a card in an Archives set that represents the year of their original RC?

Verlander is the first one as far as I know. It would be kinda cool if they took a picture of him in his Giants uni exactly like the one on his Draft Pick 2005 card.

That picture would already have to exist and be available from getty.... but FWIW I share your excitement to some degree about the RC year design for his base card in the set.

[PapaStu]

Originally Posted by eldustino

That picture would already have to exist and be available from getty.... but FWIW I share your excitement to some degree about the RC year design for his base card in the set.

They did recreate the Ripkin FF pose for Gunnar Henderson in 24 Series 1 as the SSSP. Unlikely, but it could happen.

This may be the first year that they don't have any non-player autos on the checklist (it's a subset I collect out of Archives Fan Favorite autos). There doesn't seem to be any radio/tv/special personalities as they've done in the past. There could be a few signors as in the set managers but none stood out save potentially Ozzie Guillen when I looked through the checklist.

[mfw13]

Having already used just about every vintage baseball design, Fanatics needs to think outside the box and make Archives a product that only uses Topps non-baseball designs....one non-Sports design + two football/basketball/hockey design each year.

How cool would a Archives set be that used the 1977 Star Wars, 1979-80 Hockey, and 1956 Football designs, for example?

[DioBrando]

Originally Posted by vinson24

I remember finishing the whole 2012 Fan Favorite auto set… wasn’t Harper or Griffey or Mays or Koufax that was hard to get but the damn 9 Oquendo’s lol

I have all 9 Oquendo autos, I remember it took awhile to find one available. don't know if it was actually a sp or not