Mailbag Post: S.Mack Talk

When I finished up my case break of the 2013 Topps Series 2 case, I thought I had gotten a lot of those Emerald Sparkle parallels. To be fair, I did get over 70 of them, so it wasn't like I had pulled 10 of them or something.  Jimmy over at S.Mack Talk e-mailed me and mentioned that he needed a few of those emerald sparkles, and asked if I had any of them.

Well, I only had two of the cards that Jimmy needed.  I guess the good news is that I was able to help a little bit and sent him those.  In return, Jimmy sent me a couple of cards I need for one of my attempts at completing an Archives set:

The thing I remember most about the long-time Cardinals coach and player was the fact that he played every position during the 1988 season, picking up the catcher's position last when he replaced Tony Pena. Buckner?  Well, besides that play in the 1986 World Series, he was an excellent hitter whose knees were famously creaky.  

Jimmy also sent me an insert from the 2014 Topps set:

That Hank Aaron insert will go nicely into my Milwaukee Braves collection, which I will get around to cataloguing sometime in 2017 at my current pace.

Jimmy, thank you very much for the cards and what is now our second trade -- they were much appreciated.

2012 Topps Archives Blasters

Last week, my wife informed me that she could not find the little plastic insert needed for 45 RPM records to play on a record player.  Yes, we have records and a record player; this is a sure sign of being over 40 years old.

Anyway, as a part of that purchase on Amazon, I decided to treat myself a bit and picked up a couple of blasters of 2012 Topps Archives -- to see if I liked those cards as much as I liked the 2013 version.  The answer is a resounding "yes, yes I do."

Before I get into the cards and inserts, though, I wanted to note that Topps needs to do a new base set -- not just a limited edition group, but an entire base set -- using the matte finish, white cardboard, black bordered cards similar to that used for the 1971 base set cards from the 2012 Archives.  Those cards are some of the sharpest looking cards I have seen.  The white cardboard is awesome and makes for more vibrant colors, and the black borders just set off the photo and the printing on the card so well.

Now, I didn't like the fact that I only got two Brewers base cards out of two blasters.  At the same time, I did get two Ryan Braun inserts, so that makes up for it some.

Okay, with that said, here are the cards and items that I liked in breaking these blasters open:

I definitely like the 1977 Cloth Sticker inserts.  I have gotten a couple of the Robin Yount stickers in trades, so these are all nice additions to the collection.  As with most other items, if it is not a Brewer, let me know if you like it/need it.  I have two of the Johnny Bench sticker, in particular:

Here's the other Braun insert, along with its Clayton Kershaw pal from the 1967 sticker collection:

I didn't get any of the Deckle Edge inserts, but I did get two of the 1968 3D Insert set:

I also got a few of the Archives reprints to go with the two Robin Yount reprints I have gotten in trades or from COMC:

Finally, there were a couple of base cards that I really liked.  First, I'm sure I can be proven wrong about this, but it does not seem like Ty Cobb gets a whole lot of love in the reprint/archives world -- especially as compared to others like Ruth and Mantle.  I'm sure it is the same reason cited in the movie "Field of Dreams" as to why the players did not let Cobb come play in Iowa, but he is one of the all-time greats.

So, it was good to see this card in the Archives:

Finally, Roberto Clemente...for whatever reason, it always seems special to see one of his cards.

Thanks, as always, for reading.