The base set contains 300 cards and is broken into subsets with the various years. Previously, Archives has focused on three vintage sets — and to be honest, I have not always liked the choices. To me, there was not as much emphasis on the 1950s and 1960s sets. They were represented, but my perception is that Topps played up the later designs.
You might disagree, but that’s OK.
The designs for 2021 Topps Archives cover seven retro sets — one for each decade of the company’s 70-year involvement in baseball cards.
Not content to look at the past, Topps also included a look into the future with a 2091 design. To be honest, the design appears to be rather conservative for a set that will drop 70 years into the future. It’s too streamlined and safe for my taste.
As usual, I bought a blaster box. I visited my local Walmart and found to my delight that there was a full shelf of baseball blasters, along with complete sets of the flagship 2021 Topps set.
Say what you want, but to me, that’s a sure sign that things are returning to normal somewhat.
Here is the breakdown for the “vintage” cards I pulled. There were 53 base cards and six inserts in the blaster. My box had six cards with a 1957 design, 11 from 1962, six from 1973, five from 1983, six from 1991, eight from 2001, six from 2011 and five from 2091.
There is a nice, yet ironic touch on the 2091 cards. In the upper left-hand corner of the card front is a logo that touts “Topps, 140 Years of Baseball.”
The irony is that in August, Topps learned that it lost its exclusive licenses with MLB and the MLBPA, so the 2091 cards will not have logos and team names. Perhaps Fanatics, which won the exclusive rights to produce cards, will have a deal in place that allows Topps to continue to churn out cards (under the Fanatics umbrella). Time will tell.
The MLB deal with Fanatics begins in 2026, while the MLBPA partnership begins after 2022.
Blaster boxes include three “exclusive” 1989 Topps Big foil cards. They are part of a 50-card insert set, and the three I pulled were Buster Posey, Mike Mussina and Miguel Cabrera.
The other sets are much easier to read. Out of the bunch, I’d have to say the 1962 “woodies” are my favorite.
There are variations in the base set, although there were none in the blaster box I opened. In the 1962-style cards, there are green tint variations, just like the original set.
As one might expect, the variations are for some of the bigger names, like Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani, Babe Ruth, Mike Trout and Harper.
There were three inserts in my blaster box. A Topps Peel-Off card of Juan Soto, one of 15 that mirror the 1963 Topps insert, was one of them. I also pulled a Movie Poster Card of the 1995 Seattle Mariners, which “advertised” Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and Randy Johnson. The card carries the title, “My Oh My.”
Archives has something for everyone. It’s cool to see Bob Gibson and Ernie Banks featured on cards with a 1991 design, or Frank Robinson on a 2001-themed card. Cy Young on a 1973-style card is priceless, although, why is his team name on the back of his card in the stats called “Americains”? I can understand “Americans.”
It's also nice to see the 1991 designs that include Mike Trout and Ichiro, or David Ortiz smiling in a 1957 card design.
It’s just a fun set.