1975 Topps Page by Page: Page 32 (280-288)

 I'm sure that you all remember that I finally completed my 1975 Topps set. 

Now that it's done I thought it would be fun to look through the set and talk about it. Going page by page seemed like a good way to go about it. Hopefully you find it interesting to read what I have to say.

How about we continue with page 32?

Red Sox Cards on the Page:  1. Yaz! If you're going to break the shutout streak, might as well do it in style.

Cards that make the 1975 Topps set cool: Fathers of players are cool. Even grandfathers of players are cool. And, of course, Yaz is cool!

My favorite card on the page: I mean. Yaz. The OF-1B designation (while not new) is a nice reminder that the Sox found another guy who could play left field pretty well in 1975.

What would your answers to those last two categories be?

1975 Topps Page by Page: Page 23 (199-207)

I'm sure that you all remember that I finally completed my 1975 Topps set. 

Now that it's done I thought it would be fun to look through the set and talk about it. Going page by page seemed like a good way to go about it. Hopefully you find it interesting to read what I have to say.

How about we continue with page 23?

Red Sox Cards on the Page:  1. Always nice to be reminded of Yaz's 1967 season!

Cards that make the 1975 Topps set cool: As I mentioned last time, while these cards aren't exactly "vintage hall of famers", they're definitely a cool subset. Something Topps should really replicate one of these days. 

My favorite card on the page: I think I'd have to stick with the Yaz-Cepeda card. But I really appreciate the Robinson-Clemente one as well. Interesting to note the variety with these cards. Robinson is the only person who appears twice...and it's once in each league.

What would your answers to those last two categories be?

2019 Topps Allen & Ginter Blaster!

Yup. You were probably hoping there would be a Topps Update blaster coming soon. Hopefully there will be. As soon as I get get my meaty little claws on one, you can be sure. But, for now this was still hanging around my Target. So, since I haven't opened one on here yet, I thought it would be fun. 

How did it go? Only one way to find out...keep reading!

Yup. They use that enormous box to hold eight packs. Have we figured out why they do that yet? This of the packaging and shipping costs they could save. Let alone saving the turtles.

First pack, and first TWO Red Sox. Pretty solid talent represented by these two as well. I like the design of the set this year. It manages to get the feel of that old timey paintings, but still make the images easy to see.

Two packs, both with Red Sox cards! Always enjoy getting cards of this World Series hero. Is the look on his face him knowing that he holds all the cards?

Not a Red Sox card, but still a solid pull! Odd that Alonso's cards don't seem as popular as Judge's were just a couple years ago, despite Alonso breaking Judge's record and also playing in NY. The interlocking N-Y sure does have a lot of pull!

Always fun to get a Hall of Famer. Even thought thy mystique is wearing off a little bit since they seem to be included by the handful in just about every set these days.

Speaking of Judge...

Look, another Hall of Famer. He's in the Hall of Fame, right? I lost track once they started voting everyone in the world into the Hall.

Not a Hall of Famer. I always see these cards and question my involvement in the hobby. My first reaction is, "no matter how much I think monkey's are cool...why would I collect a card just because it has a picture of a monkey on it?" Then I remember, that's what the entire baseball card hobby is based on. Why are collecting cards with baseball players on them more legitimate that collecting cards with monkeys on them? Any ideas?

Or, you know, thrones on them?

So, there you have it. Solid box if I do say so. Lots of Red Sox, a few Hall of Famers, a hot rookie, and some fun oddities. Pretty much exactly what you hope to get in an A&G blaster.

What did you get in yours?

2019 Topps Archives Blaster!

Yeah, I know. I should have posted this long ago. I'm sure you've all seen as much of the Archives product as you'd care to see at this point. You certainly don't want another post about someone opening a box.

Too bad. You're getting one.

After all, I have not given the definitive word on my experiences or opinions with the product. So, you'll have to just suffer through while I open this box.

Yup. There is is! Seven packs, plus coins!

 Yup. Just like they said.

So, the coins are cool and all. And I understand the vibe they're going for. But, I honestly have no idea what to do with these. Even the Red Sox ones. Are they display pieces? Am I supposed to put them in pages in a binder? Do I need to get coin collectors pages for them? Or, do they get tossed in a box? Help!

First pack in the box comes through in a big way with two Red Sox cards. For two players who didn't play their entire career in Boston, hard to imagine being more beloved than they are. World Series heroics will do that for you, I guess. I have to say that I like the '93 design more than I thought I would have. It's simple, and clean. A far cry from the bragging companies did (and still do) where their designs are intended to show off their computer graphics skills. Simple the name and some colored banners. So simple.

The 1975 Topps design is always a lot of fun. 

 The 1993 design again, with a great Yaz action shot. 

Nomar! Oh, wait. At least this one has a pretty border. Which is something you can only do if your card has borders.

This Chris Sale is a fun design as well, even if it's not exactly simply. But, for an all-star card, I think it needs to be flashy.

That pack illustrated a feeling that I had when opening the box. Lots of old players seemed to be popping up. And here in this pack there were three current players, and five retired players. Not sure if this was a goal of the Archives brand...to put old favorites in different designs, but it's a weird goal. Is the Rogers Hornsby PC community that strong? Did Jim Thome collectors have too easy of a time tracking down the 36 million of his cards produced during his playing days?  

This pic also shows one of my favorite things about Archives, the variety in the packs. I like flipping through different designs in my pack. The 90s were great for that with all their inserts. I like having that happen again.

Speaking of different designs, here's one of Eloy Jimenez.

The next Red Sox superstar, Rafael Devers, on the 1975 Topps design? Yes please.

So, overall a fun box to open. Lots of visual interest, and plenty of Red Sox stars from the past, present, and future! Not sure what else I could ask for.

How did your box go?

The Best All-Star Game. Ever.

On this date in 1999, I made an interesting discovery about myself. I have a maximum volume that I can cheer with.

Yeah, I know. Playing it kind of fast and loose with the word "interesting".

It started with the introductions before the game. It was, of course, the game where they introduced the All-Century players. Having players like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron introduced, you had to cheer for them. But, then they ended with introducing Carl Yastrzemski. Clearly he needed an even louder cheer.

Then they went and brought out Ted Williams! He needed an even louder cheer, that I didn't even have. Nomar and Pedro didnt get the reactions they probably deserved once they were announced, because I had nothing left.

Then came the actual game.

You may remember that Pedro started off the game by pitching fairly well. He struck out Barry Larkin, to a huge cheer. Then he struck out Larry Walker to an even bigger cheer! I didn't have anything left when Pedro struck out Mark McGwire to strike out the side. I had a maximum volume.

So, I had no chance when Pedro started the second inning by striking out Sammy Sosa to make it four straight strikeouts. How loud would you have to cheer for that?

It was a never ending night of even better moments. It just never stopped. A fifth strikeout. An MVP award.

I don't think I could speak normally for days. But I guess that's the price you pay when you're at the best All-Star game ever played.

You mind your maximum volume.

Yaz By: Carl Yastrzemski and Gerald Eskenazi

Carl Yastrzemski was, of course, the Hall of Fame left fielder for

the Boston Red Sox. During his 23 seasons with the Sox he say some of the highs and the lows of the franchise. From the Impossible Dream of 1967 to the Boston Massacre in 1978. In this book, Yaz recounts his personal story as a baseball superstar. It explores his early years as his legendary determination was formed. It follows him through college and his entire Major League career. Along the way, the reader gets to live all the events in his life right along with him. There may not be another player to complete a 23-year Red Sox career, which makes Yaz’s story one for the ages.

I am just a little too young to have been a fan of Yaz. I didn’t experience the joy of the ’67 season. Maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I should have. While it was nice to read the stories, it wasn’t a trip down memory lane for me. Plus, not to knock Yaz, his life isn’t especially interesting. There were no scandals to report, or teammates he was slamming. He just went about the business of playing baseball every day. It was a wonderful, if very simple, retelling of a baseball life. If you grew up watching Yaz roam left field in Fenway, you’d probably like this book a lot more. It just didn’t do much for me.

Rating: 2 bases