Reid's Rips: 2024 Topps Archives Baseball Hobby
https://www.si.com/collectibles/inside-the-hobby/reid-s-rips-2013-panini-limited-football-hobby
I decided to crack a hobby box of 2024 Topps Archives baseball this week. As per usual, I wanted to bring you guys along for the ride.
I find it hard to escape the lure of the nostalgia of card designs of year's past featuring current players, including the chance to snag a white-hot rookie such as Paul Skenes.
Paul Skenes' Superfractors and 1/1s Pulled This Year
Offering two autographs and six exclusive pink parallels per box, I was all in for a right around 120 bucks.
I won't bore you with the details of every single pack in the 24-pack box. There were definitely a few not worth mentioning
That being said, my first four packs were pretty lackluster. I hit a few of my pink parallels, but nothing else to speak of.
Then I ripped into my fifth pack and hit a blue foil of Toronto Blue Jays, rookie pitcher, Yariel Rodriguez numbered out of 25. The card looks like it was dragged face down across a bed of nails, but other than that, it's great.
Fortunately, the color kept coming as I pulled a nice red foil jersey color match of St. Louis Cardinals rookie Victor Scott II numbered to 50 copies.
Shortly after that I pulled a base rookie of Cincinnati Red superstar Elly de la Cruz in the 1994 Topps design. Apparently, you have to check to Topps and RC logo placement on this bad boy, as one is far more rare than the other. (The money is on the left, by the way.)
There were a number of fun foil inserts including and At The Break of which I pulled a Bryce Harper and a few other stars throughout.
My first autograph was an on-card auto of former Kansas City Royals top prospect Alex Gordon in the 1995 Topps design. Although I could have asked for a bigger name it was nice to see the auto actually on the nice, clean card.
I was really excited about my second autograph as I pulled a Topps sticker on card auto of another Cincinnati Reds all-purpose superstar in Eric Davis. This definitely took me right back to my childhood, as I remember watching Davis crush home runs and steal bases with the best of them growing up.
I had a lot of rookie luck at the end of my box as I pulled foil New Breed inserts of both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jackson Chourio.
The rookie magic continued as my final pink parallel was that of San Diego Padres rookie stud Jackson Merrill.
That wraps up my box break of Archives Baseball. It was a fun rip for the price, and overall, I most likely broke even. That's saying something in today's card market.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms