Holdin' on to yesterday

Topps released its checklist for 2020 Allen & Ginter earlier today. The set hits store shelves next week.

Traditionally my favorite release of the year -- well, between 2008 and 2015 anyway -- I ran to the checklist and poured over the contents and ... felt discouraged.

The checklist contained mostly baseball players, old and new, with seemingly the fewest selection of non-baseball players ever (I'll have to do a more careful review later). And the non-ball players that were featured contained almost none of what I loved so much about A&G for years: historic figures, wacky inventions or famous landmarks and notable celebrities that you don't need social media to decipher.

You may not care about this because you only care about cards with baseball players on them. I know. I hear it every time I bring up A&G, but that's not the point.

A&G's switch from history lesson to publicity shill has been going on for about the past five years and, frankly, except for the insert sets, which remain great, it's a disappointment. A&G, like a number of other modern-day sets, has become about the autograph checklist. It's no longer my favorite set. I no longer attempt to complete it (I completed seven straight A&G sets between 2008-14). It's much different than what it was. And it's pretty obvious now that there's no going back.

I wanted to rant about it some more here, but on Twitter a couple people told me that I was just being old and bitchy. The world has changed, they said. It's all about influencers! Topps is smart to latch on to that!

Yeah, OK, I'm not collecting for Twitter celebrities or to get wrapped up in Topps' pandering publicity machine. It's pretty apparent A&G is a shallow representation -- emphasis on the word "shallow" -- of what it once was and I could go blow-by-blow on why that is. But sometimes you just have to stay in your lane. I know what I like, and a lot of it was created a long time ago, even longer ago than when A&G -- the present-day A&G -- was cool.

And, yes, I'm talking about Kellogg's 3-D's.

As modern-day card production gets less and less interesting, yesterday's cards get more and more appealing.

I've been on a journey to finish off as many of the 1970s Kellogg's sets as I can and over the last year-plus, I've completed 1976 and 1977. My next mission is 1978 -- yet another Kellogg's set at the core of my collecting childhood -- and Johnny's Trading Spot stepped in with a mess of '78s, most of which you saw at the start of the post.

How cool that he just has those cards sitting around!

 I've been starting almost from scratch with the '78 set -- those '78s that I had back in '78 have long disappeared. So this batch from Johnny is a true starter set. It's allowed me to post a want list with confidence and then knock off the ones that he sent!

I love these cards too much. The '78 set stands out design-wise for a couple of reasons.

One is that it is very yellow. It's not as yellow as the 1981 Kellogg's set, but Kellogg's had not used yellow much in its sets before '78 and this is very distinctive and helps with its oddball appeal.

Secondly, this is the first Kellogg's set that mentions the company on the front of the card with its logo. I remember it really standing out at the time as being unusual. Kellogg's would continue to do this in the sets that followed. Since Topps started putting its logo on card fronts in 1979, I've often wondered whether this was a new philosophy or trend in advertising at the time.

Some of the cooler cards in the set. That Frank Tanana just leaps at you (in 3-D!!!) and looks like the beginning of one of those memes ("this is what I think I look like when I throw ... this is what I actually look like when I throw.")

Now, let's address this:

I've already done so once, not even that long ago.

But I still read people weirded out by the choices Kellogg's and others, say Donruss' Diamond Kings, made for player selection back in the day.

Kellogg's wanted to make sure that a wide cross-section of players were recognized, if that meant leaving some superstars out, that was fine. They'd take care of them next year. It's a very different philosophy than what card sets employ now -- beating to death the same superstars in every last single set. The Hammering-Collectors-Over-The-Head-With-Superstars-And-Hot-Rookies philosophy has been going since the '90s so I think that's why people view Kellogg's set content as so unusual. (Although, we did, too, as kids admittedly).

Johnny didn't shy away from sending some battered '78s as well. These won't make my collection. I'll probably end up sending them to Gavin or Nick, folks with stronger constitutions when it comes to shattered Kellogg's cards.

But I don't mind the curling in Kellogg's card. Most of the cards I received featured some curling, which is why the images on these scans are blurred out. But they all look the same in a top-loader, which is where all these will go.

My '78 Kellogg's mission has now begun and I think you've noticed by my change in tone since I started writing about the Kellogg's cards that this is what I can handle in collecting.

Modern cards are much too friction-filled, dominated by influencers and hype and overnight sensations that will be gone in a year or two. Many of the people who collect cards like that won't last either. No chance they'll be hanging on for 45 years.

But that's just me, holding on to yesterday. And quite happy doing it as well.

You've lost a dedicated collector, A&G. Maybe you don't care. Maybe you're doing just fine.

I'm doing just fine, too.

I'll find my history in other cards.

P.S.: Here's the A&G checklist:

BASE CARDS
1 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves™
2 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks®
3 Paul Goldschmidt St. Louis Cardinals®
4 Larry Doby Cleveland Indians®
5 Walker Buehler Los Angeles Dodgers®
6 John Smoltz Atlanta Braves™
7 Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants®
8 Jeff Bagwell Houston Astros®
9 Rhys Hoskins Philadelphia Phillies®
10 Rod Carew California Angels™
11 Lou Gehrig New York Yankees®
12 George Springer Houston Astros®
13 Aaron Judge New York Yankees®
14 Aaron Nola Philadelphia Phillies®
15 Kris Bryant Chicago Cubs®
16 Bryce Harper Philadelphia Phillies®
17 Ken Griffey Jr. Seattle Mariners™
18 George Brett Kansas City Royals®
19 Keston Hiura Milwaukee Brewers™
20 Joe Mauer Minnesota Twins®
21 Ted Williams Boston Red Sox®
22 Eddie Mathews Milwaukee Braves™
23 Jorge Soler Kansas City Royals®
24 Shohei Ohtani Angels®
25 Carl Yastrzemski Boston Red Sox®
26 Willie McCovey San Francisco Giants®
27 Joe Morgan Cincinnati Reds®
28 Juan Soto Washington Nationals®
29 Willie Mays San Francisco Giants®
30 Eloy Jimenez Chicago White Sox®
31 Babe Ruth New York Yankees®
32 Ichiro Seattle Mariners™
33 Edgar Martinez Seattle Mariners™
34 Pete Alonso New York Mets®
35 Rickey Henderson Oakland Athletics™
36 Alex Bregman Houston Astros®
37 Mike Mussina Baltimore Orioles®
38 Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers®
39 Andy Pettitte New York Yankees®
40 Mariano Rivera New York Yankees®
41 David Ortiz Boston Red Sox®
42 Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers™
43 Matt Chapman Oakland Athletics™
44 Rafael Devers Boston Red Sox®
45 Yoan Moncada Chicago White Sox®
46 Pedro Martinez Montréal Expos™
47 Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves™
48 Ketel Marte Arizona Diamondbacks®
49 Roger Clemens New York Yankees®
50 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Toronto Blue Jays®
51 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates®
52 Ivan Rodriguez Texas Rangers®
53 Mike Soroka Atlanta Braves™
54 Victor Robles Washington Nationals®
55 Nick Senzel Cincinnati Reds®
56 Ozzie Albies Atlanta Braves™
57 Eddie Murray Baltimore Orioles®
58 Christian Yelich Milwaukee Brewers™
59 Duke Snider Brooklyn Dodgers™
60 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies®
61 Jim Thome Cleveland Indians®
62 Whitey Ford New York Yankees®
63 Marcus Semien Oakland Athletics™
64 Andre Dawson Chicago Cubs®
65 Cody Bellinger Los Angeles Dodgers®
66 Darryl Strawberry New York Mets®
67 Mookie Betts Los Angeles Dodgers®
68 Nomar Garciaparra Boston Red Sox®
69 Al Kaline Detroit Tigers®
70 Don Mattingly New York Yankees®
71 Vladimir Guerrero Montréal Expos™
72 Johnny Bench Cincinnati Reds®
73 Mark McGwire Oakland Athletics™
74 Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers®
75 Joey Votto Cincinnati Reds®
76 Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves™
77 Javier Baez Chicago Cubs®
78 Xander Bogaerts Boston Red Sox®
79 Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers™
80 DJ LeMahieu New York Yankees®
81 Barry Zito Oakland Athletics™
82 Andrew Benintendi Boston Red Sox®
83 J.D. Martinez Boston Red Sox®
84 Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers®
85 Mike Trout Angels®
86 Anthony Rizzo Chicago Cubs®
87 Trevor Story Colorado Rockies™
88 Ronald Acuña Jr. Atlanta Braves™
89 Paul Molitor Toronto Blue Jays®
90 Jack Flaherty St. Louis Cardinals®
91 Dave Winfield New York Yankees®
92 Barry Larkin Cincinnati Reds®
93 Francisco Lindor Cleveland Indians®
94 Max Fried Atlanta Braves™
95 Manny Machado San Diego Padres™
96 Frank Thomas Chicago White Sox®
97 Aristides Aquino Cincinnati Reds® Rookie
98 Cal Ripken Jr. Baltimore Orioles®
99 Gavin Lux Los Angeles Dodgers® Rookie
100 Max Scherzer Washington Nationals®
101 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles®
102 Robin Yount Milwaukee Brewers™
103 Tim Anderson Chicago White Sox®
104 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves™
105 Todd Helton Colorado Rockies™
106 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates®
107 Roger Maris New York Yankees®
108 Gary Carter New York Mets®
109 Reggie Jackson New York Yankees®
110 Albert Pujols Angels®
111 Buster Posey San Francisco Giants®
112 Bo Bichette Toronto Blue Jays® Rookie
113 Luis Gonzalez Arizona Diamondbacks®
114 Gleyber Torres New York Yankees®
115 Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego Padres™
116 Honus Wagner Pittsburgh Pirates®
117 Ernie Banks Chicago Cubs®
118 Yordan Alvarez Houston Astros® Rookie
119 Giancarlo Stanton New York Yankees®
120 Bob Gibson St. Louis Cardinals®
121 Zack Greinke Houston Astros®
122 Trea Turner Washington Nationals®
123 Mike Piazza New York Mets®
124 Juan Marichal San Francisco Giants®
125 Craig Biggio Houston Astros®
126 Wade Boggs Tampa Bay Devil Rays™
127 Jose Altuve Houston Astros®
128 Tony Gwynn San Diego Padres™
129 Josh Bell Pittsburgh Pirates®
130 Nolan Arenado Colorado Rockies™
131 Stan Musial St. Louis Cardinals®
132 Jim Palmer Baltimore Orioles®
133 Justin Verlander Houston Astros®
134 Roberto Alomar Baltimore Orioles®
135 Harmon Killebrew Minnesota Twins®
136 Carlos Correa Houston Astros®
137 Yadier Molina St. Louis Cardinals®
138 Tom Seaver New York Mets®
139 Nolan Ryan California Angels™
140 Joe Torre St. Louis Cardinals®
141 Mike Schmidt Philadelphia Phillies®
142 Patrick Corbin Washington Nationals®
143 Carlton Fisk Boston Red Sox®
144 Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves™
145 Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees®
146 Jacob deGrom New York Mets®
147 Jose Berrios Minnesota Twins®
148 David Wright New York Mets®
149 Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs®
150 Ozzie Smith St. Louis Cardinals®
151 Kenley Jansen Los Angeles Dodgers®
152 J.K. Dobbins Football Player
153 Starling Marte Arizona Diamondbacks®
154 Tommy La Stella Angels®
155 Chip Gaines Television Personality
156 Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Toronto Blue Jays®
157 Jeff McNeil New York Mets®
158 Kwang-Hyun Kim St. Louis Cardinals® Rookie
159 Kyle Lewis Seattle Mariners™ Rookie
160 Lorenzo Cain Milwaukee Brewers™
161 Jackie Bradley Jr. Boston Red Sox®
162 Kyle Tucker Houston Astros®
163 Cole Hamels Atlanta Braves™
164 Kolten Wong St. Louis Cardinals®
165 Hugo "Juice" Tandron Baseball Barber
166 Briana Scurry Soccer Goalkeeper
167 Ken Jeong Actor & Comedian
168 Willson Contreras Chicago Cubs®
169 Carter Kieboom Washington Nationals®
170 Nick Thune Actor & Comedian
171 Hunter Pence San Francisco Giants®
172 Baseball Brit British Baseball Fan
173 Evan Longoria San Francisco Giants®
174 Anthony Kay Toronto Blue Jays® Rookie
175 Kirby Yates San Diego Padres™
176 Justin Dunn Seattle Mariners™ Rookie
177 Hunter Harvey Baltimore Orioles® Rookie
178 Marcell Ozuna Atlanta Braves™
179 Dallas Keuchel Chicago White Sox®
180 Khris Davis Oakland Athletics™
181 Adbert Alzolay Chicago Cubs® Rookie
182 Kelsey Cook Comedian & Professional Foosball Player
183 Lucas Giolito Chicago White Sox®
184 Joc Pederson Los Angeles Dodgers®
185 Austin Meadows Tampa Bay Rays™
186 Bryan Reynolds Pittsburgh Pirates®
187 Masahiro Tanaka New York Yankees®
188 Eugenio Suarez Cincinnati Reds®
189 Brandon Lowe Tampa Bay Rays™
190 Yuli Gurriel Houston Astros®
191 Nelson Cruz Minnesota Twins®
192 Jose Abreu Chicago White Sox®
193 Nyjah Huston Professional Skateboarder
194 Mike "Doc" Emrick Sports Broadcaster
195 Robinson Cano New York Mets®
196 Noah Syndergaard New York Mets®
197 Matt Thaiss Angels® Rookie
198 Will Smith Los Angeles Dodgers®
199 Nico Hoerner Chicago Cubs® Rookie
200 Jim Abbott California Angels™
201 Sakura Kokumai Karate Athlete
202 Tino Martinez New York Yankees®
203 Tony Dunst Professional Poker Player
204 Jared Carrabis Baseball Writer
205 Salvador Perez Kansas City Royals®
206 C.J. Cron Detroit Tigers®
207 Brendan McKay Tampa Bay Rays™ Rookie
208 Mike Moustakas Cincinnati Reds®
209 Johnny Bananas Reality Show Champion & Host
210 Jose Ramirez Cleveland Indians®
211 Ryan Braun Milwaukee Brewers™
212 Chris Paddack San Diego Padres™
213 Oscar Mercado Cleveland Indians®
214 Ryan McMahon Colorado Rockies™
215 Paul DeJong St. Louis Cardinals®
216 Shun Yamaguchi Toronto Blue Jays® Rookie
217 Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham Wheelchair Motorcross Athlete
218 Andrelton Simmons Angels®
219 Josh Hader Milwaukee Brewers™
220 Eric Hosmer San Diego Padres™
221 Mike Foltynewicz Atlanta Braves™
222 Isan Diaz Miami Marlins® Rookie
223 Shane Bieber Cleveland Indians®
224 Kole Calhoun Arizona Diamondbacks®
225 Austin Riley Atlanta Braves™
226 A.J. Puk Oakland Athletics™ Rookie
227 Max Muncy Los Angeles Dodgers®
228 Justine Siegal Baseball Coach
229 Jordan Yamamoto Miami Marlins® Rookie
230 Matt Olson Oakland Athletics™
231 Bucky Lasek Professional Skateboarder
232 Dakota Hudson St. Louis Cardinals®
233 Howie Kendrick Washington Nationals®
234 Jorge Alfaro Miami Marlins®
235 Jesus Luzardo Oakland Athletics™ Rookie
236 Alex Verdugo Boston Red Sox®
237 Nick Ahmed Arizona Diamondbacks®
238 Gerrit Cole New York Yankees®
239 Kyle Schwarber Chicago Cubs®
240 Luis Arraez Minnesota Twins®
241 Michael Brantley Houston Astros®
242 Andy Cohen Television & Radio Host
243 Max Kepler Minnesota Twins®
244 Brandon Woodruff Milwaukee Brewers™
245 Josh Donaldson Minnesota Twins®
246 Mike Clevinger Cleveland Indians®
247 Yusei Kikuchi Seattle Mariners™
248 Rob Friedman Pitching Analyst
249 Stephen Strasburg Washington Nationals®
250 Charlie Blackmon Colorado Rockies™
251 Corey Kluber Texas Rangers®
252 Steve Byrne Actor & Comedian
253 David Price Los Angeles Dodgers®
254 Ryan Nyquist BMX Legend
255 David Dahl Colorado Rockies™
256 Luis Robert Chicago White Sox® Rookie
257 Corey Seager Los Angeles Dodgers®
258 Cavan Biggio Toronto Blue Jays®
259 Whit Merrifield Kansas City Royals®
260 J.T. Realmuto Philadelphia Phillies®
261 Joey Gallo Texas Rangers®
262 Zac Gallen Arizona Diamondbacks® Rookie
263 Dansby Swanson Atlanta Braves™
264 Abraham Toro Houston Astros® Rookie
265 Tommy Edman St. Louis Cardinals®
266 Didi Gregorius Philadelphia Phillies®
267 Elvis Andrus Texas Rangers®
268 Eduardo Escobar Arizona Diamondbacks®
269 Miguel Sano Minnesota Twins®
270 Luis Castillo Cincinnati Reds®
271 Michael Conforto New York Mets®
272 Jon Lester Chicago Cubs®
273 Gregory Polanco Pittsburgh Pirates®
274 Steven Tefft Tattoo Artist
275 Jeff Dye Actor & Comedian
276 Jose Urquidy Houston Astros® Rookie
277 John Means Baltimore Orioles®
278 Nick Castellanos Cincinnati Reds®
279 Maikel Franco Kansas City Royals®
280 Jean Segura Philadelphia Phillies®
281 Derrick Goold Baseball Writer
282 Matthew Boyd Detroit Tigers®
283 Nomar Mazara Chicago White Sox®
284 Julian Edwards Actor
285 Orlando Arcia Milwaukee Brewers™
286 Trey Mancini Baltimore Orioles®
287 Aroldis Chapman New York Yankees®
288 Courtney Hansen Television Host
289 Anthony Rendon Angels®
290 Ramon Laureano Oakland Athletics™
291 Sonny Gray Cincinnati Reds®
292 Hyun-Jin Ryu Toronto Blue Jays®
293 Daniel Vogelbach Seattle Mariners™
294 Mauricio Dubon San Francisco Giants® Rookie
295 Zack Wheeler Philadelphia Phillies®
296 Trevor Bauer Cincinnati Reds®
297 R.L. Stine Author
298 Adalberto Mondesi Kansas City Royals®
299 Blake Snell Tampa Bay Rays™
300 Andres Munoz San Diego Padres™ Rookie
BASE CARD SHORT PRINTS
301 Tim Raines Montréal Expos™
302 Thurman Munson New York Yankees®
303 Earl Weaver Baltimore Orioles®
304 Darin Erstad Angels®
305 Bill Mazeroski Pittsburgh Pirates®
306 Moises Alou Houston Astros®
307 Miguel Tejada Baltimore Orioles®
308 Phil Rizzuto New York Yankees®
309 Alan Trammell Detroit Tigers®
310 Sean Casey Cincinnati Reds®
311 Bert Blyleven Minnesota Twins®
312 Dennis Eckersley Oakland Athletics™
313 Fred McGriff Toronto Blue Jays®
314 Dwight Gooden New York Mets®
315 Juan Gonzalez Texas Rangers®
316 Billy Williams Chicago Cubs®
317 Cecil Fielder Detroit Tigers®
318 Andruw Jones Atlanta Braves™
319 Tony LaRussa Oakland Athletics™
320 Orlando Cepeda San Francisco Giants®
321 Trevor Hoffman San Diego Padres™
322 Catfish Hunter Oakland Athletics™
323 Bernie Williams New York Yankees®
324 Lou Brock St. Louis Cardinals®
325 Mark Grace Arizona Diamondbacks®
326 Monte Irvin New York Giants™
327 Jose Canseco Tampa Bay Devil Rays™
328 Bobby Doerr Boston Red Sox®
329 Ryan Howard Philadelphia Phillies®
330 Bob Feller Cleveland Indians®
331 Gary Sheffield Florida Marlins™
332 Shawn Green Los Angeles Dodgers®
333 Kenny Lofton Cleveland Indians®
334 Rollie Fingers Milwaukee Brewers™
335 Tony Pérez Cincinnati Reds®
336 Jermaine Dye Kansas City Royals®
337 Ralph Kiner Pittsburgh Pirates®
338 Fergie Jenkins Chicago Cubs®
339 Kerry Wood Chicago Cubs®
340 Magglio Ordonez Chicago White Sox®
341 Jim Bunning Detroit Tigers®
342 Mo Vaughn Boston Red Sox®
343 Jack Morris Detroit Tigers®
344 Phil Niekro Atlanta Braves™
345 Larry Walker Colorado Rockies™
346 Sparky Anderson Cincinnati Reds®
347 Tommy Lasorda Los Angeles Dodgers®
348 Luis Aparicio Chicago White Sox®
349 Jay Buhner Seattle Mariners™
350 Goose Gossage New York Yankees®

You want the autograph and relic checklist? You'll have to go somewhere else.