10 reasons why Topps finally made the right call

 

Topps released details on this year's Series 1 yesterday. Release date is Feb. 15, which is a mid-week day that means I could potentially land some cards at a nearby big-box  ... if this was 2019. If I get something by the end of February, I'll be surprised.

 

No matter, I'm not too into current cards these days, but I refuse to dim the little-boy excitement that returns every year at this time when the new cards are released.

 

One specific mention in the release caught my eye:

 

All right, let's break that down.

 

Yes, it's the 1988 Topps design's turn to be featured in Topps' yearly retro insert set if we're adhering to weird 35th anniversary stipulations. But that was NEVER A GUARANTEE because of what Topps did in 2018. So, not surprisingly but also, yes, surprisingly. You never know what Topps is going to pull.

 

I know this is just an insert set, who really cares, and Topps has inundated us with so many past designs -- between all the retro inserts in the flagship sets now, Archives and Heritage, we are not for want of new players on an old design.

But the '88 design has been overlooked by too many people in this hobby, and has been relegated to ugly-stepchild status thanks to arriving immediately after 1987 Topps. I like championing the overlooked and I've always liked the '88 design -- better than anything else in the '80s besides 1983 Topps -- so I'm happy that at least Topps is finally getting it right. (And I've written many words devoted to '88 Topps in the past).

I have 10 reasons why this is at long last the correct call. It's finally '88's time to shine.

1. It's the first set I recall purchasing in pack form after a five-year hiatus

I wrote before that I vividly recall buying a pack of 1988 Topps that year, and just one pack. I wanted to see what cards looked like after a few years away. I did not buy any packs in 1984 and 1985, I just bought the entire set at once. I have no recollection of buying any packs of 1986 or 1987 Topps. It's possible I did, but I was in college at the time and cards weren't a priority at all. Everything's a beery haze.

2. Topps is owning its weird switch-up

For those who have been in the hobby longer than five years, you may remember that the retro-designs in Topps flagship sets once recalled Topps' 30th anniversary, not its 35th. Thirty is a nice, round number and in 2017, Topps had that excuse to trot out the 1987 design AGAIN and every collector who does not have an altar built to '87 Topps in their home threw up their hands and said, "Welp, can't argue much there."

Then, in 2018, when we were waiting for those '88 design inserts, Topps magically changed its anniversary celebration to 35 years -- huh? -- and we went back in time to '83 Topps designs. I don't know why this happened. Speculation is that the in-house designers didn't have time to replicate the more-complicated '88 design. But who knows. All I know was '88 got robbed and justice was not served. I've been protesting ever since.

3. 3-D greatness

One of my favorite aspects of the 1988 Topps design is the 3-D effect on almost every card. The team name is often overlapped by a player's head or a bat or an arm. But the photo never overlaps the player name in the corner. That fascinated me. I previously wrote a post about '88 Topps and there was lots of talk about how difficult the design and the 3-D effect was to replicate back in the day. But the effect is so cool, and the effort involved shows.

4. The Al Leiter error

These two cards are fascinating to me, among the most fascinating error cards ever made. The main reason for that is we're not talking about a border color change or a mark on the photo or even a player name spelled incorrectly. Topps had to replace the entire subject of the photo.

Returning to the '88 design would recognize a time when Topps actually corrected its errors (think the Mike Yastrzemski error in 2022 Topps, which was left alone), and issued new cards for the set.

5. The Eddie Murray Record Breaker card

This also covers the previous topic because there were two versions of the Record Breaker, although one of them isn't necessarily in error, it just has type missing.

But the main reason for showcasing this card is for the phenomenal portrayal of Murray as a switch-hitter. It shows thought and a little bit of amusement. One of my favorite cards in the set.

6. The Mets cards

One of my favorite aspects of the 1988 design is how colorful it is -- much more colorful than 1987 Topps. That's why I could never understand collectors who think '88 Topps is "boring," look at all the color! Color borders! Color team names! Color ribbons!

Topps was still doing that weird thing where it used color combinations in the design that did not match the team being shown. But it was coming around. Some teams received proper treatment in '88 and nothing matched better than the Mets cards. They are terrific. I didn't even like the Mets then, in fact I hated them. But they had some great cards.

 

7. The Tom Lasorda card

 

This is only one of the most famous manager cards ever made. I'd put it in the top 10 or top 20. When did you see someone hanging out in a golf cart on a baseball card before?

 

I also really like the slight change of the design for the manager cards in this set, which brings me to ...

 

 

8. The rookie cup cards

 

This is my favorite design treatment of the rookie cup recognition on individual cards of all-time. Instead of merely placing the cup somewhere on the card, Topps fully colored in the right corner, transforming the ribbon into a colorful triangle containing the cup. Just wonderful.

 

9. Bo Jackson and the 88 Set Blog

 

This card is beautiful. It contains a beauty that I don't think anything in 1987 Topps can match. The card is awash in blue and the green frame accents the photo colors even more.

 

This card was voted -- easily -- as the best card in the 1988 Topps set by the readers of the 88 Topps Cards blog more than 14 years ago. The 88 Topps blog was the first set blog ever written, I believe. It is one of the first card blogs I came across and I was an avid reader as Andy devoted a single post to each card in the set.

The blog was established on the 20th anniversary of the '88 set (there's another nice round anniversary number) and I think it's interesting that one of the most famous set blogs ever written paid tribute to none other than 1988 Topps.

10. It's not the 1987 Topps design

Goodbye wood.