Which Finest is finest? (baseball version)

 

This post is taking a page (and a title) from Billy's post on Cardboard History in which he ranked all of the basketball Finest sets.

I don't collect cards of the NBA, nor watch it, so I can't copy him exactly. However, I can review all the baseball Finest sets, and I can say I'm going the extra mile because there are THIRTY of those sets as compared to the 14 Topps issued for the NBA.

Baseball Finest is a weird beast and I know I'm weird for liking it. There are a number of strikes against it for traditional collectors like me. Let's review:

1. You can't find Finest in the retail store down the street. It's sold only in hobby shops in that way that snobby sets are sold.

2. The set sizes have fluctuated wildly. Some years there's been more than 400 cards, some years there's been 100. That's not a "real" set some would say.

3. Finest, in most cases, removes borders and backgrounds. That's been known to set collectors' teeth on edge.

4. It's too damn shiny. That doesn't bother me. But it bothers some.

 

5. It's always referred to as "Finest" instead of "Topps Finest" and that drives me nuts.

Despite all of the above, Finest has lasted 30 years, this year is its 30th anniversary (speaking of 30th anniversaries, have you checked out my '93 Upper Deck blog?). There are very few, like almost no sets that exist today that are that old.

Also, despite me never being able to find Finest where I live, and periodically hating the design chosen, and doing a double-take when Finest decides to short-print base cards, I really do like the brand. I've said that many times here.

So, let's go. I'm ranking all of the Finest sets from least favorite to most. Please excuse some of the pictures. Finest is shiny and I don't have the required scanner to properly show shiny cards.

 

 

30. 2008 Finest 

This is a weird thought coming from me, but there is way too much border on these cards. Finest should be borderless! They are very confining -- think 2007 Upper Deck. Not even the color parallels are much fun.

29. 2007 Finest

Again, way too much border, even though the refractory nature of the outlines are very colorful and cool. Finest was in its White Period during this time and it's not too appealing.

 

 

28. 1996 Finest

Not crazy about the precious metals look from this time (the obsession with gold, silver and bronze) and really dislike the "tier" gimmick going on with Finest, and some other late '90s sets. It's confusing and requires far too much dedication to a set for people with actual jobs. I still don't know what I need as far as the Dodgers from this set, although TCDB has helped out.

 

The labeling of players is a memorable gimmick, but is a little awkward, as many late '90s cards are.

27. 1997 Finest

Finest is still using the labels and tiers in '97 but fortunately it's the last time. I like these a little better than '96 and I think it's because there are no traditional borders. (Again, borders in other sets: good; borders in Finest: bad).

These look cooler than '96, but I sure do wish the individual cards looked more alike.

26. 2001 Finest

Finest likes sideways writing a lot and generally I don't like it at all. Also not crazy about how the players don't look anchored to the ground.

25. 2009 Finest

I have a soft spot for this set as it's the only Finest set that I've bought in pack form. There's an early blog post of me opening one of those measly 5-card packs back in 2009.

 

But really, what is that design? It looks like the players are batting or pitching in front of a closing trash compactor.

24. 2012 Finest

A whole lot of nothingness behind Kershaw. If I pretend he is walking in front of a giant cheese grater, I like it more because part of what I like about Finest designs is how it gives the impression that the players have been hurled into another dimension. But for straight-up appeal in 2012, you had to find the color parallels.

They're a lot better. I guess.

23. 2020 Finest

I owe much of my Finest Dodgers collection to Max of Starting Nine, who has supplied a lot of them, including most of the 2020 set. That's a good thing because there are 10 Dodgers in that set (where sometimes there's 3 or 4). Still need the Dustin May rookie.

As for the design, the wavy colored beads make me a little seasick.

 

 

22. 1999 Finest

 

I should like this set more because it's so gosh-darn blue, but it's a pretty flat design. Also, this is another thing that runs contrary to what I usually like in sets. I'd rather not see real backgrounds in Finest. Give me the space-age stuff.

 

21. 1998 Finest

Same deal as above, it's pretty bland for Finest. This year marked the time when Topps moved the "protective coating" words to the side, I'm assuming so it didn't go over the player as in previous sets. But everyone knows you should be peeling those things anyway. (Yeah, I know, what's my excuse?)

20. 2022 Finest

No Dodgers card here because I don't have any, because 2022 Finest was released in January! But I did something about that just the other day and grabbed four of the Dodgers from the set (two others are dumb short-prints). Not feeling all the squiggles though.

19. 2002 Finest

This is what I mean by entering another dimension. Kevin Brown is pitching in a world of directional signals and numbers! GO THIS WAY. A bit too much going on.

18. 2005 Finest

Maybe the king of Another Dimension Finest sets. J.D. Drew looks like he's on another planet and about to be sucked into the vortex.

17. 2010 Finest

Metallic-looking sets do not appeal to me and are often infuriating (I do not want to see my cell phone in the reflection of a card). I do like the giant Dodgers logo a lot, it's the big selling point of this set for me.

But it works a lot better with the color parallels.

16. 2013 Finest

Another metallic set. This was the Metallic Era for Finest. Kershaw looks to be pitching in front of a massive Connect 4 game, but without all the color of a Connect 4 game.

15. 2011 Finest

Every time I see this set I think of the Bugs Bunny theme song, "On With The Show" and then my brain starts singing "Overture, curtain, lights. This is it, the night of nights ..." It must be those rays look like spotlights to me.

14. 2016 Finest

All those thin lines could probably damage some eyeballs if someone decided to collect this set and put them all together in a binder and then flip the pages back and forth really quick. But I kinda like this look as it implies movement.

13. 2015 Finest

Finest is big on geometric shapes and in 2015, it really liked triangles.

12. 2018 Finest

More angular action. Bellinger looks like he could get hurt by a sharp edge if he started running.

 

 

11. 2000 Finest

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, IT'S A GIANT BASEBALL!!!! ... Not every card features this effect, which is a shame.

10. 1995 Finest

Finest really liked green in its early days, and this design is all over 2022 Finest with one of its insert sets. It's just OK to me. I like the green Finest set from the previous year better.

 

 

9. 2017 Finest

 

It's amazing what a splash of color will do for my opinion on a set. This is nothing special and more of the slashy angles straight from whatever graphics program they used, but I really like the team-color-coded triangle in the left corner.

 

 

8. 2006 Finest

Weird, weird set in which ball players travel through a giant diamond that is still not as giant as the player, and the player's position is listed all the way around the basepaths. This set does not recognize team colors and the red is very different for Finest. I think that's the only reason I have it this high.

7. 1993 Finest

The original Finest, the set that introduced everyone to chromium technology. Who knew that this set would still be going 30 years later? I still like the look of these, it's kind of charming and very of its time period. But I'm mad at it, too, because I still need three of the Dodgers from the set because they're not the easiest to get.

 

 

6. 1994 Finest

At one point this was my favorite Finest set and I wanted to complete it. I don't want to do that anymore. These cards sometimes have that tendency to turn the players' faces green and this card is green enough. I like the carnival sideshow vibe of these a lot though.

5. 2019 Finest

I can't explain why I like this so much. It just looks classic and something you'd see on a poster. I almost want to try to complete it. But Finest is like half rookies so I'll never do that.

4. 2014 Finest

There are a few posts from around 2014 in which I practically worship this set. I like it because of the rainbow of pastel colors. It's very bright for Finest. I don't even mind that you can see the field.

3. 2021 Finest

The top five Finest sets are all the most colorful Finest sets, which is all you need to know on whether I like a Finest set or not. 2021 is pretty colorful (well, half of it's colorful and half is not). Half of the card looks like an early 2000's screen saver and there's nothing wrong with that.

2. 2003 Finest

Tight, tight race between my No. 1 and No. 2 Finest sets. I love the complete color-coordination of the 2003 set and all the hexagons. I have more of this set than all but one other, which is coming up now ...

1. 2004 Finest

This is easily my favorite Finest set. It's super-colorful and reminds me of champagne bubbles. How can you not like that?

I just love this and I should have completed the set already. But I always get sidetracked.

Someday I will.

I don't think the baseball Finest sets are as nice as the basketball ones. Even though I don't watch the sport, the NBA always seems to get some of the best designs. Just think of some of those early '70s Topps sets.

I know some grumps want no part of Finest. To each their own. I know if these were sold at Target, I'd be buying them (although maybe not at 5 cards per pack). I can't argue with shiny AND colorful. Or with a set that's lasted 30 years.