Catching Up: 2016 Archives Signature Buybacks - 1990 Topps

Here we have the 1990 Topps buyback autographed card, which is not exceptionally rare as it is serial-numbered to 34.  I actually always liked the colored borders on this card.  This card of course knocks the Padres off of the list of teams that I needed to acquire to get one of each team.  It is not the most exciting of cards, but I have the Padres now.

Catching Up: 2016 Archives Signature Buybacks - 1999 Bowman Chrome

Here is the second of my Archives Signature Buyback cards I picked up:

This one is the 1999 Bowman Chrome card.  I am not sure what made Topps decide on the numbers they used for each card.  I am pretty shocked that a Bowman Chrome card would have 50 signed cards whereas a regular Topps base card would have five.  I do like the picture on this card, which is why I decided to pick this one up.  Plus Bowman Chrome is an interesting enough brand for this set.

Catching Up: 2016 Archives Signature Buybacks - 2003 Topps

As I promised last week, I am coming back.  I am going to start with showing off all of the new cards I have picked up in the last nine months or so.

Sandy Alomar Jr. actually started getting some new cards last year.  Many of them were buyback autograph cards from Topps Archives Signature.  I have not gone completely overboard picking them up, but I have managed to add several.

I had a couple of requirements for cards that I wanted to get.  I wanted to cover all of the teams, in particular, the non-Indians teams.  I wanted to get cards that had interesting pictures.  And I wanted to get non-flagship cards.

My very first card from the set fulfilled the first requirement by representing the White Sox:

2003 Topps is not the most exciting of cards to lead things off, but I got the White Sox out of the way first.  Besides, this card is serial-numbered out of just five, so it is rare enough to be a pretty good get.  The signature might have been better if it was in black ink instead of blue, due to the dark background.

Coming Back Soon

I have a number of new cards to show off.  In the meantime, it is a good day to remember that Sandy Alomar Jr. won the All Star Game MVP in the 1997 game in Cleveland.  He was the reserve catcher that season and hit a tie-breaking two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off Giants pitcher Shawn Estes.

The #7 Card Off of My Most Wanted List

The scan did not turn out too well, but this is the Purple parallel of the 2006 Special FX.  I previously had the Green and the Blue.  I still need the Red.  As the only Dodgers cards available for Alomar, these are some of my favorite cards of Alomar.

Venezuelan Sticker

This one caught me by surprise one day.  I wish there was a record of the Venezuelan stickers out there, because I had no idea this even existed.  I am thrilled that it does because Alomar has so few Rangers cards out there, even though he was pretty good in a backup role.  I also question where the stats came from because it has Alomar with a ridiculously high batting average.

Card #395: 1992 Donruss Cracker Jack #10

YEAR: 1992
BRAND: Donruss
SET: Cracker Jack
NUMBER: 10
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: NA
TEAM: Cleveland Indians

As is typical with the Cracker Jack cards, this card is about one-quarter of the size of typical cards.  I do like the fact that this card features a different picture from the base Donruss set, unlike the 1991 cards from Topps that recycled the base set photography.

Rookie Cup Chrome

Time to catch up on some of my recent pickups.

This is the Chrome Reprint of Alomar's 1991 Topps from 2005 Rookie Cup, which is still one of my favorite sets for this collection.  There were some great cards out of it, including my favorite card in my entire collection, the trophy relic.  These chrome cards are nice too.  They are serial-numbered out of just 25.

Card #394: 1999 Kenner Starting Lineup Classic Doubles #2

YEAR: 1999
BRAND: Kenner
SET: Starting Lineup Classic Doubles
NUMBER: 2
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: NA
TEAM: Wichita Pilots

This is the card I really like from the Classic Doubles Starting Lineup item.  This card depicts Alomar with the Wichita Pilots, one of the minor league teams he played for in the Padres system.  It should be noted however that the picture is a recent shot of Alomar and it is photo-shopped to show him with the Pilots.

Card #393: 1999 Kenner Starting Lineup Classic Doubles #1

YEAR: 1999
BRAND: Kenner
SET: Starting Lineup Classic Doubles
NUMBER: 1
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: NA
TEAM: Cleveland Indians

One of my favorite Starting Lineup items in my Sandy Alomar Jr. collection is the Classic Doubles item, which was actually two figures with two cards.  One figure and card was a current (in 1999) representation, meaning that it shows Alomar with the Indians.  Nothing too exciting or unusual there.  The other one though is interesting.  I will cover it in the next post.