2005 Topps Cracker Jack #90, Bobby Abreu
Since rolling out its first Heritage set, Topps has by far produced the best retro-sets in the industry. A couple of Upper Deck's offering have been pretty good too, but they have not achieved the consistency that Topps has in this department. Topps is so consistently good that when producing a retro-set with a new design, it often looks better than their current sets. The 2005 Topps Cracker Jack set is a wonderful example of this.
This year's Cracker Jack set (which was not actually distributed in boxes of Cracker Jack) is just one of four different ones issued by Topps this year -- all of them equally good. However, unlike the other three -- which are based on the 1956 Topps, 1909 Turkey Red and 1951 Bowman sets -- the Cracker Jack is new design, with the artistic premise being what if Cracker Jack followed up its is famous 1914-15 set with a new design in 1916. Part of the successful execution of the concept involved cards such as Abreu's, in which Topps depicted him in what is now the vintage 1980s uniform, which in this case enhanced the vintage feel of the set.
