Archives Fan Favorite Autographs Disappointment

 I'm fairly blasé about the Archives sets.  We already have Heritage, so why do we need another set using old designs.

But there is one insert set in Archives that I've always loved, the Fan Favorite autographs.  In fact, it is the only autograph insert set that I collect all of the Cubs. 

Fan Favorites usually had a middle tier checklist.  They didn't have the big name Hall of Famers.  Instead, they included the middle guys, the guys that were good but not great.  For most of these players, the only place you'd see a certified autograph from them was in Fan Favorite.

What an eclectic collection of players!

2012 - Bill Buckner and Shawon Dunston

2013 - Jody Davis, Leon Durham, Rick Reuschel, and Lee Smith

2015 - Mark Grace and Mark Prior

2018 - Don Kessinger

2019 - Jody Davis, Pat Hughes, and Steve Stone

2021 - Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Zambrano

2022 - Corey Patterson and Manny Trillo

And now Topps has gone and ruined Fan Favorite for me.  The autographs in the 2023 set are divided into two parts.  Fan Favorites has a checklist of 62 cards and there are three Cubs included, but they are all active players (Miguel Amaya, Matt Mervis, and Justin Steele).  I don't want active players, I want retired guys, players that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

The second part does have retired guys, but it is called Fan Favorite Premium.  The cards are all /50 or less. Hold on to your wallet whenever you see the word "Premium."  The Cubs in the set are Greg Maddux and Ryne Sandberg.  No Maddux card has been listed yet on eBay and just one Sandberg was listed.  I won't be getting either of them.