why did they bother?

i recently completed a dodger team set of the 1984 topps rub-downs release. the last "card" i needed featured pedro guerrero and a young slugger named darryl strawberry

the inclusion of strawberry is probably why i didn't have one of these previously, not that i was seeking them out in 1984. this was the sort of oddball that didn't appeal to me then, and even now i only went for it to complete the aforementioned team set. 

i was also missing the pedro guerrero "card" from the 1985 team set

if you are at all familiar with these releases, the fact that they are the same is not a surprise. the only difference between the two is the copyright date.

i am left to wonder why topps issued a second set in 1985 if they didn't make any changes to what they had released in 1984 in terms of design or subject matter? there are a few players who were on different teams in 1985 that were featured with their 1984 clubs - jack clark comes to mind - but that's not a big deal because the same can be said for topps flagship in 1985 (clark's team affiliation was updated in the traded set that year). 

i wonder if any kid who bought these in 1985 felt ripped off or even noticed if their intent was to transfer them to their o-pee-chee folder as quickly as possible. these days, i figure it's only team and player collectors who give any attention to these things.