2010 Topps Chrome #134 Justin Verlander |
Accordingly, Topps selected him for their 2010 Chrome set. The giant Tigers logo in the corner is as shiny as ever, but I've yet to see a card from this set that didn't have at least some rather serious curling. At least this one is curled along the x-axis, which is slightly less annoying than how most of the other 2010 Chrome cards in my collection are curled. It's not even straight on a couple of them.
This and the rest of the cards in this post came from Colorado Sports Cards, a newly-established card shop just a few miles from where I live. It's only a couple years old, so it isn't packed to the brim with Zephyrs-vintage memorabilia like Bill's. I'm sure that will come with time, though. And even if the pickings are a little slimmer, at least it's a much shorter drive.
Clearly they're not that much slimmer, as I found more than enough there to turn into two posts. Have a look at what else came out of the dollar box.
1992 Topps McDonald's #3 Rickey Henderson |
Happy Meal, indeed.
The black borders have held up well over time, and there don't seem to be any grease stains or lingering salt crystals anywhere. The McDonald's colors carry over to the back, with lots of red and yellow to be found. Stats-wise, it's pretty standard for a Topps card of the era, and it does mention Rickey's 1990 AL MVP award.
1992 Pinnacle Team 2000 #21 Larry Walker |
Pinnacle thought Larry Walker would be a star in the year 2000, and were they ever right! He put up some truly amazing numbers throughout the '90s, even winning the NL MVP award in 1997. This card talks a lot about his defense, saying he has "sure hands, good range, and a rocket arm." He had a cannon in right field, inspiring Skybox to put a cartoon flame on one of his cards. Walker won seven Gold Gloves in his career, definitely earning all the gold foil Pinnacle gave him.
2000 Topps Hands of Gold #HG5 Tony Gwynn |
Besides Gwynn, other defensive wizards can be found in this small set, including Roberto Alomar, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Omar Vizquel, who still has it in his early fifties.
I haven't run across a card like this in a while. Die cuts don't seem to be all that common anymore, especially ones with curved edges and an embossed design.
2018 Topps Gold Label Class 3 #65 Mike Piazza |
Unlike in past years, there doesn't seem to be any particular pattern in the three different Classes of this fractured set. Class 1 was a hitting photo, Class 3 a baseruning photo, that sort of thing. From what I can find about 2018 Gold Label, I can't figure out a theme that weaves the three Classes together.
Regardless, the primary photo shows a clean-shaven Piazza at the plate, and there's an All-Star Game patch on his right sleeve. The Mets didn't host the Midsummer classic during his career, so this must be from an actual All-Star Game. That looks like the 2005 logo to me, held at Comerica Park in Detroit. That happened to be Justin Verlander's debut year, by the way. But more importantly to Piazza, that was his last of a dozen All-Star appearances, including 1996 in which he won MVP honors.
2000 E-X #49 Jose Canseco |
The card back includes a mirror image of Canseco's photo on the front, trying to maintain the illusion that E-X was still a transparent card set. Back on the front, the position is spelled out vertically in the lower left, which escaped my attention many times before I looked more closely. I was quite distracted by the vaguely shark-looking curved area in the center.
1997 Topps Screenplays #8 Tony Gwynn |
I've never seen one of these before, and it's awesome.
Picture a horizontal Sportflics card with the usual lenticular surface, but with a clear back. Hold it up to the light, give it a little tilt, and be amazed at how they managed to pack a couple dozen smooth frames into this surface. As cool as we always thought Sportflics cards were, they were basically just two frames. Sure, they figured out some smoother transitions for the 1994 set in the nameplate area, but nothing like this. Not even close. Thanks to Kodak's Kodamotion patent, it's like a tiny highlight reel.
Tony Gwynn's name even appears and disappears inside a blue filmstrip element, and the Topps Screenplays logo alternates with the Padres logo in the lower left. Whatever my scanner decides this looks like, trust me, it is better in person.
The tin itself was a little beat up and showing signs of rust, but I might have to go back and see if they have any of these left. You'll definitely want to show this off next time you are highlighting some favorite pieces of your collection; it's that cool.
2014 Topps #378 Ryan Zimmerman |
I started this blog in 2014, and that year of Topps flagship is the recent design I find most familiar. I was collecting a lot in 2014, and I played a lot of Topps Bunt that year, too. Odds are it will go down as the last Topps base set with a traditional white border.
1991 Score Rookies #33 Mickey Morandini |
Mickey Morandini, a September 1990 call-up, was described as "gung-ho and hard-nosed" on the card back, and was the top Phillies prospect at the time. He was on the 1993 Phillies World Series roster, and made it to the All Star team in 1995, but he's known for one particular play in 1992.
On September 20th, 1992 at Pittsburgh, Morandini found himself playing close to the second base bag with nobody out and runners on first and second. Normally, that situation is ripe for an Infield Fly Rule to be called, but every so often, the stars align and a fielder spears a liner with runners in motion.
Yes, Morandini turned an unassisted triple play, catching the liner off of Jeff King's bat, stepping on second base to double up Andy Van Slyke, and finally tagging out Barry Bonds to suddenly get the Phillies out of the inning.
This play is so rare that there's usually some confusion when it happens. This particular announcer was telling Morandini to throw to first, which he didn't need to do. Troy Tulowitzki did exactly that when he turned his, throwing to Todd Helton at first just to be on the safe side after stepping on second base a second time. The announcers in Fenway had no idea what was going on when John Valentin got his until they watched the slow-motion replay.
Sadly, despite that amazing feat, the Phillies would lose anyway.
1986 Fleer Sluggers/Pitchers #33 Mike Schmidt |
The card back has the usual look of mid-'80s Fleer, except it's horizontal. It's strange to see that orientation, although they did keep the colored columns for easy reading.
The career Phillie would retire in 1989, so Mickey Morandini never got the privilege to play with the Hall of Famer.
1986 Fleer Sluggers/Pitchers #39 Rick Sutcliffe |
Clearly this is a posed shot of Sutcliffe on the mound at Wrigley Field, as you'll never see a pitcher begin his windup without a hat. I know they call it the Windy City, but it can't be that windy on a sunny summer day like this.
1987 Fleer Limited Edition #7 Joe Carter |
Tonight was Game 6 of the World Series, and Joe Carter knows all about Game 6. The most important hit of his career came in Game 6 of the 1993 Series, a walkoff home run that gave the Blue Jays their second straight championship. Tonight's Game 6 saw its share of home runs, including one by Anthony Rendon after a questionable interference call.
1987 Fleer Team Stickers #20 Houston Astros/Logo |
The Washington Baby Sharks have made a heck of a run. I'll be pulling for them in Game 7.
Go Nats! This World Series has been awesome and has played out exactly like I wanted it to. The only thing that could screw it up would be an Astros win... unless of course it involves a bottom of the ninth walk off home run by my boy Altuve.
ReplyDeleteAnyways... Verlander is the man. Shame his WS record isn't stellar. He's like the AL version of Kershaw.
Awesome cards! Love both of those Gwynns. $1 for the Screen Plays is a great find.
I think the Screen Plays one was about $5 or so. I would absolutely have gotten all three if they were a buck each. I still might anyway once the snow melts.
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