Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The Matt Wieters Chronicles

From 2009 until 2015, Matt Wieters had an exclusive contract with Upper Deck to produce his cards, and eventually Panini. Which means from that time period, Matt Wieters has no Topps cards.

This pissed off a lot of collectors in that era, especially in the era where the Orioles were competitive and Wieters was one of the best catchers in baseball. So restoring these years to his Topps legacy is one of the things I wanted to truly get right if I were to ever finally do this project. Well...the time has come. Here is every Topps card that should have happened for Wieters from this period.

2009, his rookie year: 96 games, a .288 average, 43 RBIs and a 1.4 WAR. Not a bad rookie start, and a real wonder as to why he didn't get any ROY votes.

2010: 130 games, .248 average, 111 hits, 53 RBIs, 2.6 WAR. He's the starter, he's a big piece of the lineup, and he's getting the hang of things. 

2011: 139 games, .262 average, 131 hits, 68 RBIs, a career high 5.2 WAR, and...

An All-Star nomination in Arizona. He didn't do much in the game, if I remember correctly, but it was nice to be there. 

2012: 144 games, a .249 average, 131 hits, 83 RBIs, a career-high 23 home runs, a 4.1 WAR, and...

His second ASG nomination, in Kansas City. Here he did have some hits and definite game action, which was nice. 

2013: 148 games, a .235 average, 123 hits, 79 RBIs, and a 1.2 WAR. Not his best numbers, and so he didn't get the ASG invite that year. 

2014: An injury-shortened 26 games, a .308 average, 18 RBIs and a .9 WAR. He gets an ASG nomination, but due to the injury, cannot fulfill it. 

2015: Another injury, which limits him to 75 games, a .267 average, 25 RBIs and a .9 WAR. 

In 2016, he returns to form, gets another ASG nod, and Topps finally picks him up. But this period of Wieters' career, obviously his peak, could have used some Topps recognition, even if contracts can be annoying sometimes.