Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2010 Matt Stairs

 

Of the many players during the era I'm most interested in covering in this Should Have Been series that played for 10+ teams over a long period of time, the one that Topps had the least amount of holes in depicting was Matt Stairs, surprisingly. Of the 11 teams Stairs suited up for between 1996, when he started getting card releases, and 2011, when he retired, there were only 2 of them that he never got an official Topps card with. 

One of them is the 2006 Texas Rangers, and finding an image of him with that team that's worthy of a custom is extremely difficult. So, naturally, I'm doing the other one.

Yes, after being a postseason hero for the Philadelphia Phillies during their colossal 2008 and 2009 runs, Matt Stairs found his way to the last Padres team til Machado showed up to actually have a shot at the playoffs. Although people like Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada would join the team at the deadline, the well-traveled Canadian power hitter Stairs was with the team from the start, and played a bench bat role with them all year. In 78 games, the 42-year-old hit .232 with 16 RBIs, 23 hits and his final 6 homers. Far from his 100-RBI years with Oakland, yes, but still formidable enough to stifle defenses. 

Stairs would play one more season with Washington, then upon his retirement would join the Phillies' broadcast booth. ESPN magazine, upon his Nats run, did a whole spread of all of his uniforms over the years, from Montreal to Toronto to Kansas City to Washington. Players like that, who play everywhere and still keep pounding away, are essential to this series, and I'm glad I get to document short-term stints like this one.