Topps Cards That Should Have Been: Fred McGriff and the 2001 Cubs

 

Hey, guys, did you know that despite falling within the cutoff for Topps Traded, and receiving a card in Bowman Heritage, Hall of Famer Fred McGriff doesn't have a Topps base card as a member of the 2001 Cubs? 

Like Tim Raines in the 2001 Traded set, all that Fred McGriff got with his crucial addition to a new roster was a relic card. No base. Topps had a surprising amount of blindspots during that Traded set. But McGriff, one of the most high-profile stars dealt at the trade deadline, was indeed one of them. Fans would have to wait til 2002 to receive a card of McGriff in a Cubs uniform. 

Still, in 42 games in Chicago during the second half of the 2001 season, McGriff hit .282 with 41 RBIs and 12 home runs. Incredible numbers that gave McGriff his seventh, but not last 100+ RBIs season and his ninth, but not last, 30+ home run season. Even at 37, McGriff could still mash, and the Cubs reaped the benefits.

While we're here, though, it's important to note that while the Cubs were buyers at the 2001 trade deadline, and though they took on many crucial pieces, they still ended the season in third place thanks to a humiliating August skid that even an extended early September break couldn't save them from. Yes, they'd be alright eventually, and would come back with an even more impressive team in 2003, but this Cubs team gambled and lost. So, here are some of the other players Topps neglected to document during their 2001 flagship year:

Longtime utility man Miguel Cairo had a rough start to the 2001 season. After the 2000 campaign, where he'd been a key infield piece for the Devil Rays, Cairo was cut. He signed a deal with the Oakland Athletics, but days before the 2001 season would begin, Oakland would trade Cairo to the Cubs in exchange for Eric Hinske, who would later be dealt to Toronto for Billy Koch in one of many deals that Billy Beane would regret later. The Cubs were familiar with Cairo's work, he was an infield option for them before the Devil Rays brought him on, so they were fine slotting him in. In 66 games he hits .285 with 35 hits and decent enough defensive play. Behind both Eric Young and Ricky Gutierrez he was a decent enough backup. Ultimately, as the Cubs would deal for someone else I'll be discussing in this post, Cairo would be cut again and claimed by St. Louis. If you can believe it, Cairo's career lasted for another 10 years after this.

It famously took Gary Matthews Jr. a while to figure out the major leagues. You all remember his excellent 2006 campaign with the Rangers, and some solid work with the late 2000s Angels. It took him a few years to get there, and in 2001 he was a pretty one-dimensional outfield bat. As the starting option in center field, Matthews hit .217 with 56 hits, 30 RBIs and 9 homers in 106 games. A later acquisition, which I will discuss here, would be the death nell for Matthews in Chicago, and he'd be cut soon after, to be picked up by Pittsburgh.

Signing with the Cubs as a free agent a few seasons after being a big piece of the trade that brought Jeff Kent to San Francisco, Julian Tavarez was a decent enough relief specialist that had proved in Colorado that he could start games. The Cubs called his bet, and 28 starts out of Tavarez, resulting in a 10-9, 4.52 ERA season that also finished with Tavarez' highest strikeout total, with 107. Despite his utilization as a pure innings eater, Tavarez enhanced his value and versatility. As a result, Tavarez would be a key piece in a trade that would also bring Cubs farmhand Dontrelle Willis to Miami, while bringing a much more consistent starting option in Matt Clement to Chicago.

I think the value of the reliever has gone up in the last ten years, which is too bad, because had it not, Kyle Farnsworth would have been a much bigger deal at the time. For sixteen years, Farnsworth was nothing more than a solid, consistent relief guy who'd make 60 or 70 appearances per year and just work. His most consistent years were in Chicago, where he was a staple of the early 00s bullpens. 2001 was his best season, as he held a 2.74 ERA over 76 games, striking out 107. It would be a season that would need a year or so to recover from, but it was the surest sign of Farnsworth's dominance over his tenure with the Cubs. 

Now back to the trade deadline acquisitions. After breaking in with the 90s Braves teams, Michael Tucker had become a serviceable outfield bat for the Reds. The Cubs pulled a nice deal for Tucker in July and plugged him in as their new centerfielder, to replace Gary Matthews Jr. finally. Tucker was an improvement, hitting .263 with 31 RBIs in 63 games, and a 1.2 WAR in that time, his best numbers since Atlanta. Like Tavarez, this season would result in a crucial offseason deal, as Tucker would be dealt to Kansas City for a player to be named later. 

And as for the upgrade at 2nd base, the Cubs went with Delino DeShields, the longtime infield bat who'd been struggling in Baltimore following an excellent 2000 campaign. DeShields was picked up a week after the O's cut him, and went to work, hitting .276 with 16 RBIs and 12 stolen bases, bringing him to 450 overall. DeShields would stay for the 2002 season and then quietly retire. 

I was going to go 'well why didn't they make it' and then I realized that a lot of the people they picked up were people in their mid-to-late 30s who didn't have a ton left to work with, so that kind of answers that. Either way, good that they finally get Topps representation, even through this project. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2001 Tim Raines

 

In 2001, Topps managed to make a card of Tim Raines upon his return to Montreal, a team he hadn't played for in over ten years. Unfortunately, it was not a base card. It was a relic card. Raines, like another recent Hall of Famer [who I'll be getting to shortly], has a relic card in 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies but not a base card.

Even more ironically, by the time of this product's release, Raines was already playing for a different team that only Fleer would produce a base card of him with, but thanks to photo scarcity we won't be talking about that today.

Anyway. Tim Raines' return to Montreal, a return voyage that...Topps neglected to mention during the 2001 calendar year.

Raines hadn't played in the majors since 1999, where he suited up for the Athletics in a bench role. The legendary base-stealer was 41, and had missed all of 2000 after not making the majors for the Yankees. Seeing as a return voyage home worked for fellow base-stealer Rickey Henderson, Raines signed a deal with the Expos prior to the 2001 season, and was lucky enough to make the team, perhaps thinking he'd end his career in a full circle way.

In 47 games, Raines batted .308 with 24 hits and 5 RBIs, leading to a 0.5 WAR in that period. Most importantly, Raines stole the final one of his 808 career stolen bases. Unlike Rickey, who stole well into the last legs of his career due to the mythology of it all, Raines started running out of steam in the speed department in his mid-30s, and at the very least strived to keep performing well at the plate.

Though one would suspect Raines' career to end quietly there, he was dealt to the Orioles with a week left to go in the regular season, in order to match the Griffeys with some games played alongside his son Tim Jr., who'd been a Baltimore prospect for a year or so. Even there, Raines managed 3 hits and 5 RBIs in 4 games for the O's, making his son mighty proud.

And you'd think THAT would be the end of his career...but even still, Raines finishes up as a member of the 2002 Miami Marlins, a stint that, somehow, Topps ends up depicting. Here's a fun fact about that 98-game run: Raines has 170 career home runs, and 808 career stolen bases. He hit more homers than he stole bases in 2002. How about that?

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The Jason Varitek Chronicles

One of my goals with this project has been to right the various wrongs Topps has gone through with over the past 20 years, be it with omissions or contract issues or the like. One of the big ones that subsided right when I got into the hobby was that of Jason Varitek, the longtime Boston backstop.

From the beginning of his career until 2007, Jason Varitek did not have a contract with Topps, and therefore received absolutely zero Topps cards. The humanity. 

And let's be fair- for the first few years of his career, Varitek was a replacement-level catcher who got by on decent seasons, and he doesn't start truly tearing up the league until 2003, so it wasn't a huge loss til around then. But still, Topps not making any cards of the catcher of the Boston Red Sox is a big deal, and one that I had no choice but to rectify.

So, starting in 2001, here they are. In 2001, Varitek mostly backs up Scott Hatteberg but hits .293 in 51 games. 

2002 is Varitek's first season with a WAR over 2, as the catching gig is all but his thanks to him playing 132 games behind the plate, hitting .266 and notching 61 RBIs. Not pristine, but he's beginning to benefit from being on the Sox with Ramirez, Damon and Ortiz all at once.

2003 is the breakout year. Tek hits .273 with 25 homers, a career high for him, 85 RBIs, another career high, and his first ASG appearance. He also gets MVP votes, postseason playing time, and a stranglehold on the position . Here is where Topps starts really regretting not signing Varitek to a contract.

And they begin to regret it even more in 2004, another strong year for Varitek with a .296 average and 73 RBIs, one that would see him win his first of two World Series rings. Tek has 11 postseason RBIs for the Sox, and cements himself as a reliable, necessary presence in the Boston dugout. 

So...Topps can't even make a card for the catcher of the World Series champions. Awkward.

It gets worse. In 2005, Varitek has his most impressive season yet, getting a gold glove, a silver slugger, more MVP votes, a 70-RBI year AND...

His second ASG appearance, marked by a card that would have shown up in 2005 Topps Update. This would have been a cool one, too, as it represents a great RBI moment from that ASG. 

And in 2006, Varitek would wind things down with a .233 average in only 106 games thanks to an injury [Doug Mirabelli would be on hand to back up]. 

2007, he'd have a posed shot against the Sox's maroon background, and from then on Topps would be on top of things giving him flagship releases. Again, I wish they'd acted sooner, but there's a lot you can't control about Topps. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The Rod Beck Chronicles

I think we've been wasting time comparing Craig Kimbrel to Trevor Hoffman when we really should be comparing him to Rod Beck.

I mean, swap out Huntsville for Van Nuys, and a slightly lower average saves-per-season, and Rod Beck's first decade of MLB service looks quite similar to Kimbrel's. Both big-game closers with insane consistency and intimidation that peters off spontaneously. And right now, we're in the 'early 2000s in Boston' portion of Kimbrel's career. A great market [Chicago], a golden opportunity, and nothing's coming together. 

Rod Beck, though, had more drastic troubles, with less of a sharp cutoff. He was struggling in Chicago in 1999 before a trade to Boston gave him a crack at a ninth-inning gig, which he did much better with. In a full season for the Sox in 2000, he did much better, with a 3.10 ERA in 34 games. Only problem was he didn't have a chance at the closing gig- Derek Lowe, of all people, closed 41 games for the Sox that year, in Boston's attempt to fill the bullpen with starters [Wakefield also relieved that year] and fill the rotation with people like Pete Schourek and Ramon Martinez [note to self, he didn't have a 2000 Topps card with the Sox]. 

Beck wasn't the officially designated closer in 2001, and only notched 6 saves for the Sox, but he did have a fuller, more relied-upon season as a middle reliever, appeared in 68 games and had a 3.90 ERA with 63 Ks, which is a different season for the man who's usually responsible for 50 saves, but one that was more indicative of where relief pitching was going in the following seasons. 

In 2002, the year Topps actually decides to make a card of him, those numbskulls, Rod Beck required Tommy John surgery, and sat out the entire year. The Sox moved on, getting Ugueth Urbina to pitch the ninth, with 40 saves as well. Beck would be a free agent for 2003, and it would take a lot to get someone to sign him, even for a minor league deal.

One of Beck's former teams decided to bite, though. The Chicago Cubs, with whom Beck notched a career high 51 saves in 1998, took a chance on Shooter, signing him to a minor league deal. The Cubs went into Spring Training with both Joe Borowski and Antonio Alfonseca looking at the closing gig, so a rehabilitated Beck would be facing sharp competition. Despite some decent showings in March, Beck doesn't make the team, spends two months in Iowa living in a motor home and becoming friends with all the fans, and he's released in May. Topps doesn't make a card of this Cubs tenure, but if they had a mind, they would have made one for Series 1. 

So Beck is a free agent once again...but only for a few days, as another California team, much like the Giants whom he came up with, needed help in the ninth.

The San Diego Padres signed Rod Beck with the sole intention of giving him the ninth inning and letting him close again. They had no one willing to hold the job for more than 4 saves, Trevor Hoffman was out for the season, and Beck was a tested solution. In 36 games, Beck held a 1.78 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 20 saves. For a last place team, Beck was a steady constant with more than enough in the tank to keep them from completely falling apart. These were the last great numbers of Beck's career, and proof that he could still perform post-Tommy-John.

 The Padres re-signed Beck for the 2004 season, but things would be different. Trevor Hoffman would be healthy, and would deliver 41 saves. The bullpen itself was sturdier, with great performances from Scott Linebrink, Akinori Otsuka and Antonio Osuna. Rod Beck had much less of a place in this much better team, and in 26 games his ERA ballooned to 6.38, with more NL East offenses getting to him than ever before. It was a disappointing, heartbreaking finale to Beck's career, made even more heartbreaking by Beck's passing three years later.

The other stark difference between Rod Beck and Craig Kimbrel is that Topps has always been behind Kimbrel, no matter where he went and no matter how dire his ERA looked. It is a mindset that Topps had never previously adopted with relievers, even leaving late-career moves from Rich Gossage, John Franco and Jesse Orosco out of their sets entirely. I'm not sure if Kimbrel's going to bounce back, but because he'll be doing so in 2021, rather than 2003, maybe the card companies will be more there for him than they were for Beck back in the day. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The Bronson Arroyo Chronicles

Unless my calculations are incorrect, Bronson Arroyo might be the only active MLB player in history to ever appear on a VH1 'I Love the' series. Not only did he appear in 'I Love the 80s 3D', but he also appeared in 'I Love the 70s Volume 2', which I believe was taping around the same time. 

Think about that. The fun-loving, guitar-playing member of the 2004 Red Sox was cool enough to be one of the many talking heads on VH1 along with Hal Sparks, Michael Ian Black, Loni Love, Patrice O'Neal and Mo Rocca. Talking about...I dunno, 'My Bodyguard', or 'St. Elsewhere' or something, I don't remember. 

I'll add in here that he's not the sole MLB personnel to be featured on an I Love the series. Heidi Hamels was in one of the 90s ones. Yes, pre-Cole, but post-Survivor. So I'll allow it.

This anecdote serves the purpose to inform you all that despite being a steady arm in Cincinnati for a good decade or so, Bronson Arroyo's best moments came as a baseball personality rather than a baseball player. He was a character, a regular 2000s guitar bro kind of guy that happened to post a mean fastball. And I think the baseball world latched onto that in the late 2000s, as he became a standout for the Reds, and his high leg kick became something to watch for.

But what most people forget, especially Topps, is that he had a career as a relief specialist before his big break with the Sox and Reds. He was stuck in the Pittsburgh bullpen waiting behind Jason Schmidt, Kris Benson and Todd Ritchie. By 2001 he was, in fact, getting some starts, but he still finished with a 5.09 ERA in 24 games. Mediocre even for 2000s Pittsburgh. 

By 2003, Arroyo has been waived by the Red Sox, and is finally playing for a good team. He's not given much of a chance this season in Boston, though, only playing 6 games in relief. He does post a 2.08 ERA with 14 Ks, though. Additionally, he strikes out 5 Yankees in the ALCS, providing some much-needed relief help on the road to a heartbreak thanks to Aaron Boone. So they're getting the idea that Arroyo can be an asset, they just don't know what to do with him yet.

By 2004, their championship year, the Red Sox FINALLY figure Arroyo out. In a rotation featuring Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield, already four insanely tough pitchers if they're all on at once [and all but Lowe were], Epstein and Francona decided that Arroyo should be given that fifth rotation spot. And oh boy did he deliver, with a 10-9 record in 29 starts, a 4.03 ERA and 142 strikeouts, his best year to date.

In the 2004 postseason, Bronson Arroyo would strike out 14, and even if he'd allow more earned runs than hoped for, he still was a crucial part of the championship Sox team, and they rewarded him with another strong year in 2005, and eventually a trade to a market where he could be an ace. 

Topps somehow didn't do a base card of Bronson Arroyo until 2005, but they'd be good for the rest of his run. I've rectified this, which must help. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2001 David Cone

 

I have some relatives who are Mets fans. I'm not mentioning this so you can pray for them, it's for context.

A few years ago, and this is right before Mariano Rivera gets into the HOF, one in particular is going on a diatribe about how he doesn't think closing pitchers are valid Hall of Famers. I don't know why. He's a lifelong Jets fan as well, clearly something's gone wrong. 

But he gives me this pitch. He says 'how come David Cone, who could have been a lifelong reliever had the Mets not moved him to the rotation in 1987, doesn't have a Hall of Fame case, yet Mariano Rivera, who could have been a lifetime starter had he not been moved to the bullpen in 1996, does?'

Short answer- Mariano Rivera was more consistent. 

But it did get me thinking about David Cone's credentials. From 1988 to 1999, Cone is undeniably one of the best pitchers in baseball. This man has five World Series rings, all in an 8-year period, won 20 games twice, led the league in strikeouts twice, and pitched a perfect game with the Yankees. While any activity outside that 12-year radius is slightly more suspect, Cone in that period is as good as some of the Hall of Famers he pitched against. So...maybe his stats need another look. 

Topps was generally alright about his later career issues, and they gave Cone a Topps card in 2002, but...Cone didn't play in 2002. David Cone's 2002 Topps card was a reparation for not having a 2001 Topps card. So I made one.

David Cone signs a cheap one-year deal with Boston in 2001 after a disappointing 6+ ERA season with the Yankees. The Sox have Martinez, Lowe and Wakefield, so Cone will be backing up the platoon. And...he does so, admirably. In 25 games, he has a 4.31 ERA, a 9-7 record and 115 strikeouts. Not bad at all, even if it's his second consecutive year with an ERA higher than 4, both of which were anomalies for him. But he's strong enough, at 38, to get by. Which is nice.

Cone signs a minor league deal with the Mets in 2003, and that's something I couldn't find documentation for in photos, but his late-career stuff, while not indicative of his career-long control, was pretty cool, and it was nice to find something from him in Boston. 

So...with Veterans committees cooking up again over the next few years, maybe Cone's name will wind up back in the ring. Maybe he'll get a case enough to get in. I wouldn't be shocked. If Harold Baines can get in, maybe David Cone's time is coming soon.

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The Andres Galarraga Chronicles

After some impressive years in Montreal in the 80s, as well as some even more bombastic years in Colorado and Atlanta during the 90s, Andres Galarraga, affectionately known as El Grande Gato, had a bit of a tumultuous final few years. Not that he played poorly, he just...was everywhere. 

Galarraga played parts of two seasons with the Giants, made a well-documented return to Montreal in 2002, and sort of bopped around otherwise.

In a moment where Topps pictured him as either a Brave or a Giant in 2001, Galarraga snuck out to Arlington for the first half of the season. Despite being in a lineup with Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez, Galarraga's numbers were underwhelming, hitting .235 with 34 RBIs and 10 home runs in 72 games, a far cry from even his 2000 numbers with Atlanta. Midyear, Galarraga would be traded to San Francisco, and that bit would get the Topps card.

2002 and 2003 would be comparatively well documented, in SF and Montreal. For all intents and purposes, Galarraga's career ends in San Fran in 2003, and in Topps' eyes it does.

And yet it keeps going for a slight bit longer. Galarraga would sit most of the 2004 season out, thanks to not being approached for a deal in the spring, but in August he began talks with the Anaheim Angels, who were doing well enough with Vladimir Guerrero's first year on the team, but struggling otherwise. So they signed Galarraga to a deal, and for 7 games in September, El Grande Gato was back at it once again. He did pretty well, too, hitting .300 with 2 RBIs, including his final home run, leaving him at 399 as a career total.

And that could have been a humble, amusing way for Galarraga to go out. He was 43, his temples had fully greyed, he'd had a long, prosperous career with a batting title, 2 gold gloves and 2 silver sluggers...but he wanted to try for one more year. 

 YEP. ISN'T THIS WEIRD?

Galarraga signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets prior to the 2005 season, as an invitation to Spring Training. While he didn't make the team, he did get to have one last spring training experience as a player, and got to be a mentor figure, at 44, to young players like David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and Heath Bell. 

I know Topps never would have made a card for him in 2005 given this stint, but...they made one for Roberto Alomar, and he didn't last past camp with Tampa. 

Galarraga may not have been a Hall of Famer, but he was a fun player for a long period of time. So even the smallest bit to add to his legacy helps. 

Card Show- Whole Lotta Swag

Yeah, I went to another card show. Luckily, I finally got my hands on some UPDATES AND HIGHLIGHTS!!!! Here are some of the awesome cards I got from this set-

81- Mark Texiera All Star
87- Jake Peavy. This is another studio shot. Hastily assembled by Topps, probably
89- Phil Hughes. There has to be a reason why Topps didn't put Hughes in the base set.
100- CC Sabathia- This is the card I have waited the entire year for.
130-Randy Johnson Highlight
170- Jason Giambi- Now on the Rockies.
174- Omar Vizquel. Is he a hall of famer? Maybe.
202- Angel Berroa. Heeyyyyy, he should be on the Yankees!!!
200- Randy Johnson. What a career.
209- Andruw Jones.
234- Mike Sweeney. Is this guy a Hall fo Famer? No.
236- Kris Benson, the man with 1000 injuries
247- Lastings Milledge. How does it feel to go from the 2nd worst team in Baseball to the worst team in baseball??
250- Mark Texiera. The other card I have waited all year to get.
263- Matt Holliday, who should be the 2010 starting outfielder for the Yankees.
264- LAROOOOCHE!
276- Brad Penny, now on the Giants
282- Victor Martinez.
302- Casey Kotchman.
309- Scott Posednik.
326- Nate McLouth. Who would've thought that this guy would be a Brave?
230- Freddy Sanchez
140- Jack Wilson- IT'S A TRADED PIRATE PALOOZA!
142- Jorge Posada Highlight. I still need his base card for my regular set.
111- Livan Hernandez. Now on the Nationals.
115- Jeff Weaver.
117- Alex Rios.
92- Edwin Encarnacion.
85- Joe "Whatever happened to me" Crede
90- Orlando Cabrera. Speaking of sore losers...
76- Scott Rolen.
57- Juan Uribe. I also need this guy's regular topps card.
45- Brad Ausmus.
29- Rich Hill
25- Orlando Hudson
8- Lance Broadway
1-Ivan Rodriguez, whose card is a total waste because he is not in a Ranger outfit.

I also got a few Early 2000's Topps packs. First, here's the 2000 Topps.

69- Dave Nilsson.
71- Tim Raines, who I had no idea he was playing in 2000.
47- Shannon Stewart.
72- Brian Jordan. Double-sporter
29- Darrin Fletcher
3- Wade Boggs' last card.
151- Scott Williamson
115- Paul O'Neill.
87- Bobby Higginson.
13- MAGGLIOOOO!
15- Derek Jeter. YEEEEAAAHHHH!
122- Edguardo Alfonso.
121- Todd Zeile
Mark McGwire All Star Insert
Andruw Jones 21st Century Topps.
Tony Gwynn 20th Century's Best, which I might have.

2003-
348- Strikeout leaders
22- Dave Mlicki
56- Eric Young
147- Ben Sheets, who I have
106- Jay Gibbons, who I have
96- Alex Gonzalez
63- Andy Ashby
89- Mike Matheny
233- Derrek Lee
Troy Glaus Record Breaker

2001-
527- David Wells, who I have
458- ANOTHER Bobby Higgonson
556- Tony Clark
590- Felipe Crespo
559- Jim Parque
655- Larry Walker
496- Scott Downs
483- MATT STAIRS!!
453- Russ Ortiz
610- Bill Haselman

Well, pretty good card show finds. I'll have a custom Card up tonight.

Cooperstown Haul

I'm back.

I have returned from Cooperstown (Yeah, I'm still stuck in the Adirondacks, though) and I have some sweet cards to share as usual.

I ended up falling pray to the wax in the gift shop. Yeah, I know. I bought 2 packs of Goudey and 1 pack of Allen and Ginter.

A&G-
69- James Loney.
263- Brian Duensing
39- Hanley Ramirez
309- KosFu
National Pride of Derek Jeter
Jeff Suppan mini

Goudey-
The Yankees- Phil Hughes, Mark Texiera Heads Up
The UD Insert- Jim Edmonds
The Tigers- Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen
The Young Stars- Edwin Encarnacion, Travis Snyder, Scott Kazmir
The Hitters- Jeff Francoeur, Carl Crawford, Rafael Furcal
The Aging Slugger- Jim Thome
Etc- Josh Willingham, Fausto Carmona

I also grabbed some late 90's early 00's swag I didn't have.

1998-
302- Barry Larkin
316- Will Clark
166- Gary Sheffield
304- Jason Kendall

1999-
398- Wade Boggs
243- Tom Glavine
150- Jeff Bagwell
180- Mike Mussina
330- Jeff Kent
360- Tim Salmon again

2000-
417- Rafael Palmiero
38- Bobby Abreu
140- Roberto Alomar
165- Kenny Lofton
40- Juan Gonzalez
186- Roy Halladay
116- Jermaine Dye
109- Adrian Beltre
392- Mike Lowell

2001-
122- Paul Konerko
64- Carlos Lee
527- David Wells
450- Todd Helton

Will be going back to the shop tomorrow, and then back home to Jersey

Card Show (Notice how I didn't say Sweet Swag)

I went to another card show today. It was much smaller than the last one, and because of that, I didn't get much. Fortunately, I got some stuff from the 10 cent bins. A lot was from UD 1995.

2004 Topps Jose Mesa
Placido Polanco
Vincente Padilla
Andy Pettite All Star
1996 UD Dennis Eckersley.
I got most of these card because they were either on different teams than I know them on or they were just good players. Eck was on the Cards.
1995 UD-

170- Deion Sanders. On the Reds, and he's just a Rarity.
178- David Cone. Good Player.
218- Armando Benitez Rookie. It's his rookie!
222- Jason Giambi Rookie. I like him!
89- Darryl Strawberry. On the Giants and Great Player.
97- Man-eee-hee-hee Ramirez. Back when he was on the Tribe
96- Jim Thome. Back when he was on the Tribe.
95- Dave Winfield. Wait a sec- raise your hand if you weren't on the Tribe!
98- Goose Gossage! GOOSE! And it's his last card, and he's on the Mariners.
107- Paul Molitor. Back in his days in Toronto, I mean, Le Jays.
65- Mark Grace. Great player.
45- Fred McGriff. CRIME DOG!
16- Lee Smith. Back when he was on the Angels.
20- Bo Jackson. My dad is smiling.
30- Rickey Henderson. I am smiling.

In addition to that, THE PACK GUY WAS THERE!!! I ended up with a pack of 01 and 02 Topps.

Let's start with 01

283- Rick Bottalcio. Who?
85- Bill Meuller. Meuller...Meuller...FRYYYYEEEE?
92- Scott Karl. These cards have the little O-Pee-Chee inspired box that says "Traded to..."
15- Jim Thome. MORE! MORE! MORE!
120- Jorge Posada. KEEP GOIN!
Glistening Gold Sammy Sosa. NO WHAMMY, NO WHAMMY!
377- Golden Moments Mark McGwire. WOOOOOO!
365- Ooh, a rookie mix. Ty Howington, Josh Kalinowksi and Josh Girdley. Ugh.
358- Draft Picks. Mike Stodloka and Sean Burnett. Sigh...
383- Golden Moment of...Roger Maris, who I already have.

2002 Topps
612-Darrin Fletcher. Past Phillie.
512- Denny Hocking. Who?
652- Marlins Team Card. Look how pleasant they are. That was when they WEREN't kicking our asses in the World Series.
674- Mike Hill Rookie. Who?
549- Mike Darr. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
701- Omar Vizquel Gold Glove. That's it!
585- Miguel Tejada. Back when he wasn't lying.
520- Robby Alomar. GOD!
488- Hideki Irabu. Hey, didn't we get this guy last time?
681- Nick Alvarez Rookie. Who?

Okay packs, Good picks. It was an alright show, and I just found out that the Moorestown group will be back in July.