1995 Topps: Finale

Finally, we've arrived at the conclusion of the $5 1995 Topps Series 1 box. To be honest, I don't think I've ever suddenly been so sick of any trading card release in my life. However, I'm not going to say I wouldn't do it again if I had the chance. At $5, it's hard to pass anything baseball-related up that I haven't opened before. I think I would pass on Series 1, though. Series 2, on the other hand...

Pack 28:

Go see it here. I'm not talking about it anymore.

Pack 29:

372 - Ron Karkovice (How many times can I stand to type "Karkovice"? Do you think if I said, "Karkovice! Karkovice! Karkovice!" outloud that a crazy looking fake Michael Keaton ghost would show up and grab his crotch?)

43 - Mike Kelly Cyberstats

199 - Derek Jeter Future Star (Yes, finally a player culturally relevant to today's youth. Check out that crazy picture of him on the back of the card. He looks like a sullen teenage vampire with a thirst for blood and baseball.)

139 - Paul Konerko Draft Pick

84 - C.J. Nitkowski Draft Pick

158 - Dave Winfield (One of my all-time non-Cardinal faves.)

184 - Hector Fajardo

8 - Shane Mack (I really, really hope that Shane demands that this song plays over the PA whenever he makes any public appearances.)

93 - Jaime Navarro

4 - Scott Cooper

235 - Ellis Burks

348 - Mike Blowers

31 - Dave West

324 - Ryan Klesko

189 - Derek Lilliquist

Pack 30:

288 - Trey Beamon Future Star

123 - Tim Belcher Cyberstats (Not even mystical CYBERPOWERS could save Belcher's 5.99 ERA season in which he walked more batters than he struck out.)

231 - Dustin Hermanson Draft Pick

199 - Derek Jeter Future Star (Creepy!)

LL25 - Pedro Martinez League Leaders

369 - Brad Clontz / Steve Phoenix / Scott Gentile / Bucky Buckles Prospects

391 - Mike Piazza / Mike Stanley All-Stars

355 - Fred McGriff (.623 SLG in 1994? Ridiculous.)

17 - Dave Nilsson

62 - Brian Jordan (Yeah, outside of Ozzie Smith, there were no real "stars" for a huge stretch in the '90s on this Cardinals club. You're stuck appreciating Brian Jordan because he played Safety in the NFL briefly.)

119 - Tony Fossas

378 - Mark Dewey

76 - Charles Nagy

202 - Kent Mercker

321 - Steve Reed

Pack 31:

183 - Jim Edmonds (Sad that Edmonds went on the DL / Happy that Edmonds isn't helping the Reds currently)

65 - David Segui Cyberstats

287 - Gabe White Star Track

208 - Eddie Williams

7 - Trevor Hoffman (I bet the Padres are secretly happy that they don't have to deal with the touchy subject of trying to let a legendary closer reach a milestone without affecting their playoff standing.)

78 - Midre Cummings

79 - Gene Schall / Scott Talanoa / Harold Williams / Ray Brown Prospects (The first person who can tell me who any of these people are wins... this card.)

151 - Derek Parks

203 - Randy Johnson (I guess we should all be thankful for the fact that Randy Johnson didn't come around in the HD era.)

73 - Dave Weathers

166 - Blas Minor

284 - Tony Pena

304 - Dave Burba

260 - Andy Van Slyke

70 - Juan Gonzalez

Pack 32:

113 - Bret Boone

101 - Tom Glavine Cyberstats

167 - Bret Wagner Draft Pick

169 - Roberto Mejia

LL13 - Julio Franco League Leaders (Wait... Julio Franco led the league in what? Okay, I guess he only had 98 RBI in 1994 to finish 5th in the A.L., but that's still really crazy especially for a strike year.)

394 - John Franco / Lee Smith All-Stars

136 - Mike Dyer

129 - Brent Gates

69 - Harold Reynolds

155 - Mark Portugal (I wish my last name was the name of a country.)

309 - Kevin Seitzer

132 - Paul Sorrento

99 - Cris Carpenter

318 - Jamie Moyer

365 - Dean Palmer

Pack 33:

100 - Barry Bonds (...)

6 - Shane Mack Cyberstats

59 - Ricky Bottalico Star Track

287 - Gabe White Star Track

189 - Derek Lilliquist

127 - Dan Smith

15 - Lou Whitaker

150 - Chris James

358 - Frank Castillo (Despite the lousy uniform, I've always thought sidearmers/submariners were cool.)

302 - Carl Willis (He of Airbrushed Fridays fame.)

122 - Denny Hocking

115 - Wally Joyner

362 - Chad Kreuter

321 - Steve Reed

222 - JackArmstrong

Pack 34:

3 - Babe Ruth 100th Birthday

88 - Tommy Greene Cyberstats

286 - Doug Million Draft Pick

84 - C.J. Nitkowski Draft Pick

201 - Steve Frey

322 - Erik Hanson

301 - Aaron Sele

54 - Joey Hamilton

40 - Travis Fryman (Insert Aqua Teen Hunger Force joke here.)

323 - Luis Polonia

109 - Danny Miceli

306 - Damion Easley

210 - Jeff Montgomery

263 - Dan Wilson

46 - Ken Hill

Pack 35:

19 - Sid Bream (I wonder if he practices sliding into objects at home just to recapture the magic.)

108 - Craig Biggio Cyberstats

251 - Kurt Miller Star Track

153 - Tony Clark Future Star (He's tall.)

188 - Billy Spiers

147 - Ray McDavid Star Track

174 - Darren Hall

93 - Jaime Navarro

61 - Mike Kelly

72 - Carlos Reyes

373 - Richie Lewis

35 - Ricky Bones

350 - Barry Larkin (Larkin looks pretty unsure of what he's doing.)

365 - Dean Palmer

254 - Matt Whiteside

Pack 36:

282 - Jeff D'Amico Future Star

186 - Kirk Rueter Cyberstats

123 - Kevin Gross

179 - LaTroy Hawkins Future Star (Hawkins may not have been a star, but he's one of the few in this subset that managed to carve himself out a lengthy career.)

301 - Aaron Sele

351 - Mike Williams

396 - Checklist

17 - Dave Nilsson

82 - Ray Lankford

305 - Orel Hershiser

9 - Delino DeShields

381 - Thomas Howard

125 - John Doherty

189 - Derek Lilliquist

14 - Jose Vizcaino (And that's it! The former Cardinal with a World Series ring wraps this up.)

Here's the final list of who is getting what. Please contact me soon if you have seen something you like and want a piece of it.

Community Gum: Greg Maddux cards

BA Benny: Mets and Yankees

SpastikMooss: Want list cards

Night Owl: Cyberstats Dodgers

smedmusic: Random assortment

thewritersjourney: Reds

reader Daniel: random leftovers

Crinkly Wrappers: Blue Jays

Play at the Plate: Cyberstats Rangers