Wednesday, August 25, 2010

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

3 comments :

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

    I think that is a wonderful uniform!! Castillo wasn't a sidearmer...I think he is just fielding a ball in that picture because he is standing on grass.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love it, great set! Sorry you're sick of it lol.

    As for McGriff, he was INSANE in 1994. I fully believe that, had there been no strike, McGriff would have hit 40+ homers in 1994 (he never passed 40 in a season over his entire career otherwise) and, more importantly, those extra homers would have given him over 500 for his career.

    In other words, the strike basically killed McGriff's shot at the HOF. Stupid strike.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Talona...

    I guess the careers of Rudy Croatia, Tony San Marino, Lloyd Palau and Julian Suriname didn't pan out.

    Alvin Burma lost out, I guess.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are highly encouraged, but then again, so is eating your fruits and vegetables.