Completed insert set – 2001 Topps Traded Who Would Have Thought

So I still have a bunch of completed set posts to do – but I’m actually caught up and doing posts from purchases that were recently incoming.  I got my kids some Pokémon cards and myself some insert wantlist items through some Beckett Marketplace and  COMC purchases this Summer/Fall.

This one was the first one I got to from Beckett.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about the set:

Set description:  20-card set showing players who were traded or signed free agent contracts throughout their career, ending up in unexpected places.  The design has the Eagles green from the 2001 set, with 2 pictures of the depicted player.  The left picture has a picture from the player’s initial team, the right shows him with the later team.

Set composition:  20 cards, 1:8 odds (2001 Topps Traded & Rookies)

Hall of Famers:  16.  Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Reggie Jackson, Frank Robinson, Andre Dawson, Lou Brock, Dennis Eckersley, Dave Winfield, Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Paul Molitor, Gary Carter, Wade Boggs, Willie Mays

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from my 2001 Traded box
• 10 cards from Sportlots
• 6 cards from COMC
• 1 card from Beckett Marketplace

Card that completed my set:  #WWHT-17 – Paul Molitor

I got the Molitor card from Beckett Marketplace about a month ago in a spending spree!

I like this card – I don’t always understand some of the selections for this set, but not this card.  Molitor to Toronto was a significant signing in the annals of the free agency era of MLB.  The Blue Jays were the defending champions, and while Molitor was 35+ when he signed – he was still a great player.  He had one of the greatest seasons of his career, was Toronto’s 2nd best player that year, got runner-up in the MVP vote and notched the World Series MVP.

Thoughts on the set:  I think this insert set is a great idea, but it looks so much like the base set that you’d think it was a subset.  I’d have done something where the two pictures of each player was a version of their card the year before he got traded and the year after.  Just an idea on my part – but in general these are still cool cards.  Sometimes it’s just a trade or free agent signing that happened, not necessarily some crazy revelation (like was it that weird that Nolan Ryan went to the Angels?)

So to me the coolest cards are the ones like…

Best card (my opinion):  #WWHT-19 – Wade Boggs

This card fits the bill more than any others with the name of this card set.  Boggs was such a standout with Boston, and it’s one thing to see him move on from the Red Sox.  But moving to the Yankees and helping them get back to being World Champions was salt in the wounds for Beantown.

2nd place is Dwight Gooden to the Yankees.  In fact, if they had included Darryl Strawberry – I may have picked those 2 cards as a joint effort over the Boggs card!

My Favorite Reds card:  #WWHT-6 – Frank Robinson

It’s either this or Seaver, and I did have to think about this one.  This trade has to tug at frustrations for any Reds fan – Robinson won the triple crown, MVP and led the Orioles to the World Series title in his first season in Baltimore.  But it’s part of my favorite franchise’s history, and if Robinson had stayed with the Reds – it’s hard to imagine the Big Red Machine of the 1970’s happening.  Whereas Seaver was traded to the Reds in a way that ended up signaling the end of the Big Red Machine.  So I like this card better.

Here’s a scan of the full set:

Other tidbits:  I’d break this down into a few categories or types for this set:

Switched teams early in their career before they became stars:

• Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock, Willie Randolph

Switched teams in the middle of their career

• Steve Carlton, Reggie Jackson, Frank Robinson, Keith Hernandez, Dave Winfield, Rod Carew

Redefined his career

• Dennis Eckersley

Switched teams for a productive later saga of their career

• Tom Seaver, Andre Dawson, Dwight Gooden, Carlton Fisk, Paul Molitor, Gary Carter, Wade Boggs

Finished their career in a place we’d have maybe rather not seen

• Dale Murphy, Willie Mays

I think Topps may have only been allowed to (or they decided only to) use retired players from this set.  No players who played in 2001 were actually in the set – Gooden was the latest, playing in 2000.  Current players from the time that they could have used at the time:

• Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Greg Maddux, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez

Other older school retired players that could have been used

• Yogi Berra, Eddie Mathews, Duke Snider, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Morgan, Babe Ruth

Completed master set – one last look at 1999 Topps

As I mentioned in the last post, I finished the master set for 1999 Topps now that I’ve checked off the Ryan Finest set.  I’d been sitting with only that set to complete for quite a while.  The All-Topps Mystery Finest set I’d finished back in late 2015 – so it took me almost 8 years to get past this last obstacle!

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 229 cards from the series 1 hobby box
• 217 cards from the series 2 hobby box
• 16 cards from trades

Card that completed my base set: #352– Miguel Tejada

Best card (my opinion): #100 – Ken Griffey Jr.

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

807 cards – 462 “base”, 121 “traded“, 220 “insert”, 6 “other”

• Insert sets:  Picture Perfect, New Breed, Lords of the Diamond, Hall of Fame Collection, All-Matrix, Power Brokers, All-Topps Mystery Finest, Record Numbers, MVP Redemption, Ryan Reprints, Ryan Finest
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production

How I put the additional sets together:

• Traded – boxed set from eBay
• Promos – all 6 cards from an eBay auction
• Inserts – 25 from my s1/s2 hobby boxes, 11 from trades, 52 from Beckett Marketplace, 42 from Sportlots, 41 from COMC, 25 from eBay, 24 from card shows

Other product bests

Completed insert set – 1999 Topps Record Numbers

After completing the Nolan Ryan Finest set from 1999, I started doing my Master Set post – and realized I’d never done a completed set post for 1999 Topps Record Numbers.  Not too surprising; this isn’t the most exciting set.

Well, here it is!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about the set:

Set description:  This set showcased a record reached by 10 different players in 1998.  For example, Mark McGwire hit 70 homers, Sammy Sosa hit 20 homers in a month, Griffey became the youngest player to reach 350 homers, Cal Ripken ended his consecutive games streak at a record 2,632 games.  These cards have a striking similarity to the 1995 Topps design, but have a fireworks design in the background.

Set composition: 10 cards, 1:8 odds (1999 Topps series 2)

Hall of Famers:  3.  Mike Piazza, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr.

How I put the set together:

• 5 cards from my series 2 hobby box
• 1 card from a card show
• 3 cards from Sportlots
• 1 card from a trade

Thoughts on the set:  This set has a lot in common with the Record Breakers subsets from some of the 1970’s and 1980’s Topps sets.  Those tended to have some sort of newspaper headline-ish info on the front.  These cards don’t really celebrate the accomplishment, they list the top 10 of the record that was set.  I like the list, but a little blurb on the accomplishment would be cool.  And the set feels superfluous.

Card that completed my set: #RN7 – Kerry Wood

I think.  But am not sure.  I think this was the last card, which I got via trade from a reader back in 2013.

Best card (my opinion): #RN9 – Cal Ripken

 

I want to say Wood for this one – I think back then Wood getting 20 strikeouts was such a cool thing.  The sky was the limit!  I thought about Ripken – but this was for the streak coming to an end (and thus setting the final mark) – not for the 1995 season when he broke the record.

My Favorite Reds card:  There are none.

Any other tidbits:  Here’s a list of the records:

• 1 – McGwire – HR in a season
• 2 – Piazza – Batting Average by a catcher in a season
• 3 – Schilling – Strikeouts by a NL RHP in a season
• 4 – Griffey – Youngest to reach 350 career HR
• 5 – Sosa – HR in a calendar month
• 6 – Garciaparra – Hitting streak by an AL rookie
• 7 – Wood – Strikeouts in a game, rookie
• 8 – Clemens – Strikeouts in a game
• 9 – Ripken – Consecutive games played
• 10 – McGwire – HR in 3 consecutive seasons

Completed insert set – 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Finest

Finishing up some more completed sets.  I finished the regular set for this almost 7 years ago, so some serious time between the Ryan reprint set and the Ryan finest set.

This was actually pretty recent purchase, so I’m no longer a year behind.  After this one – there will be a master set post forthcoming as well, which is exciting.

Info about the set:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Set description:  After issuing reprints from great outfielders from the 50’s and 60’s – Mantle, Mays and Clemente – Topps went with a more recent hobby icon in 1999, strikeout king Nolan Ryan.  Ryan was the theme elsewhere in the product, too – he was given card #34 (his uniform number).  This is the “Finest” version of that insert set.

The regular reprints have a gold foil stamp on the front to designate the cards as “Nolan Ryan Commemorative” reprints, but this has no stamp while being finished in the Topps Chrome/Finest technology.  Like the 98 Clemente set – Topps still called this “Finest”.  Unlike the Clemente set – it didn’t have a peel-off protector.  This set is more similar to the Aaron set in 2000 which also didn’t have the peel-off.  But that Aaron set was called Chrome.  My opinion while looking at all of these – this should really be called Chrome.  Shrug.

Set composition:  27 cards, 1:18 (1999 Topps)

Hall of Famers:  1 – just Ryan.  Jerry Koosman is the only other player featured in this set.

How I put the set together:

• 1 cards from my 1999 s1 hobby box
• 2 cards from a card show
• 4 cards from Beckett Marketplace
• 20 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #27 – 1994 Topps

I thought I had finished this set, went to go do this post last year and realized as I was typing above there were 27 cards!  I never got that last 1994 Topps card!  Well, I got it on COMC 3 months ago and the cards arrived at the end of September!

Thoughts on the set:  Same thing I said in the regular set completed post.  By 1999 this idea was probably a bit overdone, but to be honest – if Topps had just decided, we’re gonna do one of these every year, but cut back on other stuff, I think it would be pretty good.

Ryan, like Mickey Mantle, is a true cardboard icon – like Mantle, his greatness to card collectors outpaces his considerable greatness as a player.  So this is a good set.  The fact that it’s 27 cards and fits perfectly into 3 binder sheets is awesome too!

Best card (my opinion):  #4 – 1971 Topps

1980 and 1990 are favorites of mine as well, but this is just my favorite Ryan card.  The Finest version is better than the regular because the stamp doesn’t get in the way.

My Favorite Reds card:  There obviously are none.

Here’s the scan of the full set:

 

Any other tidbits:  Ryan had card #1 for 3 straight years from 1990 through 1992.

14 of the 27 cards feature Ryan at some point in his pitching motion.

Sometimes the silhouette of the Chrome / Finest outlines don’t match up with Ryan’s figure.  Kind of annoying.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #98 Samuel Adams – Wicked Fenway

I got a bit more Saturday Suds fodder this summer on a family trip to the East Coast – both at ballparks.  First was a beer I had at Fenway named after the ballpark!

Brewery:  Boston Beer Company in Boston, MA (also Cincinnati, OH & Breingsville, PA)

Beer:  Wicked Fenway IPA

Description:  “This hometown hazy hits big with a blend of juicy citrus and tropical hop aromas. Low bitterness and a smooth, clean finish make Wicked Fenway IPA perfect from opening pitch to the final out. Available at Fenway Park and select spots through New England.”

A hazy beer in the Sam Adams, Boston-centric “Wicked” line – which means it’s hazy.  This hazy IPA clocks in at 5.5% – which makes it a bit more than the Wicked Easy (session IPA – 4.7%), a bit less than the baseline Wicked Hazy IPA (6.8%) and a lot less than the Wicked Double IPA (8.3%).

Medium:  16-oz cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  Brewed by a “Boston” brewery (Sam Adams brews most of its beer in Cincinnati & Pennsylvania) to pay tribute to the saying of the region.  I liked the beer – it was actually pretty flavorful for the ABV, though a bit more bitter than you’d maybe used to for the hazy beers.

We took our family vacation this summer out to New England, spending about half a week in Boston and a full week in Rhode Island.  This was the 2nd time I got to try this beer (first time I remembered to take a picture though!)

Completed insert set – 1998 Topps Baby Boomers

I finished up a really tough set recently with the Baby Boomers insert set from 1998.  A lot of these late 90’s insert sets are really tough – but there are Chrome versions that would be easier and this was no different.  I’d search for the card I needed, see it on COMC or another site in Topps Chrome but not the flagship card I actually needed.  I finally saw the elusive Justin Thompson on eBay at the start of this year, and the rest, as they say – was history!

Info about the set:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Set description:  The cards have a firework background behind the player photo, and feature young stars in-the-making.  It’s a set with some pretty good names – Jeter, Nomar, Helton, Rolen.  The premise is that these are younger guys who are going to be the next super-studs.  They got some really right, some mostly right, a few not really correct.

Set composition:  15 cards, 1:36 odds (1998 Topps series 1 retail)

Hall of Famers:  11.  Jeter, Rolen, Guerrero

2 more could be added someday – Helton and Andruw Jones

How I put the set together:

• 7 cards from COMC
• 2 cards from Beckett’s marketplace
• 4 card from Sportlots
• 2 card from eBay

I didn’t get any from actual card packs, makes me sad 😦

Thoughts on the set:  It’s a pretty good insert set, I like themes they stick to and sets that are 15 cards as opposed to 50.  This would have been fun to chase back in 1998.

Card that completed my set:  #BB14 – Justin Thompson

I was looking for this card for quite a while – I was down to this and the Jeter after 2019.  The Jeter was findable on eBay because he’s Jeter, but this was one of those cards that you could find 20 Chrome versions but none of the regular.  I just didn’t see the regular version.  But I finally got it finished up when I saw it one the Bay!

Best card (my opinion):  #BB4, BB10 – Jose Cruz Jr., Vladimir Guerrero (Sr.)

A set like this – it’s pretty cool to have multi-generational family members included.  Jose Cruz Jr. was a stud prospect who did have a very nice MLB career.  Vlad obviously became a Hall of Famer and now his son has maybe even more potential than his dad!

My Favorite Reds card:  There are none, though Scott Rolen and Jose Guillen had some good years with the club later on!

***********

Here’s a scan of the set – front and back.

Any other tidbits:  Nothing I can think of, but…

I do wish I could do the completed master set post now – but I still need one more card to finish off the 1998 Master Set.  I still need the Milestone insert card for Dennis Eckersley – which, funny – I have accidentally purchased the Chrome version in the past!

Well, I did think of something – sounds like this is a set their bringing attention to for the current year Topps Archives product, so that’s kind of neat.

Completed set – 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies

I finished the Traded set from 2001 last year as well!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my set:

How I put the set together:

• 178 cards from the Topps Traded Hobby box
• 30 cards from trades
• 44 cards from Beckett Marketplace
• 1 card from eBay
• 7 card from Sportlots
• 5 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #T1113 – Rickey Henderson TTY

I got this from my COMC Black Friday purchase last year.

Set composition:  265 cards (98 single MLB player cards, 1 RotY Candidates, 45 Topps Through the Years, 6 Managers, 60 Prospects, 55 1st Year Cards)

Representation of ’00 MLB season:  Around now – doing this for the traded set kind of passes the point of relevance.  The “Traded” guys now represent players who signed with new teams in the offseason between 2000 and 2001.  For example – the first card is Sandy Alomar Jr. with the White Sox.  Alomar played with Cleveland in 2000, then signed with the ChiSox for the 2001 season.

But – I did check on the data here, so…

The 645 players from the flagship 2001 set who played in 2000 represented 52.4% out of the 1,230 players who played in MLB in 2000.  There were 35 guys who played in 2000 who were in the Traded set that didn’t make it into the regular set (though only about 10 of this new 35 were there repping the team they played for in 2000).  So in total between the two sets, you have 680 of the 1,230 representing 55.3% of the 1,230 MLB players of 2000.

Last active player from this set:  #T247 – Albert Pujols

If I had finished this set just a touch earlier – there would have still been an active player in this set!  Pujols played his last regular season game on October 4, 2022 – which was the Cardinals penultimate game of the season. They had wrapped up the division earlier that week and had no chance to move off of the 3-seed, so he didn’t play the final game.  Pujols grounded out in his first at bat, then singled (hit #3,384) in the 3rd inning to knock in the 2,217th and 2,218th run of his career.

He played both games of the Wild Card Series that was swept by the Phillies, going 2-8 with 2 singles.  His last MLB game was October 8th – he was the Cardinals DH and singled in the 8th inning of a 2-0 loss and was pulled for pinch-runner Ben DeLuzio.

Earliest active player from this set:  #T148 – Buck Martinez, #T102 – Juan Marichal, #T77– Rickey Henderson (active players)

The earliest player in this set excluding the Through the Years subset is Rickey Henderson.  So the player years from this set span from 1979 to 2022 – 6 different decades.

If you include the managers subset, Buck Martinez played his first MLB game in 1969 and that adds a 7th decade.

 

If you include the Through the Years subset, Juan Marichal has a Traded reprint and his MLB debut was 1960.

A.J. Hinch is in this set and is still managing.  So the longest you could stretch this set out for MLB involvement is 1960-current!

Highest book value:  #T247 – Albert Pujols

Most notable card:  #T247 – Albert Pujols

Best card (my opinion):  #T247 – Albert Pujols

This is a true RC for Pujols, and you can’t get it for cheap.  Kind of hard to put anything else ahead of this for most notable or best card – even if you don’t love Pujols, he is baseball history!

Second best card (also my opinion):  #T77 – Rickey Henderson

This is the card from the famous Rickey-ism when he supposedly called Padres GM Kevin Towers to say “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”  Henderson has said that never really did that – but either way it’s a pretty cool photo from Spring Training of his second stint with San Diego.

Henderson scored his 2,246th run on October 3rd of that year to break Ty Cobb’s record and also notched his 3,000th hit on the last game of the season against the Rockies.  Funny story for that game – Henderson led off that game and got a double for the 3K milestone hit.  After he came around and scored, he was pulled for a defensive replacement.  Tony Gwynn didn’t start, but did come in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th for what was his final MLB plate appearance.  So the Padres started the game with 1 guy with 3,000 hits who was on the bench.  Then they had a starter get his 3,000th hit.  The bench guy played, but they never had the 2 guys playing at the same time.

Best subset card:  #T102 – Juan Marichal TTY

The Topps Through the Years reprints was really cool to do in the Traded set, and the old school update cards that were actually part of the 1974 set are particularly great.  Lou Piniella was the other one of these that Topps included in this set.  It’s better to me than the Pujols / Ichiro card they tried to squeeze in here at card #99.

Favorite action photo:  #T28 – Reggie Sanders

 

Traded/Update sets aren’t particularly known for their action shots.  This is a good one for a guy who made a real impact for the eventual champion.

Favorite non-action photo:  #T95 – Rob Bell

Neat pose with Yankee Stadium fencing so clear in the background.

My Favorite Reds card:  #T98 – Adam Dunn

Dunn’s card is a slam dunk, it’s a really nice picture and it’s cool that it’s one of the early Topps cards from a guy who hit 270 homers for the Reds and over 450 in his MLB career.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #97 Terrapin – Los Bravos

Well, I was hoping there would be at least one baseball game tonight – unfortunately there has been a dearth of postseason baseball in this particular baseball postseason.   Would have gone well to post if the Braves were in a winner take-all game.  But, alas…

Brewery:  Terrapin Beer Co. in Athens, GA

Beer:  Terrapin Los Bravos

Description:  “This beer is crisp, slightly sweet and is perfectly balanced by using three varieties of hops. With its roots firmly planted from traditional Vienna style lagers, this beer complements any spicy dish and helps keep any fiesta fueled.”

It mentions Vienna style – which would lean more toward an amber ale, but this is much paler in color than the Vienna Lagers I’ve had.  It’s more along the line of the pale Mexican lagers, though maybe a bit more bready as opposed to sweet.  My annual golf trip was in Lake Oconee, GA this year, and I got a

That’s not a complaint – it was very good and having a couple during a golf round was great.

Medium:  Draft, 16-oz and now 12-0z cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  Brewed by local Georgia brewery Terrapin in honor of the Braves, but a Mexican style lager.

You can get this beer at Braves games, as evidenced by the many Untappd pictures I could find from Truist Park like the one below!

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #96 Grainworks Brewing – Crushin’ On Joes

Gonna do Saturday Suds on Sunday today!  I had this beer about a year ago, and since it’s part baseball, part football – an NFL Sunday while watching the Bengals seems like a good time to do this post!  Even as it seems like this may be a lost season for Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and also may have been Joey Votto’s final season in Cincy.

Brewery:  Grainworks Brewing Company in West Chester, OH

Beer:  Crushin’ On Joes

Description:  “We’re crushin’ so hard on Cincy legends Joe Brrr & Joey V, we brewed this crushable German Pilsner in their honor. This crisp and clean traditional brew is sure to be a winner, just like our boys.”

Medium:  Draft and 12-oz cans.  A silhouette of a baseball batter with the #19 behind it and a quarterback with #9 adorns the can label.

How it’s related to baseball:  Brewed in honor of 2 Cincinnati professional sports legends.

Was a pretty good German pils from what I remember; grainy and easy to drink. On the pretty light side.  I actually got it from my sister later than it was released and drank it during the fall a year ago while watching a Bengals game.

RIP Brooks Robinson, 1937-2023

Last week, Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson passed away at the age of 86.  Robinson was a fixture of the Baltimore Orioles and the baseball world in general.

I was actually just in Cooperstown yesterday by chance with my oldest son.  We had a wedding in upstate New York and stayed an extra day to see the Hall of Fame.  Robinson’s plaque was out on loan to the Orioles for the ceremony they had on the same day I was there.

My middle son shares his first name; he’s not named after this Oriole great, but let’s say I was aware of the name Brooks because of this all-timer.

I think first and foremost it’s worth pointing out that whatever baseball accomplishments Brooks Robinson had – he was regarded as a greater human being.  My paternal grandparents moved to eastern Maryland since before I was born, and I still have family there, so I’ve always been keenly aware of the love that area has for the two great stars from the left-side of the infield.  I got his autograph at some event out there long ago and it now sits on a ledge above the other Brooks’ bed.

But this is a baseball blog, and it’s worth recounting some things about this man’s baseball career!  He’s on the short list of the greatest third basemen to ever play the game.  I think most rankings have him somewhere around 4th to 7th, with any of the guys ahead of him being there because of their batting.

What has always seemed universally regarded to me was that he was the greatest defensive third baseman of all-time.  Highlights of his prowess in the 1970 World Series have haunted this Reds fan for years – despite the fact I wasn’t even born then!  I’ve always kind of wondered if that was the eyeball test or if it was a bit of legend.

I did some basic research into this.  I know WAR isn’t the end-all, be-all – particularly for defense.  But when it confirms what most people think from baseball annals – well, that’s pretty good to know.  Not only does Robinson’s metrics pass impartial statistical analysis – I think his greatness may be understated.   Here is a link for the top defensive WAR of all-time.  I would have guessed Ozzie Smith was at the top, but what you’ll find is pretty interesting.  Out of the top 14 players, there are 11 shortstops, 2 catchers – and Brooks Robinson.  You have to go to 15th to find the next 3rd baseman (Adrian Beltre), and Beltre is pretty clear of the field if Robinson had never played.  You would need to go to 25th to find the next after him (Buddy Bell).  Robinson has about ~45% more WAR than Beltre and about 64% more than Bell.  For reference, the Wizard has ~12% more than Mark Belanger and about 24% more than Ripken.

Shortstop is the most important defensive position behind the 2 guys who start each play.  And while that means the guys with the best range will generally end up there – I’d also argue there is just more opportunity to impact your team.  A great 3rd baseman won’t make that many more plays than an adequate one.

Except if he’s Brooks Robinson.  I think that while Robinson is clearly the best defensive 3rd baseman of all-time, there’s a decent case that he’s the greatest defensive player ever.

And by the way, he could get you 18-28 homers during the lean hitting years of the 1960s and knock in 80-100 runs as well.  He was a deserving and near-unanimous MVP in 1964 – his best offensive season.  He hit .303 in 9 postseason series, including the MVP of the 1970 World Series – one of two titles he was a part of.

RIP to an Orioles legend!