Completed insert set – 2001 Topps Through the Years

Getting back to a few completed set posts – this was an insert set I completed at the end of 2021.  I’m almost to the ones I completed at the end of 2022!

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Info about the set:

Set description:  “These 50 cards, representing the 10 best players from each of the past five decades, are patterned after a classic Topps design from the last 50 years.  These commemorative cards display a brilliant gold foil stamp and include legendary players like Yogi Berra (1959 card style), Willie Mays (1953 card style), and Mark McGwire (1999 card style).”

That’s from the Hank Aaron sell sheet.  Interesting that they are so definitive with “the 10 best players” and the “brilliant stamp” 🙂  I guess it’s a sell sheet!

Unlike the single player reprint sets from previous years, there aren’t Chrome versions inserted in the regular Topps Flagship sets.  However, you can find Chrome and refractor versions in the Topps Chrome product.

Set composition:  50 cards, 1:8 odds (2001 Topps series 1)

Hall of Famers:  43 – Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews, Willie McCovey, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Harmon Killebrew, Whitey Ford, Roberto Clemente, Juan Marichal, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Jackson, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer, Rod Carew, George Brett, Roger Clemens, Ryne Sandberg, Mike Schmidt, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Derek Jeter

(not HOFers in the set – Pafko, Mattingly, McGwire, Sosa, A-Rod, Bonds, Nomar)

How I put the set together:

• 4 cards from my 2001 series 1 hobby box
• 2 cards from a trade (Addiction is Therapy)
• 1 card from the 2015 NSCC
• 11 cards from Sportlots
• 2 cards from Beckett Marketplace
• 30 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #15 – Sandy Koufax (1961 Topps)

One of a couple I got from COMC at the end of 2021.

Thoughts on the set:   After doing single player full-career reprints the previous 6 years, Topps went with a many-player, each-year represented reprint set that feels like they’ve done 50 more times.  Retro sets are everywhere you look these days, and this was the beginning of this overplayed theme.  I liked the single player sets from before this, and wish that had been what was continued.

I also don’t like the Ripken card where they cut off the other guys on a multi-player card.

Best card (my opinion):  #9 – Ted Williams (1954 Topps)

Like that they chose this one, it’s the first card of the 1954 set, and was in a bit of controversy back in 1994 when Upper Deck had Teddy Ballgame’s card rights and Topps couldn’t include him in the Archives set they did for the first card and card #250.  Upper Deck created a rarer version of both cards that was inserted into their 1994 All-Time Heroes product, along with a “card that never was” of Mickey Mantle at #259.

My Favorite Reds card:  #21 – Johnny Bench (1970 Topps)

There is a Morgan and even a Seaver from his Reds years – but the 1970 Bench is a more notable card than the others so I’m going with that.

Other tidbits:  Since there would have only been 49 years if you don’t count the 1951 game set, Topps doubled up on on 1952 Topps cards, having both Andy Pafko and Jackie Robinson.

Willie Mays (1953), Roberto Clemente (1963), Hank Aaron (1965) and Nolan Ryan (1980) got the first double dip on Topps reprinting the same cards in the flagship product.  Mickey Mantle didn’t have cards in this set for what I’m sure were contractual reasons.

Here’s a scan of the whole set.

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps A Tradition Continues

One more completed set from 2001 Topps from COMC last year!

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Info about the set:

Set description:  This insert set came a couple per box in series 1, with a description of how current players were carrying on the game’s tradition.

Set composition:  30 cards, 1:17 odds (2001 Topps series 1)

Hall of Famers:  14.  Chipper Jones, Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Piazza, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, Roberto Alomar, Greg Maddux, Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, Tony Gwynn, Frank Thomas

How I put the set together:

• 2 cards from my 2001 series 1 hobby box
• 2 cards from a trade
• 5 cards from a card show (3 from the NSCC)
• 8 cards from Sportlots
• 13 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #TRC4 – Ken Griffey Jr.

I technically got Griffey and McGwire in the same COMC purchase.

Thoughts on the set:  This one is filler in my set.  The design is OK, and there are just some other inserts in the product that seem to make more sense to me from a “why does this exist” standpoint.

Best card (my opinion):  #TRC18 – Barry Bonds

 

This picture goes particularly well with the design of the card; it’s one of the few hitter cards that isn’t showing the player’s back on a follow-through.

My Favorite Reds card:  #LA5 – Ken Griffey Jr.

The only one!

Here’s a scan of the full set:

Other tidbits:  Here’s the retired players named on the back of this set via player comparisons:

• Mickey Mantle (Chipper, Andruw)
• Babe Ruth (Ripken, Pedro, McGwire)
• Tommy LaSorda (Piazza – quoted)
• Willie Mays (Griffey, Bonds, Andruw)
• Hank Aaron (Griffey)
• Carl Yastrzemski (Garciaparra)
• Sandy Alomar Sr. (Alomar)
• Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton (Maddux)
• Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk (Pudge II)
• Bobby Bonds (Bonds)
• Roger Maris (McGwire)
• Duke Snider (Andruw)
• Ernie Banks, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente (Gwynn)
• Manny Mota (Green)

Cal Ripken is the only player with a card in the set who is referenced on the back – he’s compared to A-Rod and referenced on the back of Tony Gwynn’s card.

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps Golden Anniversary

Here’s another completed insert set from the COMC bonanza I did over a year ago!  This one is from 2001 Topps – and the next one I do will be as well!  Only a few more for these!

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Info about the set:

Set description:  Golden Anniversary was an insert with subsets honoring the history of the game.  There were five different 10-card subsets.

• Golden Greats – 10 cards featuring classic photos that capture legendary Hall of Famers during the hey-day of their illustrious careers.
• Gold Nuggets – 10 clubhouse catalysts whose consistent All-Star performances have destined them for the hallowed Hall of Fame.
• Glistening Gold – 10 dominating diamond men currently rewriting the record books with unparalleled play.
• Hidden Gold – 10 leading prospects soon to infuse a load of young talent and inspired energy into the game.
• Going for Gold – 10 former Team USA players who were dedicated to bringing honor to America’s most beloved sport.

Set composition:  50 cards, 1:10 odds (2001 Topps series 1)

Hall of Famers:  24.  Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, Frank Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Ted Williams, Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Maddux, Rickey Henderson, Mike Piazza, Derek Jeter, Ivan Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Jeff Bagwell, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Frank Thomas, Barry Larkin

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from my 2001 series 1 hobby box
• 3 cards form a card show (2 were the 2015 NSCC)
• 10 cards from Sportlots
• 15 cards from Beckett
• 19 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #GA10 – Ted Williams

#GA12 – Tony Gwynn

These were the last 2 cards – an appropriate duo – that I got last year from COMC.

Thoughts on the set:  The different subsets are pretty cool, but I will say this insert set doesn’t quite seem to stand out over time.  The dark gold design is shiny, but somehow dull at the same time.  It probably would be a more enjoyable way for Topps to have celebrated their Golden Anniversary if it was the only 50-card insert set in the product (but there were 3 that large).

Best card (my opinion):  #GA37 – C.C. Sabathia

Going through these insert sets that have the same historic greats over and over can get kind of mundane – but a card of a young CC in the United States uniform was really cool.  This card caused me to look it up – Sabathia would have been on Team USA but he got called up by the Indians (I guess Minor Leaguers would play in the Olympic tournament that year).

The last subset of this insert set would have been a lot cooler if Topps had dug up old pictures of guys like McGwire, Larkin and Garciaparra from their actual Team USA days.

My Favorite Reds card:  #GA49 – Barry Larkin

The gripe above aside, those sleeveless Reds uniforms from that era were my favorite and I like the Larkin card a little bit more than the Griffey (or the Bench) because of the reference to his Team USA days.

Here’s a scan of the full set:

Other tidbits (“nuggets”): McGwire has 2 cards in the set (he’s the only one) – one in the Golden Nuggest subset and another in the Going for Gold portion.

Completed set – 2001 Topps

Hope everyone is safe out there.  I thought I’d try to throw myself back to baseball cards with the extra 2 hours of time I’m saving by not commuting to work, but I just haven’t been able to put that to baseball card blogging use.  I have worked on this post for quite a while – these completed set posts take a lot of time to put together and remind me how much more free time I had back in 2010 to 2013 when this blog was in its “Heyday”.

From the Black Friday purchase (COMC) I was catching up on – I finished up the 2001 Topps set.  I’ve now completed the base set for everything from 1980 through 2001!

Info about my set:

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How I put the set together:

• 289 cards from the series 1 hobby box
• 232 cards from the series 2 hobby box
• 22 cards from a second series 2 hobby box
• 246 cards from trades
• 1 card from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #389 – Ken Griffey SH (purchased on COMC)

I think at first I got this card in a trade but it was semi-damaged, so I had to wait a bit and didn’t finish this set until now.

Set composition:  790 cards (640 individual ML player cards, 25 Prospects, 25 Draft Picks, 30 Managers, 20 Golden Moments, 8 League Leaders, 5 Season Highlights, 7 Postseason Highlights, 30 Team Checklists)

*The 640 individual player cards include 10 All-Star Rookies

Representation of ’00 MLB season:

Out of the 640 player cards, 9 players did not play in the 2000 season.

• Bret Saberhagen – out with a shoulder issue after a solid 1999 season with Boston.  The 2 time Cy Young winner tried to make a comeback in 2001 but only lasted 3 starts before retiring.
• John Smoltz – Smoltz had famously Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2000.  He came back in late 2001 as a converted closer and saved 154 games over the next 3+ seasons.
• Graeme Lloyd – missed all of 2000 with a shoulder injury
• John Thomson – missed all of 2000 with a torn labrum
• Justin Thompson – missed all of 2000 due to injury (short minors stint as well)
• Mike Jackson – missed all of 2000 with a shoulder injury
• Wilson Alvarez – spent 2000 in the minors
• Ichiro Suzuki & Tsuyoshi Shinjo – they got very late additions to Topps 2001 series 2 after signing from Japan

Also, 5 players have two regular cards in the set.

• Brian Meadows – for no apparent reason other than poor quality control by Topps.
• Alex Rodriguez, Michael Tucker, Mike Hampton, Mike Mussina – all were traded or changed teams via free agency in the offseason and got a new card with their new team in series 2

That leaves 626 different players represented.  But, on top of that, there were 19 players in the Prospects set (Barry Zito being the most notable) who did play in the regular season but didn’t have a regular card.  So now that leads to 645 players.  The 645 players represent 52.4% out of the 1,230 players who played in MLB in 1999.

Earliest active player from this set:  #379 – Bobby Thomson, #105 – Rickey Henderson (active players)

Like most of these sets after the mid-90’s – there are again two answers to this.  Henderson is again the earliest active player, making his debut by playing both games of a doubleheader on June 24, 1979 (he stole a base in his first game).

Thomson is one of the 12 retired players in the Golden Moments subset and is the earliest.  He is in the set for his historic homer to win the 1951 pennant.  It’s been alleged the Giants had a system to steal signs and relay them from center field.  Baseball has moved past that at least*!  Thomson’s debut came September 9, 1946 when he went 2-4 with a double, a run and 2 RBI.

* – back when I started working on this post – how baseball teams were going to deal with the Astros this season was the biggest story in MLB.  That got superseded quickly in the middle of March when the season became in doubt.

Last active player from this set:  #355 – Adam Wainwright (DP), #746 – Edwin Encarnacion (PROS)

Wainwright & Encarnacion are the only 2 players from this set who are active in 2020.  Unless Ichiro makes a pitching comeback!

Player with the most cards in the set:  Todd Helton – 5 cards.  Helton had such a statistically insane year, he has 4 cards in the League Leaders set on top of his regular card.  He always gets the shiny front of these cards since Topps went with the NL guys on the front and the AL guys on the back.

Todd Helton – #255, #393 / #394 / #396 / #397  (League Leaders)

First Card and the Hundreds:  #1 – Cal Ripken, #100 – Derek Jeter, #200 – Alex Rodriguez, #300 – Vladimir Guerrero, #400 – Will Clark PS HL, #500 – Kent Mercker, #600 – Russ Johnson, #700 – Frank Catalanotto

Topps just kind of gave up on marquee guys as the hundred cards in series 2.

Highest book value:  #726 – Ichiro Suzuki RC

Most notable card: #726 – Ichiro Suzuki RC

Pretty easy choice here – Ichiro took the baseball world by storm in 2001, winning the MVP and Rookie of the Year and changing the face of Japanese players coming over to MLB.  He ended up being unique – with all respect to Hideki Matsui, no former Nippon League player came even close to matching his MLB accomplishments.

Best card (my opinion): #726 – Ichiro Suzuki RC

I have to go with Ichiro here as well.  There isn’t an incredible picture card here to wow you (though I really like the one below) enough to take away from one that captures Ichiro in the year he came to America.

Second best card (also my opinion): #60 – Pedro Martinez

Pedro was unreal in this stretch and this is a really cool card – you can see the grip on what I think is his knuckle curve.  Mike Piazza’s card where he’s crossing home as Robin Ventura throws up the “stand up sign” is in third to me, but worth the effort of a scan at the bottom of the post!

Best subset card: #379 – Bobby Thomson GM

None of the current year subset cards were particularly enticing, so I’m going with the most famous homer of all-time.  Apologies to other cards from this Golden Moments subset – Rickey Henderson’s card for breaking the stolen base record is a very cool picture and the Don Larsen perfect game card is arguably a better card than the Thomson one from an aesthetic aspect.

Favorite action photo: #537 – Magglio Ordonez

Ohhhh-eeeee-oh!  Maaaaaggg-gliooooo!

Favorite non-action photo: #580 – Curt Schilling

I like this card because it reminds me of some of the cards from the 60’s and 70’s where players would get their portrait shots into the set with empty bleachers in the background.

My Favorite Reds card:  #79 – Aaron Boone

The sleeveless uniforms were the best.

Other Notable Cards:  A few more really cool shots.

2001 Topps Brian Meadows and… 2001 Topps Brian Meadows

I’m working on the 2001 Topps set recap since I just finished the base set.  And it takes a lot of work, more than I remembered (man, I used to have way more free time).  Anyways, I came across this.

2001 Topps Brian Meadows

And also this.

2001 Topps… Brian Meadows?

 

Now, you may think those are the same card.  But, you my friend, would be mistaken…

See, when trying to figure out how much the set represents the 2000 season as far as number and percentage of players, I have to check for guys who have a card in series 1 and 2.  Well, Brian Meadows has one, and he’s got the same picture on both cards.  I’m sure this has been written about somewhere, but I couldn’t find anything in a quick google search.  Topps could have used a little help in the QC back in 2001!

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps Before There Was Topps

Here’s another completed insert set.  I finished this one from COMC in December (from a Black Friday purchase). This one is from 2001 Topps.  It’s kind of nice to be caught up on these – when I finish them, I post!

Info about the set:

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Set description:  As part of its 50th anniversary product, Topps created a lot of sets that paid homage to the Company’s history producing baseball cards.  This set, along with “What Could Have Been”, takes a different spin.  It looks at players who were around before Topps started making cards.

The fronts feature a black and white photo of the player with a gray foil finish over the background.  The player name is at the bottom, while the Topps 50 logo is in the corner.  The back has statistics of the player.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:25 odds (2001 Topps series 2)

Hall of Famers:  All 10.  Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Joe DiMaggio

Card that completed my set:  #BT5 – Ty Cobb

I got this card from COMC in December (Black Friday purchase).

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from the 2001 series 2 hobby boxes I bought
• 4 cards from COMC
• 2 from a card show
• 1 from Sportlots

Thoughts on the set:  For a lot of these guys, this is either their first Topps card in over 20 years.  It’s a great for that, though 16 years later it’s not like I’m pining for a Topps card of Ty Cobb.  The gray makes it so bland, just like the What Could Have Been set.  I would have liked some of the color-making technology you see on lots of cards these days. 

Best card (my opinion):  #BT4 – Walter Johnson

I have a sweet spot for the Big Train.  He’s

My Favorite Reds card:  There are none.

Here’s the scan of the full set.

Other tidbits:  Most of the other players had a card in the Connie Mack All-Stars set from the early 50’s, a 1985 Topps Woolworth card, possibly a 1967 Topps Venezuelan “Retirado” card, and a few others.  Joe DiMaggio actually had the fewest.  This was only his second card Topps card after having one in the 1967 Venezuelan set.

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps A Look Ahead

Here’s another completed insert set.  This one from 2001 Topps – I’ve done a few of these now.  It was also completed from a Black Friday purchase last year – another one of those I’ve done!

Info about the set:

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Set description:  A lot of the inserts for Topps’ 50th anniversary looked back at the company’s history – this one looks at what might come for some of baseball’s stars.  The set has a blue background with a spiral effect with future years listed.  The set name is in the upper left corner, the player name in the lower right corner, and the 50th year Topps logo is in the top right.  The back has a write-up of expectations for “Y2K and beyond”, and statistics from 2000 and his career.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:25 odds (2001 Topps series 1)

Hall of Famers:  2.  Ken Griffey Jr., Pedro Martinez

How I put the set together:

• 2 cards from my 2001 series 1 hobby box
• 2 cards from a trade
• 4 cards from Sportlots
• 2 cards from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #LA4 – Alex Rodriguez

This was one of 2 cards I got last December (after Black Friday) from COMC.  The other was Derek Jeter.

Thoughts on the set:  Nice insert set.  In 2001, Topps really seemed like it was going overboard with the number of inserts, so some of them were starting to feel like filler.  This one has a little bit of that, but I do like the design and the theme.  The spiral seems appropriate for a “look into the future” set.

Best card (my opinion):  #LA4 – Alex Rodriguez

A-Rod when he was with the Mariners was as fun to watch as any player I can remember.  He was the best offensive shortstop in history, he was very good defensively, and he could steal bases.  With all that’s happened since, it’s easy to forget how exciting he was.

My Favorite Reds card:  #LA5 – Ken Griffey Jr.

Here’s a scan of the full set:

Other tidbits:  It’s a little sad going through the backs of these cards.  Here are some of the things Topps predicts that don’t come true:

• Vlad Guerrero never won the triple crown
• Todd Helton had a number of great years after 2000, but he didn’t approach .400 again
• A-Rod switched to third base and didn’t break Cal Ripken’s record for homers as a short stop
• Ken Griffey Jr. did not break Hank Aaron’s career home run record.
• Nomar Garciaparra did not become one of the best that’s ever played
• Pedro Record did not break Roger Clemens’ record of 5 Cy Young Awards.  In fact, Clemens won 2 more.

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps Combos

This is another completed insert set from Black Friday last year.  Getting really close to finishing this up – I think I had almost 50 in the queue at one point and I’ve now whittled it down to single digits.  This is from 2001 Topps – the Combo cards that were back for their 2nd year as an insert set.

Info about the set:

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Set description:  Just like the  set showcases player groupings unified by a common theme.  It’s kind of reminiscent of some older multi-player Topps subsets from the late 1950’s or early 1960’s.  Only this is an insert.  The cards are paintings as opposed to actual photos.  The 2001 version has a few tweaks from 2000.  First, there’s slight difference in the nameplate, and 2001 always matches current player(s) with historical great(s).

Set composition:  20 cards, 1:12 odds (2000 Topps)

Hall of Famers:  34.  Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Pedro Martinez, Bob Gibson, Johnny Bench, Ernie Banks, Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr., Joe Morgan, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Casey Stengel, Joe Torre, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Babe Ruth, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Cy Young, Greg Maddux, Tony Gwynn, Lou Gehrig, Randy Johnson, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Mike Piazza, Josh Gibson, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby

A boat load, including retired guys and a few players who were active at the time.

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from my series 1 hobby box
• 3 cards from my series 2 hobby box
• 9 cards from Sportlots
• 3 cards from COMC
• 2 card from Beckett’s marketplace

Card that completed my set: #TC14 – Mound Masters

The 2 winningest pitchers post-WWII and the winningest pitcher of all-time.  This was one of 3 cards I got on COMC for Black Friday last year.

Thoughts on the set:  Just like the 2001 set – I really dig it.  The paintings are generally pretty well done, and I like how Topps switched it up in 2001 to portray retired guys with current stars.

Best Card (my opinion):  #TC12 – 60 Home Run Club

I know this card probably isn’t as cool now as it was then, but it’s still a pretty awesome composition.  This barely beats out the Gehrig/Ripken card.

My Favorite Reds card:  #TC7 – Big Red Machine

Great cards of 2 guys playing in Cincinnati in the 1970’s and 2 other guys growing up in Cincinnati in the 1970’s.

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Here’s a scan of the whole set.  This isn’t quite in order, because I wanted to match the 4 vertical cards up.

Any other tidbits:  I found this interesting on the back of the Griffey/Aaron card:

“Ken is the only man on earth with a realistic chance of smashing Aaron’s record.”  Obviously Bonds would prove that untrue a few years later, though that probably wasn’t foreseeable at the time.  Griffey was coming off of a good first year in Cincinnati in 2000, and while Bonds had a great bounce back year in 2000, nobody knew that the greatest offensive output in history was coming over the next 4 years.

Completed insert set – 2001 Topps What Could Have Been

Here’s another completed insert set.  This one is from 2001 Topps.  I am catching up, as I think this is the first post that I’ve done where the set completing occurred in the current calendar year 🙂

Info about the set:

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Set description:  As part of its 50th anniversary product, Topps created a lot of sets that paid homage to the Company’s history producing baseball cards.  This set, however, takes a different spin.  It looks at players from the Negro Leagues who never got the chance to play in the majors.  I kind of infer that the idea is also that they didn’t get to appear on baseball cards during their day.  It’s done in a very similar design as the “Before There Was Topps” set from series 1.

The fronts feature a black and white photo of the player with a gray foil finish over the background.  The player name is at the bottom, while the Topps 50 logo is in the top corner.  The back has a write-up on the player’s Negro League career.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:25 odds (2001 Topps series 2)

Hall of Famers:  All 10.  Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Rube Foster, Martin Dihigo, Judy Johnson, Mule Suttles, Pop Lloyd

Card that completed my set:  #WCB8 – Mule Suttles

I got this card in a trade with reader Kary, who has been a friendly reader and contributor to the Lifetime Topps project for a few years!

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from the 2001 series 2 hobby boxes I bought
• 3 cards from trades
• 2 from a card show
• 1 from an eBay lot
• 1 from COMC

Thoughts on the set:  Up to 2001, there really hadn’t been many Negro League cards in the mainstream sets.  That started to change, and this was the first Topps set to feature Negro Leaguers.  It’s a great set from that standpoint.  I wish they hadn’t made it so drab, though – the gray makes it so bland.  I would have liked some of the color-making technology you see on lots of cards these days. 

Best card (my opinion):  #WCB1 – Josh Gibson, #WCB2 – Satchel Paige

I had a tough time picking between Paige and Gibson, as they’re probably the most notable Negro League hitter and pitcher.  Adding to that, I really like the photos of both.  So I’m picking them both.  My blog, my rules.

My Favorite Reds card:  There are none.

Here’s the scan of the full set.

Other tidbits:  For every player except Satchel Paige, this was their first Topps card.  Paige was the only one of these 10 players to make it to the Majors, and he had a very famous Topps card in 1953.

2001 Topps parallels – Randy Johnson

2001 Topps

Card I selected:  #75 – Randy Johnson

2 years in a row, I actually have all the cards!  The SuperChrome cards in ’98 and ’99 made it difficult, but the only tough thing in the next 2 years was the 2000 MVP card (which I found for McGwire).  In 2001, there’s one more regular size card – Topps Gold was added and Topps gave its employees special cards in honor of their 50th anniversary.  The MVP cards were gone.  There’s also no oversize cards in 2001, so I’ve got the same number of Big Unit cards in 2001 that I had for Big Mac in 2000.

# of cards (including the Topps card):  8

The parallel sets in 2001 include:

• Gold
• Home Team Advantage
• Limited
• Employee
• Opening Day
• Chrome
• Chrome Retrofractors

Scans:

2001 Topps #75

2001 Topps Gold #75

Topps Gold was back in 2001 after a 7-year hiatus.  These cards came a couple per box, and were numbered out of 2001.  They were created as a kind of celebration of the 50th anniversary.  Numbering Topps Gold to the current year is a trend Topps has kept to this day.  The Gold border was much nicer back in 2001 – it was actually a raised foil that looks pretty nice.

2001 Topps Home Team Advantage #75

Cards from hobby factory sets got a stamp to special “Home Team Advantage” logo to designate them.

2001 Topps Limited #75

Limited Edition factory sets were made in the idea of the old Tiffany sets, coming in a wood box.  The cards have a thicker gloss coating than the regular Topps cards, and are also stamped with the words “Limited Edition” at the bottom.  It’s actually a little tough to see on this card, because the gold stamping doesn’t contrast against the sand on the pitcher’s mound.

2001 Topps Employee #75

Topps created a special factory set for employees in 2001 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the flagship baseball set.  This looked the same as the retail factory set on the outside, except it had the employee logo stamp.  The cards also had the employee logo stamp.  These are thought to be very rare – around 150 sets.

2001 Topps Opening Day #29

Opening Day was back for the 4th time in 2001.  Again, it’s a 165 card set that could only be found in retail outlets.  As was the case in many of these early versions, I think the Opening Day card is a little more appealing.  The border is blue instead of the weird green of the flagship set, and there is a foil Opening Day logo at the bottom.  The photos are the same as the base Topps set.  Naturally, the back has a different number.  I really like the blue color on this one.

2001 Topps Chrome #57

Topps Chrome was here for its 6th year.  Released in 2 series, Chrome was not a full reproduction of the regular Topps set – it was 660 cards.  The front of the card reproduces the base set using Topps chromium technology and of course the logo is the Topps Chrome logo.  The back of the card is the same as the regular set except for the Topps Chrome logo and slightly different copyright wording.

2001 Topps Chrome Retrofractor #57

Topps took a different spin on refractors in their anniversary year.  They still came in 1 of every 12 packs of Topps Chrome, they have colorful, reflective shine on the front.  But the back has a retro type cardboard, with the word “retrofractor” below the number on the card back.

The “Rainbow”:

Any sets I didn’t get:  That’s all you could possibly get from 2001.

Other cards I would have liked to do:  I wanted to get Curt Schilling, but he strangely wasn’t in Opening Day.  So I went with his teammate instead.  I’m sure there were some other ones, but going with one of those 2 guys in their World Series years seemed good.