Sunday fun: JV Squad

Without anything major to scan and post for a few days, I thought it would be fun to post a page/team's worth of Justin Verlander cards as I'm trying to get everything I have of him scanned.  So here's nine I felt like showing off today:

Justin Verlander 2006 and 2007 Topps Turkey Red

Turkey Red:  it's not just for inserts!  Here's a couple examples of base set versions of Turkey Red from 2006 and 2007.  Both designs are pretty cool, but I generally prefer the newer set because its border looks a lot better to me than the plain gray of the older one.  It's fun to compare the different artistic styles of the images, though.

Justin Verlander 2008 Stadium Club First Day Issue

Stadium Club's last hurrah (until this year's set, though we'll see how that goes) featured one of the brand's best designs while keeping the trademark full-bleed photography.  This is a great image of a smiling Verlander in a Tigers hoodie I totally want.  This insert also keeps up with the set's traditional First Day Issue parallel.

Justin Verlander 2008 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Justin was indeed a member of Topps' All-Star Rookie Team, and he also took home a Rookie Cup the following year, as this 2007 Chrome White Refractor illustrates.  Considering he went 17-9 and won the AL Rookie of the Year in his first full campaign, the choice was a no-brainer (perfect for Topps, where brains are inversely proportional to the number of redemptions in their products!).

Justin Verlander 2010 Topps Chrome Topps 206 Chrome (#097/999)

Topps had previously done the Chrome thing with another set that featured cards with a reprinted design--Heritage--and that definitely worked well, so I think the 206 thing was a good decision that worked out well.  A Refractor of one of these would definitely look great.

Justin Verlander 2012 Topps Update Gold (#0303/2012)

I was surprised to find a Topps Gold insert of JV that I hadn't scanned--and then I found another!  This one highlights his selection to the 2012 All-Star team, which I'm guessing he'd just as soon forget:  Verlander started and gave up five first-inning runs in the eventual 8-0 drubbing by the NL.

Justin Verlander 2013 Heritage Chrome Purple Refractor

Purple is very low on my list of colors, but I do like the Chrome Refractorness going here otherwise, as I briefly mentioned with the 206 card above.  Purple and green are among the parallel colors I could really do without.

Justin Verlander 2013 Topps Gold (#1174/2013)

Here's the other Gold card I dug out, and I really dig the use of the horizontal photo on this one, which is a textbook case, really.  Better yet, it doesn't suffer from Topps' obsession with extreme close-ups, so you even get a shot of a SS in the background, which I would assume is Jhonny Peralta.  Definitely one of the best photos in JV's collection.

Justin Verlander 2013 Topps Opening Day Stars

This sweet insert just arrived not too long ago in my trade package from Tony of Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards.  It's a nice example that proves that just because a set is "low-end," it doesn't have to have crappy, boring inserts.  The "3D" hologram thing Topps went with works very well, and the concept of highlighting Opening Day starters is a good one.

I still have lots to scan, but for now you can see all 47 cards I've scanned in Verlander's PC album right here.  Watch for more of these posts in the future, especially when I have nothing else to post about!

Sunday fun: Boxing Day comes early

I had planned a different post for today but was inspired last night to go with something different.

I don't talk about boxing much on this blog, but I do enjoy watching the occasional big fight, and there's a good reason for that:  boxing was something fun I shared with my stepdad, who was a huge part of my life as a part of my family for the majority of my first 25+ years.  He had watched tons of fights through the years and lived through some of the greats, so he was an ideal person with whom to watch a big bout.  More importantly, he passed down some of his knowledge and all of his enjoyment of the sport to me, and whenever we could, we'd arrange to catch some boxing, big-time or small.

Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in June of 2009, and that dealt a large blow to my family, but we've all found ways to move on and honor his memory.  In my case, I still make sure I watch a few big fights each year, thinking about how we laughed at Larry Merchant's slow cadence and Harold Lederman's excitable analysis, soaked up Emmanuel Steward's excellent commentary, and most of all, raised fists high in anticipation after Michael Buffer's signature "LLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLE!"

As is typical of the sport, we were disappointed as often as we were satisfied--a terrible referee fighting for the spotlight to the detriment of the bout, a judge inexplicably coming up with a bad score, or a first-round KO--but the ones that excited us were more than worth it.  I never did a good job of keeping track of how often we saw each fighter how he did when we last saw him, but I do know I saw some of today's great fighters and more than a few matchups that have since passed into legend.

I bring all of this up because last night was one of those marquee fights:  Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao.  It was actually their fourth meeting, as previously they had fought to a draw, a split-decision win for Pacquiao, and most recently, a majority-decision win for "Pac-Man."  These fights weren't without a certain level of controversy, as is often the case with boxing, but they certainly made for excellent entertainment.  Marquez surely had a chip on his shoulder, though, and his added bulk proved that.

The action quickly grew with Marquez catching Pacquiao hard enough to knock him down early.  A few rounds later, Manny clocked him hard enough to get him to touch a glove to the canvas, scoring a knockdown of his own.  Pacquiao was statistically the more aggressive and accurate fighter, and multiple times he had Marquez hurt and in significant danger.  Marquez somehow managed to weather the storm, and then with only a second left in the 6th round, he faked out Pacquiao and caught him just barely defenseless, and that would prove to be the decisive blow--Manny went down hard face first and was clearly out for several minutes.  He did eventually regain consciousness, and later tests proved negative for any significant damage.  It was a stunning finish to a fight that for all intents and purposes appeared to be going the other way.

Here's a look at some highlights of the fight to give you a quick idea of how things went down:


Anyway, the reason I thought to post something about this fight, besides discussing the joy I still experience watching boxing sometimes thanks to my stepdad, is that it reminded me of how a few years ago, Topps inserted some boxing autographs in its 2008 Co-Signers set.  I managed to pull a couple from boxes, namely notable trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas.  I then began grabbing more to give to him as a Christmas present, including more than a few big names.  Since his passing I've sold off a few, but kept my favorites, one of which is this guy:

Marquez has always been one of those warriors who doesn't go down easily, who fights back even when things look bleak, and who's been in a ton of battles, but still continues to put on a great show for his fans.  Because he's such a legendary fighter, one who showed a ton of heart last night, and because I feel it's another way to honor my stepdad's memory and the great times we had together, I'm proud to have this autograph in my collection, and it's one I intend to pass on to my children, hopefully along with some interest in boxing as well.

I'd like to close on a lighter note, though, with a Youtube video I still love sharing with people.  I was reminded of it with the way Pacquiao was just knocked OUT last night (and now that it's clear he's OK, I think it's not exactly offensive to post).  Awesome comedian Cedric the Entertainer did a bit on a fight featuring Zab Judah years ago, and someone synced it up to a clip of the fight in question.  So enjoy the hilarity!:

Sunday fun: You Complete Me, August edition

This month I once again decided to devote some money to finishing up some of my baseball and football sets.  Therefore, I once again moseyed on over to SportLots, put in a couple hours and figured out the optimal order for the sets I decided to attack.  In some cases it made more sense to grab a few of the cards on COMC, plus there were a few instances where neither site had one or more cards I needed, so not every set you see today was completed.  Still, I made major, major headway towards both lists, which is very exciting at least for me.  All that said, here's a look at what I grabbed and how it affected my lists:

First, scans of one card from each set:

A new Ripken?  Nice!;  Only two '01 Stadium Club cards to choose from;  Bastardo is a hilarious name;  One of the newest Dodgers with his first team;  Remember when Fields was a huge prospect?;  Smoltz in his Atlanta heyday;  I could say the same about the levitating Guillen;  HoneyMabry don't care;  Money pit Bobby Higginson was one of a bunch of '05 Chromes.

It's still weird seeing Maddux with the Padres;  Calm down, Greg--that's a facsimile signature of Kershaw!;  Just a couple '09 Bowman Prospects to choose from so I picked one of the resurgent Orioles;  Liddi was the last WBC prospect I needed!;  Grabow is as excited as I am that I finished '09 Topps Update;  Who else would I pick but a Wolverine from '09 Bowman Draft?;  Same goes for '09 Topps:  a Woodley I didn't have;  Green was the final 2011 Topps football base I needed for my fifth set, and it only took me like a year to get it!

• 2000 Upper Deck (baseball):  25 cards
• Status:  incomplete--A seller messed up and missed sending me one of the cards I needed so I ordered it from someone else, and that should be here within like 10 days
• 2001 Stadium Club (baseball):  2 cards
• Status:  incomplete--I got these two from SportLots and I'm waiting on four more from COMC, but I'll still need another five afterwards due to the relative scarcity of the SPed prospect subset
• 2002 Bowman (baseball):  24 cards
• Status:  incomplete--All I need is Bobby Jenks' RC, but it was cheaper on COMC, so that'll be complete soon enough
• 2003 Topps Total Team Checklists (baseball):  1 card
• Status:  incomplete--I grabbed the Crawford here but the other two are coming via COMC, so this one is just about in the books
• 2004 Bowman Draft (baseball):  36 cards
• Status:  complete--I obviously needed a bunch of these, but SportLots came through in this case!
• 2004 Leaf Second Edition (baseball):  8 cards
• Status:  incomplete--Even after snagging one more card on COMC, I'll still be two short, so this set will remain a thorn in my side for a while
• 2004 Topps Traded (set 1) (baseball):  10 cards
• Status:  incomplete--However, the other two cards will eventually arrive from COMC, so this one will FINALLY be done!
• 2005 Fleer Tradition (baseball):  2 cards
• Status:  complete--Nice to finally have this one done too!
• 2005 Topps Chrome (baseball):  24 cards
• Status:  incomplete--It made better financial sense to pick up cards of Hideki Matsui and Yorman Bazardo on COMC, so this one's all but done
• 2008 Topps Co-Signers (baseball):  3 cards
• Status:   incomplete--Stop me if you've heard this before, but a couple cards--Pujols and A-Rod--were cheaper on COMC
• 2009 Bowman (baseball):  4 cards
• Status:  complete--after wasting a ton of money on retail racks of these, I finally have the base set!
• 2009 Bowman Draft (football):  13 cards
• Status:   incomplete--Mark Sanchez's RC was too pricey on SportLots but I nabbed it for $0.41 on COMC
• 2009 Bowman Prospects (baseball):  2 cards
• Status:   incomplete--David Freese was the big gun here, and I was able to make a reasonable offer for his RC on COMC
• 2009 Bowman WBC Prospects (baseball):  1 card
• Status:   complete--Alex Liddi rounds out this set for me, putting me one card away from all three components of the '09 offering
• 2009 Topps (football):  14 cards
• Status:   complete--Well, it took me long enough, but LaMarr Woodley and company polished off this solid set
• 2009 Topps Update (baseball):  1 card
• Status:   complete--John Grabow and I were equally excited that this one's done and over
• 2011 Topps (football):  1 card
• Status:   complete--Alex Green, as mentioned, completes my 5th set from the case I purchased, and it's crazy I went this long without getting it, but, you know, priorities, man!

Final stats:

• Total cards:  171
• Total Sets:  17
• Completed sets:  7

Not bad, considering I'll have another 10 sets completed by the time I get one more SportLots package and my COMC haul.  It was definitely about time that I put some more time and money into my set wants, and once again, it paid off!  Add to that some luck with trading on Blowout and taking out most, if not all, of my 2012 Topps football lists and it was a fairly productive month!

Now here's the part of the post where I remind you that YOU TOO can help with my wantlists, both the baseball and football versions!  I hope you enjoyed the fruits of my labor since inevitably my attention will wander to other endeavors until I once again get the urge to attack some set needs.  That brings up a good question:  how are your set pursuits going this year?  Throw up a quick comment in that section if you feel the urge.

Sunday fun: St. Pat's blasters

I've largely stayed away from retail stuff this year, but between St. Patrick's Day party bottle returns and other return stuff, I had house money to play with at Meijer today and I took advantage of it, buying three discounted football blasters.  You'll find two of them here, and the other over on TMM, for obvious reasons.  Here's how I did today:

2008 Absolute Memorabilia:  I really like the RPM and other hits from this set, and for $12 I figured I'd take a stab at my all-time favorite football draft class.  This one included eight packs of five cards, and here's what I pulled:

 Base, front and back (36 different)

Inserts:  Spectrum Red (Manning, Cason); Spectrum Gold (Johnson, #264/799); Spectrum Blue (Smith, #066/250) (NO ODDS LISTED)

Nothing to write home about, but I got a few keepers, and the inserts fell 1:2, which sounds about right.

2010 Elite:  I picked up one of these blasters before thanks to the lure of the guaranteed hit, and that time I pulled this sorta cool, if not terribly valuable, Wes Welker patch.  Now that today's blaster was $5 off, I gave it another shot.  This one was five packs of five with the guaranteed hit "on average."

Base, back and front

 Inserts:  Easley Rookie (#468/999); Martin/Green Passing the Torch (#511/999); Crompton Status Die-Cut (#08/92); Kindle Rookie (#366/999) (NO ODDS LISTED) 

Hit:  Frank Gore Down & Distance jersey (#269/299)

In some ways this was better than the Elite box, and it should have been.  The base look very nice, just like their baseball counterparts from that year, and the inserts are great, especially the Die-Cut Status of Crompton (the best card in the box).  The inserts, including the hit, fell one-per-pack, which was nice.  Compared to the Welker patch I pulled, the Gore is a bet of a letdown, but at least it's a nice looking card with a very nice red Niners swatch.  That's available for trade if anyone would like it.

Those were kind of fun since I hadn't busted anything in a while, though the real highlight for me was the other blaster, which, again, you can find over at TMM.  I hope everyone had a fun and safe St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday fun: last call

"Sunday fun" is a bit of a misnomer today, but this is something I've needed to do for a while.  You see this here box?:

This box currently contains all my dupes from over the years that I've hung onto and kept sorted by set in case someone needed them to hack away at their wantlists.  What I'm using it for more often right now is to supplement trade packages--each time I send out stuff from someone's favorite team, I make sure to flip through this box in case I have more team base cards to add to their haul.  It's a nice source for doing something like that, but I've been wanting to consolidate and get rid of a lot of my non-essential stuff.

So, in a lot of cases I don't have all that many cards left when it comes to some of these sets.  When I finally decide to do so, I'm just going to sort what's left of those into my box that's full of trade package material sorted by team.  But I figure while I have these sorted as they are, I should see how much they can help some of you.  So here's the deal:  I'm going to list all the sets I have in that box, and if you're working on one or more of them, leave me a comment or shoot me an email with your wantlist for however many of them you'd like.  I'll then send you whatever I have that you need in return for future considerations; remember, I'm doing this to clear space above all (though I'm happy to help people with set collecting, one of the purest activities of the hobby) so if I never see a return on doing this other than freeing up space, I still come out ahead.  Got all that?  Good, now here's the list:
Note:  few refers to an eyeball estimate of less than 100 or a relatively small amount relative to the size of the set.  Lots refers to more than that.  Tons refers to way more than lots.  Vague, I know, but this is just to give you an idea of what to expect, not to discourage you from sending your lists.

• 2000 Stadium Club (few)
• 2000 Topps (lots)
• 2002 Bowman (few)
• 2004 Bowman (lots)
• 2004 Topps Chrome Traded (lots)
• 2004 Topps Traded (lots)
• 2005 Donruss (some)
• 2005 Topps Chrome (lots)
• 2006 Topps (tons)
• 2007 Topps (tons)
• 2008 Donruss EEE
• 2008 Topps (few)
• 2008 Topps Co-Signers (few)
• 2008 UD Heroes (some)
• 2009 Bowman, Prospects, WBC and Chrome versions (lots)
• 2009 Topps (few)
• 2010 Bowman, Prospects and Chrome (few)
• 2010 Bowman Draft (few)
• 2010 Topps (few)
• 2010 Topps Traded (few)
• 2011 Bowman, Prospects and Chrome (few)

So help yourself while helping me out and take a bunch of these off my hands as you work to fill your sets!

Sunday fun: completed sets: 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites

I promised a while back that I would show off this set that I completed not too long ago, so here it is:  a much-anticipated look at 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites.

Unlike the Topps Archives sets of a couple years prior, ATFF didn't simply reprint old Topps cards--they took a group comprising HOFers, stars, "fan favorites" that were generally loved only by their teams' fans, managers and GMs, umpires, commissioners, idiots (Rudy Giuliani and Joe Buck, for example) and more, then printed their cards using designs from the last 50+ years of Topps sets.  It was actually a fairly cool concept and worked pretty well, as you'll see in this post.  So here they are, all 150 cards from 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites!  (sans comments for your viewing pleasure and my sanity)

Sunday fun: patch me if you can

Ahhhhh, another Sunday, another trip to Meijer for stuff I needed, another jaunt down the card aisle looking for deals.  Blasters of 2009 Topps baseball I and II were $15, which seemed reasonable, so today you're getting a blog post twofer.  I won't bore you with most of the contents, but each included one guaranteed manupatch, and both were worth it:

Steve Carlton 1969 All-Star Game

Nolan Ryan 1989 All-Star Game

Before any of you says a thing, the Carlton (my second manupatch of him, this time with the Cards instead of the Phils) is available for trade while the Ryan isn't, because it's awesome.  Apologies in advance to those of you who I know are Ryan/Rangers fans, not the least of which is Mr. Play at the Plate himself, who seems to win every contest he enters anyway, so I don't feel so bad!

On a related note, I still need a ton of cards from both series for the base set because I never bought more than these blasters and some rack packs.  So many, in fact, that I don't have a wantlist yet.  On a related related note, my Series I blaster contained only the retail-exclusive black cards, which wouldn't go well with my regular base cards (all racist jokes aside, so please refrain) in terms of consistency.  Does anyone have a bunch of 2009 dupes for trade, and if you do, would you be interested in around 60 of the black Series I base cards in return?  I'll put together a list one of these days but may attack the problem with rack packs or something first.

Anyway, no formal review, but for $15 each these blasters came out great because I got a few inserts, a few Series II cards I needed, and best of all, I got two great manupatches, one for trade and one to keep.

Sunday fun: complete sets: 2000 Fleer Club 3000

After Wednesday's post showing off my complete set of 1997 Upper Deck UD3, I thought it would be fun to post another of my finished sets.  As usual, I wanted something that wouldn't be too scan-intensive, so I flipped through some of my smaller insert sets.  One that caught my eye was called Club 3000, a set that came from several 2000 Fleer products.  These are pretty eye-catching because they're die-cut, but that's not the only reason I chose them.  Considering it's playoff time, a set that included a bunch of postseason stars seemed fairly appropriate.
This 14-card insert set celebrates some members of the 3000 hit and 3000 strikeout clubs (at the time of the set's production, of course).  Obviously it doesn't include every member of either group as 28 hitters and 16 pitchers currently belong.  Players that joined the hit club after the production of the set (not including Ripken, see below) were Rickey Henderson, Rafael Palmeiro, (possibly the only member who won't make the Hall of Fame) Craig Biggio and Derek Jeter.  The pitchers include Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz--all fairly good bets for the Hall.
Three cards each came from the Fleer, Focus, Ultra and Mystique sets while the final two hailed from Showcase (all at various odds).  You might also recall that Fleer produced memorabilia versions of these, possibly because I've had the opportunity to show this one off several times:

The base versions of the insert were cool themselves, though, and definitely worth collection.  They come from a time when inserts were extremely abundant but not necessarily as lazy as the ones we're subjected to due to Topps' sorta soon-to-expire monopoly.  The design is simple but aesthetically pleasing:  the card is die-cut in the shape of a "3000" and includes a photo of the player that takes up about a quarter of the card, plus the date of the accomplishment.  The back discusses why the player was able to achieve 3000 hits or Ks.

Here's all 14 cards from this Hall of Fame-studded set:

Bob Gibson:  Gibson was a fierce competitor who would probably have an aneurysm in today's hitter-friendly MLB--the league famously lowered the pitching mound after the dominance of pitchers like this Hall-of-Famer.  This is one of the cards that notes the victim of the subject, and interestingly enough it points out that Cesar Geronimo was #3000 for both Gibson and Nolan Ryan, whom you'll see in a bit.  Bob finished with 3,117 Ks, good for 14th in the very exclusive club.

Cal Ripken, Jr.:  Cal who?  Oh yeah, that guy.  The front of the card lists "2000 Season" as the date of the accomplishment because the Iron Man was nine hits short to start the season.  On April 15 against the Twins in Minnesota, Rip went 3-5, and his hit against Carrasco marked his place in history.  Cal was one of a small handful of players to tally 3000 hits and 400 HR.  He finished with 3184 all told, good for 14th in history (though I could see Jeter passing him soon).

Carl Yastrzemski:  This is a very well-done, informative card back that notes several useful facts about Yaz's career:  he had to replace Boston legend Ted Williams, he's the last triple crown winner and was the first AL member of the 3000/400 club.  He finished with 3419 hits (just beating out Cap Anson and Honus Wagner), good enough for an excellent 6th on the exclusive list.  Jim Beattie of the Yankees was the victim of the historic moment in 1979.

Dave Winfield:  Winfield was a ridiculously talented athlete and made the most of it in a Hall of Fame career.  Winding down his career with the Twins in 1993, he singled off fellow future-HOFer Dennis Eckersley.  Winfield currently sits at #19 on the list with his 3110 hits, though nipping at his heels is Derek Jeter, so the 20th spot awaits him shortly.  Jeter, however, won't join Dave as part of the even more exclusive 3000/400 club.  Winfield is one of a small number of players from this group to have played for several teams, (Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, Indians) a reflection of the shift in player movement thanks to free agency.

George Brett:  Brett was the type of competitor I think Gibson would have liked on his team (just look at the pine tar incident if you need proof) and used his prodigious hitting prowess to join this club, and subsequently the Hall of Fame.  Another lifer with a single team, the card notes two key stats in George's career:  batting titles in three different decades (a club in which he's the sole member) and a .390 average in 1980, the highest since the insane .406 Ted Williams produced in the magical 1941 season.  Brett put those hits to good use and finished with 3154 (15th overall), including #3000 against Tim Fortugno of the Angels in 1992.

Lou Brock:  Easily the best base-stealer of this group, (938, 2nd all-time as the back notes) Brock was an excellent all-around hitter as well.  The erstwhile Cub tallied 3023 hits, 24th all-time, and singled off Dennis Lamp of the Cubs in 1979 to make history.  Lou played on some great Cardinals teams and won it all with them in 1964 and 1967, plus another pennant in 1968, the year they lost to my Tigers.

Nolan Ryan:  Whew, I thought we'd forgotten about pitchers for a second. (the set only includes three for some reason)  This set would be a sham without the Ryan Express, though, as he sits at an untouchable first on the list with 5714 Ks in his 27 seasons, which works out to a ridiculous 212 per season without taking into account pitching fewer starts at the end of his career.  The next best total?  Randy Johnson, who'll forever sit at almost 1000 fewer than Lynn Nolan.  This is one of those baseball records that will remain untouchable, along with Cy's 511, Joe D's 56 and Cal's 2632, among others.  As previously noted, Ryan joined Gibson in fanning Cesar Geronimo for #300, this time against the Reds.

Paul Molitor:  Molitor played for the Brewers, Blue Jays and finally the Twins, the team with which he clubbed #3000, a triple against KC's Jose Rosado in 1996.  That's notable because as the linked article mentions, he was an alum of the U of Minnesota, and Tony Gwynn, who followed Molly on the list, also netted his 3000th with a team in the same state as his alma mater.  Paul ended his career with 3319 hits for an excellent 9th place on a legendary list.

Robin Yount:  Another Brewer for the list--this time a lifer--Yount snagged #3000 against Cleveland's Jose Mesa in 1992. (of course Joe Table would go on to give up a much more famous hit five years later)  His 3142 hits place him 17th, one hit and one spot better than the upcoming Tony Gwynn.  Hall of Fame voters were idiotic as usual and gave him a low vote count on the ballot that year, but he still made it in on his first attempt in 1999.

Rod Carew:  Carew, of the Twins and Angels, is one of those players I've never been a huge fan of, likely because he was before my time and because he didn't have the most exciting career compared to others.  Still, he was an outstanding hitter, as his 3053 hits (23rd all time) and .328 career average would attest to.  #3000 (a single, of cousre) came against the Twins' Frank Viola, a pretty good pitcher in his day.  

Stan Musial:  I didn't pick this set because of this, but I just read George Vecsey's excellent Stan Musial:  An American Life and this is a great opportunity to recommend it to baseball readers everywhere.  In many ways, Stan the Man has been an underrated Hall of Famer despite a career highlighted by ridiculous numbers which would have been even better if not for wartime interruptions (a common theme of that era).  Another member of the vaunted 3000/400 club, Musial doubled off the Cubs' Moe Drabowsky in 1958 to join the club.  As the link notes, the top three in NL average that year were Willie Mays, Musial and Aaron, an all-3000 hit club group.  Stan ended his career with 3630 hits, good for fourth.  Again, read the book, he was a very interesting guy and you'll love it!

Steve Carlton:  Our last pitcher, Lefty had some gaudy Hall of Fame credentials, many of which are mentioned on the back of the card.  A bit of a nomad considering the era, Carlton pitched for the Cardinals, Phillies, Giants, White Sox, Indians and Twins.  His 4136 Ks are fourth behind Roider Clemens and #3000 came against Tim Wallach of the Expos in 1981.

Tony Gwynn:  San Diegoans (we may never learn what that means) might remember this guy.  August 6, 1999, the date he singled against he Expos' Dan Smith for #3000, was a very noteworthy day for Tony:  exactly six years prior he tallied hit #2000, plus it was his mother's birthday--how cool is that?  Another guy that played all his games for one team, Gwynn totaled 3141 hits, good for 18th all time. (and again, one hit behind Yount)  A .338 career hitter, I doubt we'll see another one like him in my lifetime, if ever.

Wade Boggs:  A player who superstitiously ate chicken and who enjoyed arguing with Barney Gumble about the greatest British Prime Minister ever, ("PITT THE ELDER!") Boggs famously homered off of Chris Haney of Cleveland in 1999 for #3000 while playing for the Rays at the end of his career (the feat has since been equaled by Derek Jeter).  After 10 more hits, he finished 26th on the list and rode that accomplishment, along with his bevy of batting titles and records to the Hall of Fame in 2005.

A set with a great looking design and filled with undeniably excellent players, the only thing it's lacking is the rest of the members of each club. (no Rose, Cobb or Aaron, the top three hitters?)  I hope you enjoyed yet another complete set, and I hope to be back with some new ones soon after getting a lot of work done with COMC and SportLots!