1995 Topps #588 Cal Ripken

1995 Topps series 2:

1. #435 John Briscoe
2. Cyberstats #311 Gregg Jefferies
3. #436 Roger Pavlik
4. #454 Tony Eusebio
5. #434 David Wells
6. #660 Checklist 529-660
7. #480 Eddie Perez/Jason Kendall/Einar Diaz/Bret Hemphill (Prospects) (Rookie)
8. #627 Ron Gant
9. #613 Brady Anderson
10. #470 Willie Banks
11. #598 Ozzie Guillen
12. #604 John Roper
13. #588 Cal Ripken

Cal Ripken, “Iron Man”, one of the most sought-after cards in the 1995 Topps set.  What makes him so great?

The back of the card says, “Cal is the majors’ all-time leading HR hitter among shortstops“.

And then all you have to do is look at the “G” column of stats on the back of his card (the left-most column).  Red ink represents leading the league:

He didn’t miss a game since 1982.  His streak ended in 1998.

1995 Topps League Leaders #LL34 Fred McGriff (NL Home Run Leader)

1995 Topps series 2:

1. #459 Bret Saberhagen
2. Cyberstats #293 Albert Belle
3. #640 Andy Pettitte/Ruben Rivera (On Deck) (Rookie)
4. #600 Yorkis Perez
5. League Leaders #LL34 Fred McGriff (NL Home Run Leader)
6. #538 Trey Moore (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
7. #643 Terrell Lowery/Jon Shave (On Deck) (Rookie)
8. #635 Steve Kline/Herb Perry (On Deck) (Rookie)
9. #428 Jim Bullinger
10. #515 Carlos Garcia
11. #564 Jeff Nelson
12. #475 Tom Gordon
13. #519 Kirk Gibson

Here’s my first 1995 Topps League Leaders insert.  They come one in six packs, and this is the fifth pack I’ve opened.

It’s a Fred McGriff “NL Home Run Leader” card, which is a little misleading because he was actually 4th in the league in Home Runs.  However, as the back of the card notes, he was 1st in the National League East division…

I hope all of the 1995 Topps League Leaders cards don’t look so tacky.  Take a look at the back.  What a mess of colors and weird fonts.  It’s like a Geocities page, circa 1996.

1995 Topps Cyberstats #289 John Olerud

1995 Topps series 2:

1. #529 Jose Rijo
2. Cyberstats #289 John Olerud
3. #469 Carlos Delgado
4. #522 Sandy Alomar
5. #491 John Burkett
6. #627 Ron Gant
7. #448 Bill Risley
8. #406 Doug Webb (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
9. #579 Derrick May
10. #455 Chuck Finley
11. #474 Alan Trammell
12. #403 Darren Oliver
13. #446 Andres Galarraga

Neato, another Cyberstats card!  Well, they come one per pack, so I guess it’s not that much of a surprise.

Today’s Cyberstats card is John Olerud.  Interesting thing is Topps predicting him batting .316 if it wasn’t for the strike.  He actually batted .297.  I’m guessing it’s because he was hitting really well just before the strike.

I’ve mentioned earlier that I really like the photography for 1995 Topps.  It’s actually better than the 2008 Topps photography.  Just look at this beautiful Sandy Alomar card:

1995 Topps #522 Sandy Alomar

“Sandy proved again that, with a relatively healthy season to work with, he could be one of baseball’s premier catchers.  Even with DL visits in 4 of his 5 full seasons, he has been a Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove winner and a three-time All-Star backstop.“

1995 Topps Cyberstats #279 Eric Karros

1995 Topps series 2:

1. #463 Mark Clark
2. Cyberstats #279 Eric Karros
3. #657 Andres Berumen/Bryce Florie (On Deck) (Rookie)
4. #513 Rusty Meacham
5. #481 Bryan Eversgerd
6. #639 Marc Barcelo/Marty Cordova (On Deck) (Rookie)
7. #651 Roger Cedeno/Ron Coomer (On Deck) (Rookie)
8. #473 McKay Christensen (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
9. #440 Gary Sheffield
10. #402 Ryan Thompson
11. #511 Melido Perez
12. #531 Mike Gallego
13. #585 Dave Clark

These Cyberstats cards were a cool idea from Topps.  Instead of giving us those stupid Gold inserts, we get these chromified special cards with prorated stats in the back.

As I’ve mentioned before, 1994 was a strike season for Major League Baseball, so the season was shortened.  The stats on the back of the Cyberstats cards are computer-simulated stats of how the player would have likely ended the season.  On the back of the card it says, “Statistics above include computer-simulated data for games of August 12, 1994 through the scheduled conclusion of the 1994 season.”

For Eric Karros, the Cyberstats are:

156 G, 579 AB, 69 R, 151 H, 28 2B, 1 3B, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 2 SB, .416 SLG, 36 BB, 75 SO, .253 AVG

His real stats were:

111 G, 406 AB, 51 R, 108 H, 21 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 46 RBI, 2 SB, .426 SLG, 29 BB, 53 SO, .266 AVG

The interesting thing to note is that the batting average between the real stats and the simulated stats are NOT the same.  That means the simulation was at least a little more sophisticated than a simple extrapolation of the full season stats.

1995 Topps series 2:

#617 Scott Erickson

Cyberstats #295 John Jaha

1995 Topps Cyberstats #295 John Jaha

Another favorite from the AAA International League champion 1992 Denver Zephyrs.  He was the power hitter on the team.

#405 Jeff Bagwell

1995 Topps #405 Jeff Bagwell

The 1994 National League MVP.  He led the league in Runs, RBI, and Slugging Percentage.

#508 Deion Sanders

1995 Topps #508 Deion Sanders

I was about to say “Neon Deion”… but the back of the card says he despises that nickname.  He prefers the nickname “Prime Time”.

#554 Mike Lieberthal

#635 Steve Kline/Herb Perry (On Deck) (Rookie)

1995 Topps #635 Steve Kline/Herb Perry (On Deck) (Rookie)

Here’s a couple Indians wannabes.

Steve Kline debuted in the majors in 1997 and is currently a free agent.  He’s got a little feud going with Yorvit Torrealba.

Herb Perry played in the majors 1994-2004 with no major achievements.

#473 McKay Christensen (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

1995 Topps #473 McKay Christensen (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

What a strange name.  Reminds me of Mr. Mackey in South Park… mkay?  He pitched 3 seasons, went on a missionary trip to Japan to spread the Mormon religion, and is currently a real estate developer.  Good luck with that.

#538 Trey Moore (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

1995 Topps #538 Trey Moore (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

Also pitched three major league seasons.  Then played three seasons in Japan.  No notable achievements.

#561 Jack McDowell

#447 Hector Carrasco

#496 Troy O’Leary

#408 Leo Gomez

#534 Kirby Puckett

1995 Topps #534 Kirby Puckett

Last, but definitely not least, Kirby Puckett.  He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2001.  Unfortunately he passed away a couple years ago.  Rest in Peace Kirby.  From the back of his card:

“Kirby passed Rod Carew as the Twins’ all-time hit leader in 1994.  On May 20 he notched a career-high 7 RBI in a game despite being removed in the fifth inning of a 21-2 rout.”

1995 Topps has some interesting looking cards.  The photography is also much improved in this set.  I have always thought 1995 Topps looked really ugly from the pictures I’ve seen, but now that I have some in hand, they actually look pretty nice.

#513 Rusty Meacham

Cyberstats #312 Jose Valentin

1995 Topps Cyberstats #312 Jose Valentin

He was on one of my favorite teams ever, the 1992 Denver Zephyrs.  I like how these Cyberstats cards are shiny with multicolor hues coming out of the foil.

#428 Jim Bullinger

#578 Jose Lind

1995 Topps #578 Jose Lind

It really looks like Cal Ripken is grabbing Jose’s crotch…

#500 John Hudek

#601 Rich Rodriguez

I thought I’ve heard this name before.  Rich Rodriguez was the head coach for West Virginia University’s football team 2001-2007.  West Virginia was a big rival to my school, Virginia Tech.  However, Rich Rodriguez de Beisbol is not the same person as Rich Rodriguez de Futbol Americano.

#632 Cory Bailey/Scott Hatteberg (On Deck) (Rookie)

1995 Topps #632 Cory Bailey/Scott Hatteberg (On Deck) (Rookie)

Apparently a new Topps feature, “On Deck”.  Shows a couple Boston Red Sox Wannabes.

Cory Bailey turned out to be an interesting player.  Between 1993-2002, he bounced around between different professional baseball organizations both at the major and minor league levels — Red Sox, Cardinals, Rangers, Giants, Pirates, Royals…  Then he moved to Japan to play a couple years, then to Taiwan, then back to the United States into the Cubs’ farm system, then back to Taiwan.  He most recently played for the dmedia T-REX in Taiwan in 2008, where he was banned from playing in Taiwan because of his involvement in a game-fixing scandal.

Scott Hatteberg had a more successful career, playing several years with the Red Sox, then 4 years with the Athletics, followed by 3 years with the Reds.  He was released by the Reds last year, but is still officially active as a free agent.  However, at age 38, he might not actually play again in 2009.

#581 David Bell/Joel Chimelis/Lino Diaz/Aaron Boone (Prospects) (Rookie)

1995 Topps #581 David Bell/Joel Chimelis/Lino Diaz/Aaron Boone

Here’s another one of Topps’ franken-cards.  Four players crammed into one card, probably because Topps realized how low their chances of succeeding in the majors actually are, but yet they want to be the first to release the players’ rookie cards.  Here’s the epilogue for these players really quickly:

David Bell is a third-generation major leaguer, the son of Buddy Bell and grandson of Gus Bell.  His brother is Mike Bell.  He played 1995-2006 in the majors without any major achievements.  He was named in the Mitchell Report as a steroid user.

Joel Chimelis had his career in Major League Baseball ruined by the 1994 Major League Baseball Strike.  He agreed to play as a replacement player in 1994.  When he was called up to the Giants in 1995, he was immediately labeled as a strike-breaker and subsequently sent back to the minors where he languished for the rest of his career.

Lino Diaz never made it to the major leagues, playing in the minors until 1997.

Aaron Boone is another third-generation major leaguer, the son of Bob Boone and grandson of Ray Boone.  His brother is Bret Boone.  He debuted in the majors in 1997 and was just signed to the Washington Nationals yesterday!  (Nationals are my local team)  I guess I’ll be seeing more of him this coming year.

Wow, two third-generation players on one card!

#516 Dave Stevens

#438 Roberto Alomar

1995 Topps #428 Roberto Alomar

And here’s a member of yet another baseball family, the Alomars.  Roberto is the son of Sandy Alomar Sr. and brother of Sandy Alomar Jr. Great player, but he spits.

#436 Roger Pavlik

#501 Jeff King

#566 Randy Velarde

1995 Topps #566 Randy Velarde

This is just a great picture.  Kudos the the photographers of 1995 Topps.

1995 Topps series 2 hobby box

The 1995 Topps series 2 hobby box has the usual 36 packs.  This year, Topps is calling them “Power Packs”.  Each Power Pack has 13 cards.

The complete base set has 660 cards, 396 in series 1 and 264 in series 2.

The big promotion this year is “Every card foil stamped” with a “Spectra Light insert card in every pack… with complete ’94 Cyberstats”.  Also, randomly packed League Leader cards and Finest cards.

As many of you remember, the 1994 baseball season was plagued by a players strike.  It marked a turning point in baseball with declining interest in the game and many angry sports fans shunning baseball and turning to football.  It also marked a sharp decline in the baseball card industry, as many collectors simply stopped collecting at this time.

1995 Topps series 2 pack

In the 1995 cards, Topps introduced “Cyberstats”, which are prorated statistics on the backs of the cards, showing what kind of numbers the players might have put up if the strike hadn’t taken place.

As for the hobby box itself, Topps finally got rid of the retail pack price label that was on every hobby box until 1994.  Another nice touch is the cardboard insert inside the box to keep the packs from sliding all over the place (and possibly getting damaged).

There are no notable rookies in this set, but there are a number of nice cards to be found.  The cards to look for in series 1 are the Babe Ruth 100th Birthday card, Barry Bonds, Derek Jeter, and Roger Clemens.  In series 2, we’ll be looking for Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Nomar Garciaparra, and Cal Ripken.

1995 Topps cards, front and back

There are only 3 insert sets in 1995 Topps.  These are Cyberstats, Finest, and League Leaders.  The odds are:  Cyberstats 1:1; League Leaders 1:6; Finest 1:36.  That means, in this hobby box I should expect to find 36 Cyberstats cards, 6 League Leaders, and 1 Finest.

The best cards I could possibly get out of this hobby box are:  Cal Ripken Cyberstats, Barry Bonds Finest, and Barry Bonds League Leaders.  Stay tuned to see if I get any of these!

2000 Topps #232 Mark McGwire (20th Century

2000 Topps series 1:

1. #32 Omar Daal
2. #34 Orlando Cabrera
3. #131 Dwight Gooden
4. #142 Brian Hunter
5. #79 Bruce Aven
6. #54 Pete Harnisch
7. #132 Russ Ortiz
8. #20 Darryl Kile
9. #176 Mike Stanley
10. #183 Tom Goodwin
11. #232 Mark McGwire (20th Century’s Best)

…and checklist 2 of 2.  I think there’s one in every pack.  I think that’s a dumb idea considering there are only 2 checklist cards.  Why not just include the checklist cards as a special bonus pack in every hobby box?  I’ll probably end up with 18 of each checklist card.

Besides those checklists, I didn’t get any doubles this week!

I pretty much got a bunch of common cards, but I did get another Mark McGwire card.  Meh.  I’m quickly tiring of this 2000 Topps Mark McGwire theme.

That’s the problem with the baseball card industry these days.  There are so many different sets available that the hobby has gotten extremely confusing.  In 2006 the Major League Baseball Players Association effectively limited the number of sets that can be produced to 34, but that’s still too many in my opinion.  I think it should be more like 8.  Then Topps and Upper Deck can each produce 4 sets, perhaps a base set, a premium set, and a couple specialized or experimental sets, just like in the good old days.  This is why I’m only buying Topps base set cards.  Why go bankrupt and confused buying all these different cards?

But now that they’ve limited the number of sets that can be produced, I can see what the real problem is.  The real problem is that there are so many cards for each player.  Back in the 60′s, it was possible to get THE 1967 Mickey Mantle card or THE 1963 Willie Stargell rookie card.  No confusion there.  Today, there are probably HUNDREDS of different Alex Rodriguez or Chipper Jones cards produced EACH YEAR.  So it actually doesn’t matter that they’ve limited the number of base sets the companies can produce.  To fix the baseball card industry, they need to also limit the number of different cards each player can have in a given year.

So I’m sticking with good ‘ol basic Topps cards.  Basic Topps has 30+ insert subsets and loads of gimmicks and variations.  That’s already way more than I can handle.