Pack Break: 1997 Topps Series 1
Written by Steve on April 14th, 2010
1997 Topps Series 1:
- #82 Benito Santiago
- #135 Bret Boone
- #14 Ricky Bottalico
- #86 Mike Bordick
- #217 Armando Reynoso
- Sweet Strokes #SS10 Mark McGwire
- #124 Juan Gonzalez
- #188 Jeff Brantley
- #19 Mike Mohler
- #207 Glendon Rusch/Jarrod Washburn/Marc Wilkins (Prospects) (Rookie)
- #102 John Mabry (Season Highlights)
The Sweet Strokes card is so sparkly and awesome to look at in the over-the-top 90′s design sense. The scan doesn’t do it justice.
“Whatever the secret of hitting home runs with routine regularity, no one since Babe Ruth — except for McGwire — has been privy to it. He generates incredible leverage with a stroke so short it almost looks as though he has not completely followed through. Yet the ball erupts off his bat with record frequency. His ability to drive through the ball is virtually unprecedented.”
The writing on the back of the card is a little funny in hindsight. We all know what Mark McGwire’s “secret of hitting home runs” was now, and the card suggests that Babe Ruth shared the same secret.