2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

“Cal belted Homer his 1st At-Bat of season, 4-5-82.”

1. #T24 Jose Mesa
2. #T14 Shawon Dunston
3. #T4 Derek Bell
4. #T262 Gabe Gross (Rookie Card)
5. #T260 Bronson Sardinha (Rookie Card)
6. #T265 Kenny Baugh (Rookie Card)
7. #T256 Brad Hennessey (Rookie Card)
8. #T105 Cal Ripken (Reprint)
9. Chrome Traded #T2 Kevin Appier
10. Chrome Traded #T26 John Rocker

2001 Topps Series 2:

“When, on May 1, 1991, the Rangers’ Nolan Ryan started against Toronto, he was 44 years old.  His shoulder hurt.  His fingers ached.  He told his pitching coach that he felt old.  He then went out and pitched his seventh career no-hitter.  The Ryan Express issued just two walks — both on 3-2 counts — and struck out 16.  The best the Blue Jays could muster was a flare to center.  ”They were overmatched, and it was no fault of theirs,” Rangers shortstop Jeff Huson said.  ”They just got in the way of a train.””

Reading this card gives me goosebumps.  I grew up idolizing Nolan Ryan, and an autographed photo of him hangs over my desk as I type this.

1. #435 Sterling Hitchcock
2. #470 Gary DiSarcina
3. #489 Donnie Sadler
4. #485 Lance Berkman
5. #785 Nolan Ryan (Golden Moments)
6. #690 Ramon Martinez
7. #434 Brian Daubach
8. #550 Jeff Kent
9. #684 Jaret Wright
10. #626 Albert Belle

2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

“His first major league Home Run: 4-8-86.  First major league Game-Winning RBI: 4-9-86. Logged 1st big league Stolen Base: 4-25-86. He drilled 1st major league Triple: 5-4-86.”

1. #T48 Gerald Williams
2. #T5 Bret Boone
3. #T32 Steve Trachsel
4. #T33 Ismael Valdes
5. #T254 Jeff Randazzo (Rookie Card)
6. #T253 Joe Kennedy (Rookie Card)
7. #T258 Jeff Mathis (Rookie Card)
8. #T137 Jack Morris (Reprint)
9. Chrome Traded #T237 Valentino Pascucci (Rookie Card)
10. Chrome Traded #T117 Will Clark (Reprint)

2001 Topps Series 1:

1. #359 Mike Stodolka/Sean Burnett (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
2. #360 Derek Thompson/Corey Smith (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
3. #322 Joe Torre (Manager)
4. #314 Shane Halter
5. #33 Mike Mussina
6. #141 Jeff Reboulet
7. #281 Joe McEwing
8. #289 Darryl Kile
9. #218 Todd Hollandsworth
10. #235 Greg Vaughn

A hobby pack of 2001 Topps Series 2:

Brian Bass has played parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates.  He spent 2011 in the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ starting rotation, going 8-10 with a 3.81 ERA.

According to Baseball-Reference, Topps got Ayala’s card wrong.  His first name should be spelled “Odannys”, not “Odanis”.  After 4 years of not being able to advance past A+ level ball, Odannys played a couple seasons of independent baseball (where he had more success) before quitting professional baseball in 2005.  (The big question here is why did Topps give a 42nd round draft pick like Ayala a Major League baseball card???)

1. #711 John Parrish
2. #520 Kip Wells
3. #423 Carlos Hernandez
4. #522 Mike Darr
5. #631 Jose Hernandez
6. #554 Brian Johnson
7. #771 New York Yankees (Team Card)
8. #747 Brian Bass/Odanis Ayala (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
9. #741 Tommy Arko/Dan Moylan (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
10. #767 Milwaukee Brewers (Team Card)

I’m swamped with work and moving at the same time.  That’s the perfect storm for killing my “free time” for baseball card activities.  So I’m taking a temporary hiatus to finish my work, sell my home, and move into a new home.  The daily pack breaks are going away until probably August.  However, I did keep my 2011 Jumbo packs around so I might still do Jumbo Sundays during the next couple months.

In case you’re wondering, I’m moving from Alexandria, Virginia to Ashburn, Virginia.  The Washington Nationals will still be the team I follow, but I will be moving (about half an hour’s drive) further away from them.

“Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn — the “Thumper” and “Mr. Padre.”  Watching them swing a baseball bat was, and in Gwynn’s case still is, worth the price of admission.  Williams was the best hitter of all time, as his .406 season in 1941 and six batting titles attest.  He also won two Triple Crowns and four home run titles.  While Gwynn has never possessed Williams’s power, the 20-year Padre has led the NL in batting a record eight times en route to 3,000 hits.  He hit .394 in the abbreviated 1994 season.”

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #422 Ricky Gutierrez
2. #642 Luis Lopez
3. #542 Andy Fox
4. #692 Eric Milton
5. #477 Scott Sullivan
6. Combos #TC15 Ted Williams/Tony Gwynn (Sweetness)
7. #580 Curt Schilling
8. #602 Andruw Jones
9. #598 Rich Aurilia
10. #710 Juan Pierre

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #425 Armando Benitez
2. #458 Bobby Higginson
3. #471 Tom Lampkin
4. #469 A.J. Hinch
5. #653 Mark Redman
6. Noteworthy #TN2 Derek Jeter
7. #740 Shaun Boyd/Chris Morris (Draft Picks) (Rookie)
8. #753 Arizona Diamondbacks (Team Card)
9. #763 Florida Marlins (Team Card)
10. #734 Toby Hall/Rod Barajas/Jeff Goldbach (Prospects)

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #724 Rolando Arrojo
2. #638 Stan Spencer
3. #623 Kerry Wood
4. #643 John Smoltz
5. #644 Kelly Stinnett
6. Gold #483 Matt Stairs (Serial#0750/2001)
7. #700 Frank Catalanotto
8. #665 Nomar Garciaparra
9. #600 Russ Johnson
10. #473 Brian Giles