“The drama had been building the entire summer of 1998, but McGwire waited until the spotlight was at its brightest before taking the stage.  He hit his 61st home run on Labor Day, but now was in the final day of a homestand during which St. Louis fans clamored to see No. 62.  His son had flown in from California a day earlier, his rival Sammy Sosa was on the field for the Cubs and the children of Roger Maris were in the stands.  Pressure?  Mac drilled No. 62 that day for a new single-season record.”

2001 Topps Series 1:

1. #359 Mike Stodolka/Sean Burnett (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
2. #377 Mark McGwire (Golden Moments)
3. #331 Phil Garner (Manager)
4. #11 Chris Singleton
5. #205 Edgardo Alfonzo
6. #167 David Bell
7. #312 Sandy Alomar
8. #129 Kevin Tapani
9. #315 Geoff Jenkins
10. #317 Damian Miller

Here are a couple shattered dreams.  Neither Chris Russ nor Bryan Edwards ever made it past double-A minor league ball.  Both retired from professional baseball by 2007.

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #791 Carlton Fisk (Golden Moments)
2. #472 Adam Eaton
3. #444 Kelvim Escobar
4. #647 Al Martin
5. #563 Nelson Figueroa
6. #637 Todd Walker
7. #757 Chicago Cubs (Team Card)
8. #727 Roy Oswalt/Pat Strange/Jon Rauch (Prospects)
9. #744 Chris Russ/Bryan Edwards (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
10. #776 San Francisco Giants (Team Card)

“The Braves already debuted one phenomenal young shortstop out of the Dominican Republic in Rafael Furcal.  Now they have another.  Like Furcal, Betemit stings the ball from both sides of the plate and dazzles on D, especially with his arm.  ”He killed us defensively,” said one opposing minor league manager.  ”He’s got as much of an arm as an individual needs.”  In 2000 for Jamestown (A), Wilson rapped .331, the highest mark in the Braves’ system.  Considered Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect, he began the ’01 season with Myrtle Beach (A), where he continued to wreak havoc with his bat and glove.”

The Braves later converted Betemit into a 3rd baseman.  When he was traded to the Yankees in 2007, he was moved to 1st base.  He currently plays for the Kansas City Royals predominantly as a 3rd baseman.

2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

1. #T17 Mark Grace
2. #T55 Greg Norton
3. #T28 Reggie Sanders
4. #T16 Tom Gordon
5. #T261 Irvin Guzman (Rookie Card)
6. #T263 J.D. Martin (Rookie Card)
7. #T257 Jake Gautreau (Rookie Card)
8. #T143 Sean Burroughs (Reprint)
9. Chrome Traded #T213 Wilson Betemit (Rookie Card)
10. Chrome Traded #T226 Adrian Hernandez (Rookie Card)

“Jumped to Majors off University of Minnesota campus in 1973.”

“Had 13-1 record as a pitcher at Minnesota.”

Dave Winfield went on to play 22 seasons in the Major Leagues before being elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001.  He has an official website — www.davewinfieldhof.com.

2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

1. #T39 Jeff Nelson
2. #T46 Mike Jackson
3. #T49 Eddie Taubensee
4. #T237 Valentino Pascucci (Rookie Card)
5. #T236 Toe Nash (Rookie Card)
6. Gold #T103 Dave Winfield (Reprint) (Serial#0667/2001)
7. #T117 Will Clark (Reprint)
8. #44T Ben Grieve (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
9. Chrome Traded #T209 Ken Harvey
10. Chrome Traded #T125 Dennis Eckersley

Marquis Grissom was one of a breed of players to have their careers ruined by the steroid-induced surge in home run hitting of the late 90′s and early 2000′s.  You see, what’s the point in taking the risk of stealing a base when the next guy up to bat will probably hit it out of the park?  Grissom stole 429 bases in his 17-season career… but almost half of them came in just 3 seasons 1991-1993 in which he led the league in stolen bases twice.  I would have been more impressed if this relic was a piece of his shoes rather than his bat.  Wouldn’t that be cool?

2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

1. #T51 Nelson Cruz
2. #T52 Jeff Fassero
3. #T230 Octavio Martinez (Rookie Card)
4. #T222 Matt Ford (Rookie Card)
5. Chrome Traded Refractors #T239 Antonio Perez (Rookie Card)
6. Relics #TTR-MG Marquis Grissom (Bat Relic)
7. #T131 David Wells (Reprint)
8. Chrome Traded #T240 Chad Petty (Rookie Card)
9. Chrome Traded #T216 John Buck (Rookie Card)

“Alex began wearing No. 3 as a youngster in Miami.  Back then, he often caught Braves games on TBS, and he began to idolize Atlanta’s No. 3, Dale Murphy, the wholesome, hard-working outfielder who earned NL MVP Awards in 1982 and ’83.  A-Rod continues to don Murphy’s number, saying, “He was just so professional.”  Today, kids nationwide admire Rodriguez for the same qualities.”

Interesting, when I think of A-Rod, “wholesome” and “professional” aren’t the first words that come to mind.

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #646 Wilton Guerrero
2. #657 Jason Bere
3. #586 Kevin Stocker
4. #612 Alex Rodriguez
5. #783 Jackie Robinson (Golden Moments)
6. #506 Kris Benson
7. #437 Shawn Estes
8. #594 Troy O’Leary
9. #608 Ryan Klesko
10. #569 Jerry DiPoto

“Barry made his major league debut: 5-30-86.  He collected 1st major league Hit: 5-31-86.  He scored his 1st major league Run: 6-1-86.  His first major league Home Run: 6-4-86.”

It’s very interesting how they did the gold borders on the 1986 Topps designs.  The Barry Bonds is one of the better Gold cards in the 2001 Topps Traded set and it’s going into my display case.

2001 Topps Traded & Rookies:

1. #T8 Ken Caminiti
2. #T22 Charles Johnson
3. #T36 Mike Bordick
4. #T250 Matt White (Rookie Card)
5. #T225 Cody Ross (Rookie Card)
6. #T252 Chris Russ (Rookie Card)
7. Gold #T114 Barry Bonds (Reprint) (Serial#0871/2001)
8. #T128 Fred McGriff (Reprint)
9. Chrome #T223 Scott Heard (Rookie Card)
10. Chrome #T228 Bob Keppel (Rookie Card)

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #708 Mike Hampton
2. #487 Bob Abreu
3. #483 Matt Stairs
4. #548 Jeff Reed
5. #664 Trevor Hoffman
6. #588 Ray Lankford
7. #429 Alex Ochoa
8. #675 Edgar Martinez
9. #625 Wil Cordero
10. #655 Larry Walker

“Edgar’s 200th career home run, on 4/15/00, was a grand slam.”

Edgar hit his 300th home run in 2004 before retiring with 309 career home runs and a .312 career batting average.