2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH47 Nick Green
2. #UH103 Dan Johnson (Prospect)
3. #UH225 Elliot Johnson (First Year)
4. #UH315 Aaron Thompson (Draft Pick) (First Year)
5. #UH283 Nick Touchstone (First Year)
6. #UH98 Anthony Whittington (Prospect)
7. Barry Bonds Home Run History #BB631 Barry Bonds
8. #UH59 Brad Eldred
9. #UH112 Greg Maddux (Season Highlights)
10. #UH169 Huston Street (Sporting News All-Stars)

…and Checklist 1 of 3.

On June 12, 2003 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, Barry Bonds hammered his 631st home run off of Bartolo Colon of the Chicago White Sox.  It was the 9th inning with one man on with no outs.

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH29 Claudio Vargas
2. #UH80 Ugueth Urbina
3. #UH63 Jon Lieber
4. #UH318 Matt Garza (Draft Pick) (First Year)
5. #UH42 Mark DeRosa
6. #UH279 Willy Mota (First Year)
7. #UH107 Blake DeWitt (Prospect)
8. #UH197 Carlos Lee (Home Run Derby)
9. #UH186 Carlos Beltran (All-Star)
10. #UH139 Kevin Millwood/Johan Santana/Mark Buehrle (League Leaders)

“Despite a modest 6-5 record for Fresno State in 2005, Matt stood out as the premier pitcher in the Western Atlantic Conference.  He fanned 120 in 108 innings and earned the conference’s Pitcher of the Year Award.  Armed with a low-90s fastball, curveball and change-up, Garza was drafted 25th overall in ‘05.  He finished strong for Beloit (A), fanning seven over six shutout innings on August 30.“

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH101 Paul Maholm (Prospect)
2. #UH95 Trevor Plouffe (Prospect)
3. #UH87 Charlie Manuel (Manager)
4. #UH304 Chris Young (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH314 John Mayberry (First Year) (Draft Pick)
6. #UH76 Mike Myers
7. Barry Bonds Home Run History #BB518 Barry Bonds
8. #UH211 Francisco Liriano (Futures Game All-Star)
9. #UH163 Andruw Jones (Sporting News All-Stars)
10. #UH135 Alex Rodriguez/David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez (League Leaders)

…and Checklist 2 of 3.

Barry Bonds hit home run number 518 on May 22, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  It was the 9th inning with a man on base when Bonds drove him home with a homer off of Russ Springer.

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH300 Jason Motte (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH276 Micah Schnurstein (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH93 Bill Bray (Prospect)
4. #UH287 Kelvin Pichardo (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH317 Jacoby Ellsbury (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
6. #UH178 Manny Ramirez (All-Star)
7. #UH18 Humberto Quintero
8. #UH16 Gustavo Chacin
9. #UH39 Garrett Atkins
10. #UH170 Chris Carpenter (Sporting News All-Stars)

“Knowing that Johnny Damon can’t play forever, Boston drafted a possible future replacement in Jacoby.  For U. of Oregon in 2005, Ellsbury stroked .426 while flashing blazing speed (6.55 in the 60) and a brilliant glove in center field.  Add in his exceptional plate discipline and it’s no wonder he’s being hailed as a potential Big League leadoff man.  He starred for Lowell (A) in his first pro season.“

2005 Topps Series 2:

1. #439 Jose Contreras
2. #482 Todd Pratt
3. #597 Laynce Nix
4. #541 Tony Graffanino
5. #716 Barry Bonds (MVP)
6. Gold #490 Scott Kazmir (Serial#1828/2005)
7. #680 Ryan Garko (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
8. #586 Sunny Kim
9. #633 Tino Martinez
10. #687 Andy LaRoche (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

“The name LaRoche is soon to become even more familiar to fans who recognize Dave (a former Major League pitcher) and Adam (the Braves first baseman).  “Little brother” Andy is now one of the hottest third base prospects in baseball.  He has outstanding power and the athleticism that might be expected of a player who was a shortstop until 2004.  He’s projected to reach Double A before he turns 22.”

They were right this time.  Andy LaRoche reached Double A at the age of 21.  He played full time for the Pirates in 2009.

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #23 Mike Hampton
2. #131 Kevin Millar
3. #107 Mark Buehrle
4. #150 Vladimir Guerrero
5. #79 Brad Wilkerson
6. #186 Juan Uribe
7. #354 Scott Rolen/Albert Pujols/Jim Edmonds (Postseason Highlights)
8. #156 Edgar Renteria
9. #203 Trevor Hoffman
10. #84 Brad Ausmus

…and Series 1 Checklist 1 of 3.

“In the 2004 NLCS, the Cardinals flawlessly executed big ball, little ball and everything in between to eliminate the Astros in seven.  The series was so excruciatingly close that, after six games, the two teams had identical batting averages, ERAs and runs scored totals.  St. Louis won Game 6  on a home run by Jim Edmonds in the 12th inning, then clinched on the muscle of Albert Pujols’s RBI double and Scott Rolen’s two-run homer in Game 7.  Pujols batted .500 and crunched four longballs to take series MVP honors.“

In 2005, Topps changed the name of their year-end update set from “Traded and Rookies” to “Updates and Highlights”.  Each Updates and Highlights box had 36 packs instead of the 24 packs of earlier sets.  Each pack contained 10 cards.

The rookie cards to look for are Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Braun, and Jay Bruce.  Let’s see if I got any of them in this pack:

1. #UH323 Ryan Zimmerman (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
2. #UH310 Frank Diaz (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH272 Stefan Bailie (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #UH241 Cody Haerther (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH31 Aaron Small
6. #UH19 Matt Ginter
7. #UH254 Jeremy Harts (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #UH53 Joe Blanton
9. #UH115 Trevor Hoffman (Season Highlights)
10. #UH126 Reggie Sanders (Postseason Highlights)

Hey, what do you know, it’s Mr. National’s rookie card.  He’s quickly becoming the hometown baseball star here in Virginia.  I’ll forgive him for going to UVA (I’m a Hokie).

“In just his first year of professional ball, Ryan was promoted to the Big Leagues, joining the Nationals in September 2005 when rosters were expanded.  The fourth overall pick in the June draft, Zimmerman smashed a combined .350 at Savannah (A) and Harrisburg (AA).  Despite playing exclusively at third base at the University of Virginia, Ryan was sensational at shortstop after moving there in ‘05.“

2005 Topps #691 Andy Marte/Jeff Francoeur (Prospects)

2005 Topps series 2:

1. #665 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Team Card)
2. #640 Atlanta Braves (Team Card)
3. #666 Texas Rangers (Team Card)
4. #656 New York Mets (Team Card)
5. #663 Seattle Mariners (Team Card)
6. #715 Vladimir Guerrero (MVP)
7. #398 Ted Lilly
8. #690 Matt Cain/Merkin Valdez (Prospects)
9. #691 Andy Marte/Jeff Francoeur (Prospects)
10. #551 Ty Wigginton

I got FIVE team cards in this pack!  That’s got to be the most players ever to be in a 10-card Topps baseball card pack!  I didn’t count, but there are probably close to 200 players shown on these 10 cards.

Other than the team cards, I got a few prospects.  Let’s see how they’re doing:

Andy Marte

After the 2005 season, Marte was traded to the Red Sox, then traded again to the Indians.  He is currently batting pretty well for the AAA Columbus Clippers, with a .307 batting average for the season.

Jeff Francoeur

Jeff “Frenchy” Francoeur has been the Braves’ starting right fielder since 2006.  Though his offensive numbers are mediocre, his defensive skills were enough to pick up a Gold Glove in 2007.

2005 Topps #690 Matt Cain/Merkin Valdez (Prospects)

Matt Cain

Matt has been a staple of the Giants’ rotation ever since he was called up from the minor leagues late 2005 at the age of 20.  He might be having a career season this season.  So far he is 9-1 with a 2.31 ERA.

Merkin Valdez

After several years in the minor leagues and struggling with injuries, it looks like Merkin has finally found a place for himself in the Giants’ bullpen.