Opening up 5 hobby packs of 2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

PACK 1

1. #UH289 Darwinson Salazar (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH257 Tony Arnerich (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH228 Brian Miller (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #UH94 Thomas Diamond (Prospect)
5. #UH248 Hayden Penn (First Year) (Rookie)
6. #UH309 Matt Brown (First Year) (Rookie)
7. Gold #UH300 Jason Motte (Serial#1110/2005) (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #UH213 B.J. Upton (Futures Game All-Star)
9. #UH190 Aramis Ramirez (All-Star)
10. #UH122 Paul Konerko (Postseason Highlights)

PACK 2

1. #UH33 Placido Polanco
2. #UH55 Marlon Byrd
3. #UH243 Daniel Haigwood (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #UH290 George Kottaras (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH259 Ricky Barrett (First Year) (Rookie)
6. #UH321 Chris Volstad (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
7. #UH24 Jody Gerut
8. #UH171 Bartolo Colon (Sporting News All-Stars)
9. #UH130 Roy Oswalt (Postseason Highlights)
10. #UH166 Ken Griffey Jr. (Sporting News All-Stars)

PACK 3

1. #UH238 Brian Bannister (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH263 Steve Nelson (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH99 Philip Hughes (Prospect)
4. #UH326 Beau Jones (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH229 Chris Vines (First Year) (Rookie)
6. #UH324 C.J. Henry (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
7. Gold #UH256 Kevin Collins (Serial#1108/2005) (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #UH194 Chris Carpenter (All-Star)
9. #UH120 Garrett Anderson (Postseason Highlights)
10. #UH156 Joe Nathan (Sporting News All-Stars)

PACK 4

1. #UH256 Kevin Collins (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH240 Thomas Oldham (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH233 Baltazar Lopez (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #UH21 Byung-Hyun Kim
5. #UH231 Chuck Tiffany (First Year) (Rookie)
6. #UH293 Brandon Moorhead (First Year) (Rookie)
7. Barry Bonds Home Run History #BB391 Barry Bonds
8. #UH219 Chris Young (Futures Game All-Star)
9. #UH58 Chris Young
10. #UH125 Freddy Garcia/Jose Contreras (Postseason Highlights)

Note 1:  The 2 Chris Young cards are of different people

Note 2: “Baltazar” is an awesome name

PACK 5

1. #UH262 Jerry Owens (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH312 Jered Weaver (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #UH79 Jose Guillen
4. #UH249 Heath Totten (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #UH30 Jason Kendall
6. #UH311 Stephen Drew (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
7. #UH301 Chuck James (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #UH214 Conor Jackson (Futures Game All-Star)
9. #UH138 Bartolo Colon/Cliff Lee/Jon Garland (League Leaders)
10. #UH159 Felipe Lopez (Sporting News All-Stars)

“Ivan went 43-for-86 in 6/04, becoming the first player in four years to hit .500 in a month.”

As his career winds to a close, the future Hall of Famer is batting only .154 while preparing young Nationals catchers to succeed him.

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #52 Danny Graves
2. #77 Barry Zito
3. #30 Ivan Rodriguez
4. #68 Francisco Cordero
5. #226 Josh Fogg
6. #60 Jose Vidro
7. #344 Juan Pierre/Mark Loretta/Jack Wilson (League Leaders)
8. #281 Jim Tracy (Manager)
9. #51 Chone Figgins
10. #255 Braden Looper

“Sizzling with the bat, Montero already had clubbed 24 home runs and collected a Minors-leading 218 total bases in a breakout season for Lancaster (A) when he made his appearance in the 2005 Futures Game.  The Venezuelan backstop garnered a walk in the contest at Detroit’s Comerica Park, and shortly thereafter earned a promotion to Huntsville (AA).”

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH177 David Ortiz (All-Star)
2. #UH67 Brad Thompson
3. #UH185 Bobby Abreu (All-Star)
4. #UH61 Phil Nevin
5. #UH264 Brandon McCarthy (First Year) (Rookie)
6. #UH4 Michael Tucker
7. Gold #UH208 Miguel Montero (Serial#1383/2005) (Futures  Game All-Star) (Rookie)
8. #UH198 David Ortiz (Home Run Derby)
9. #UH193 David Eckstein (All-Star)
10. #UH117 Reggie Sanders (Postseason Highlights)

“Owner of one of the strongest outfield arms in the Minors, Carlos makes opponents think twice about trying to take an extra base.  His strength and athletic ability are offensive assets as well.  A native of Venezuela who signed with Arizona in 2002, Gonzalez already has shown vast improvement in driving the ball and producing runs.  He has great potential as a power-hitting corner outfielder.”

CarGo was the NL batting champion last season.  On 1/11/11 he signed a 7-year contract to stay with the Colorado Rockies in the long-term.

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH298 Carlos Gonzalez (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #UH180 Vladimir Guerrero (All-Star)
3. #UH277 Jesse Gutierrez (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #UH78 Endy Chavez
5. #UH183 Brian Roberts (All-Star)
6. #UH69 Jason Phillips
7. #UH281 Frank Mata (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #UH215 Delmon Young (Futures Game All-Star)
9. #UH148 Brian Roberts (Sporting News All-Star)
10. #UH118 Bengie Molina/Ervin Santana (Postseason Highlights)

“Alex, a big fan of Cal Ripken Jr., has the look of the Orioles star — a big, slick-fielding shortstop who can power the ball.  In 1993, Rodriguez was drafted first overall after earning national Player of the Year honors at Westminster Christian HS in Miami.  Alex is scheduled to make his much-anticipated pro debut in spring ’94.”

2005 Topps Series 2:

1. #646 Cleveland Indians (Team Card)
2. #642 Boston Red Sox (Team Card)
3. #660 Pittsburgh Pirates (Team Card)
4. #645 Cincinnati Reds (Team Card)
5. #710 Jim Edmonds (Gold Glove)
6. A-Rod Spokesman #AR11 Alex Rodriguez (Reprint)
7. #655 Montreal Expos (Team Card)
8. #651 Kansas City Royals (Team Card)
9. #469 Josh Phelps
10. #496 Ramon Ortiz

“Upon leaving Texas for NYC in an astonishing 2004 trade, Alex was called by Rangers manager Buck Showalter “a good man with a pure heart.”  Indeed, A-Rod is not only a great player, but one of the game’s classiest emissaries.”

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #309 Matthew Lindstrom (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #72 Mark DeRosa
3. #118 Mariano Rivera
4. #262 Michael Barrett
5. #285 Art Howe (Manager)
6. #1 Alex Rodriguez
7. #332 Randy Johnson (Season Highlights)
8. #318 Chaz Lytle (First Year) (Rookie)
9. #202 Kyle Lohse
10. #259 Odalis Perez

“An injured quad toned down “Polly’s” batting average and playing time in 2004, but he was at his best in ’03.  ”If you had a Most Valuable Player for this team, and you had a  1 and 1-A, it’s the two of them,” manager Larry Bowa said, referring to Jim Thome and Polanco.”

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #146 Coco Crisp
2. #307 Matt DeSalvo (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #75 Frank Thomas
4. #331 Dallas McPherson/Jeff Mathis (Future Stars)
5. #54 Jeremy Bonderman
6. #161 Ken Harvey
7. Gold #2 Placido Polanco (Serial#0017/2005)
8. #282 Ned Yost (Manager)
9. #57 Jimmy Gobble
10. #224 Scott Sullivan

“Stephen’s manager at Triple-A Tucson in 2002 was current Diamondbacks skipper Al Pedrique, who saw him lead the PCL with 15 wins.  That led to the lefty reliever’s first MLB start on August 17 against the Pirates, but Randolph doesn’t mind the bullpen work.  ”I would love to start…(But pitching out of) the bullpen actually has afforded me an opportunity to learn the league.”  At the time of his start, opponents were batting just .196 against him.”

Last summer, Randolph was sold to the Yokohama BayStars.

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #86 Kip Wells
2. #136 Matt Holliday (Topps All-Star Rookie)
3. #17 Jim Edmonds
4. #190 Jason Phillips
5. #212 Chad Tracy (Topps All-Star Rookie)
6. #288 Larry Bowa (Manager)
7. Gold #246 Stephen Randolph (Serial#0739/2005)
8. #326 Elvys Quezada (First Year) (Rookie)
9. #242 Adam Everett
10. #274 Dave Miley (Manager)