“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)

Barry Bonds hit his 234th home run on May 21, 2994 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.  It came in the 3rd inning with one man on and Frank Castillo on the mound.

2005 Topps Series 2:

1. #564 Zack Greinke
2. #406 Kerry Wood
3. #454 Mike Gonzalez (Topps All-Star Rookie)
4. #455 Jake Peavy
5. #698 Bret Boone (Gold Glove)
6. Barry Bonds Home Run History #BB234 Barry Bonds
7. #686 Mike Bourn (Draft Pick) (First Year) (Rookie)
8. #545 Tony Armas Jr.
9. #602 Jaret Wright
10. #485 Dustan Mohr

“Piazza and Clemens made headlines in 2000.  First, Piazza was hit in the head by a Clemens pitch in July.  Then, in Game 2 of the World Series, Clemens tossed the barrel of a broken bat near Piazza as he ran to first base.  Still, the duo worked in harmony as a battery during the 2004 All-Star Game.”

2005 Topps Series 1:

1. #194 Bobby Abreu
2. #250 Mark Prior
3. #241 Luis Rivas
4. #119 Steve Trachsel
5. #221 Carlos Guillen
6. #351 Curt Schilling/David Ortiz (Postseason Highlights)
7. Grudge Match #GM2 Mike Piazza/Roger Clemens
8. #243 Jason Johnson
9. #113 Darrell May
10. #283 Ron Gardenhire (Manager)

Welcome to another addition of JUMBO Sunday!  Today I’m ripping through 5 hobby packs of 2005 Topps Series 1:

PACK 1

This guy has spent a lifetime in baseball as a player, coach, and manager.  He’s almost 80 years old and still involved in baseball as a Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor.

1. #271 Terry Francona (Manager)
2. #323 Brian Stavisky (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #12 Jason Bay (Topps All-Star Rookie)
4. #260 Gerald Laird
5. #216 Shingo Takatsu
6. #343 Todd Helton/Mark Loretta/Adrian Beltre (League Leaders)
7. Dem Bums #DB-DZ Don Zimmer
8. #149 Jon Lieber
9. #74 Tim Wakefield
10. #266 Rich Harden

PACK 2

In this set, Topps was ignoring the fact that Barry Bonds won the 2004 NL Batting Title because they were not licensed to print Barry Bonds cards.  Todd Helton took Barry Bonds’ place on many of the 2004 Topps cards as the runner-up to the NL Batting Title.

1. #64 Doug Glanville
2. #225 Kazuo Matsui
3. #198 Eddie Guardado
4. #325 Jose Vaquedano (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #83 Nate Robertson
6. #350 Larry Walker/Albert Pujols (Postseason Highlights)
7. Own the Game #OG2 Todd Helton
8. #122 Orlando Hernandez
9. #16 Dan Wilson
10. #314 Chris Denorfia (First Year) (Rookie)

PACK 3

Smoltz is my 2010 pick for the 25 Years of Baseball Hall of Fame.  That means by my analysis he is a very strong candidate for Cooperstown.

1. #213 John Smoltz
2. #200 Jason Giambi
3. #175 Luis Gonzalez
4. #66 Edgardo Alfonzo
5. #263 Michael Young
6. #215 Todd Walker
7. #339 Manny Ramirez/Paul Konerko/David Ortiz (League Leaders)
8. #138 Nate Field
9. #197 A.J. Pierzynski
10. #18 Danys Baez

PACK 4

Here’s a piece of jersey worn by A-Rod at a press conference.  I guess it means more to someone else than to me, so I’ll probably sell it and buy some autographs with the proceeds.

1. #159 Shawn Chacon
2. #95 Aubrey Huff
3. #272 Dusty Baker (Manager)
4. #335 Ken Griffey Jr. (Season Highlights)
5. Spokesman Jersey Relic #TSR-AR Alex Rodriguez (Jersey Relic)
6. #97 Frank Catalanotto
7. #168 Billy Koch
8. #158 Matt Lawton

PACK 5

He’s 84 years old and still around!

1. #137 Bobby Higginson
2. #178 Brian Roberts
3. #222 Jeremy Affeldt
4. #223 Cesar Izturis
5. #140 Jeff Kent
6. #364 Johan Santana (Sporting News All-Stars)
7. Dem Bums #DB-DS Duke Snider (Reprint)
8. #275 Eric Wedge (Manager)
9. #129 Marcus Giles
10. #33 Adrian Beltre