2006 Topps Series 2:

1. #507 John Patterson
2. #396 Pat Burrell
3. #529 Kris Benson
4. #434 Frank Catalanotto
5. #545 Kelvim Escobar
6. #428 Nick Green
7. #532 Scot Shields
8. #416 Roberto Hernandez
9. #426 Dustin McGowan
10. #614 San Diego Padres (Team Card)

“Pat was his old self again in 2005, rebounding from two subpar (for him) years to be voted by the media as Philies co-MVP, along with Chase Utley.”

Pat the Bat didn’t have much of a bat in 2009, hitting only .221 with a career-low 14 home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays.

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH128 Kenny Lofton
2. #UH156 Erick Aybar (Rookie)
3. #UH136 Kevin Frandsen (Rookie)
4. #UH148 Kevin Thompson (Rookie)
5. #UH124 Jamey Carroll
6. #UH230 Jason Bay (All-Star)
7. #UH228 Carlos Beltran (All-Star)
8. Rookie Debut #RD-38 Chad Billingsley
9. #UH216 Aaron Harang/Jake Peavy/John Smoltz (League Leaders)
10. #UH294 Andruw Jones/John Smoltz (Team Leaders)
11. #UH279 Jonathan Papelbon (All-Star)
12. #UH310 Miguel Tejada/Erik Bedard (Team Leaders)

…and Checklist 3 of 3.

“Chad is regarded by many as the leading pitching prospect in the ever-productive Dodgers Minor League system.  Since being a first-rounder in 2003, he’s logged records of 5-4, 7-4, 3-0, 13-6 and 6-3.  Triple-A couldn’t hold him in 2006; after 13 starts, he was summoned to L.A.  Billingsley allowed just two earned runs in each of his first two starts, and later allowed 0 or 1 in six of seven outings.“

I have 35 more cards that are in my archives, but not in my collection database.  These are rookie cards and TTM autographs that I have of various prospects.  I’m going to show them off in 7 groups this week, 5 at a time:

2006 Topps #311 Joe Saunders (Rookie) (TTM)

2004 Bowman Heritage #245 Gio Gonzalez (Rookie)

2005 Bowman Draft #81 Clay Buchholz (Rookie) (First Year)

2008 Topps Update #UH303 Taylor Teagarden (Rookie)

2008 Upper Deck #309 Adam Jones (TTM)

2006 Topps Series 2:

1. #492 Bob Wickman
2. #640 Jeremy Hermida (Rookie)
3. #331 Matt Holliday
4. #594 Buck Showalter (Manager)
5. Trading Places #TP-CC Coco Crisp
6. #337 Michael Young
7. #542 Chris Young
8. #348 Reggie Sanders
9. #522 Jason Isringhausen
10. #651 Jose Reyes/Kaz Matsui (Mets Middle Men)

I hope I wasn’t the only one perverted enough to chuckle when I saw this card… “Mets Middle Men” indeed…

2006 Topps Series 2:

1. #582 Francisco Rodriguez
2. #527 Jose Vidro
3. #423 David Ortiz
4. #487 Rich Harden
5. #417 Jay Gibbons
6. Opening Day Team vs. Team #OD-WI Chicago White Sox/Cleveland Indians
7. #641 Justin Verlander (Rookie)
8. #343 Sean Casey
9. #508 Danny Haren
10. #658 Ivan Rodriguez/Carlos Guillen (Classic Combos)

Verlander went 19-9 last season and struck out 269 batters, averaging 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.  He’s only 26 and has the makings of a future Hall of Famer if he can just keep it up for another 15 years…

“Holder of every key strikeout record at Old Dominion University, Justin — the second overall pick of the 2004 draft — has been even more unhittable as a pro.  He debuted in ‘05 with a 1.29 ERA over 20 starts that led all Minor League pitchers by a cavernous margin of 0.73.  After earning a spot in the Futures Game, he soon received a summons to Detroit, where he started twice in July.“

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH88 Marco Scutaro
2. #UH116 Jerry Hairston
3. #UH96 Marlon Anderson
4. #UH108 B.J. Upton
5. #UH84 Tony Graffanino
6. #UH178 Jose Reyes (Season Highlights)
7. #UH238 Francisco Liriano (All-Star)
8. Rookie Debut #RD-35 Zach Jackson
9. #UH184 Carlos Delgado (Postseason Highlights)
10. #UH284 David Wright (Home Run Derby)
11. #UH270 Paul Konerko (All-Star)
12. #UH208 Johan Santana/Jeremy Bonderman/John Lackey (League Leaders)

…and Checklist 1 of 3.

“Though something of a surprise selection for the MLB Home Run Derby, David proved he belonged, finishing second in a hard-fought battle with the Phillies Ryan Howard.  With teammate Paul Lo Duca pitching, the Mets third baseman blasted an event-high 16 balls into PNC Park seats in the first round, two in the second, and four more in the third.“

2006 Topps Series 2:

1. #365 Aramis Ramirez
2. #574 Darin Erstad
3. #584 Jorge Sosa
4. #495 Adrian Beltre
5. Hit Parade #HR9 Mike Piazza
6. #346 Hideki Matsui
7. #560 Jim Thome
8. #620 Hanley Ramirez (Rookie)
9. #539 Juan Rincon
10. #612 Los Angeles Dodgers (Team Card)

After the 2005 season, Mike Piazza ranked 8th in active career home runs with 397.  He ended his career with 427 home runs, securing a comfortable niche between Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Williams at #39 on the all-time career home run list (with Chipper Jones passing through).

Speaking of great catchers, it looks like Ivan Rodriguez will end his Hall of Fame career with the Nationals!  Can’t wait to see him play this upcoming season!  The Nats should just go ahead and sign all the old future Hall of Famers before they retire.  It would certainly boost ticket sales and interest in our humble (and poorly performing) team.

2006 Topps Series 2:

1. #592 Mike Hargrove (Manager)
2. #400 Vladimir Guerrero
3. #509 Freddy Sanchez
4. #457 Shea Hillenbrand
5. #402 David Dellucci
6. Gold Border #455 Dontrelle Willis (Serial#1331/2006)
7. #425 Joe Kennedy
8. #479 Carlos Silva
9. #378 Tony Clark
10. #608 St. Louis Cardinals (Team Card)

“Dontrelle opened the 2005 season with 24 scoreless innings, just missing becoming the first out of the chute with three SHOs since Luis Tiant in 1966.“