Three members of the 500-Club:  A-Rod has 613 and counting, Thome has 589 and counting, and Palmeiro ended his career with 569.  That’s 1,771 home runs among the three of them, with more to come!

2002 Topps Series 1:

1. #210 Hideo Nomo
2. #175 Ivan Rodriguez
3. #57 Dante Bichette
4. #121 Jorge Fabregas
5. #339 Alex Rodriguez/Jim Thome/Rafael Palmeiro (League Leaders)
6. #269 Marlon Anderson
7. #116 Ruben Rivera
8. #101 Keith Osik
9. #212 Ricky Gutierrez
10. #136 Omar Olivares

“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

A-Rod’s 400th homer came on June 8, 2005 in Miller Park against Jorge de la Rosa of the Milwaukee Brewers.  It was a solo homer in the 8th inning.

2007 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH22 Jeff Salazar
2. #UH189 Lee Gronkiewicz (Rookie Card)
3. #UH194 Guillermo Rodriguez (Rookie Card)
4. #UH124 Lenny DiNardo
5. #UH322 David Murphy (Rookie Card)
6. Red Back #UH325 Jason Kendall
7. Red Back #UH124 Lenny DiNardo
8. Alex Rodriguez Road to 500 #ARHR400 Alex Rodriguez
9. #UH213 Trevor Hoffman (Season Highlights)
10. #UH238 Francisco Cordero (All-Star)

Cracking open hobby packs of 2003 Topps Series 1 for your amusement:

PACK 1:

1. #293 Franklin Gutierrez (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #290 Jerry Narron (Manager)
3. #297 Wayne Lydon (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #308 Brendan Harris (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #287 Lou Piniella (Manager)
6. #336 Derek Lowe (Season Highlights)
7. #215 Danny Graves
8. #34 Jeff Nelson
9. #258 Wade Miller
10. #229 Melvin Mora

PACK 2:

1. #135 Chris Reitsma
2. #6 Timo Perez
3. #51 Jose Jimenez
4. #32 Deivi Cruz
5. #124 Tino Martinez
6. #362 Garret Anderson (Sporting News All-Stars)
7. #4 Jermaine Dye
8. #221 Bobby Jones
9. #96 Alex Gonzalez
10. #63 Andy Ashby

PACK 3:

1. #18 Jason LaRue
2. #97 Todd Zeile
3. #182 Pokey Reese
4. #252 Joe Randa
5. Own the Game #OG16 Johnny Damon
6. #341 Pedro Martinez/Derek Lowe/Barry Zito (League Leaders)
7. #197 Kyle Farnsworth
8. #58 Luis Rivas
9. #186 Brent Abernathy
10. #79 Ramon Martinez

PACK 4:

1. #299 Sean Pierce (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #321 Walter Young (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #320 Craig Brazell (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #311 Kevin Youkilis (First Year) (Rookie)
5. #264 Mike Hargrove (Manager)
6. #352 Jim Edmonds/Scott Rolen (Postseason Highlights)
7. #88 Jose Cruz Jr.
8. #242 Robert Person
9. #227 Junior Spivey
10. #67 Bret Boone

PACK 5:

1. #328 Angel Berroa/Alexis Gomez (Future Stars)
2. #324 Hank Blalock/Mark Teixeira (Future Stars)
3. #329 Michael Cuddyer/Michael Restovich (Future Stars)
4. #322 Marlon Byrd/Jorge Padilla (Future Stars)
5. #325 Josh Hamilton/Carl Crawford (Future Stars)
6. #349 Tim Salmon/Darin Erstad (Postseason Highlights)
7. #1 Alex Rodriguez
8. #98 Omar Vizquel
9. #250 Nomar Garciaparra
10. #91 Orlando Cabrera

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

“A-Rod’s selection made him only the third player to start at least four All-Star Games at two positions (3B and SS), joining Rod Carew (1B, 2B) and Stan Musial (1B, OF).  At the break, the Yankees star was cranking along with a .282 batting average, 19 home runs, 65 RBI and 61 runs scored.  On July 2, his 450th home run was also his 2,000th career hit.”

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH107 Kevin Jarvis
2. #UH83 Hector Luna
3. #UH99 Francisco Cordero
4. #UH111 Pete Orr
5. #UH119 Jose Bautista
6. #UH30 Jae Seo
7. #UH220 Alex Rodriguez (All-Star)
8. Gold #UH187 Magglio Ordonez (Postseason Highlights) (Serial#1123/2006)
9. #UH295 Alfonso Soriano (Team Leaders)
10. #UH287 Jermaine Dye (Home Run Derby)
11. #UH259 Jose Lopez (All-Star)
12. #UH327 David Wright/Cliff Floyd (Classic Duos)

It’s like an All-Star team in a pack!

“In 1998, Rodriguez became the first AL shortstop to reach 30 homers and 30 steals — and he needed just two-thirds of a season to do it.  ”Junior Jr.” ranks with Ken Griffey Jr. as the best player in the AL, historically known as — what else? — the “Junior” League.”

1999 Topps Series 1:

1. #209 Pat Cline/Ramon Hernandez/Jayson Werth (Prospects)
2. #217 Mamon Tucker/Rick Elder (Draft Picks) (Rookie)
3. #15 Manny Ramirez
4. #96 Greg Vaughn
5. #100 Ken Griffey Jr.
6. Lords of the Diamond #LD7 Alex Rodriguez
7. #155 Magglio Ordonez
8. #63 Eric Karros
9. #163 Gary DiSarcina
10. #43 Jorge Posada
11. #90 Jose Hernandez

“Rodriguez has become so popular, it’s downright comical.  Indeed, Alex was a superhero in the comic book Rangers in Dangerland — one of several team promotions that have showcased the star shortstop.  In August 2001, young fans received Rodriguez lunch boxes on the 11th, and A-Rod bobblehead dolls on the 24th.  In previous years, kids enjoyed Alex Rodriguez Bammer Bears and “A-Rod’s 40/40 Crunch,” a tasty cereal that honored his 40/40 season of 1998.”

A-Rod’s numbers have been declining over the past 3 years.  He ended the 2010 regular season hitting only .270 with 30 home runs.  His average had been .303 with 43 home runs, while in 2007 he hit .314 with 54 homers.  Could it be the rapid decline associated with quitting steroids (possibly as late as 2008)?  Or is it normal decline due to age?  Or just a bad season?

2002 Topps Series 1:

1. #150 Carlos Delgado
2. #56 Mark McLemore
3. #114 Derek Bell
4. Hobby Masters #HM8 Alex Rodriguez
5. #336 Barry Bonds (Season Highlight)
6. #221 Randy Wolf
7. #268 Placido Polanco
8. #45 Trevor Hoffman
9. #259 Joey Hamilton
10. #110 Andruw Jones