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

“Alex began wearing No. 3 as a youngster in Miami.  Back then, he often caught Braves games on TBS, and he began to idolize Atlanta’s No. 3, Dale Murphy, the wholesome, hard-working outfielder who earned NL MVP Awards in 1982 and ’83.  A-Rod continues to don Murphy’s number, saying, “He was just so professional.”  Today, kids nationwide admire Rodriguez for the same qualities.”

Interesting, when I think of A-Rod, “wholesome” and “professional” aren’t the first words that come to mind.

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #646 Wilton Guerrero
2. #657 Jason Bere
3. #586 Kevin Stocker
4. #612 Alex Rodriguez
5. #783 Jackie Robinson (Golden Moments)
6. #506 Kris Benson
7. #437 Shawn Estes
8. #594 Troy O’Leary
9. #608 Ryan Klesko
10. #569 Jerry DiPoto

5 hobby packs of 2004 Topps Series 1, ripped for your pleasure:

PACK 1:

1. #113 Mike MacDougal
2. #326 Zach Miner (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #318 Nic Ungs (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #268 Bob Brenly (Manager)
5. #4 Edgardo Alfonzo
6. #336 Eric Gagne (Season Highlights)
7. #221 Mike Mussina
8. #211 Jason Marquis
9. #200 Nomar Garciaparra
10. #233 Jose Valentin

PACK 2:

1. #296 Carlos Tosca (Manager)
2. #108 Esteban Loaiza
3. #267 Juan Castro
4. #263 Eric Byrnes
5. #144 Alex Gonzalez
6. #321 Tim Frend (First Year) (Rookie)
7. #85 Jon Garland
8. #344 Albert Pujols/Todd Helton/Juan Pierre (League Leaders)
9. #20 Derek Jeter
10. #212 Jorge Julio
11. #2 Reggie Sanders
12. #19 Aaron Rowand

PACK 3:

1. #187 Aubrey Huff
2. #300 Brayan Pena (First Year) (Rookie)
3. #291 Felipe Alou (Manager)
4. #114 Cesar Izturis
5. #271 Grady Little (Manager)
6. #340 Carlos Delgado/Alex Rodriguez/Bret Boone (League Leaders)
7. #293 Tony LaRussa (Manager)
8. #18 Corey Patterson
9. #186 Tino Martinez
10. #196 Flash Gordon

PACK 4:

1. #88 Steve Sparks
2. #25 Lance Berkman
3. #323 Tydus Meadows (First Year) (Rookie)
4. #64 Andy Pettitte
5. #246 Ryan Franklin
6. #350 Kerry Wood/Mark Prior (Postseason Highlights)
7. World Series Highlights #WS-MS Mike Schmidt
8. #138 Shigetoshi Hasegawa
9. #70 Mark Mulder
10. #137 Brett Tomko
11. #150 Jason Giambi

PACK 5:

1. #313 Kyle Davies (First Year) (Rookie)
2. #148 Kyle Lohse
3. #279 Jimy Williams (Manager)
4. #259 Joe Mays
5. #182 Terry Adams
6. #317 Mike Gosling (First Year) (Rookie)
7. #356 Carlos Delgado (Sporting News All-Stars)
8. #47 Trot Nixon
9. #269 Bobby Cox (Manager)
10. #14 Junior Spivey
11. #245 Scott Strickland

2010 Topps Series 2 Jumbo pack:

1. #501 Jake Peavy
2. #591 Fernando Rodney
3. #418 Aaron Laffey
4. #463 Carlos Marmol
5. #599 Jay Bruce
6. #421 Doug Fister
7. #364 Trevor Hoffman
8. #659 Nick Blackburn
9. #571 Brandon Lyon
10. #514 Rafael Soriano
11. #479 Chris Carpenter
12. #345 Chris Volstad
13. #515 Seattle Mariners (Franchise History)
14. #590 Ryan Howard
15. #485 Jesus Flores
16. #433 Julio Borbon
17. #530 Steve Pearce
18. #609 Jeff Suppan
19. #597 J.R. Towles
20. #513 Scott Sizemore (Rookie Card)
21. #572 Clay Buchholz
22. #377 Felix Hernandez
23. #564 Houston Astros (Franchise History)
24. #472 Toronto Blue Jays (Team Card)
25. #600 Hanley Ramirez
26. #350 Prince Fielder/Ryan Braun (Checklist)
27. Gold #624 Carlos Beltran (Serial#0081/2010)
28. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT91 Ryne Sandberg
29. History of the World Series #HWS7 Mel Ott
30. Million Card Giveaway #TMC-14 Ichiro
31. 2020 #T8 Buster Posey
32. Peak Performance Autographs #PPA-CBI Chad Billingsley (Autograph)
33. Vintage Legends #VLC2 Johnny Mize
34. Turkey Red #TR81 Denard Span
35. Legendary Lineage #LL-43 Mike Schmidt/Alex Rodriguez
36. Peak Performance #PP-76 Monte Irvin
37. #440 Willie Harris
38. #525 David Huff
39. #610 Alex Gordon
40. #532 Hunter Pence
41. #592 Brian Roberts
42. #595 Mike Lowell
43. #413 J.J. Hardy
44. #523 Phil Coke
45. #450 Omir Santos
46. #386 Dan Haren
47. #608 Pittsburgh Pirates (Team Card)
48. #594 Andy LaRoche
49. #346 Taylor Teagarden
50. Attax Code Card #JL Jon Lester

Got a Chad Billingsley autograph.  I don’t collect him, but it could have been much worse.  Billingsley is actually a pretty good starting pitcher and an All-Star last year.  He’s only 25 so there’s still a lot of potential left for him.

Some of the other pack highlights:

Chicago’s beloved infielder:

MLB 2010 The Show predicts that Buster Posey will have a breakout season in 2011 and win the batting title.  He was doing so well in the game simulation in fact, that I traded Stephen Strasburg to get him on the Nationals and never regretted it!

Pretty cool to put side-by-side shots of Schmidt and Rodriguez at the same point in their throwing motion:

I kind of doubt that the picture on the card actually shows Mel Ott in his 1st World Series at-bat:

And my Topps Million Card Lottery Redemption:

1970 Topps #395 Walt Williams

That’s an awesome shot just begging for a caption.  You know, his nickname was “No Neck” and you can kind of see why in the picture.

2002 Topps Series 2:

1. #548 Scott Elarton
2. #371 Chad Kreuter
3. #481 Kirk Rueter
4. #636 Benji Gil
5. All-World Team #AW-9 Alex Rodriguez
6. #698 Doug Mientkiewicz (Gold Glove)
7. #615 Javy Lopez
8. #661 Oakland Athletics (Team Card)
9. #487 Brandon Lyon
10. #656 Milwaukee Brewers (Team Card)

“In 1996, legendary Ernie Banks gushed over Rodriguez.  ”[He] is going to do things I never came close to doing,” said Banks — and he was right.  After a .359-36-123 season in ’96, A-Rod became the first player to log as many as 42 homers and 42 steals in one season ['98].  In ’01, he not only broke Ernie’s homer record for a SS with 52, but also enjoyed the first 50-homer, 200-hit season in 69 years.”

I guess A-Rod has been forgiven by New York fans.  He is having possibly the worst season of his career hitting .269 with only 14 home runs at the half, but he was still voted into the All-Star game this season.  A-Rod beat out Adrian Beltre (.330AVG/13HR) and Michael Young (.301AVG/12HR) in All-Star voting.