A jumbo pack of 2011 Topps Series 2:

1. #366 Joe Nathan
2. #363 Aaron Rowand
3. #405 Ian Kinsler
4. #361 Florida Marlins (Team Card)
5. #398 Pittsburgh Pirates (Team Card)
6. #447 Toronto Blue Jays (Team Card)
7. #384 Nick Hundley
8. #660 Ryan Zimmerman
9. #452 David Freese
10. #382 Travis Snider
11. #353 Cliff Pennington
12. #541 John Jaso
13. #500 Kevin Youkilis
14. #409 Vin Mazzaro
15. #372 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
16. #575 Rod Barajas
17. #558 Carlos Zambrano
18. #336 Chris Heisey
19. Kimball Champions #KC-85 Willie McCovey
20. Diamond Stars #DS-14 Miguel Cabrera
21. Before There Was Topps #BTT4 Exhibit Supply Company
22. 60 Years of Topps #60YOT-112 Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter
23. 60 #T60-66 Paul Molitor
24. Diamond Duos Series 2 #DD-26 Alex Rodriguez/Evan Longoria
25. Diamond Anniversary #441 Rafael Furcal
26. Diamond Giveaway #TDG-14 Jason Heyward
27. Topps Town Series 2 #TT2-16 Adam Wainwright
28. Gold #560 Chris Iannetta (Serial#0238/2011)
29. #532 Erik Bedard
30. #654 Chris Getz
31. #524 Michael Martinez (Rookie Card)
32. #595 Michael Pineda (Rookie Card)
33. #461 Eric Sogard (Rookie Card)
34. #521 Joaquin Benoit
35. #602 Ivan DeJesus (Rookie Card)
36. #468 Chone Figgins
37. #340 Evan Longoria
38. #525 Vernon Wells
39. #426 Travis Buck
40. #634 Mitch Moreland
41. #649 Joba Chamberlain
42. #584 Jason Bartlett
43. #502 Jeff Baker
44. #619 Jonny Venters
45. #470 Billy Butler
46. #480 Dustin Pedroia
47. #527 Kila Ka’aihue
48. #610 Josh Beckett
49. #485 Delmon Young
50. #562 Gordon Beckham

2009 Topps Series 2:

1. #353 Derek Jeter
2. #527 Jason Isringhausen
3. #629 Lyle Overbay
4. #415 Josh Beckett
5. #539 Miguel Olivo
6. #384 Bob Melvin (Manager)
7. Topps Town #TTT33 Carlos Lee
8. #373 Joe Martinez (Rookie Card)
9. #502 Yovani Gallardo
10. #421 B.J. Ryan

My second-to-last 2011 Topps Series 1 jumbo pack:

1. #55 Matt Joyce
2. #30 Gio Gonzalez
3. #330 Derek Jeter
4. #31 Erick Aybar
5. #302 Adrian Beltre
6. #106 Felix Pie
7. #281 Kevin Slowey
8. #289 Yuniesky Betancourt
9. #153 A.J. Pierzynski
10. #64 Yorvit Torrealba
11. #296 John Buck
12. #103 Cliff Lee
13. #85 Jack Wilson
14. #301 Seth Smith
15. #166 Josh Johnson
16. #234 Miguel Montero
17. #273 Derrek Lee
18. #90 Yadier Molina
19. #171 Garrett Jones
20. #232 Jamie Moyer
21. #16 Aramis Ramirez
22. #305 James Loney
23. #174 Roy Oswalt
24. #270 Ubaldo Jimenez
25. #199 Jimmy Rollins
26. #39 Ian Kennedy
27. #127 Chris Volstad
28. Gold #73 James McDonald (Serial#0003/2011)
29. Diamond Giveaway #TDG-10 Tim Lincecum
30. 60 Years of Topps #60YOT-38 Bo Jackson
31. Diamond Duos #DD-MP Joe Mauer/Buster Posey
32. 60 #T60-36 Adam Jones
33. Diamond #254 Lars Anderson (Rookie Card)
34. Kimball Champions #KC-32 Alex Rios
35. CMG Reprints #CMGR-5 Babe Ruth
36. #285 Hank Conger (Rookie Card)
37. #328 David Price (Checklist)
38. #95 Pedro Alvarez
39. #292 Darren Ford (Rookie Card)
40. #99 Ben Revere (Rookie Card)
41. #143 Jeremy Jeffress (Rookie Card)
42. #324 Boston Red Sox (Team Card)
43. #329 Brett Wallace
44. #315 David Ortiz
45. #306 Miguel Cabrera/Alex Rodriguez/Jose Bautista (League Leaders)
46. #82 Josh Johnson/Adam Wainwright/Roy Halladay (League Leaders)
47. #202 Jose Bautista/Paul Konerko/Miguel Cabrera (League Leaders)
48. #124 CC Sabathia/David Price/Jon Lester (League Leaders)
49. #326 Ozzie Martinez (Rookie Card)
50. Topps Town #TT-22 Jason Heyward

1976 Topps #216 Montreal Expos (Team Card)

A couple years ago I crunched some stats and came up with a list of 114 of the greatest MLB players of all time, one selected for each year since 1895.  Since then, I’ve added Albert Pujols (2009) and John Smoltz (2010) to the list.

For 2011, I’ll be choosing from a short list of 6 players who have already accomplished enough to all but ensure a spot for themselves in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Which one of these players deserves the next spot in my exclusive list of greatest MLB players of all time?

Curt Schilling

216-146 W-L, 3.46 ERA, 3,116 SO, 22SV

6x All-Star

He’s a member of the 3,000 Strikeout club, and to-date every single pitcher to reach that milestone has gone to the Hall of Fame after becoming eligible.

Mariano Rivera

75-56 W-L, 2.22 ERA, 1,074 SO, 578 SV

11x All-Star

Mo needs only 24 more saves to break Trevor Hoffman’s all-time saves record.  If he becomes the all-time saves leader, he’ll keep that distinction for a long time since the active player with the next most saves just broke 300 (that’ll be K-Rod).

Ichiro Suzuki

.328 BA, 90 HR, 579 RBI, 402 SB

10x All-Star

What if Sadaharu Oh came to the United States in 1967 to play in the Major Leagues and hit over 600 homers?  That’s pretty much what Ichiro is doing today.  He won’t break Pete Rose’s all-time hits record, but he might well get 3,000 MLB hits and more hits overall than Pete Rose over the course of his career.

Derek Jeter

.312 BA, 236 HR, 1,155 RBI, 330 SB

11x All-Star

Say all you want about how overrated Yankees players are, but with only 6 hits to go to reach 3,000 career hits, Jeter is a sure bet for the baseball Hall of Fame.

Vladimir Guerrero

.318 BA, 442 HR, 1,461 RBI, 179 SB

9x All-Star

If Vladimir Guerrero can stay healthy and productive for about 3 more seasons, he has a good chance of reaching 500 homers and 3,000 hits.

Roy Halladay

178-89 W-L, 3.29 ERA, 1,829 SO, 1SV

7x All-Star

As the youngest player in this list (34), Halladay probably has a few more years of dominant stuff left in his arm.  He has already won two Cy Young Awards, pitched a perfect game, and leads all active pitchers in complete-game shutouts (19).  The scary thing is, 2011 is shaping up to be  the best season of his career.

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #425 Armando Benitez
2. #458 Bobby Higginson
3. #471 Tom Lampkin
4. #469 A.J. Hinch
5. #653 Mark Redman
6. Noteworthy #TN2 Derek Jeter
7. #740 Shaun Boyd/Chris Morris (Draft Picks) (Rookie)
8. #753 Arizona Diamondbacks (Team Card)
9. #763 Florida Marlins (Team Card)
10. #734 Toby Hall/Rod Barajas/Jeff Goldbach (Prospects)

“Often, Jeter ranks among the top three in the AL in batting, runs and/or hits.  In 2000, People ranked him among the top three most eligible bachelors in America.  ”Derek’s the Man,” said Alex Rodriguez.  ”He owns the city.”  The superstar shortstop scorched the ball in June (.371), then cracked three hits and earned MVP honors at the 2000 All-Star Game.”

Jeter only needs 60 more hits to make 3,000 career hits.  He should have no problem making that number this season, although his current .219 batting average isn’t helping the matter.

2001 Topps Series 1:

1. #394 Todd Helton/Nomar Garciaparra (League Leaders)
2. #381 Reggie Jackson (Golden Moments)
3. Golden Anniversary #GA21 Derek Jeter
4. #344 Felipe Alou (Manager)
5. #96 John Wetteland
6. #15 Jim Thome
7. #306 Russ Davis
8. #72 Andres Galarraga
9. #185 Roy Halladay
10. #38 Marquis Grissom

A JUMBO pack of 2010 Topps Update Series:

I noticed that the rookie cards in 2010 are starting to have more meaning than in past years, since MLB stopped letting card companies print official MLB baseball cards of minor-leaguers and teenage prospects back in 2006.  Now players need to prove themselves as Major League-worthy players before they can have an official rookie card.  That means any rookie card you see nowadays with the official “RC” logo is a rookie card of a player with a legitimate chance to succeed in the Major Leagues.  I like that.  It cuts out a lot of junk cards of sub-par athletes whom you’ll never see take the field in a big-league ballpark.

1. #US-232 Jason Kendall
2. #US-102 Chris Carter (Rookie Card)
3. #US-142 Mike Cameron
4. #US-151 Kerry Wood
5. #US-82 Emmanuel Burriss
6. #US-103 Matt Tuiasosopo
7. #US-115 Brad Lincoln (Rookie Card)
8. #US-21 Roy Oswalt
9. #US-79 Jonny Gomes
10. #US-310 Derek Jeter (All-Star)
11. #US-16 Felipe Paulino
12. #US-164 Gaby Sanchez
13. #US-181 J.P. Arencibia (Rookie Card)
14. #US-126 Elvis Andrus (All-Star)
15. #US-178 Jim Edmonds
16. #US-34 Shaun Marcum
17. #US-52 Andy Oliver (Rookie Card)
18. #US-317 Mike Leake (Rookie Debut)
19. #US-31 Corey Patterson
20. #US-242 Shelley Duncan
21. #US-264 Vicente Padilla
22. #US-301 Jeff Clement
23. #US-263 Randy Winn
24. #US-324 George Kottaras
25. #US-227 Mark Kotsay
26. #US-259 Yadier Molina (All-Star)
27. #US-224 Scott Olsen
28. #US-251 Jake Arrieta (Rookie Card)
29. Gold #US-46 Colby Lewis (Serial#0799/2010)
30. Attax Code Card #AG Adrian Gonzalez
31. Million Card Giveaway #TMC-25 Mickey Mantle
32. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT162 Derek Jeter
33. More Tales of the Game #MTOG-3 Seven Touchdowns
34. Turkey Red #TR121 A.J. Burnett
35. Vintage Legends #VLC-31 Babe Ruth
36. Peak Performance #PP-120 Tyler Colvin
37. #US-329 Jose Reyes/Hanley Ramirez (Checklist)
38. #US-23 Andy Pettitte (All-Star)
39. #US-279 Hanley Ramirez (Home Run Derby)
40. #US-65 Victor Martinez/Robinson Cano (Checklist)
41. #US-291 Corey Hart (Home Run Derby)
42. #US-250 Miguel Cabrera (All-Star)
43. #US-240 Adrian Gonzalez (All-Star)
44. #US-191 Danny Valencia (Rookie Card)
45. #US-295 Andrew Cashner (Rookie Card)
46. #US-231 Gabe Kapler
47. #US-63 David Ortiz (Home Run Derby)
48. #US-226 Scott Podsednik
49. #US-174 Matt Lindstrom
50. #US-67 Kyle Farnsworth

“NEW YORK, NY — Nearly 250 players have reached the 2,000-hit level, but Derek Jeter’s milestone — a tapper in front of the plate that he beat out — was more significant than most.  Of the eight on the list to get them all for the Yankees, he was (at 31 years, 334 days) the youngest to join, beating Lou Gehrig by 11 days.  The hit came in the fourth inning with the crowd chanting his name.”

Jeter needs only 74 more hits to reach “3 GRAND”

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH26 Ryan Wagner
2. #UH14 David Wells
3. #UH34 Robinson Tejeda
4. #UH6 Toby Hall
5. #UH78 Kevin Mench
6. #UH177 Derek Jeter (Season Highlights)
7. #UH224 Vernon Wells (All-Star)
8. Mantle Home Run History #MHR191 Mickey Mantle
9. #UH293 Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis (Team Leaders)
10. #UH205 Carl Crawford/Chone Figgins/Ichiro (League Leaders)
11. #UH300 Freddy Sanchez/Jason Bay (Team Leaders)
12. #UH262 Jim Thome (All-Star)