1999 Topps Series 1:

1. #78 Jay Bell
2. #16 Greg Maddux
3. #194 Rey Ordonez
4. #197 Jamey Wright
5. #81 Roberto Hernandez
6. #224 Ken Griffey Jr. (League Leaders)
7. #73 Damion Easley
8. #94 Matt Lawton
9. #35 Ray Lankford
10. #9 Will Clark
11. #132 A.J. Hinch

In 1998, Ken Griffey Jr. led the American League with 56 home runs.  Seven other AL players hit 40+ home runs in 1998 — Albert Belle, Jose Canseco, Juan Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Mo Vaughn.  Every one of these players except for Griffey and Belle are believed to have taken steroids.

2010 Topps Series 1:

1. #133 Freddy Sanchez
2. #193 Shairon Martis
3. #315 Scott Kazmir
4. #38 Houston Astros (Team Card)
5. Tales of the Game #TOG-21 Curt Schilling
6. Legendary Lineage #LL19 Whitey Ford/CC Sabathia
7. Topps Town #TTT3 Hanley Ramirez
8. #251 John Lannan
9. #264 Arizona Diamondbacks (Franchise History)
10. #85 Ken Griffey Jr.

“Sabathia went 19-8 in his first season in the Bronx to lead the American League in victories, a feat Ford accomplished three times in pinstripes.  Both hurlers were among the most durable of their era.  Whitey paced the American League in innings pitched twice, including his AL Cy Young season of 1961.  CC tossed a circuit-high 241 frames in 2007, when he took the AL Cy Young Award.”

This is my first Whitey Ford card, so it’s going into my Hall of Famers binder.

I also got a couple Nats to go into my Washington Nationals binder:

and a future Hall of Famer for my Hall of Fame binder:

See you in Cooperstown around 2016!

2009 Topps Series 1:

1. #140 Brandon Webb
2. #243 Chase Headley
3. #66 Dustin Pedroia (MVP)
4. Ring of Honor #RH15 Don Zimmer
5. Topps Town #TTT14 CC Sabathia
6. #22 Evan Longoria/David Price (Classic Combos)
7. #282 Chris Lambert (Rookie)
8. #30 Ken Griffey Jr.
9. #183 Jason Michaels
10. #141 Mark Teahen

Here’s another one for my collection, Junior in a Sox uniform.

His last All-Star Game appearance was in 2007 when he was with the Cincinnati Reds.  I’m hoping Seattle fans will vote him in for 2010 for one last appearance before he bows out and waits for Cooperstown.  In 2010, he’s hitting .226 with no homers yet.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH6 Josh Barfield
2. #UH20 Gordon Beckham (Rookie)
3. #UH263 Matt Holliday
4. #UH151 Jayson Werth (All-Star)
5. #UH110 Justin Masterson
6. Gold Border #UH307 Heath Bell (Serial#0771/2009)
7. Topps Town #TTT69 Victor Martinez
8. #UH330 Ken Griffey Jr.
9. #UH190 Ken Griffey Jr. (Season Highlights)
10. #UH85 Joe Crede

“Gordon’s first Major League homer — a three-run shot against Cincinnati on June 20, 2009 — helped turn a 5-0 deficit into a 10-8 White Sox victory.  Power always has been his forte.  As a junior at the University of Georgia in ’08, Beckham blasted an NCAA-leading 28 longballs while leading the Bulldogs to the finals of the College World Series.”

Gordon Beckham — Real deal or overhyped?  I think we’ll know for sure after the 2010 season.

And I got back-to-back cards of a player who has proven to be the Real Deal:

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH53 Clete Thomas
2. #UH176 Diory Hernandez (Rookie)
3. #UH223 Jack Hannahan
4. #UH138 Ryan Church
5. #UH295 Miguel Tejada (All-Star)
6. Gold Border #UH330 Ken Griffey Jr. (Serial#0220/2009)
7. Turkey Red #TR120 Adam Dunn
8. Topps Town #TTT54 Adam Jones
9. #UH155 Andrew McCutchen (Rookie)
10. #UH91 Anderson Hernandez

Ken Griffey Jr. is about he best gold border card I could ever hope to get out of a hobby box.  Awesome!  Now time to chase for that Albert Pujols gold card!

Then a couple Nats.  Just so happens these are the first cards I have of Adam Dunn and Anderson Hernandez in Nationals uniforms:

Adam says “hi”

“Adam, considered one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation, planned to make football his top sport at U. of Texas.  He redshirted for one year on the Longhorns football team before deciding to pursue baseball.  Showing prodigious power and a knack for driving in runs, he anchored the Reds lineup from 2001 to ’08, hitting 46 home runs in ’04 and exactly 40 in each of the four subsequent campaigns.  Dunn signed with the Nationals in ’09, and blasted his 300th career home run.  Just 29 at the time, he became the 13th player in history to reach the 300-homer club before his 30th birthday.”

SAAAAAAAAAFE!

“Anderson developed mostly in the Tigers organization, then received several Major League trials with the Mets, who dealt him to Washington in 2008.  In ’09, at the end of his first decade as a professional, his diligence paid off as he won the Nationals second base post.  On June 16, Hernandez belted his first home run — off CC Sabathia at Yankee Stadium.”

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH140 Dana Eveland
2. #UH170 Greg Smith (Rookie)
3. #UH22 Brian Moehler
4. #UH208 Kerry Wood (All-Star)
5. #UH119 Ken Griffey Jr. (Highlights)
6. #UH204 Franquelis Osoria
7. #UH12 Trot Nixon
8. #UH318 Kyle Farnsworth
9. Gold Border #UH149 Paul Hoover (Serial#1617/2008)
10. Gold Foil #UH76 Francisco Rodriguez (All-Star)

“At 32, Paul enjoyed his most extended stay in the Bigs in 2008.  The longtime Minor League backstop who reads lips (both of his parents are deaf) brings great versatility to the Marlins.  He can catch, play virtually any infield position and even fill a spot in the outfield in a pinch.  Hoover ripped five hits in his first 13 at-bats with Florida.”

Paul was signed by the Phillies in 2009 and got 3 hits in 4 at-bats in September, including a game-winning RBI.  However, he was sent back down to AAA before the playoffs.

“By pounding a 3-1, first-inning pitch from Mark Hendrickson 413 feet into the Miami night on June 9, 2008, Ken became the sixth player to hit 600 home runs.  That put Sammy Sosa (609) dead in his sights for a move to fifth on the all-time list.”

Junior hit 18 homers in 2008 to put him at 5th on the all-time list.  He hit 19 in 2009 to make 630 home runs.  He needs 30 more to tie Willie Mays at 4th place with 660, though at age 39 it seems unlikely.

Merry Christmas to all from 25YearsOfBaseball!  Today we’re opening a very special pack.  It’s a pack I got from a dealer last year for National Baseball Card Day!

1. Upper Deck #UD9 Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Upper Deck #UD10 Derek Jeter
3. Upper Deck #UD11 Albert Pujols
4. Upper Deck #UD12 Ichiro
5. Upper Deck #UD13 Prince Fielder
6. Upper Deck #UD14 Ian Kennedy (Rookie)
7. Topps #6 Clay Buchholz (Rookie)
8. Topps #1 Alex Rodriguez
9. Topps #2 David Wright
10. Topps #3 Ryan Howard
11. Topps #4 David Ortiz
12. Topps #5 Vladimir Guerrero

I don’t have any 2008 Upper Deck cards, so maybe I’m biased, but I think Upper Deck won this one design-wise.  I wasn’t aware that there was a “National Baseball Card Day”, so I Googled it real quick.  Apparently it was held every March 29 in hobby stores across the country.  Now I’m wondering, was there a “National Baseball Card Day” in 2009?  Or is it going to be held in 2010?

1993 Stadium Club, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #693 Mike Moore *x2
2. #694 Kevin Mitchell *x2
3. #695 Phil Hiatt (Rookie) *x2
4. #696 Tony Tarasco (Rookie)
5. #697 Benji Gil *x2
6. #698 Jeff Juden *x2
7. #699 Kevin Reimer *x2
8. #700 Andy Ashby *x2
9. #701 John Jaha *x2
10. #702 Tim Bogar (Rookie) *x2
11. #703 David Cone *x2
12. #704 Willie Greene *x2
13. #705 David Hulse *x2
14. #706 Cris Carpenter *x4
15. #707 Ken Griffey Jr. *x2
16. #708 Steve Bedrosian *x2
17. #709 Dave Nilsson *x2
18. #710 Paul Wagner (Rookie) *x2
19. #711 B.J. Surhoff *x2
20. #712 Rene Arocha *x2
21. #713 Manuel Lee
22. #714 Brian Williams *x2
23. #715 Sherman Obando (Rookie) *x2
24. #716 Terry Mulholland *x2
25. #717 Paul O’Neill *x2
26. #718 David Nied
27. #719 J.T. Snow *x2
28. #720 Nigel Wilson *x2
29. #721 Mike Bielecki *x2
30. #722 Kevin Young *x3