Today I’m going to bust a bunch of my 2003 Topps Series 1 hobby packs:

PACK 1

1. #262 Mike Scioscia (Manager)
2. #317 Doug Waechter (First Year Card) (Rookie)
3. #301 Matthew Peterson (First Year Card) (Rookie)
4. #314 Mike McNutt (First Year Card) (Rookie)
5. #292 Chris Duncan (First Year Card) (Rookie)
6. #338 Alfonso Soriano/Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter (League Leaders)
7. #96 Alex Gonzalez
8. #63 Andy Ashby
9. #89 Mike Matheny
10. #233 Derrek Lee

I don’t know why Beckett still lists Chris Duncan’s Topps rookie card as being “worth” $3.  Outdated information?  He’s almost 30 and has been hitting under .200 at the AAA level for the past 3 years.  And playing in the Washington Nationals organization doesn’t help.

PACK 2

1. #119 Randall Simon
2. #145 Michael Tucker
3. #44 Jeff Conine
4. #174 Jon Lieber
5. Hobby Masters #HM3 Derek Jeter
6. #360 Torii Hunter (Sporting News All-Stars)
7. #76 Randy Wolf
8. #170 Vladimir Guerrero
9. #152 Steve Trachsel
10. #161 Kerry Robinson

PACK 3

1. #283 Larry Bowa (Manager)
2. #45 Carlos Baerga
3. #280 John Halama
4. #282 Art Howe (Manager)
5. Record Breakers #RB-JB Jeff Bagwell
6. #344 Sammy Sosa/Albert Pujols/Shawn Green (League Leaders)
7. #179 Wendell Magee
8. #199 Scott Sullivan
9. #31 Brian Giles
10. #48 Aaron Boone

PACK 4

1. #326 Orlando Hudson/Josh Phelps (Future Stars)
2. #330 Juan Rivera/Marcus Thames (Future Stars)
3. #331 Brandon Puffer/Jung Bong (Future Stars)
4. #323 Chris Snelling/Shin-Soo Choo (Future Stars)
5. #327 Jack Cust/Rene Reyes (Future Stars)
6. #351 Angels/Giants (Postseason Highlights)
7. #2 Dan Wilson
8. #255 Michael Barrett
9. #64 Mike Williams
10. #116 Mark Mulder

The infamous Puffer/Bong card!  While Jung Bong is still playing pro baseball in Korea, Brandon Puffer is serving a 5-year prison sentence for breaking into a home and trying to rape a woman back in 2008.

PACK 5

1. #21 Denny Neagle
2. #166 Troy Percival
3. #59 Brad Wilkerson (Topps All-Star Rookie)
4. #144 Mark Quinn
5. #41 Kevin Appier
6. #366 Manny Ramirez (Sporting News All-Stars)
7. #37 Brandon Duckworth
8. #156 Jason Kendall
9. #180 Barry Zito
10. #3 Jimmy Rollins

1995 Topps Series 2:

1. #562 Carlos Rodriguez
2. Cyberstats #280 Billy Ashley
3. #526 Gregg Jefferies
4. #477 Manny Ramirez (Topps All-Star Rookie)
5. #512 Greg McMichael
6. #648 Rod Pedraza/Phil Schneider (On Deck) (Rookie)
7. #525 Dave Veres (Rookie)
8. #643 Terrell Lowery/Jon Shave (On Deck) (Rookie)
9. #430 Steve Avery
10. #533 Kevin Stocker
11. #519 Kirk Gibson
12. #610 Brett Butler
13. #474 Alan Trammell

“The much-hyped Ramirez disappointed no one as he finished as runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race.  Among AL freshmen, he had the second-highest totals in homers, RBI, doubles and hits.  Exclusive of one 6-for-52 slide, Manny batted .303 during the 1994 season.”

The man who beat out Manny Ramirez in homers, RBI, doubles, and hits in 1994 was Bob Hamelin.  Bob Hamelin batted .282 with 24 home runs in his the strike-shortened rookie season, then went on to win the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year award.

2010 Topps Series 1:

1. #136 Adam Wainwright
2. #64 Drew Stubbs (Rookie)
3. #46 Chad Tracy
4. #72 Milwaukee Brewers (Franchise History)
5. History of the Game #HOTG25 First MLB Game Played in Japan
6. Turkey Red #TR30 Victor Martinez
7. Topps Town #TTT25 Manny Ramirez
8. #17 Dexter Fowler
9. #62 Kevin Millwood
10. #91 Erik Bedard

“Ramirez has embraced the “Manny Being Manny” phrase that is used to describe his style — so much so that he’s had “MBM” stitched into much of his clothing.“

2008 Topps Series 1:

1. #54 Victor Martinez
2. #227 Alfredo Amezaga
3. #181 Joe Borowski/Bobby Jenks/J.J. Putz (League Leaders)
4. #82 So Taguchi
5. #296 Paul Konerko
6. #201 Matt Capps
7. Campaign 2008 #C08-FT Fred Thompson
8. #200 Manny Ramirez
9. #241 Ervin Santana
10. #316 Scott Hatteberg

“Thompson, Alabama-born and a Vanderbilt University-educated lawyer, served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1994 to ’03.  Though no stranger to politics, he might be better-known to many Americans as the man who acted in many movies and as a star of the popular TV series, “Law and Order.”  Thompson also has served as a lobbyist and lawyer on several high-profile cases (Watergate among them), and is a popular and charismatic speaker.”

Looks like he really cranked up his acting career since Obama took office.  You can find Fred Thompson in the new movies Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Ironmen, Secretariat, The Genesis Code, and Alleged.  He also made an appearance on the TV show Life on Mars last year.

Manny recently recorded his 2,500th career hit and also recently tied Mike Schmidt with 548 career home runs, putting him at 14th on the all-time list.

1998 Topps Series 1:

1. #258 Randy Winn/Juan Encarnacion/Andrew Vessel (Prospects) (Rookie)
2. #259 Travis Smith/Courney Duncan/Kris Benson (Prospects) (Rookie)
3. #200 Dennis Eckersley
4. #125 Manny Ramirez
5. #201 Bill Mueller
6. #58 Tony Fernandez
7. #237 Chris Widger
8. Minted in Cooperstown #206 Quinton McCracken
9. #196 Luis Sojo
10. #90 Jay Buhner
11. #241 Bobby Ayala

Although they weren’t serial numbered, the Topps Minted in Cooperstown parallel insert set was 1998′s equivalent to the current Gold Border inserts.

“Projected as a utility outfielder/pinch runner when the 1997 season opened, Quinton wound up playing four of every five games in center field for the Rockies.  Speed, intelligence and a professional approach define the game of the former four-year starting cornerback for the Duke University football team.”

And I got a Man-Ram for my player collection:

2008 Topps Series 1:

1. #217 Josh Beckett (Postseason Highlights)
2. #99 David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez (Postseason Highlights)
3. #322 Scott Kazmir/Johan Santana/Erik Bedard (League Leaders)
4. #85 Jason Bay
5. #315 David Weathers
6. #172 Chris Ray
7. Gold Foil #245 Dan Haren
8. #83 Mark Reynolds
9. #21 Edwin Encarnacion
10. #38 Preston Wilson

“Though they couldn’t get a win to show for it, the Red Sox made a little history in Game 4 of the ALCS when Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez became the second trio to hit back-to-back-to-back postseason homers.  The Yankees did it, also against Cleveland, in 1997.”

…I won’t make the obvious steroid comment here…

When the Yankees hit back-to-back-to-back postseason homers in 1997, it was Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neill.

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH283 Alex Cintron
2. #UH176 Brad Wilkerson
3. #UH38 Carlos Villanueva
4. #UH304 Brad Lidge (All-Star)
5. #UH131 Manny Ramirez (Highlights)
6. #UH229 Adrian Gonzalez (All-Star)
7. #UH181 Runelvys Hernandez
8. #UH258 Arthur Rhodes
9. #UH186 Wes Littleton
10. Ring of Honor World Series Champions #RH-BS Bruce Sutter

“Sutter had a hand in three of the Cardinals four World Series wins over the Brewers in 1982.  He got the “W” in a tight Game 2, and saved Games 3 and 7.  In the latter, he spun two perfect innings.”

And Man-Ram squeezing another home run out of the juicer:

2009 Topps Series 2:

1. #622 Kurt Suzuki
2. #535 Ryan Doumit
3. #529 Fernando Rodney
4. #359 Jason Varitek
5. Topps Town #TTT41 Manny Ramirez
6. #373 Joe Martinez (Rookie)
7. #553 Jeff Karstens
8. #398 Cameron Maybin
9. #432 Wladimir Balentien
10. #509 Lou Montanez

“He’s widely recognized as one of the best righty hitters of all time, but Manny still takes swings on a batting tee every day.  The routine has produced nine Silver Slugger Awards and more than 500 homers.”

Earlier this month, Man-Ram committed to playing the 2010 season with the Dodgers.