1995 Topps Traded and Rookies:

“Gwynn started 1995 ablaze, slumped, then was totally torrid as the first half came to a close.  His .466 AVG over the 14 games just prior to the All-Star Game raised his season mark to a league-leading .364 in his quest for a 6th batting crown.  Tony’s payoff was an 11th All-Star appearance (and 7th start) in the last 12 years.”

1. #137T Bill Swift
2. #91T Steve Finley
3. #149T Phil Plantier
4. #137T Bill Swift
5. #65T Marquis Grissom
6. #7 Tony Gwynn (At the Break)
7. #23T Joe Oliver
8. #136T Bret Barberie
9. #47T Bronson Arroyo (Draft Pick) (Rookie Card)
10. #136T Bret Barberie
11. #49T J.D. Smart (Draft Pick) (Rookie Card)

Tony Gwynn smacked 46 hits in September 1995 for a .407 batting average.

1996 Topps Series 1:

1. #1 Tony Gwynn (Star Power)
2. #217 Karim Garcia (Future Star)
3. #119 Lyle Mouton
4. #59 J.T. Snow
5. #70 Ron Gant
6. #112 Pete Schourek
7. #148 Pat Hentgen
8. #99 Edgardo Alfonzo
9. #41 Tripp Cromer
10. #135 Mike Stanley
11. #209 Devon White
12. #209 Devon White

1999 Topps Series 1:

1. #242 Checklist (Checklist)
2. #219 Adam Brown/Choo Freeman (Draft Picks) (Rookie Card)
3. #200 David Wells (Season Highlights)
4. #85 Derek Jeter
5. #75 Tony Gwynn
6. #225 Sammy Sosa (League Leaders)
7. #177 Francisco Cordova
8. #44 Justin Thompson
9. #58 Garret Anderson
10. #20 Kerry Wood (Topps All-Star Rookie)
11. #189 Eddie Taubensee

I’m swamped with work and moving at the same time.  That’s the perfect storm for killing my “free time” for baseball card activities.  So I’m taking a temporary hiatus to finish my work, sell my home, and move into a new home.  The daily pack breaks are going away until probably August.  However, I did keep my 2011 Jumbo packs around so I might still do Jumbo Sundays during the next couple months.

In case you’re wondering, I’m moving from Alexandria, Virginia to Ashburn, Virginia.  The Washington Nationals will still be the team I follow, but I will be moving (about half an hour’s drive) further away from them.

“Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn — the “Thumper” and “Mr. Padre.”  Watching them swing a baseball bat was, and in Gwynn’s case still is, worth the price of admission.  Williams was the best hitter of all time, as his .406 season in 1941 and six batting titles attest.  He also won two Triple Crowns and four home run titles.  While Gwynn has never possessed Williams’s power, the 20-year Padre has led the NL in batting a record eight times en route to 3,000 hits.  He hit .394 in the abbreviated 1994 season.”

2001 Topps Series 2:

1. #422 Ricky Gutierrez
2. #642 Luis Lopez
3. #542 Andy Fox
4. #692 Eric Milton
5. #477 Scott Sullivan
6. Combos #TC15 Ted Williams/Tony Gwynn (Sweetness)
7. #580 Curt Schilling
8. #602 Andruw Jones
9. #598 Rich Aurilia
10. #710 Juan Pierre

No, it’s not a 1990 Topps Jumbo pack (did those even exist?).  It’s a mad wax-ripping frenzy… 5 packs in one sitting!

Pack 1

1. #500 Kevin Mitchell
2. #27 Rick Leach
3. #511 Clay Parker
4. #35 Benny Santiago
5. #283 Joey Belle (Rookie)
6. #170 George Bell
7. #750 Dale Murphy
8. #361 Randy McCament (Rookie)
9. #699 Jim Leyland (Manager)
10. #784 Scott Bailes
11. #624 Darrin Jackson
12. #587 Lance Johnson
13. #502 Mitch Webster
14. #508 Terry Leach
15. #403 Tony Gwynn (All-Star)
16. #581 Ken Griffey

Pack 2

1. #293 Mike Gallego
2. #140 Andre Dawson
3. #319 Dion James
4. #100 Will Clark
5. #197 Doug Drabek
6. #650 Mike Witt
7. #429 Tom Kelly (Manager)
8. #280 Lou Whitaker
9. #171 Russ Nixon (Manager)
10. #229 David Wells
11. #646 Checklist 5 of 6 (Checklist)
12. #69 Todd Frohwirth
13. #337 Lloyd McClendon
14. #386 Julio Franco (All-Star)
15. #692 Sammy Sosa (Rookie)
16. #704 Chip Hale (Rookie)

Pack 3

1. #726 Gene Nelson
2. #703 Jeff Brantley
3. #212 Joe Orsulak
4. #697 Mike Davis
5. #423 Fred Toliver
6. #126 Randy Kramer
7. #453 Jody Davis
8. #527 Ron Hassey
9. #99 Rich Monteleone
10. #434 Mark Carreon
11. #378 Luis Salazar
12. #134 Earl Cunningham (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
13. #760 Wade Boggs
14. #118 Erik Hanson
15. #482 Steve Carter (Rookie)
16. #252 Otis Nixon

Pack 4

1. #512 Gary Pettis
2. #291 Dave Johnson (Manager)
3. #595 Greg Swindell
4. #30 David Cone
5. #412 Jamie Moyer
6. #24 Joe Hesketh
7. #479 Frank White
8. #553 Scott Scudder (Rookie)
9. #250 Jose Canseco
10. #316 Carney Lansford
11. #757 Larry Walker (Rookie)
12. #32 John Farrell
13. #380 Dave Winfield
14. #9 Eric Plunk
15. #783 Checklist 6 of 6 (Checklist)
16. #218 Wally Backman

Pack 5

1. #369 Todd Burns
2. #484 Mike Fitzgerald
3. #42 Jeff Robinson
4. #260 Eric Davis
5. #364 Rolando Roomes
6. #630 Gary Gaetti
7. #720 Andres Galarraga
8. #717 Ron Karkovice
9. #723 Jeff Robinson
10. #684 Julio Machado (Rookie)
11. #519 Bucky Dent (Manager)
12. #631 John Wetteland (Rookie)
13. #263 Mel Stottlemyre Jr. (Rookie)
14. #765 Chili Davis
15. #119 Billy Hatcher
16. #394 Jeff Ballard (All-Star)

2010 Topps Series 1:

1. #277 Jarrod Washburn
2. #202 San Francisco Giants (Franchise History)
3. #162 Wade Davis (Rookie)
4. #299 Gary Sheffield
5. #51 Eric Young Jr. (Rookie)
6. #1 Prince Fielder
7. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT-43 Tony Gwynn
8. Turkey Red #TR44 Matt Kemp
9. Topps Town #TTT13 Ryan Howard
10. #179 Ryan Spilborghs

“The red type on the back of Gwynn’s 1994 card indicated four batting crowns so far.  Tony was only halfway to his final title total, the most impressive of which would come that very season as he teaased the hallowed .400 mark before finishing at .394.”

There are currently no active Major Leaguers with more than 3,000 hits.  Derek Jeter is the closest to reaching the mark, but he will most likely reach it in 2011.

1994 Collector’s Choice, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #10 Butch Huskey (Rookie Class)
2. #13 Steve Karsay (Rookie Class)
3. #15 Luis Ortiz (Rookie Class)
4. #16 Manny Ramirez (Rookie Class)
5. #27 Matt Brunson (Draft Pick)
6. #29 Billy Wagner (Draft Pick)
7. #47 Bret Barberie
8. #48 Kim Batiste
9. #60 Pat Borders
10. #64 Jeff Branson
11. #75 Andujar Cedeno
12. #78 Dave Clark
13. #87 Chad Curtis
14. #90 Rob Deer
15. #94 Gary DiSarcina *x2
16. #99 Alex Fernandez
17. #101 Dave Fleming
18. #104 Mike Gallego
19. #107 Brent Gates
20. #122 Tony Gwynn
21. #123 Jeffrey Hammonds
22. #124 Erik Hanson
23. #131 Rickey Henderson
24. #132 Mike Henneman
25. #134 Roberto Hernandez
26. #142 David Hulse

1992 Triple Play:

1. #163 Norm Charlton
2. #164 Bo Jackson
3. #168 Junior Felix
4. #169 Lance Parrish
5. #170 Pat Combs
6. #175 Pete Harnisch
7. #176 Alan Trammell
8. #181 Glenallen Hill
9. #182 John Franco
10. #187 Darryl Strawberry
11. #188 Jaime Navarro
12. #193 Awesome!
13. #195 Dennis Eckersley
14. #201 Dave Howard
15. #207 Rex Hudler
16. #213 Cal Eldred
17. #219 Tony Gwynn