All About the Base Cards

Hoyt Wilhelm (1922-2002) was born on this date. The HOFer had 143 wins, 228 saves & 8 All Star selections. The 1954 World Series champ led his league in ERA twice (52,59) & threw a no hitter in 1958. Here is a complete run of his Topps & Bowman base cards minus the 1952 high # RC

@ShoeboxStadium The only player to hit a home run for 10 different teams.

During 16 MLB seasons, Todd Zeile played for 11 teams! Here he is checking for his next destination as his stay with the Cubs in 1995 was brief.

Happy 64th birthday Doug Drabek. The 1990 NL Cy Young winner was an All Star once and won 155 games in his career. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 50th birthday Javier Vazquez. His career totals include 165 wins, 2,536 strikeouts & one All Star selection. Vazquez had the 2nd most strikeouts in the decade of the 2000s, trailing only Randy Johnson. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 55th birthday Billy Wagner. The HOFer had 422 career saves. He has the highest career K/9 IP (11.9) of any pitcher with 900+ innings. His career ERA of 2.31 is the lowest of any LHP in the live ball era. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 62nd birthday Barry Bonds. The 14 time All Star is a 7 time NL MVP & has 8 Gold Gloves. Bonds hold the record for most HR in a season (73) and a career (762). He is the only player with 500 HR & 500 steals. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

@CardboardHistry White Sox legend.

I started collecting right as this intimidating #Reds slugger concluded a DOMINANT 3-yr run at the plate from ‘76-78: 3 RBI 👑, 2 HR 👑 (the only 50+ HR season in MLB from 1966-89) & 16.4 oWAR. The 2x WS champ & ‘77 #NLMVP avg’d .303 w/ 40 HRs, 130 RBIs, 102 Rs & 156 OPS+.🔥

Happy 53rd birthday Nomar Garciaparra. The 6 time All Star had a career .313 average, won two AL batting titles (1999,2000) & was the 1997 AL ROY. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Don Drysdale (1936-1993) was born on this date. The HOFer had 209 wins, 2,486 Ks, won 3 World Series (59,63,65) & the 1962 NL Cy Young. Don led the NL in strikeouts 3 times (59,60,62). He was a broadcaster from 1970 until his death. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards

@yanxchick Atlanta

Q5 Where would you like the see the National hosted in the future? #CardChat

@RetroCardSnaps 1984 Fleer

Which is the better set… 1984 Fleer or 1986 Topps?

@CheapSportsCar1 He should’ve also had a 1993 Topps Traded card with the White Sox. Stadium Club, Ultra and Upper Deck show him in that uniform.

@BaseCardsRule Too bad they didn’t make one for his brief 1998 return, always like a weird Topps run gap that needs to be explained. Julio Franco’s comes to mind, that one is a mess haha.

Happy 69th birthday Dave Stieb. The 7 time All Star won 176 career games, threw a no-hitter in 1990 & won the 1985 AL ERA title. Stieb retired in 1993 but came back in 1998 and pitched 19 MLB games. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 79th birthday Cliff Johnson. He won two World Series titles with New York (1977,1978). Cliff held the MLB record for career pinch hit HR until 2010 (Matt Stairs). Traded by the Yankees after injuring Goose Gossage in a fight. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 82nd birthday Sparky Lyle. The relief pitcher had 99 wins & 238 saves. Lyle was the 1st AL reliever to win the Cy Young (1977), led the AL in saves (72,76) & won 2 World Series titles (77,78). He co-wrote the book “Bronx Zoo”. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards

@RetroCardSnaps Billy Martin

Which is your favorite of these 4 cards?

Dave Henderson (1958-2015) was born on this date. Dave was a key part of the great A’s teams of the late 80s/early 90s winning a World Series in 1989. He is known for hitting a 2 strike 2 out HR in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS for Boston. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards

Happy 77th birthday Al Hrabosky. A true character of the game, the “Mad Hungarian” led the NL in saves in 1975. Hrabosky has been in broadcasting in his post-baseball career. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

Happy 46th birthday CC Sabathia. The new HOFer had 251 wins & 3,093 strikeouts in his career. He won the 2007 AL Cy Young & the 2009 ALCS MVP. The 2009 World Series champ also led the league in wins twice (09,10). Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

@RetroCardSnaps 1991

What is the best card design in this 1989-1992 Topps run?