Wednesday, October 01, 2008

2003 Topps Series 1

Just hours before the start of the 2008 MLB postseason, I bring you a pack of cards that really has nothing to do with the playoffs at all. Sorry, no Playoff brand cards, no World Series heroes, not even a Red Sox uniform sighting. These cards are blue. That's, er, pretty much all they have going for them.

274 - Jimy Williams (Williams has a 5-9 playoff managerial record, taking the Red Sox to the ALCS in 1999. He's now the bench coach for the playoff-bound Phillies.)
289 - Todd Walker (Walker was 15 for 52 lifetime in the playoffs, reaching the ALCS in 2003 with the Red Sox.)

286 - Dusty Baker (Baker is shown here practicing what he was best at: making the call to the bullpen. He has a 23-24 lifetime postseason managerial record, taking the Giants as far as the World Series 2002. He is gainfully employed as a manager of a team called the Cincinnati Reds, where is hopefully not warping all the young minds that team is reputed to have.)

12 - Dennis Cook (Mr. Scary Face himself. Cook has two World Series rings, one as an active member of the playoff roster of the 1997 Marlins. In 19 postseason appearances, he has given up 5 hits and 0 runs. I guess I should stop talking about his face.)

RB-LC - Luis Castillo Record Breakers (Apparently a mere team record qualifies here. Castillo is a dismal 18-for-82 in the postseason, but has a ring to show for it as a member of the 2003 Marlins.)

350 - Postseason Highlights Division Series: Twins Upset A's / Cards Sweep Champs (Well, here we go, here's some playoffs. Neither of these teams are in it this year, unfortunately. I like the touching Cardinals picture with Darryl Kile's jersey being held in the air. For some reason this card is a different shade of blue than the rest.)
237 - Alex Sanchez (Sanchez has never been to the postseason and his career is in the tank, but he has a nice shiny Topps All-Star Rookie cup trophy to show off.)
193 - Tony Womack (Womack has been in the postseason 5 times, the World Series twice, and has a ring from the 2001 Diamondbacks. He has a .212 postseason batting average in 156 ABs.)
111 - Ruben Quevedo (I've never heard of him, and neither has the playoffs.)

149 - Tony Armas Jr. (To be honest, I only took a picture of this because it was an Expos card. 8 years with the Expionals, 1 with the Pirates and 3 games with the 2008 Mets equates to no postseason experience for Armas.)

2 comments:

Chris Harris said...

The reason why the Postseason card looks a little different, is because they were a last-minute addition to the production run.

IIRC, 2003 Topps Series One was released in late November 2002.

madding said...

Thanks for the good bit of info. I would prefer that base sets came out around Feburary, personally.