2006 Topps Opening Day

For whatever reason, I skipped 2006 Topps. I wasn't buying many baseball cards that year, and once I got back into the swing of things in 2007 the design didn't do much for me. But having received a Legends repack blister on Christmas Day, who am I to refuse? There were six packs of six cards in the blister: two packs of Opening Day, one of Series One, two of Series Two, and one of Updates and Highlights. We'll start with the Opening Day packs and rip through the rest this weekend.

Opening Day Pack 1:

110 Mariano Rivera
7 Mickey Mantle
82 Huston Street Topps All-Star Rookie
71 Tom Glavine
29 Freddy Garcia
149 Hong-Chih Kuo RC
16 of 25 SI for Kids Funny Photos: Nick Johnson (front) and Randy Johnson (back)

Opening Day Pack 2:

140 Charlton Jimerson RC
3 Garrett Atkins Topps All-Star Rookie
36 Brad Penny
85 Hank Blalock
12 Travis Hafner
138 Jeff Mathis RC
7 of 25 SI for Kids Max Action: Miguel Cabrera

Not too shabby. The blue foil is a neat look, though my scanner didn't like it too much. Though I despise the Yankees, I have nothing but respect for Mo Rivera and it's always cool to pull the Mick. The Randy Johnson photo is certified Nighmare Fuel, to borrow a phrase from Deadspin. Garrett Atkins, for those who care (me), was a solid contributor to my fantasy team (Scott Blackula) in 2007.

Let's harness the full interactive potential of this blog. Leave me a comment with your own caption for the Randy Johnson photo. I'll get things started: "When will Roger learn that steroids aren't the answer? I just had an epidural, and I'm feelin' fine!"