All About the Base Cards

Celebrating the beauty of Topps base cards through career player runs from minor stars to Hall of famers.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@RetroCardSnaps 1986 Fleer.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@yanxchick

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@RetroCardSnaps 1984 Fleer by so, so, soooo much.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 92nd birthday Jim Gentile. Jim was an All Star each year from 1960 to 1962. He was the 1961 AL RBI leader (141) & finished 3rd in the MVP race (Maris & Mantle). Jim is the oldest living Topps Rookie Trophy selection. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@oelschlaeg2 @notgaetti He has played for 4 teams but I’m not sure if he hit a grand slam for each.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@oelschlaeg2 @notgaetti I would guess Schwarber.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@slamminsam25 @notgaetti Truth. It needed to be said.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 54th birthday Raul Ibanez. Raul had surprising career numbers of 2,034 hits, 305 HR & 1,207 RBI over 19 seasons. Here is a complete career run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 96th birthday Bob Lillis. Bob is a former player and manager. Lillis is currently the 7th oldest living former major league player. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards plus other brands of his manager cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Bill Davis (1942-2023) was born on this date. Other than being the starting 1B in the Padres first game on 4/8/69, there isn’t much to say. However, I think he is the only one with this many cards that are all mult-player “rookies”. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@radiomancymuse If you don’t mind the centering, I’ll send this one your way - no charge. Just drop me a DM with an address so send it to.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@RetroCardSnaps @Topps 1991 is the GOAT of the Junk Wax Era.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@RetroCardSnaps

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Here are the base cards from other brands that came out as early as 9 years before his Topps rookie.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 53rd birthday Derek Lowe. The 2 time All Star led the AL in Saves in 2000 & led the NL in wins in 2006. He won a World Series title with the 2004 Red Sox & threw a no-hitter on 4/27/02. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 45th birthday Carlos Zambrano. The 3 time All Star led the NL in wins in 2006 & threw a no-hitter 8/14/08. He was one of the best hitting pitchers with 24 HR (tied 7th all time) & 71 RBI. He won 3 Silver Slugger awards. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@ShoeboxStadium Both these players had a dramatic World Series moment. Carter leads in every category except WAR (average is basically a tie). I suspect the 8 Gold Gloves give Maz the much higher WAR. I hate to make this argument but if Maz is in, maybe Carter should be as well.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

@timecaptales Great song and Cross had an unbelievable year. He was the first artist in Grammy history to win all four general field awards in a single ceremony.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 45th birthday Jake Peavy. Jake is a 2 time World Series champ (13,14) & won the 2007 NL Cy Young leading the NL in wins, ERA & strikeouts. Peavy had 152 career wins & 2,207 strikeouts. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.

[All About the Base Cards @BaseCardsRule]

Happy 59th birthday Kenny Lofton. His stats include 2,423 hits, 622 steals, 4 Gold Gloves & 6 All Star selections. Lofton led the AL in steals 5 times (92-96). Only he & Tim Stoddard have played in the Final Four & a World Series. Here is a complete run of his Topps base cards.