Leaders of Men ... and Nothing

So in the mid-to-late 80s Fleer was putting out these League Leaders sets. I really hated them. They were so stupid.

I can't really pinpoint what exactly went wrong aesthetically ... oh wait, yes I can -- they were total ugz. I remember as a kid flipping through cards from these sets and just feeling depressed. Absolutely nothing about these cards inspired me. Their existence was pointless and inconsequential. Owning them was a burden. ("Other than that" joke in 3 ... 2 ... 1... ) Other than that they were awesome.

But what really irked me was that many of the players featured in these League Leaders sets DID NOT LEAD THE LEAGUE IN ANYTHING. I mean, surely some of them led the league in something at some point in their career, but that defies the purpose of putting out an annual League Leaders set.

To wit:

Keith Moreland led the league in ... upper thigh circumference.

Pete Rose led the league in ... most games as a player-manager, and most games wagered on, and ridonk bowl cuts, and also doubles (8).

Juan Samuel led the league in ... strikeouts. For real.

Willie Hernandez led the league in ... name changes.

Ozzie Smith led the league in ... slugging (.361). jk, lol.

The Padre Pocket

Pack 77: Greg Minton, Tim Blackwell, Lloyd Moseby, Tommy John, Cliff Johnson

Pack 78: Steve Trout, Richie Zisk, Terry Kennedy, Darrell Porter, Larry Bowa

Pack 79: Dennis Leonard, Tommy John, Gary Matthews, Gary Lucas, Dave Concepcion

Pack 80: NL All-Star Andre Dawson, Tommy John, 1981 World Series Game 6, Jack Clark, Willie Stargell

Pack 81: Larry Herndon, George Foster, NL All-Star Steve Carlton, Cesar Cedeno, Frank White

Pack 82: Hubie Brooks, Broderick Perkins, Ron Oester, Juan Eichelberger, Chris Speier

Pack 83: Enos Cabell, 1981 World Series Game 5, Andre Thornton, Roger Erickson, Bert Blyleven

Pack 84: Ellis Valentine, Johnny Bench, Rollie Fingers, Al Cowens, Darrell Evans

Pack 85: Rick Burleson, Toby Harrah, Dick Tidrow, AL All-Star Jerry Remy, Rick Camp

Pack 86: Neil Allen, Billy Martin Highlight, Jerry Reuss, Ozzie Smith, Fernando Valenzuela


Notes. 39/50 new stickers. That's right, 39 new stickers. Of those, five were Padres. Also of note, besides the three All-Stars, two World Series stickers, and the Billy Martin Highlight, all of the stickers were of individual players. That means that 36 of the stickers were for individual sticker spots on team pages.

So I am surprised? Not really. I mean, I knew that the Padres had to be lurking somewhere. The real question is, will the remaining 14 packs contain the other three Padres that I need to complete the team page? With pocket pack cycles of roughly 10 packs, compounded with the fact that I didn't receive a single Padre in the first 77 packs of the box, could mean that I won't see another Padre in the box.

Moral of the Story Hypothesis: There's evidence that supports taking packs from the top and the bottom of the box.

eBay of the Day (ON, DOWYA), 7/18 Part 2

I know I just posted today's eBay of the Day (ON, DOWYA), but I just found this one. And it's totally awesome.



Ozzie Smith's Rookie Contract With Topps, 1978

Again, I have no interest if this sells or doesn't.
Now, were this a signed Garry Templeton contract, I might be interested...

Some Things I'd Like To See Happen

Besides 0/0 cards of rejected card art, here are a few things I'd like to see happen:

• Swatch Shirts How many more years of game-used shirts and pants cards do we need before there are more of them than regular cards? I'm guessing we're two or three years away, so in three or four years I'd like to see an artistic-minded individual crack open a whole lot of swatch cards and sew together a shirt, or a handkerchief, or a pair of socks. The artist will need at least 2,000-3000 swatch cards to make this work (and that's a conservative estimate). Think of how cool that would look. What kind of value do you think something like that would hold?

• Ozzie Smith Home Run History insert set The Hall of Famer smacked just 28 career home runs, so that would be a fairly manageable insert set, plus it would be a little tongue-in-cheek reference to the gargantuan, soul-crushing Bonds, Rodriguez, and Mantle HRH sets it followed.

• O-Pee-Chee Heritage Baseball Who do I need to talk to for this to happen? I know I'm on record as saying that this year's Topps Heritage should be the last one for the brand, and I stand by that. But OPC Heritage? That's entirely different. I guess Upper Deck owns the OPC rights now, so it's to them I say: we need OPC Heritage '71.

• A National Sports Card Show in New York City Especially this year, with the All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium, the National definitely should have been in New York City. The city's got the space (Javits Center), it's a transportation hub, it's Topps' hometown, and it will be the center of the baseball universe this season. It's an obvious choice.

• The Return of Topps Posters Fold 'em up, shove 'em in packs at random. The original 1967 insert had 32 subjects, a number that could be met easily. Here's my checklist on who to include:

1. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
2. David Ortiz, Red Sox
3. Brian Roberts, Orioles
4. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
5. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
6. Carl Crawford, Rays
7. Ichiro, Mariners
8. Michael Young, Rangers
9. Nick Swisher, White Sox
10. C.C. Sabathia, Indians
11. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
12. Joe Mauer, Twins
13. Alex Gordon, Royals
14. Rich Harden, A's
15. Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs
16. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds
17. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
18. Rafael Furcal, Dodgers
19. Johan Santana, Mets
20. Jake Peavy, Padres
21. Lance Berkman, Astros
22. Chipper Jones, Braves
23. Ryan Howard, Phillies
24. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
25. Prince Fielder, Brewers
26. Barry Zito, Giants
27. Jason Bay, Pirates
28. Matt Holliday, Rockies
29. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
30. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
31. Evan Longoria, Rays
32. Jay Bruce, Reds

1967 Topps Posters visual checklist