Make Your Own Yankee Stadium Legacy Set

Overwhelmed by the massive, 1,000+ card Yankee Stadium sets that have come out this year? Me too. That's why I've got a better idea. If you want to celebrate Yankee Stadium in your own way, collect those cards that feature it in the background. The same can apply for those of you sick and tired of all things Yankee, who would rather focus on Shea Stadium and the Mets.

Because Topps calls New York City its home, many of its cards feature the two current New York City ballparks as part of the background. 1970 was a big year that comes to mind immediately, but there are plenty of others. And the best part of these DIY Yankee and Shea Stadium legacy sets is that your sets won't be composed of just Yankees or Mets--your set will include most or all of the other major league clubs as well.

Now I'm not a Yankees fan, but something like this appeals to me as a fan of baseball history, much more than a set full of cards of the same handful of players ad nauseam.



(From sorting through a few thousand cards from the 1970s, a Fenway Park Legacy set could also be put together this way.)

Hardest Working 792 in Show Business

Some great things this Monday night:

1. Light snow in the NYC
2. The Iron Man spot during the Super Bowl
3. Another installment of The 792


#551 - 600

551. Carl Yastzremski Super Veteran, 1983
552. Ken Singleton AL AS, 1982
553. Dave Winfield AL AS, 1982
554. Carlton Fisk AL AS, 1982
555. Cecil Cooper, 1981
556. Jack Morris AL AS, 1982
557. Rich Gossage AL AS, 1982
558. Greg Gagne, 1987
559. Ken Williams, 1988 (RC)
560. Rock Raines, 1989
Speaking of Iron Man, after the 1988 season, Tim Raines disappeared into the depths of Montreal's underground city, only to re-emerge four months later as 'Rock.' Cocaine reference? Maybe to you, but to me I always associated his nickname with his appearance.

561. Cardinals Leaders, 1983
562. Bryan Clutterbuck, 1987 (RC)
Why haven't they updated The Magnificent Ambersons yet as The Magnificent Clutterbucks? That's what I want to know.

563. Jose Guzman, 1988
I find it incredible that certain guys work their whole lives for something, only to have it thwarted by things completely out of their control. Poor Jose was destined to be confused with the much superior (and far uglier) Juan Guzman.

564. Ron Hassey, 1981
565. Leon Durham, 1984
566. Alfredo Griffin, 1986
567. David Wells, 1989
568. Willie Hernandez, 1983
569. Willie Randolph, 1982
570. Darryl Strawberry, 1985
571. Billy Ripken, 1989
572. Jack Morris, 1981
573. Jim Abbott #1 Draft Pick, 1989 (RC)
574. Manny Lee, 1987
Just for the record, I had about fifteen of this card.

575. Tony Perez, 1981
576. Frank Robinson, 1983 (MGR)
Have you noticed that Robby's always real close to the camera (and his mouth is open with teeth bared) in his managerial cards? Take a look at his cards from 1975, 1983, and 1989. It's a little unnerving.

577. Blue Jays Team, 1980
578. Bill Gullickson, 1981 (RC)
579. Mets Leaders, 1988
580. Nolan Ryan, 1980
581. Tom Seaver Super Veteran, 1983
582. Gaylord Perry, 1981
583. Junior Ortiz, 1987
584. Kurt Bevacqua, 1980
585. Garry Maddox, 1986
586. Frank Viola, 1983 (RC)
587. Rafael Santana, 1986
588. Luis Alicea, 1989 (RC)
589. Steve Crawford, 1987
590. Jim Palmer, 1980
591. John Lowenstein, 1981
592. Shane Rawley, 1983
593. Broderick Perkins, 1983
594. Bobby Valentine, 1988 (MGR)
595. Keith Hernandez NL AS, 1987
596. Onix Concepcion, 1986
597. Mike Schmidt NL AS, 1987
598. Ozzie Smith NL AS, 1987
599. Tony Gwynn NL AS, 1987
600. Dave Parker NL AS, 1987
Nothing says #600 like Dave Parker in a warm-up jacket. Inexplicably one of my favorite cards.


Scanning for the visual? Cardboard Junkie will help in that department.

The 792

Over the past fifteen years or so, Topps has put a lot of emphasis on their vault, their heritage, and their archives. They've trucked out old cards in new permutations, from straight-up re-issues in the Archives format, to All-Time Fan Favorites, to swapping in active players in the Heritage sets. Any sane person would say that they've really beat this horse into the ground and that they should move on to something else.

But baseball card collectors are not sane people. We get locked in on an idea and we ride it with the same gusto and fervor as Topps does in making it for our consumption. Therefore, I'd like to present an idea that may be able to breathe new life into the withering 'vault raid' products of the past few years.

I'm calling it Topps Decades. There would be five separate sets, one for each decade that Topps has produced cards: the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. Each set would consist of the best cards at each checklist number from that decade. For example, the set encompassing the Eighties would be called Topps Decades: The 792, because there were, on average, 792 cards per Topps set in that decade. The set for the Seventies would be called Topps Decades: The 660, and so on.

It's not exactly the same idea as the Archives Best Years set, simply because they'd have to include commons in Topps Decades. Also, it's not the same idea as the one I proposed earlier this year (or was it last year?) about the 'average' set from a given decade.

The beauty of Topps Decades is that there wouldn't be any confusing checklist changes, because every included card would use their checklist number, in their original style (with possibly a special logo, a la Archives). In fact, an 'alternative' set like this could launch a whole division of 'fan sets,' simply because a collector doesn't necessarily need Topps to officially create this set; it's one they can put together on their own. Wow, I like this idea more and more.

Of course, a set like this invites a collector (or company) to simply turn it into a starfest, and devoid the checklist of as many commons as possible. Should there be rules, like setting quotas for 'x' amount of players on each team, or should it be a free-for-all?

After I hear your thoughts, I will put together a checklist for The 792.