Top 5 Cards; Pedro Martinez

The most recent player collection to achieve the 200-card or platinum tier milestone, Pedro Martinez played in just the right era for there to be an obscene number of cards produced of him.

The height of the over-production era was in the mid and late 1990s, but Martinez played from the early 90s all the way through the end of the 2000s. In this span of nearly 20 years, an unprecedented number of cards were produced, benefiting guys like Pedro, Chipper Jones, Ivan Rodriguez, and many others.

Although over-production era cards are often critiqued, they play a significant role in helping player collections reach these high totals. Out of the 8 platinum tier players in my collection, each and every one of them with the exception of Ichiro played in the 1990s.

As evident by guys like Ichiro and David Ortiz who played little to no games in the 90s, the trend carried over into the 2000s. Admittedly, some of the sets aren't fantastic, but there are some true gems out there from this era, cards that I've picked up for only a dime each.

My Pedro Martinez player collection reached the 200-card mark courtesy of the Shriner's Show on April 28th when I added around 8 cards of him to my collection. 

I'm not usually inclined to do a top 5 cards post of a player collection with as many cards as Martinez just because of how difficult it can be to formulate a list. With that being said, this seems like the perfect time for a top 5 cards post for Martinez. 

As difficult as it was, I was able to narrow down over 200 cards to my personal favorite 5.

#5 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot

I was initially surprised that this low-numbered card was part of the 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot base set. I'm guessing that these Pennant Drive cards are just a part of the base set, but either way, I'm impressed with the creativity behind this card. 

The pennants on the side are an incredibly unique touch that I don't see too much on other cards. The photo is very well chosen; a classic shot of the 3-time Cy Young award winner. The red background is a nice touch to go with Boston's team colors and the low serial numbering just makes the card that much better.

I know that I say this about all sorts of intriguing cards that I come across, but I'm going to have to keep my eyes open on COMC for more of these Pennant Drive cards from the '04 Upper Deck Sweet Spot set.

#4 1998 Fleer Ultra Double Trouble

A card with Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero on the Expos? You can't get that much better than that, especially since these 2 guys are some of my favorite players to collect. The Double Trouble surrounding the Expos logo in the middle is a brilliant way to separate the photos of these 2 Hall of Famers.

Although they weren't teammates for very long, I appreciate that Fleer created this combo card while these guys were both in Montreal. According to COMC, there's only one other card of both of these superstars on the same team, and it's from 1998 Pacific Invincible. 

#3 2001 Topps Gallery

Topps Gallery has always been one of my favorite Topps releases, whether we're talking about the original sets from the late 90s and early 2000s or the recently-revived product that was first released in 2017. However, out of all the Gallery sets ever produced, the 2001 edition may just be the greatest.

The design is fairly simple and allows the art to be the focal point while also providing an interesting design to go alongside the fabulous paintings. This particular card stays true to the Gallery brand, and it's just beautiful to look at.

The card, although produced rather recently, is very classic looking. I love the attention to detail throughout the entire card, and that's the reason why it stood out among 200+ others to make the top 5.

#2 2002 Topps Gallery Heritage

Pedro Martinez's 1993 Topps card is pretty iconic, but I'll go with the Gallery Heritage version for my top 5. It looks exactly like the original version of this card, but the photo is restyled to help fit the artistic theme of the Gallery brand.

While the concept doesn't seem stellar at first, Topps' artists are consistently successful with redesigning cards for the Gallery Heritage insert sets. They've been incorporated into the past couple of Gallery sets as well, and I've always been a huge fan of them. 

Evidently, the same goes for Pedro's Gallery Heritage card from 2002, a superb recreation of his 1993 Topps card.

#1 2003 Topps 205

Pedro Martinez played in an era in which shiny cards and parallels became increasingly common. Donruss, Fleer, Topps, and Upper Deck introduced hundreds of different products that complicated the Baseball card industry even more. With all these different sets out there, it's refreshing to have a simple alternative, and 2003 Topps 205 provides just that.

There are a few different designs within this set, and the one featured on Pedro's card is definitely my favorite. Everything about this card, the dark green, the gold borders, the picture of Martinez, works incredibly well in tangent with all the other aspects of this card. 

Don't get me wrong, I still love parallels, refractors, and all the things that make modern cards so collectible. However, every once in a while, it's nice to go back to something basic yet stellar, and that's exactly what this card is.