Top 5 Cards; Dave Winfield

Throughout their 50 year history, the San Diego Padres have developed 2 of the game's greatest 5-tool players and guided these superstars to Cooperstown. First, we have the face of the franchise, Tony Gwynn, who spent all 20 years of his career in San Diego (1982-2001).

Then, there's Dave Winfield who spent the first 8 years of his 22-year career with the Padres before signing with the New York Yankees following the 1980 season. It's truly a shame that these 2 MLB legends and Padres icons never played a game together.

Nonetheless, Winfield accomplished terrific things in San Diego and beyond. He made the All-Star team for 12 consecutive seasons from 1977 to 1988. Though the league MVP award evaded Winfield throughout his career, his .283/.353/.475 slash line speaks volume to the kind of player he was.

After leaving New York, Winfield became a journeyman of sorts during his final years, ending up with the Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, and Indians before retiring in 1995. By that point, he'd eclipsed 450 home runs and 3,000 hits.

My Dave Winfield player collection currently sits at 85 total cards, most of which are from his days with the Yankees and Padres. As you'll see, those clubs are the only ones represented on this list.

#5 1984 Topps

After this '84 Topps All-Star card, featuring Winfield on the New York Yankees, the rest of this list will feature San Diego Padres cards only.

Aside from the fact that all 1984 Topps Yankees cards remind me of the Mattingly rookie, this card made the top 5 because it's on the same level as the fabulous Padres cards that I have of Winfield.

I almost always prefer to see Yankee pinstripes over their road uniforms, but there's something about all the elements of this card, from the picture to the All-Star banner (which I wish they'd use nowadays) that makes a terrific final product.

#4 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter

Retro-style products like Allen & Ginter and Archives are notorious for showcasing throwback uniforms, and with cards like this, it's easy to see why. Not only does the blue color splotch complement the jersey, but A&G is showing us a uniform that we rarely see on Baseball cards.

There are other San Diego jerseys that I've seen on cards, some of which you'll see later in this post, but I'm not familiar with the one above being printed on cardboard. Kudos to Topps for not taking the easy way out when it comes to this 2017 Allen & Ginter card.

#3 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

There's something about cards from the first few years of Gypsy Queen (2011-2014) that never fail to impress me, but there's an added element of uniqueness to Winfield's 2011 GQ card.

As if the typical retro uniform and filter wasn't enough, we have an awesome and underused angle that pairs beautifully with the rest of the card. There's nothing too flashy or crazy about this card. It's simple, as far as the modern era is concerned, and it's gorgeous.

#2 1978 Topps

Technically, this card is from '78 O-Pee-Chee, but you can't tell the difference unless you look at the slightly lighter card back. Whether the card is O-Pee-Chee or Topps Flagship, this card from 1978 is outstanding. For virtually any other player, it would earn the #1 spot on a top 5 cards list.

The few times where I'm able to overlook the blandness of the '78 set is when the image is at a whole nother level than anything I could've imagined, and that's kind of how I feel about the card above. The black and yellow jersey may be one of the greatest things I've ever seen on a Baseball card in my life.

#1 1975 Topps

At the last moment, I swapped #2 and #1 on this list so that Winfield's jaw-dropping 1975 Topps card would narrowly edge out the '78 Flagship/O-Pee-Chee and end up #1 on the countdown. This copy of the card is slightly off-centered (the better copy is with my complete set), but that's not to take away from this spectacular and beautiful card.

The purple and pink color combination is perfectly representative of the '75 set, and the image is, dare I say perfection. The card doesn't need a flashy and vibrant jersey because we already get those colors from the base design. Topps, being smart, opted for something a little more subtle, and it couldn't have worked out better.

Coins & Chronicles; Card Show Recap #18 Part 2

After spending the first 45 minutes or so of Monday's card show finding cards from 1976 Topps, I knew it was necessary for me to look around and see what other vendors had to offer. 

Ultimately, this search brought me back to the same dealer that I purchased the vintage dime cards from. Amongst a stack of junk wax packs, I spotted a bunch of 1989 Topps Baseball Coins for only 25 cents a pack.

In what eventually became the easiest decision I made all day, I grabbed 8 packs for a mere $2 with each pack promising 3 coins. Oh, and a 30-year old stick of bubble gum as well.

Before I found these bargain packs at Monday's card show, I had only opened 1 pack of coin cards in my life, and the pack was from the mid-1980s. The 1989 Topps Baseball coins also inspired the blaster-exclusive coins from 2018 Topps Archives with both products utilizing the same design. 

Though I ended up with a few duplicate coins, I have zero room to complain at 25 cents a pack, especially since I ended up with an Eddie Murray coin on the LA Dodgers since he was one of the 3 players I pulled in my previous coin pack.

Even though this set was released just before the 90s officially began, the design still looks reminiscent of the late 70s and early 80s, featuring stars and bright colors. While the silver coins use a light green "wave," the gold coins' design features warmer colors like orange and yellow that, like the silver coins, change shades from beginning to end. 

The gold coins were where I had the must duplicate cards and the least amount of luck, yet even my dislike of steroid user Mark McGwire can't interfere with how well-made and sharp his '89 Topps coin appears.

After opening all 8 packs, I ended up with 2 All-Star coins that consist of much more colorful borders and a star-filled background. Walt Weiss isn't a player I'm super familiar with, but Tony Gwynn is a player that I collect, and his blue-bordered coin is instantly eye-catching.

I'll probably send out some in future team collectors packages, but 25 cents a pack is a heck of a deal for these sweet looking coins. However, the '89 Topps Baseball coins weren't the only packs that I opened at Monday's show.

Despite being unlicensed, 2018 Panini Chronicles will go down as one of my favorite Baseball card sets in recent memory, and I felt lucky to have picked up 3 blasters of the product at my local Target. 

I stayed away from hobby boxes and even hobby packs of the set due to the high prices, but I wasn't feeling incredibly inspired at the Mansfield show to search through dime boxes or Red Sox bins. 

After spending almost an hour looking for '76 and '79 Topps set needs, I didn't want to spend much more time looking through boxes. Because of that, I tested my luck with a single hobby pack of the Chronicles set and later returned to the same dealer for her final 2 packs from the product.

Among the dozen or more Panini products included in 2018 Panini Chronicles, there's Spectra, cards that fall at 2 per hobby box and feature numbered parallels and even autographs and relics. 

While my card isn't numbered, landing a card of Gleyber Torres, one of the top 5 rookies of 2018, demonstrates that you get a ton of bang for your buck when buying Panini Chronicles. Certainly, this is helped by the sheer strength of the 2018 MLB rookie class.

While I pulled either 3 or 4 numbered cards per blaster of 2018 Panini Chronicles, each hobby pack delivers a similar number, usually around 2 per pack. After all, with 15 or so products and 25 or more players per set, there's bound to be a surplus of numbered cards, especially when it comes to rookies. 

As far as the design goes, Crusade is easily one of the more creative products within the Chronicles set, a unique style that is aided by the untraditional choices for parallels. 

Numbered out of 199 copies, this ruby wave Rafael Devers rookie parallel is my 2nd serial numbered Devers card out of this product, the 1st of which being a blue cracked ice card from Contenders Optic.

While they don't have the licensing rights and won't until at least 2025, in the case of Chronicles, Panini more than makes up for it with unorthodox parallels, unique set designs, and one of the most creative products I have ever seen in my life.

While the "purple' parallel is only evident through the changing of the word Classics to purple, the card is nevertheless a serial numbered parallel. Better yet, it's numbered 10/10, tying it with a few other cards for one of the lowest serial numbered cards in my entire collection.

I don't know all that much about Mets shortstop Amed Rosario, but if I remember correctly, he was a high-ranked prospect before his rookie season in 2018. If he makes it big, I'll have a valuable card on my hands, and even if he doesn't, it's pretty cool to have a card that's numbered out of only 10 copies.

With hits falling at 4 hobby packs per 6-pack box, I was guaranteed at least 1 relic or autograph after purchasing 3 total packs, and it was the thinnest pack of the bunch that landed me an autograph card. 

This is the Panini Phoenix set design, one of a couple chrome stock card sets within Panini Chronicles. I'm not incredibly upset that I didn't land a huge name. Instead, I wish the autograph was on-card since a chrome set like Phoenix is basically perfect for on-card autos.

I happen to have 1 more hit to display to wrap up this post, but I felt it was necessary to show this card as well, the highlight of the 3 packs when it comes to parallels that I pulled. I couldn't care less about Panini not having the licensing rights, especially when I pulled this card. 

After all, it's a Shohei Ohtani pink parallel, numbered 8/25. Given what other copies of this same card appear to be going for on eBay, it looks as if I could pay for all 3 packs that I opened solely from this card. Because it's a rookie card, however, I'll likely be hanging on to this one.

As for the 2nd hit, it's hard to find a more beautiful card than this, and it's of a well-respected rookie from 2018 as well, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, Jack Flaherty, from the hobby-exclusive Cornerstones set.

I can count on 1 hand how many autographed relic cards I have in my collection, nevermind an on-card auto with 4 relics, 2 of which are patches. Better yet, it's a rookie auto and a granite parallel as well, numbered 22/25 on the back which just so happens to be Flaherty's jersey number. 

With all the different elements of this card, you don't even notice the fact that it's unlicensed right away, and that's the sign of an excellent Panini Baseball card. All around, it's truly a fantastic card, and along with the Ohtani, was the highlight of this 3 hobby pack break.

After all, when you have a set as creative and loaded with as many top tier rookies as Panini Chronicles is, it's difficult, for me, to care all that much about there being no logos or team names.

Time For Some New PCs

After so long, I can no longer ignore the number of times I see certain players' cards in the dime bins but pass on them because I don't "collect" that player.

Yet.

I always add in the word "yet" as I way to convince myself that I could be collecting this player someday. It seems to buy up time when, in reality, I have so many things to do with the cards that starting new PCs doesn't quite enter my mind. 

And during the few times it does, I'm always telling myself I'm too busy to sort through boxes for an hour to find these cards.

However, after a while, you can only pass up on these players so many times before, finally, it's time t take action. I've had these 5 players in mind for months now to begin new player collections for, and while I can't say I'll get through all the sorting right away, this is at least a start, a big step in the right direction.

I plan on looking through boxes this weekend to find cards to get these player collections off the ground. Then, it'll be up to me to pay attention to these guys while I'm at the show. I might accidentally pass up on these guys' cards a couple times. With that being said, I expect myself to recognize their cards after a show or 2.

Of all the new player collections, Corey Kluber's been on my mind for the longest as to when I'll start collecting him. It helps that his team, the Cleveland Indians, have made the playoffs for 3 years in a row, combined with the fact that I pull a fair number of cards of Corey Kluber cards from packs. 

There are talks of Kluber being traded this offseason, but it's hard not to picture him as a Cleveland Indian. For now, I'll get together what I can for Kluber cards, and if he happens to get traded, I'll continue collecting him on his new team.

I'm usually good at forming player collections for old-time players and modern-day starts, but there have always been a couple players from the 80s and 90s that have escaped my mind. I'm not as familiar with those decades as I am with, say the 60s-70s and 2000s-2010s. If they played for the Red Sox and Cubs, chances are I collect the player. If not, those odds become increasingly slim.

Robin Yount is a 2-time MVP award winner and a member of the 3,000 hit club 3,142 hits to his name. He played for the Brewers for his entire career, a team I've never followed too closely, likely the reason I haven't collected his cards 'till now. But with uniforms like these, it should be fun to piece together his new player collection.

Pretty much everytime I thought about collecting Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer also came to mind. For all the same reasons as the Indians ace, I've been pondering forming a Scherzer PC for years now, especially since I constantly find myself pulling cards of the 3-time Cy Young award winner from packs, like this Retro Original from 2017 Topps Archives.

Scherzer has been a top 3 pitcher in baseball for years now with the Nationals and Tigers and isn't showing any signs of slowing down or moving onto a new city. Presumably a future Hall of Famer, I couldn't be happier to start collecting him.

Before, when I talked about not being super familiar with guys from the 80s and 90s, I had always been focusing on 2 big names that I'd love to know more about and collect someday; Robin Yount and Tony Gwynn. 

The late great Padres outfielder was one of the greatest all-around players in Baseball history. A true 5-tool talent, Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star with 5 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, and he captured 8 batting titles on route to an illustrious 20-year career. 

To put things into perspective, his single-season batting average was in his first season where he hit .289. That's right, .289 was the worst he ever hit. It's no wonder that, with a career .338 average, they named the NL batting title after him.

Even though he's been a member of the Boston Red Sox since 2016, Price wasn't a guy I had strongly considered collecting for much time, mainly due to his lackluster 2016 season and his 2017 campaign which was plagued by injuries. Even after a stellar 2nd half in 2018, I wasn't impressed, at least, not for what he was being paid.

Then came the 2018 postseason, and David Price became a World Series hero. After getting his first ever playoff win, he added 2 more in the World Series, including starting game 2 and the series-clinching game #5. He turned in historic performances and made me believe in his abilities as a pitcher once again.

If that's not worthy of at least a player collection, I don't know what is.