Top 5 Cards: Justin Verlander

Last night, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander made history by recording his 2,500th career strikeout against the Angels. Even more impressive, he reached the milestone by fanning baseball's most talked-about player, two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani on a swinging strike to end the inning.

Of course, Verlander. has not played for the Astros for all that long. Beginning in 2006, Verlander was a full-time starter for the Detroit Tigers. He won the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and took home the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 2011. And while he may be with the Astros for now, and maybe even the rest of his career, 2,373 of Verlander's 2,500 career K's were during his time in Detroit.

Verlander should earn himself a spot in Cooperstown someday, especially if he can play as well as he currently is for Houston. He seems to have the ability to be consistent and fabulous no matter where he plays or how old he is, and that's something not every pitcher, or player, for that matter, has the ability to do.

My Justin Verlander collection currently stands at 43 cards, including a few from the time he's spent with the Astros so far. Here are my 5 favorites

#5 2016 Topps Heritage

Considering how blurry most of the 2016 Topps Heritage cards can appear, I'm typically very reluctant to put any of them on my top 5 cards lists. However, I made an exception for this Verlander card for multiple reasons. For starters, the basic blue background was a smart choice for Topps since it wasn't able to look quite as blurry as, say, a stadium background. I also am a huge fan of pink on not just this baseball card, but any 60's baseball card, or any card in general. It's really an interesting color to choose, but Topps wasn't afraid to take the risk. At least, in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's they weren't.

#4 2017 Topps Gallery

Let me be clear, I wanted to keep this list all Tigers cards, and I certainly wouldn't have chosen any card of Verlander on the Astros without careful consideration. With all that being said, I simply couldn't ignore the brilliant card that is Verlander's 2017 Topps Gallery baseball card. I recall it being the first card I ever got of Verlander on the Astros, and it was incredibly well-done. For starters, the colors used in the background are absolutely magnificent and they blend incredibly well. The set is so simple, so you can't help but pay attention to the artwork. And when the artwork looks this good, it demands that you notice it.

#3 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Dealing Aces

For years, I've been hoping for these 80's Tigers uniforms to show up on a baseball card for me to obtain, and leave it to Gypsy Queen to be the company to take that kind of a risk. The Dealing Aces insert set included baseball's greatest pitchers from 2013, and who better to include than the pitcher who won MVP just 2 years before this set was released. I'm a huge fan of the concept, using clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades as if these were playing cards. Now, if only this card was a spade or a club, and the border was black instead of red, this card would be my favorite Verlander card, without any doubt whatsoever. 

#2 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

The Upper Deck Masterpieces set was truly a masterpiece in and of itself. It featured some of the greatest baseball cards of that era, including stunning cards of old-time players like Ty Cobb. What I really appreciate about this set is the attention to detail. Case and point; the scoreboard behind Verlander on this card. As you can see, Verlander's Tigers were playing the Brewers at home. Each and every detail of this card is incredibly done, even down to the lineup recreation for Milwaukee. Originally, I wondered why they chose the game against the Brewers. That was until I realized this is from his no-hitter against Milwaukee in 2007.

Well done Upper Deck, well done. 

#1 2006 Bowman Heritage

A couple years ago, I was looking through boxes of old Bowman Heritage cards that my dad bought when I stumbled upon this rookie card of Verlander. In a shocked state, I quickly rescued this card and put it safely with the other cards I have of Verlander. To this day, it remains my only rookie card of his, and I cherish it immensely. Turns out it's a short print from the set, as well. Despite being rather simple, there's nothing not to like about this card. The red background is basic, but it works well with that the original 1949 set was going for, just more modernized. And that rookie card logo in the bottom left is the perfect thing to see on any card, and the perfect way to cap of this top 5 cards list.