Top 5 Cards: Buster Posey

When I was filling out my All-Star ballots a couple weeks ago, specifically the NL, I found the catcher position extremely hard to decide upon. The AL wasn't that hard. I sure as hell wasn't voting for Mr. .192 batting average Gary Sanchez, so I went with Wilson Ramos who is leading in the polls that were released earlier today. However, I took more time with the NL.

That's when it really hit me. The catcher position is certainly not what it used to be. Take the late 70's and early 80's for example. We had possibly the greatest catcher ever in Johnny Bench. We also had Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, and a few excellent seasons from guys like Thurmon Munson and Ted Sizemore. Then, the 90's came and brought Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza with them. What shortly followed was the Joe Mauer era which has since ended and brought us to an era with 2 incredible catchers; Yadier Molina and Buster Posey.

Posey is a perfect example of everything a catcher should be including consistency year after year. He's a 5-time All-Star, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, and the 2012 NL MVP. In fact, he's a career .307 hitter whose worse batting average from a full single season was when he hit .288 back in 2016. He's had a consistent and stellar start to the 2018 season, enough so to make him worthy of the NL All-Star starting catcher job, even if the race lacks much competition.

Posey is similar to guys like Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, and Eric Hosmer, players who have played around the same time and thus, I have accumulated quite a few cards of each of them. Out of the 62 Buster Posey cards I had to choose from, here are my top 5.

#5 2016 Panini Diamond Kings

If there's one thing Panini can certainly do very well, it's catcher cards which is why they make the catcher cards look like this in every chance they get. Instead of making us look at another logoless image, Panini chooses an action shot of the catcher typically right before throwing the ball to try and get a potential out from a guy trying to steal a base. They did just that for Posey's 2016 Panini Diamond Kings card and while the brand may not be my favorite, I do love the cardstock and the way Panini chose to design this card.

#4 2013 Topps Finest

If I had to choose one box of Topps Finest to open, I would go for either 2013 or 2016. While I find the set overly-expensive, I appreciate the details of the 2013 base set, specifically the grey circles that get bigger as they get closer to the center of the card. Additionally, Topps did an excellent job of making the player not look out of place when put in front of an abstract background. Basically, even though the card is super futuristic and the set itself is very modern, they do a good job at allowing the player, in this case, Posey, not appear out of place which says a lot about the quality of this set.

#3 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Collisions at the Plate

What I appreciate about the Collisions at the Plate insert set is that it's actually not an excuse for Topps to market off of specific collisions. Instead of focusing on a specific one like Posey's season-ending collision in 2011, the card back simply elaborates on how much Posey comprehends about the severity of these collisions. Furthermore, it says on the back that Posey's collision was against the Marlins, but this card clearly shows a Dodger. Therefore, I've grown to like this card more and more over time and understand what Topps was going for with this insert set.

#2 2011 Topps Heritage World Series Winners

An iconic moment that takes place when a team wins the World Series is usually when the catcher and pitcher in the game at the time run towards and embrace one another while the rest of the team joins them from the field, dugout, and bullpen. I wish they had chosen that moment to capture in the 2011 Heritage set since I believe Brian Wilson was far more excited to win the Fall Classic than he appears to be in this card. Still, I'm a huge fan of the 2011 Heritage set, based off of 1962 Topps. Therefore, I'm able to look past the small issue I have with the card and put it at #2 on my list.

#1 2017 Topps Archives Variation

I'm personally a huge fan of the 1960 Topps set, and I was ecstatic to see it included in 2017 Topps Archives. Therefore, it's not too hard to make a card from that set impress me. However, Posey's 2017 Topps Archives. For starters, this card is actually a white jersey variation, which may or may not influence my decision of putting this card at #1. What I truly like about this card is the light blue background made greater by the attention to detail of the shadow behind Posey. The other parts of the 1960 set are replicated very well, such as the black and white photo to the left and the different colors in the name. However, it's the color photo that really gets me and influenced my overall decision for putting this card #1 on the countdown.