Since starting the blog in August of last year, I've always tried to find a type of post that I can fall back on. If I'm looking for something interesting that will always be available as an option, I look no further than my top 5 cards posts.
Just a few days after starting my blog last year, I started my top 5 cards series with a top 5 cards post on Jake Arrieta. Thankfully, my player collection totals and writing skills have improved immensely since that day.
When choosing a player for today's top 5 card post, I realized that there was a major player who I still haven't dedicated one of these posts to yet, Roberto Clemente. A superstar on the field and an incredible person off the field, Clemente is up there with Mickey Mantle in terms of the most collectible players of all-time.
Clemente's perseverance, talent, and caring personality are what makes him one of my 5 favorite all-time players. I've been collecting him for almost as long as I've been collecting baseball cards. I remember collecting him back when I first got into cards, and now his player collection is 57 cards strong, excluding cards from The National that I have yet to add to the PC.
I tried to represent vintage as much as I could in this post. With that in mind, here are my top 5 cards of Roberto Clemente.
#5 1987 Donruss
In most cases, when you have more than 1 of the same card, the card can start to feel less special since you have so many. However, Clemente's special HOF Diamond Kings base card from 1987 Donruss is an exception to this statement. I may have 4 of this card due to the dime bins and my wanting to accumulate as many Clemente cards as possible, but there's no denying that this is a standout card. Between the Puerto Rican flag and other detailed background features, it definitely catches your eye a lot, especially for a base card from a 1980's Donruss set.
#4 1963 Topps Buc Blasters
Ideally, this card would include Willie Stargell in the place of one of the 3 players besides Roberto Clemente. Then again, the price of this card with Clemente and Stargell on it would likely mean I wouldn't have it in my collection. No matter what, the trusty 60's combo cards never fail to impress me, and this is a key reason why. The 4 players on this card happen to all be in the same uniform and pose, which helps to make this vintage combo card a true standout.
#3 1962 Topps
Sometimes, classic works best and simplicity reigns supreme. No Clemente card in my collection embodies that better than my 1962 Topps Roberto Clemente card, one of many cards to feature the name "Bob" on the card instead of Roberto. The pairing of the vintage Pirates jersey and the fabulous 1962 Topps set is one that I could never get tired of. Even with such a simple pose like holding the bat, Clemente's 1962 Topps card is easily able to become one of my favorites.
#2 2001 Topps Combos Latin Heat
If this were any other list, or I was without vintage options, this card could easily be #1. However, because this is a top 5 cards post for Roberto Clemente, it was up against some stiff competition. Anyway, this is one of a few cards from the 2001 Topps Combos insert set. I've seen a few of the other combos, but none came close to the Latin Heat card of 2 of my favorite all-time players, Vladimir Guerrero and Roberto Clemente.
#1 1958 Topps
At some point, you just have to tell yourself that condition isn't everything. Sure, the better condition a card is in, the better. But, it's not a huge deal if your vintage cards aren't in the best shape. I don't think I've ever shown my 1958 Topps Roberto Clemente card before on the blog. As you can very well see, there are creases and smudges all over the surface. But for a card like this, that doesn't matter. What I believe truly matters is having a 1958 Clemente in the first place. If you can say that, who gives a damn about the condition?
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