Top 5 Cards; Brandon Phillips

In case you missed it, Brandon Phillips had a historic day in his very first game as a member of the Boston Red Sox when they took on his former team, the Atlanta Braves. 

After coming back from being down 7-1 in the top of the 8th, the Sox tied up the game only to have their lead blown on a Freddie Freeman home run. Then, the 9th inning came along and with it came one of the best moments of the 2018 MLB season. 

In the top of the 9th inning, Phillips crushed a 2-run homer in his very first MLB game of the season. His swing, almost knocking him over, delivered a 430+ foot home run to give the Red Sox the victory.

Thankfully, Topps did create a Topps Now card of Phillips' dinger that I purchased minutes before starting this post. Once I count the new card and the Phillips cards I brought back from The National, his PC will be at a lot higher of a total than I am now. For now, I have 30 cards of the 4-time Glove Award winner. Here are my 5 favorite cards of Boston's newest hero.

#5 2017 Topps Gypsy Queen

As many of you know, I'm a stickler for throwback uniforms on today's baseball cards. Despite this, Topps has made a point of making these cards harder to come by, creating throwback uniform variations in some of their sets. Thankfully, not every set incorporates this, including Topps Gypsy Queen. Phillips' 2017 GQ card shows Phillips wearing one of the old-school Reds uniforms that became synonymous with the Big Red Machine, earning this card a spot in the top 5.

#4 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter X

Granted, Phillips' Allen & Ginter base card was also a candidate for this spot on the list, but since I had the A&G X card available, it wasn't a difficult choice between the 2. The action pose Phillips is taking on the card peaks my interest as there are not many photos chosen for A&G like this one. Most of the photos used in the Allen & Ginter set are simple headshots, especially over the last few years. Like the first card, Brandon's A&G X card does something to separate itself from the typical card.

#3 2003 Topps

Despite not being the team that drafted him (you'll see that team at the #1 spot), the Cleveland Indians were the first MLB team that Brandon Phillips played for. Making his debut as a 21-year old in 2002, Phillips spent only a couple seasons with the Indians before being traded to the Reds in 2006. His Indians prospect card above is from the 2003 Topps set and shows him alongside another former perennial All-Star, Victor Martinez.

#2 2017 Topps Stadium Club

Although his 1 season with the Atlanta Braves isn't necessarily what people associate most with Brandon Phillips, it was an important step in his career path. During his 2017 season in Atlanta, Phillips became a member of the 2,000 hit club, the 2nd Braves player to get his 2,000th hit in 2017 along with Nick Markakis. Of all the cards produced during his time in Atlanta, his Stadium Club card is extremely well-done and easily one of my favorite Brandon Phillips cards.

#1 2000 Topps Traded

I said I'd include a card from the team that drafted Phillips at the #1 spot, and I followed through with my promise. Believe it or not, Brandon Phillips was drafted by the Montreal Expos back in 1999. Although he never played for the Expos, Phillips still had a couple cards made of him from his time in Montreal. For now, the only one I have is from the 2000 Topps Traded set, but I definitely look to hunt down as many other Brandon Phillips Expos cards as I can.