In what eventually became a blowout at the hands of the Yankees, the AL Wild Card game took place last night, and a final score of 7-2 sent the Yankees into the ALDS to face the Red Sox, making MLB and major network's dreams come true.
I really have to hand it to the A's on a job well done all season. A team without any elite starters and the lowest payroll in baseball going into 2018 finished the season 97- 65, a record that would've won any division in baseball besides the AL East and West, where they finished 2nd only to the Houston Astros.
For many reasons, I was pulling for the A's to take the Yankees down, but I have to give the Yanks credit where credit is due. When Luis Severino is elite, he's virtually unstoppable, and that's what he was with his 7 strikeouts through 4 innings last night.
Win or lose, I had planned to do this post for the A's right after the Wild Card game results due to them being my favorite team in baseball besides the Red Sox and Cubs. I haven't done one of these posts in a couple weeks, and I had some pretty nice options for the post.
This year, the A's shocked everyone and reminded many of the Swingin' A's from the 1970's. A lot of the relic cards on this list are of those guys. Now, here they are starting with a key pitcher on these legendary A's teams.
#5 2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Ultimate Star Materials Rollie Fingers
When looking up the card on COMC to find the correct name, I saw a powder blue jersey version likely from Fingers' days with the Brewers. Even though I find the color cool, I much prefer a jersey swatch that actually makes sense for the team he's on. This slightly dirty plain white jersey is something that, although simple, works for this card. In fact, the only thing I don't like about the card is Fingers not having his mustache in the photo. Realistically speaking, how can you make a Rollie Fingers card and not choose a photo where he has a mustache?
#4 2002 Fleer Fall Classic October Legends Jerseys Dennis Eckersley
Though the gold border isn't intended to match the A's team colors, it does a nice job of complimenting the rest of the card. In addition to everything else going on, from the Fleer logo to A's logo and the October Legends symbol, the main thing that draws my attention is the jersey swatch which appears to be from a 1980's dark green A's home jersey. One of 3 A's pitchers to have their relics make the list, the Eckersley relic card definitely stands its own.
#3 2003 Topps Tribute World Series Tribute Relics Catfish Hunter
Numbered 229/425 on the back, this Topps Tribute relic from 2003 may look like it has a sunset background when scanned, but it's more of a super shiny refractor when you see it in-person. Not only do I love the shininess of it, but the design is carefully put together with an excellent photo choice in the bottom left corner, showing Catfish in the colorful gold Oakland A's jersey. Like the Fingers relic, I only have 1 complaint and that's half the year "1972" being a relic and the other half being the standard font. It looks a little odd to have it be half and half.
#2 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen Relics Rickey Henderson
Similar to how I was able to look past the plain white jersey swatch on the Rollie Fingers relic card, I was able to do the same for this Rickey Henderson relic from the 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen set. Though this relic is even more simple than any of the ones before, the elegant GQ design and the reoccurrence of the colorful uniforms help me to see the card as a whole and not just 1 minor detail that I'm not crazy about.
Given that Gypsy Queen no longer makes relic cards, our chances to acquire relic cards of players like Henderson went down after 2016, so having as many relics of players like him is definitely a major plus.
#1 2002 Upper Deck Vintage Special Collection Joe Rudi
With gold and green taking up a great deal of this Joe Rudi relic, it almost seems like the card design was chosen especially to complement the A's team colors. The black and white image was definitely an interesting choice, but my favorite part would have to be the relic swatch being shaped in an "A" just like on their caps and jerseys back when outfielder Joe Rudi played.
Everything that I've come to love about relic cards is well-represented with the 5 I chose for the list. Even though fewer and fewer brands are making them, I'm still picking them up at every chance I get, because it's my only shot to get memorabilia cards of players from this era that I've grown to appreciate.
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