Best 30 Cards From All 30 Teams; NL Central

Along with the AL East, the NL Central is home to some of the greatest cards in my collection. From the abundance of Chicago Cubs hits that I've been fortunate enough to pull to the vintage Cardinals, Pirates, and Reds cards from the 50s and 60s.

Thus, as I continue to make my way through the best 30 cards from all 30 teams mini-series, I've been anticipating my post for the NL Central. 

While there have been some teams in the past few posts that I have forced me to get creative regarding which card I'd choose, the opposite is the case for most clubs in the NL Central.

Aside from the Milwaukee Brewers who had 1 clear choice, the 4 other teams in the NL Central each had at least 2 candidates for the title of the best card. Ultimately, after much deliberation, particularly for the Cubs, I came to a consensus for each team in this division.

As I've mentioned, practically since the beginning of this series, I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of these posts. These countdowns are very interesting to compile, and I'm going to be disappointed once I finish up this series in a few days when I write about the NL West.

This mini-series has helped me break out of my writer's block and, now, I have my blog posts planned out for the next 5 days or so, something that's rarely the case.

Without any further adieu, let's continue on with these posts by discussing the best cards in my collection from each team in the NL Central.

Chicago Cubs

There are, arguably, 5 other Chicago Cubs cards in my collection that could claim the title of my best Cubs card. However, when all is said and done, none of them can come close to the legendary 1/1 quad relic patch, undoubtedly the greatest Baseball card in my entire collection.

I've discussed this card on a few separate occasions beforehand, so I won't waste time by repeating things that I've previously mentioned. However, the fact that this unbelievable card is graded at a 9.5 and features a patch from 4 Chicago Cubs stars, including 3 members of the World Series team, speaks volume.

My favorite aspect of the card would have to be the Billy Williams patch. He's always been my Dad's favorite Cubs player of all-time, and I'm thrilled and surprised that Topps was able to find a patch of his to put on this card.

Truth be told, I doubt that I'll ever pull another card as astounding as this one as long as I'm collecting, and I'm okay with that. After all, it's pretty challenging to top a card of this caliber.

Cincinnati Reds

Although there weren't as many options, I had to decide between a small group of fabulous Cincinnati Reds card for their spot on my countdown. As you can see, I settled on a graded Frank Robinson card from 1959 Topps, and I'm very confident that I made the correct choice.

For starters, I couldn't care less about the BGS 2.5 grade. Admittedly, a higher grade is preferred, but that isn't my prerogative. The card, on its own, is more than enough for me. 

The combination of black and red has always been something that I've adored, and I can't think of a Baseball card in my collection where that combination is more profound. Other details, such as the Reds logo, bring attention to the era in which this card was produced.

Topps did an incredible job with their 1959 Flagship set. The All-Star and combo cards remain iconic to this day, but it's the base card, like Frank Robinson's on the Cincinnati Redlegs, that make this product what it is.

Milwaukee Brewers

Since I started collecting cards, I've never focused that much on the Milwaukee Brewers nor have I pulled a valuable Brewers card from a pack. This is evident through the fact that Robin Yount is one of the only Brewers guys that I collect, and I only began his PC a few months ago.

Nonetheless, I do have 1 Brewers card that is head and shoulders above all the rest in my collection. Because I have a complete set of 1975 Topps, I also own Robin Yount's rookie card, an iconic, simple and amazing card from one of the greatest Topps sets of all-time.

The brown and orange color combination may not be my favorite from the '75 set, but it succeeds as far as Yount's card is concerned. The retro Brewers jersey is definitely a plus, but more so than that, the card itself is easily recognizable. 

Like the Robinson card, Yount's 1975 Topps rookie is just a base card, yet all the elements come together beautifully and cohesively to create an instantly recognizable rookie card worthy of this spot.

Pittsburgh Pirates

When I wrote my PC overview post for Roberto Clemente a few weeks back, I showcased this card as the #1 piece of Clemente memorabilia in my collection. Thus, it shouldn't come as a significant surprise that I chose this BGS 2.5 graded 1962 Topps card as my best Pittsburgh Pirates card.

Despite the low number (#10), I can't find a legitimate complaint about Clemente's '62 Topps card. The wood-bordered set is the perfect canvas for simple and traditional cards, and that's exactly what this is.

The image and the set design work together in perfect unison and the card, although not one of Clemente's most iconic Topps cards, never fails to impress me. 

Better yet, even though the grade is low like Robinson's '59 card, I couldn't be happier to have Clemente's 1962 Topps card protected in a slab.

St. Louis Cardinals

I'll be honest; if this mini-series was entitled "my favorite 30 cards from all 30 teams," I would've chosen the Jack Flaherty auto that I pulled out of 2018 Panini Chronicles for the St. Louis Cardinals spot. 

However, if we're talking about the best, you can't get much better than a Bob Gibson auto, numbered out of 50 copies, that I picked up at last year's National for the price of a blaster box.

Although the black background makes the text challenging to read, the card is perfectly legible in person. Moreover, I'm actually quite fond of the decision to use black for both the 2007 SP Legendary Cuts base set and the autographs as well.

The photo does add a much-needed pop of color, but the only true complaint that I have is I wish the auto was on-card. I understand that they'd need to alter the color scheme, but that minor change would take this autograph to a new level.