Top 5 Cards; Dave Winfield

Throughout their 50 year history, the San Diego Padres have developed 2 of the game's greatest 5-tool players and guided these superstars to Cooperstown. First, we have the face of the franchise, Tony Gwynn, who spent all 20 years of his career in San Diego (1982-2001).

Then, there's Dave Winfield who spent the first 8 years of his 22-year career with the Padres before signing with the New York Yankees following the 1980 season. It's truly a shame that these 2 MLB legends and Padres icons never played a game together.

Nonetheless, Winfield accomplished terrific things in San Diego and beyond. He made the All-Star team for 12 consecutive seasons from 1977 to 1988. Though the league MVP award evaded Winfield throughout his career, his .283/.353/.475 slash line speaks volume to the kind of player he was.

After leaving New York, Winfield became a journeyman of sorts during his final years, ending up with the Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, and Indians before retiring in 1995. By that point, he'd eclipsed 450 home runs and 3,000 hits.

My Dave Winfield player collection currently sits at 85 total cards, most of which are from his days with the Yankees and Padres. As you'll see, those clubs are the only ones represented on this list.

#5 1984 Topps

After this '84 Topps All-Star card, featuring Winfield on the New York Yankees, the rest of this list will feature San Diego Padres cards only.

Aside from the fact that all 1984 Topps Yankees cards remind me of the Mattingly rookie, this card made the top 5 because it's on the same level as the fabulous Padres cards that I have of Winfield.

I almost always prefer to see Yankee pinstripes over their road uniforms, but there's something about all the elements of this card, from the picture to the All-Star banner (which I wish they'd use nowadays) that makes a terrific final product.

#4 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter

Retro-style products like Allen & Ginter and Archives are notorious for showcasing throwback uniforms, and with cards like this, it's easy to see why. Not only does the blue color splotch complement the jersey, but A&G is showing us a uniform that we rarely see on Baseball cards.

There are other San Diego jerseys that I've seen on cards, some of which you'll see later in this post, but I'm not familiar with the one above being printed on cardboard. Kudos to Topps for not taking the easy way out when it comes to this 2017 Allen & Ginter card.

#3 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

There's something about cards from the first few years of Gypsy Queen (2011-2014) that never fail to impress me, but there's an added element of uniqueness to Winfield's 2011 GQ card.

As if the typical retro uniform and filter wasn't enough, we have an awesome and underused angle that pairs beautifully with the rest of the card. There's nothing too flashy or crazy about this card. It's simple, as far as the modern era is concerned, and it's gorgeous.

#2 1978 Topps

Technically, this card is from '78 O-Pee-Chee, but you can't tell the difference unless you look at the slightly lighter card back. Whether the card is O-Pee-Chee or Topps Flagship, this card from 1978 is outstanding. For virtually any other player, it would earn the #1 spot on a top 5 cards list.

The few times where I'm able to overlook the blandness of the '78 set is when the image is at a whole nother level than anything I could've imagined, and that's kind of how I feel about the card above. The black and yellow jersey may be one of the greatest things I've ever seen on a Baseball card in my life.

#1 1975 Topps

At the last moment, I swapped #2 and #1 on this list so that Winfield's jaw-dropping 1975 Topps card would narrowly edge out the '78 Flagship/O-Pee-Chee and end up #1 on the countdown. This copy of the card is slightly off-centered (the better copy is with my complete set), but that's not to take away from this spectacular and beautiful card.

The purple and pink color combination is perfectly representative of the '75 set, and the image is, dare I say perfection. The card doesn't need a flashy and vibrant jersey because we already get those colors from the base design. Topps, being smart, opted for something a little more subtle, and it couldn't have worked out better.

Frankenset Page #58

At this point, I'm well beyond the 3/4 mark of my 74-page frankenset, for I only have 15 frankenset pages left after #58 is complete. Continuing my progression through this 666-card set, this particular page features cards #514-#522.

The cards above date back as far as 1971 and as recent as 2015. Without any further adieu, let's commence the next page in this custom made set.

#514 1978 Topps Rob Sperring

Whether you love them or hate them, there's no denying that the Houston Astros' rainbow jerseys provide a much-needed splash of color to the plain 1978 Topps set. I've never been too crazy about the '78 design as a whole, so I appreciate that Topps made this particular card slightly more interesting.

Don't get me wrong. '78 Topps is still home to some memorable cards, from Dave Winfield to Eddie Murray. However, it fails to stand out among the fabulous other Flagship sets of the 70s. If every card in the product, however, looked like the one above, I'm sure I'd be much more fond of it.

#515 1972 Topps Bert Blyleven

Hall of Famer cards, especially those from before the 1990s, haven't made many appearances in my frankenset thus far. In fact, I'd be surprised if I'd showcased a single HOF card from before 1975 before the Bert Blyleven card above appeared on page #58.

Since I don't keep track of every card that I choose for my frankenset, I don't familiarize myself with the actual pages until I write the posts. I'm surprised that I was able to include a relatively high number card (#515) from a set like 1972 Topps in my frankenset, but I love that I was able to do so.

1972 Topps ranks as my all-time favorite Topps Flagship design, so I'll take any opportunity I can get to feature cards from this iconic product across my frankenset pages.

#516 1987 Fleer Ken Griffey

Sometimes, I feel that Baseball fans forget about the caliber of player that Ken Griffey Sr was because of how phenomenal of a superstar his son was across his 22-year career. His dad, however, played 19 seasons and hit .296 with over 2,000 hits in roughly 7,200 at-bats.

Those stats are far from easy to achieve, not to mention Griffey helped lead the Reds to 2 World Series championships, and the 1980 All-Star Game MVP hit .303 across his 12 seasons with Cincinnati.

I just hope the same thing doesn't happen to Vladimir Guerrero in regards to his son, for it seems like Vladdy Jr is already stealing some of his HOF father's spotlight.

#517 2015 Topps Heritage High Number Colby Rasmus

The Houston Astros, to my knowledge, led the way with All-Stars in 2019, deservingly so in spite of the flawed system that is fan voting. Can we please just go back to the days when the actual players voted for who would make the All-Star Game? 

It infuriates me that Devers and Bogaerts weren't even considered as finalists for their respective positions. While it's easy for me to seem biased, there's simply no better American League SS or 3B, as far as 2019 stats are concerned, than Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.

#518 1983 Topps Bill Laskey

I don't know that I'm that familiar with the San Francisco Giants uniform showcased in the card above. I've seen similar jerseys in white on Willie McCovey's cards from the late 70s and early 80s, but the dark brown version is brand new to me.

There's not much else for me to say about card #518 in my frankenset. We all know that I love 1983 Topps, but that's about it for this card. Moving on.

#519 1988 Donruss Mark Davidson

As much as I dislike the terrible borders and set design of 1988 Donruss, I'll admit that this card is pretty decent as far as the set is concerned. I love the Minnesota Twins uniform as well as the photo that was taken. 

The unique angle and position vaguely remind me of Topps Stadium Club, only without the high-quality photography of the 2010s. Everything outside the frame is pretty awful, but the actual image isn't anything to look down upon.

#520 2015 Topps Brayan Pena

As soon as Topps announced the design for the 2019 Flagship set, I had a feeling that the 2015 design would reign supreme as the greatest Topps base set of the decade. However, I wanted to wait and look at the cards in person before I made this judgment. 

Now, months after the release of Series 1 and a few weeks following that of Series 2, I can definitely say that 2015 Topps is my favorite Flagship design not just from the 2010s, but the entire 21st century as well. 

The vibrant bursts of color are something that we haven't seen in decades, and the set is truly a modern masterpiece. I just wish that Topps would continue to learn from this brilliant design.

#521 1971 Topps Leron Lee

Speaking of past products that Topps could learn something from, we have 1971 Topps, the only Flagship set to successfully pull off black borders (sorry 2007). However, being 1-2 all-time using this color doesn't mean that Topps should give up.

I'd love to see black borders make a return as a base set design, not just an incredibly rare parallel or online exclusive. I've always argued that, when attention to detail is utilized, black-bordered cards can be downright beautiful. There just needs to be a lot of effort put into the product itself.

#522 1988 Donruss Pat Sheridan

Believe me, it wasn't my intent to include 2 cards from the dismal 1988 Donruss set on the same page, but I guess there were slim pickings as far as card #522 was concerned. While the previous card from the '88 set had a respectable image, there's not a whole lot going for the final card on this page.

I've said this before, but I'll definitely search harder for a better selection of cards when creating my next frankenset. I don't want to have any cards, no matter the page, that I don't like, and that's, unfortunately, how I feel about the card above.

My Ideal Topps Archives Set

With the baseball season officially over and the major baseball card releases not too far behind, I'm forced to turn my attention towards 2019. As it pertains to baseball cards, that happens to be what the sets might look like once next year comes along.

Though Topps Heritage is never a surprise release, I always enjoy reading Cardboard Connection and Beckett info articles about other sets like Gypsy Queen, Stadium Club, and Allen & Ginter as soon as they're released in order to see what the new year will bring for some of my favorite Topps products.

Similarly, I do the same for Topps Archives, but it's far less about the set design and more about what sets will be chosen. For many years now, Topps has chosen 3 sets to take up the 300 base card checklist. However, when you think about it, Archives is all about timing, more so than any other product.

You can't choose a product that's been done in Heritage recently or is going to be the focus of Topps Heritage in upcoming years. From what I've noticed, the wait time between Archives and Heritage seems to be around 8-10 years given the inclusion of the 1960 Topps set in 2017 Topps Archives.

Additionally, there has to be a balance between decades. As much as I love 60's cards, the whole set can't just be from that decade. There's usually 1 set from the 50's/60's, 1 from the 70's/80's, and finally, one from the 80's/90's as well. All of this while choosing the right players to be included in the product.

With all of this in mind, I've decided to create my own Topps Archives set using Topps sets from the past that haven't made their way into Archives yet or were represented in Heritage, but many years ago. What I've come up with is, I believe, the ideal Topps Archives set for next year.

As for the oldest product in my ideal Archives set, I went for a set that's become a collectors favorite that hasn't been seen since Topps Heritage way back in 2005. That set is the classic 1956 Topps made all the way back in the day when the dimensions of the average baseball card were larger than they were today. If you're looking to start something like Archives off with a bang, look no further than 1956 Topps.

As we saw with Topps Heritage in 2003-2005, there's no need to copy the exact size of the cards, making them the same size as they were in the 50's. Actually, it's easier to make these cards the same size as we're used to seeing nowadays so they can fit on a typical sheet or in a standard penny sleeve like the rest of the cards. Considering that minor setback was already handled back in '05, there should be nothing stopping Topps from putting 1956 Topps in an Archives set very soon.

For the set following 1956 Topps in my ideal Archives product, I chose an underrated Topps Flagship design that was last seen in 2010 Topps Heritage, nearly a decade ago. With the use of creative color combinations at the bottom of the card and the superb photo quality of today, '61 Topps has the potential to work out extremely well in a future Topps Archives set just like it did back in 2010, maybe even better.

To make things better, Archives sets typically include 1 design per year that isn't necessarily considered super exciting, at least compared to other eye-catching sets like 1977 Topps, for example. I presume Topps does this in order to have a way to show off even more of their top-tier photography while also giving that particular year of Archives a chance to stand on its own with a strong balance of sets.

It's hard to believe the most recent of the Archives sets is from 40 years ago, but trust me when I say I considered many options before making this decision. Keep in mind, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1989 have all been included in Topps Archives sets beginning in 2012 along with 1990, 1991, and 1992. 

By the time 2019 begins, we will have been just 2 years removed from the over-used 1987 insert set throughout 2017 Topps, and 1988 Topps just isn't that exciting. Combined with the lack of 70's sets available, 1978 is the best option.

Granted, this Archives set will rely on vintage more so than any Archives product before it, but since when is that a bad thing? We have 9 years before 1978 Topps will be the subject of Heritage, and it's been a while since either 1956 or 1961 Topps were included in Heritage as well. Each set has something different to offer up for Topps Archives. and though I doubt this lineup will actually be chosen, it would have to be my 1st choice for an ideal 2019 Topps Archives set.