Favorite Player Collection Part 11: 1998 Topps Bob Wolcott

This card kills two birds with one stone for me. Bob Wolcott is in my Favorite Player Collection, and was also a member of the 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks, a team I am wanting to make 1998 and 1999 Topps cards for.

Bob played for the Seattle Mariners from 1995-1997, the Diamondbacks in 1998, and the Boston Red Sox in 1999, before being forced to retire due to shoulder surgery.  He appeared in the 1996 and 1997 Topps sets, and is missing cards from the '98, '99, and '00 sets, as well as a card in the 1993 Topps set, since he was a 2nd round draft pick (I made him a Draft Pick card in the set).

Part of the reason that I collect Wolcott goes back to 1998. I created my own simulation baseball league where I would give players ratings and play out games mainly going off of dice rolls and coin flips. There were 12 teams in the league, and Wolcott went 3-0 in 3 starts for the Mariners. Because of this and how he did in the '95 Postseason, I think I've always thought Wolcott was a little better than he actually was. His '96 Topps Laser Bright Spots insert agrees with me though, saying he would have over 273 Wins and 2,848 Strikeouts by 2010.

I worked on a few customs today. I'm trying to give Jason Varitek all his missing Topps cards. He had a contract dispute with Topps after appearing in the 1992 Team USA set, and didn't sign with Topps until 2007, so he is missing quite a few cards. I've done all of them up to the 2004 set, but still have the 2005, 2006, and his final 2012 card to do.  After that, I have a ton of cards I could do, we will just see what happens.

Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy