1998 Topps Mickey Tettleton

Mickey Tettleton played his last game in 1997 with the Texas Rangers. He recieved his last card in the '97 Topps set, missing out on a sunset card. The only brands to give him cards in '98 sets were Collector's Choice and Upper Deck.

Mickey was on of my favorite Detroit Tigers while he was with the club from '91-'94. I got his 1993 Topps Black Gold card out of a 500 count card box that year, and had always wanted to get it signed. I lived in Lakeland, Florida at the time (I was about 10), and I would usually got to a Spring Training game and see the Tigers (they train in Lakeland) every year. I never did get the card signed, but I think had I been old enough to drive and seen more games and really knew what I was doing, I could've got it signed.

He moved on to the Rangers in '95 and put up decent numbers until he retired in '97. I got his '98 Upper Deck card that year, and it always fascinates me when I look at the back that he had 3 Home Runs in '97, but only 4 RBIs. He very well could've got his only RBIs that year off of Home Runs and it's strange to think that he played till June and didn't get more RBIs even though he was still a decent power hitter at that point.

His missing '98 Topps card was pretty easy to make. The foil for the name is the biggest trouble spot in the '98 Topps set. For teams like that Rangers, it is easy to see because of the lighter color used underneath it. For other teams, you can barely make it out, as you will be able to see in some future cards.

Thanks for checking out my latest card.

-Jeremy