1995 Topps #700 Mike Myers/Scott Sullivan/Eric Dinyar/Danny Graves

Today's card features 4 players. 3 of them were valuable relievers in the Majors, and 1 of them was a great pitcher I saw play in the minors that had an injury cut his career short before he reached the Bigs.

Mike Myers pitched from 1995-2007 with a number of teams, and won a World Series title with the Boston Red Sox in 2004.
Scott Sullivan had a 3.98 ERA in 10 seasons in the Majors, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. He went to Auburn University, and gets bonus points for doing so.
Eric Dinyar pitched in the minors for the Detroit Tigers from 1994-1997. In 1996, I saw him pitch a few times, and he set the Lakeland Tigers single-season record for Saves with 27. He was injured in 1997, and retired shortly after. He was elected to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Hall of Fame in 2014.
Danny Graves played for 11 seasons in the Majors, making the All-Star team in 2000 and 2004 with the Cincinnati Reds. He finished his career with 182 Saves.

The next few cards coming up will be prospect and draft pick cards. Hopefully you will enjoy them. I have been working on finalizing all of the checklists that I have done by adding team photos that I could find, stadium cards, and notable draft picks that Topps missed. The 1989-1994 sets are done, as well as the 1996 set. I chose to make some customs tonight rather than doing the 1995 set, but I'll finish it soon enough. I think I will do the 2001 set and then just hold off with the '97-99 sets until all of the players are done for those. The 1999 set will be first (already have the Blue Jays and Rangers teams done), then 1998, 1997, and 2000. I'm hoping to finish a set or two by the end of the year and possibly more. Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

1995 Topps #689 Charlie Hough

Charlie Hough played in the Majors from 1970-1994. He played for the Dodgers from 1970 through the middle of 1980 when he was sold to the Texas Rangers. After a decade with the Rangers, he pitched in 1991 and 1992 for the White Sox, and finished his career with the Florida Marlins in 1993 and -994. Charlie was a knuckleballer,  and the pitch helped keep him in the Bigs for a long time.

Charlie got his first Topps card in the 1972 set, and then appeared in every set through 1994. He also got a 1991 Topps Traded card. The only cards needed to finish his career Topps run are a 1971 Topps rookie, and this 1995 Topps sunset card. I am also adding another 1993 Topps card of Charlie picturing him with the White Sox, since he spent 1992 with them. The 1993 expansion started the practice of Topps putting players in their new uniforms and not giving them a final card with their old team. In my opinion, Series 1 should always feature cards of players in the previous years team uniform. Series 2 also should, and the Traded set should be reserved for rookies and then and only then should players get new cards with updated uniforms and team info. I can't stand the recent practice of Topps where they give a player a card in Series 1 or 2 featuring them with team A, and then for whatever reason, giving them a Traded card still with teamA since they never changed teams. This is why 500+players don't have Topps cards every year. You may issue a 350  card series 1 set, a 350 card series 2 set, and a 350  card Traded set, but with all these duplicate cards of every player, the real player count is probably closer to 800 or 900, not 900 or 1000 like it should be. Just my opinion and one of the reasons I feel why I have to do all of these crazy customs.

It should be noted that after I made this card that I saw that GCRL did a post of the same card, this one featuring a back. I probably wouldn't have made this card had I known that one existed, but that's ok. The funny thing is that I think we found the same photo to use for the card. What are the odds?

I'm working slowly but surely on the 2016 Topps final checklist. 4 teams are done so far, but I'll get done eventually. I've been making a good number of customs too, as you can probably tell if you've noticed more names crossed off of some of the checklist pages. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy 

2000 Topps Albert Pujols/Josh Beckett Draft Picks

Today's card is one of those fantasy cards that Topps could've theoretically made had they had a crystal ball. It features Albert Pujols and Josh Beckett, 2 players who were drafted in the 1999 MLB Draft. This card could've been worth alot during Beckett's prime, and would still command a ton of value due to Pujols being on it. Pujols has been in every Topps set since 2001, so this would've been his first Topps card, and Beckett appeared on his first Topps card in 2002, and got one for every season he played. Josh's final Topps card, in the 2015 set is actually just a highlight card with a checklist on the back, so I may do a regular version of his 2015 card. Other than that, both of these players have their career Topps run finished with this card, although I may put Josh on a 2001 Topps prospects card if I find a few other players to pair with him.  This is actually the 2nd 2000 Topps card I've done of Pujols, as I've done a 2000 Topps Traded version of him during the early days of my blog. Here is the Traded card.

I have made a bunch of templates this week, and am only 5 away from finishing the 1989 Topps set. That will give me the 1989, 1996, 2000, and 2001 Topps sets, and I have a feeling that the '90 set as well as the 1997 sets shouldn't give me too much trouble either. I should get a chance to work on more on Monday night. Also, Richard, who has made some customs for me before, sent me some yesterday and is working on a few more batches, so once I get the rest of them, I will post them for you. Some of them aren't technically Topps cards, but they are cool and if I were ever to make a custom set to print out and put in binders, I would definitely include them, so stay tuned for them in a coming post.
It's been a while since my team had a softball game, but we did have one on Monday, and I should've just stayed home. I went 0-2 with a fielders choice, and a lineout to 2nd with the bases loaded. We lost 25-3, and during the 6th, I think the other team batted around twice, and they scored at least a dozen runs. I let a bouncing ball get through my legs that inning, but I was ok with just 1 error, as our shortstop made at least 3 that frame. Things have to get better next game. Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

1993 Topps Junior Felix

Junior Felix played in the Majors from 1989-1994. He appeared on a good number of cards during that time, getting a card every year during his career. Felix started his career with the Blue Jays in 1989. He stayed with them through 1990, then played with the Angels in 1991 and 1992. He got selected by the Florida Marlins in the Expansion Draft in late 1992, and suited up for Florida in 1993. He played for the Detroit Tigers in his final season (1994). 

His first Topps card came in the 1989 Traded set. He got into the regular issue in 1991 and 1992. His 1993 card is iconic and has had many posts written about it. Topps took the photo in an Angels-Indians game in 1992. He is shown sliding into home with Indians catcher Junior Ortiz trying to tag him. Gary Gaetti's card that year also features him sliding into home in that game, and Otriz's '93 card features a shot of the Gaetti play just seconds later. Felix got into the '94 Traded set and finished out his Topps run in the 1995 regular set. 

Junior should've got a 1993 Topps card in Series 2 as he was selected by the Marlins in the Expansion Draft. Many other players who were selected by the Marlins (and Rockies) in the draft got Series 2 cards in their new uniforms, and there were also some in the Traded set. Junior had a '93 Finest card, a '93 Stadium Club card, and a '93 Team Stadium Club card showing him in his Marlins duds, so it's confusing as to why he was left off of the '93 Series 2 set. With this custom, it finishes up his career Topps run and gives him his Marlins card. 

I haven't had time to work on cards in a while, and probably won't next week, but I did try to print some and they actually came out pretty good. I'm going to see a relative who is in the minors tomorrow, and I'm going to give him some cards I made and printed, so we'll see what he thinks. 

Thanks to checking out my latest card. 

-Jeremy

1993 Topps Bret Barberie

Today's card is a card from the 1993 Topps Marlins set. Bret Barberie got a card in the 1992 Topps set, and the '94 set, but was left off of the '93 one. I don't see why. He was a prospect, even played on the '88 USA Olympic team and got a card in the '88 Topps Traded set. He was selected in the Expansion Draft, and most of the selections got cards in the '93 Topps or '93 Topps Traded set. By the time the '93 Traded set would come out, Bret staked his name in Marlins history by getting their first ever hit, so there are tons of reasons why he should've got a card in the 1993 set, 

I'm going to try to give all of the players selected in the 1992 and 1997 Expansion Drafts cards, probably giving more priority to the Devil Rays, but I'll eventually get all of them done.

This will be the last post I do for a week or so. I'm either working or at doctor appointments the next few days, then I'm going on a cruise on Friday, so while I won't be posting, I'm going to be having a great time relaxing as long as I get through a few days of work. Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 3: 2004 Topps Jeff Cox

I never really knew or cared about Jeff Cox until I was watching something on WGN during a rain delay of a White Sox game a few years ago, and it was talking about White Sox coach Jeff Cox. Cox seemed like a colorful and fun guy and seemed like he got along well with his players. I picked up a few of his cards on COMC and decided to try to get his autograph ttm. If I recall correctly, he had some great stats as far as stolen bases. He signed the cards, and I have been a fan of his ever since, even though I really don't care for the Marlins or the White Sox. 

Jeff was a coach on the '03 Marlins World Championship team that beat the Bankee$ that year. Topps hadn't made coach cards in forever, and still doesn't (except for maybe a team set or two), so this card wouldn't have seen the light of day if not for me deciding to make it. I feel that everyone who puts on a uniform and plays a part in the decisions of a game should get a card (coaches, managers, and players), as well as maybe the stadium and a team photo. It's too bad that these kind of cards don't get made anymore. .

The card was a little troublesome to make. I had to take a regular '04 Topps Marlins card and blend the silver Marlins logo from their '04 team card to make it. The fonts matched up really well, and so did the coloring of it. I think it looks just like a card that you could've found in '04 Topps packs had Topps produced it.

Thanks for checking out my first post of 2016!

-Jeremy

Missing Managers: 1994 Topps Rene Lachemann

In the first segment of Missing Managers, I chose to make a 1994 Topps Rene Lachemann card. Rene got a card in the 1993 Topps set, but didn't get any cards after that since Topps didn't make manager cards from 1994-2000. This card was pretty simple to make because along with my laptop, I got the newest version of MS Paint. I didn't know Paint had updated versions, so once I got used to everything, it was a nice surprise. I have tons of more fonts to choose from (making some tough sets like 1994 that have difficult to replicate fonts a lot easier to deal with), and now the only things I really need GIMP for are rotating text and blurring colors.

I also made a card of Rene for my other blog , Completing the 1992 Topps set, where I am making a 1992 Topps card for every person who put on a uniform in 1991. Since Rene was a coach for the Oakland A's, he got a card in the set. I recently found out that I somehow missed 2 players in the (O-Pee-Chee) set, John Dopson and Nick Esasky. Dopson got in to 1 game in '91, and Esasky spent the year on the DL. I will be making those cards soon and hopefully it will finally complete the set.

Things have been crazy here, with me and my wife fighting stomach bugs and us traveling to Tallahassee, moving, and doing some dog sitting on top of that. If I never have to dog sit and live out of a suitcase and try to find stuff in somebody elses house, it will be too soon. I can't tell you how many times I've looked for a baking sheet, couldn't find it, settled on a really small one, pre-heated the oven, only to open the friggin oven door to find a clean full sized baking sheet just sitting there in the oven. Little things like that make me never want to leave my home again no matter how much someone pays me. And enough with my rant. I should be making some more cards later this week, including a '15 Topps Update Pride and Perserverance card of Bud Selig (spoiler alert: I don't care for the guy), and hopefully I'll post them this week. Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

1993 Topps Charles Johnson Coming Attractions, and I'm getting Surge today!

1993 Topps is an important set to me. I was 8 in 1992, and had just started purchasing packs of cards with my own money. I remember the next year, 1993, that Topps put the Topps Gold cards in every pack, and I liked getting them. I liked getting the All-Star, Draft Pick, Manager, Top Prospect, and Coming Attraction cards. Topps also put cards of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins in their set in Series 2, and being from Central Florida, I loved getting Marlin cards. I always found it funny, though, that Topps never gave a Coming Attraction subset card to the Rockies or Marlins. They gave each team a Draft Pick card, had a few Rockies and Marlins in the Top Prospect cards, and even had cards of their managers. Todays card fixes half of the problem, giving Charles Johnson the Marlins Top Prospect card. Charles was the Marlins #1 Draft Choice in 1992, but Topps chose to give left-hander Rich Ireland the Draft Pick card instead. CJ was one of the finest defensive catchers to play the game, and I remember him being a big part of the Marlins 1997 World Championship team. He appeared in the 1991 Topps Traded set when he was with Team USA, but (I believe due to contract negotiations with Topps) didn't appear on another Topps card until years later.

This card was a little easier to work with on the back due to the fact that the Marlins had Charlie Hough and John Johnstone on 1993 Topps cards, so I used their cards to help me with the name on the back. It also helped that Bret Boone of the Seattle Mariners had a Coming Attraction card. His card, instead of having the Mariners team colors on the back, had the Marlins team colors on the back, so I didn't have to use the back of a Marlins card and try to paste the Coming Attractions logo in the picture area. Maybe one of these days, I'll do a post showing the making of a card from start to finish.

I'll be traveling in the next few days, so I'll try to do a post tomorrow, and then will pretty much be off the radar for a week. And finally, I'm super excited to be recieving my package of Surge soda from Amazon today! I loved Surge when I was in high school in the late '90's! The citrus taste was legendary. I probably had one of my last Surge's sometime in the late '90's (probably out of the vending machine in my church's hallway). I searched for it for the next 4-5 years, and while driving around town with my friend Joe, we stopped to get some gas, and I found some in the fountain drinks that had to be way past the expiration date. I got a 64-oz cup, a 6-pack of Krispy Kreme donuts (which I had also been trying to find for a year or so), and chugged the soda and had 2 donuts. I got a huge sugar headache and was almost late for work. That was the last time I had Surge. I probably won't have any Krispy Kreme's with it, but I am sure going to enjoy having my first Surge since 2002 or so! Thanks for checking out my blog.

-Jeremy

1997 Topps Alejandro Pena

Card #25 in the first series of my custom set was supposed to be a 1982 Topps Traded Wade Boggs card. I was excited about the 1981 Topps Minnie Minoso that I had just finished, and was even more excited about the next cards coming up after the '82 Traded Boggs (a 1980 Topps Disco Demolition Night Highlight card, a 1990 Topps Bo Jackson All-Star Game Highlight card, a 1978 Topps Ted Turner Manager card, and even the 1993 Topps Stadium Club Derek Jeter 1st Day Issue card, and I HATE the Yankee$). So I decided I would do cards #26 and 27 first (Disco Demolition and Bo Jackson) before I did #25 (the Boggs). I also had a list going of about 100 players who I followed growing up in the '90's who I believed Topps hadn't made a final card of. After checking on Wikipedia and Google, probably 80% of the players hadn't had a final Topps card. So I made a list of cards for Series 5 and 6, and have a partial list for Series 7. Now the last thing I could think about was a boring 1982 Topps Traded Wade Boggs card, and since other bloggers have done it, I decided to scrap the Boggs card, and put another card in it's place. I don't know why, but for some reason, Alejandro Pena stuck out at me. He played for the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers championship team (one of my favorite teams of all-time), he won 3 World Series titles, and pitched for a few decent playoff teams, and he was a decent pitcher in his prime, winning the NL ERA title in 1984, tying for the lead in Shutouts, and becoming a decent reliever after getting injured the following year. So, I decided to make his last Topps card, a 1997 one. It was pretty difficult finding letters that didn't take too much re-touching, and the back was easier than the front, but I'm happy with how this card turned out, apologies to Wade Boggs. The first series is done, and now to start the 2nd series will be card #26, 1980 Topps Disco Demolition Night Highlights.