1999 Topps #507 Brad Pennington

Brad Pennington came up to the Majors in 1993 with the Baltimore Orioles. He stayed with them until the middle of  '95, then was traded to the Reds. He played with the Red Sox and Angels in 1996, then played his final season in the Bigs in 1998 with the Devil Rays.

Brad received his first Topps card in the 1993 set as part of the Coming Atteactions subset. I remember that card pretty well as I was in 5th grade in 1993 and had just about all of that subset but was missing the Orioles card for it, and I was also missing the final checklist of the set, so I never knew who the card pictured. For our classes Christmas party, we had a gift exchange, and my dad picked out 2 1993 Topps Series 2 packs from a gas station. I got to choose a gift midway through the exchange, and traded whatever I picked for the cards that my dad had picked out. Somehow, nobody caught me and traded gifts, so I got the 2 packs, and I pulled the Pennington. Brad got a card in the 1994 set, and that was his final Topps card. He is missing cards from the 1995, 1996, and 1997 Topps sets. This 1999 Topps custom would've been Brads final Topps card.

This is the final '98 Devil Ray custom for a while. I am still a few cards from finishing the set, but got a little tired of making 1999 customs, so there are plenty of other sets to show off in upcoming posts. I finished the 2000 and 1996 Topps templates, and am working on the 1989 set now, which is 4 teams away from having the NL completely done. Maybe I'll get to the 1990 set soon. We'll see. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #506 Jim Mecir

Jim Mecir pitched for 11 seasons in the Majors, starting in 1995 with the Mariners. He pitched for the Yankees in 1996 and 1997, winning a World Series ring in 1996 with them. He came to the Devil Rays in the expansion draft at the end of the '97 season, and stayed with them through the middle of 2000. He was traded to the Athletics, and pitched with them through the end of the 2004 season. He pitched with the Florida Marlins in 2005, and retired at the end of the season.
I've always liked Mecir because he pitched for the Rays and he threw a true screwball, a pitch nobody throws anymore.
Just trust me, Mecir doesn't have any Topps cards. I guess middle relievers weren't their thing in the late '90's and early 2000's. Mecir does have a card in the '92 Stadium Club Dome set, which features him and other '91 draft picks in awkward school pictures. Check out Baseball Card Bust, which featured a few more of these cards. Mecir is missing cards from the 1996-2006 Topps sets, and he will get an extra card in the 1998 Topps set as a Devil Ray (his first will be as a Yankee), since he was part of the 1997 expansion draft. This 1999 Topps custom gives him his first of what will be 12 Topps cards.
The plan tonight is to finish the 2000 Topps templates and perhaps record some songs I have written (I figured it will be easier to make customs than record when baby gets here). I might post some of each in the next few weeks. Stay tuned. Only 1 more '99 Rays card and I promise other teams are on the horizon. Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #505 Albie Lopez

Albie Lopez was a Major League pitcher for 11 seasons, making his MLB debut in 1993 with the Cleveland Indians. He played with them through 1997, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the '97 Expansion Draft. He stayed with the Devil Rays until the middle of 2001, when he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was with the club at the end of the season when they won the 2001 World Series. He would play 2 more years in MLB, 2002 with the Atlanta Braves, and 2003 with the Kansas City Royals.

Albie got his first Topps card in 1994, which is a cool little card. The Indians color scheme in the '94 Topps set has a blue color bar at the bottom, but Albie's card has a black one, similar to the Rockies cards that year. I actually got the card signed in Spring Training in 1995.  Albie's next Topps card was in the 1995 set, then he was left off of the '96-'01 sets. He got into the 2002 set, and his last Topps card came in the '03 Traded set. Albie is missing cards from the 1996-2001 sets, as well as the 2004 set. This 1999 custom gives him what will be his 2nd card with the Rays once I make his '98 Topps card.

I got a few more 2000 templates done today, and probably some time in the next month, I will post every template I have from every set that I have done, just so anyone that wants to help make cards off of my checklist and anyone who needs templates can have them.  Hopefully Thursday I'll get to make some more. Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #504 Dennis Springer

Oh Dennis Springer.....I have posted a few times on other posts about seeing Dennis give up Homers. While a 15 year old in 1998, I went to about 5 games at Tropicana Field. Out of them, I believe I saw Springer pitch 4 of them. In each, he would give up 3-4 Homers off of his knuckleball, and the game would be over before the end of the 3rd Inning.

Dennis came up to the Majors in 1995 with the Phillies. He played with the Angels in 1996 and 1997, and then had that fateful 3-11 1998 season with the Rays. He mercifully went to the Marlins in 1999, spent 2000 with the Mets, and finished out his career with the Dodgers in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, he gave up a famous Home Run, Barry Bonds' 73rd of the season. I know I'm getting on Springer for all of the Homers he gave up, and I'm sure he's a better pitcher than I could ever dream of being, and I do really wish him the best in life, but you would think with all the guys hitting bombs off of your knuckleball that you would mix in a fastball, changeup, or curve once in a while.

Springer only had 1 Topps card, a 1998 one with him as an Angel in the photo. I plan on doing another 1998 card with him in a Rays uniform, as well as his 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 cards to finish his career Topps run. For this 1999 custom, I was able to find a photo of Springer getting a ball from the catcher after giving up a Home Run. I think it might even have been at the Trop, but I can't tell for sure.

We have been without power for a day, but really have been lucky with the hurricane and just have a good amount of branches to clean up. I'm at work posting on my lunch, and might spend tonight at a hotel if the power doesn't come back. I'm ready to kick things into gear and finish unpacking stuff before baby gets here in a month, and this no power thing is throwing a big wrench in the plans. Oh well. At least I'm able to get to work and post some customs during lunch. Thanks for checking out my latest post. -Jeremy

Favorite Player Collection Part 12: 1999 Topps #502 Rolando Arrojo

Rolando Arrojo played baseball in the Major Leagues from 1998 to 2003. He quickly became one of my favorite players when he was with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998. He came over from Cuba in 1996, and the Rays signed him in 1997. The Rays stunk in 1998, but he was one of the few bright spots on the club, going 14-12 during the team's first season, and making the All-Star team. It was great watching him actually give the Rays a chance to win, instead of seeing Dennis Springer and Esteban Yan give up Home Run after Home Run. I actually got Rolando's autograph on a poster in 1999, and I cannot find it for the life of me. Sad.
Arrojo pitched with the Rays in 1999, then was traded to the Colorado Rockies after the season for Vinny Castilla. Every Rays fan knows how that trade worked out...  Rolando started the '00 season with Colorado, but was traded to the Boston Red Sox in the middle of the year. He would pitch 2 more seasons with the Red Sox, and then spent the '03 season in the minor leagues with the Yankees organization before calling it quits.

Rolando only appears on 2 Topps cards, his first being in the 2001 set. I kind of want to call the '01 set the 'Everybody Set', since Topps chose to make the set 792 cards after year of 400-500 card sets, finally including a bigger sampling of MLB players in the set and including just about everyone on a team. Rolando's final Topps card was his sunset card, a 2003 Topps edition. He is missing cards from the 1999, 2000, and 2002 sets for a career Topps run. I also want to make a 1998 card of Rolando, since Topps included a bunch of future Rays as part of the '98 Series 2 set. This '99 Topps custom would've been his 2nd card had Topps put him in the '98 set.

Today was a crazy day at work. I live near Daytona Beach and work as a baker in a grocery store bakery. Everyone and their mom was in today to prepare for Hurricane Matthew. We baked a ton of bread, and I usually end up going home between 1:30 and 2PM, but today was their until 4:30. It will probably be crazy again tomorrow, but I'm hoping that we will have enough workers to get through it. I'm also hoping that the storm goes more eastward and towards the ocean, since my wife will be working in Ormond Beach on Thursday and Friday night. We just bought a new home, so I'm kind of worried about that, and would consider myself very lucky if we just get some fallen branches and have the power stay on throughout the storm, but you never know with hurricanes. Maybe I'll have time to work on more templates while the storm comes by. I'm scheduled to be off on Friday, but it sounds like I'll probably have to come in, but I'm hoping they decide to close the store down and I can stay home instead of having to work day #3 in what would be a run of 7 days in a row should I end up coming in. I finished the 2001 Topps templates and am working on the 2000 set, so a day off with nothing to do and hopefully still having power will put a big dent in that set. Well see. Thanks for taking the time to read my latest post.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #501 Rick White

Rick White had a fairly long career in the Majors, playing from 1994-2007. He came up with the Pirates in 1994, and made it back to the Bigs with them in 1995. He spent '96 and '97 in the minors, and then caught on with the Devil Rays for 1998 through the 2000 trading deadline, when he was traded to the Mets. He played with them in 2001, then started the '02 season with the Rockies. He was acquired by the Cardinals during the 2002 season, which kind of started a team carousel with him. He spent 2003 with the White Sox and Astros, 2004 with the Indians, 2005 with the Pirates, 2006 with the Reds and Phillies, and 2007 with the Astros and Mariners before retiring.

I actually saw White pitch a few times with the Rays in '98, '99, and '00. I have a ziplock bag full of ticket stubs of games I went to, and if I can find it while I'm unpacking things, I'll have to look up the Rays games I went to so I can see who I watched pitch besides Dennis Springer and Esteban Yan, who gave up dozens of Home Runs while I was there.

Unfortunately for Rick, he didn't appear on many Topps cards. He got a 1994 Topps Traded card, then missed out on a card until 2001 when he appeared in the regular set. He got a 2002 Topps card, and a 2003 Topps Traded card. He has a 2006 Topps Phillies Fan Appreciation Day card, which looks exactly like a card from the '06 set except having yellowish foil instead of silver foil on it. Rick needs a bunch of cards to complete his career Topps run. They are from the 1995-2000 and 2004-2008 Topps sets.  This 1999 Topps customs knocks one off of the list, but there are a ton left.

My softball games were cancelled last night because of wet fields, and I was ok with that because I have been so tired from work, moving, and unpacking boxes that I probably wouldn't have went to the games had the fields been good. All our stuff from the apartment is moved into the new house, and aside from some stuff in storage, we are done with the heavy furniture, and I put a good dent in unpacking boxes, getting all of the kitchen stuff done 2 days ago.
I got made full-time at work 5 days ago, so I will have 2 days off every week, not 3, but the extra money will be worth it I hope. I'm going to try to record some music on my next day off instead of doing custom stuff just because I really want to finish recording these songs before baby comes. I've been wanting to record them for the last 15 years, but never did it because I figured I would have time later. I figure it will be easier to do custom stuff with a baby crying randomly than to record music.
Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #499 Mike Kelly

Mike Kelly was the #1 overall pick in the 1991 MLB draft by the Braves after winning the Golden Spikes Award at Arizona State University. He made his debut in 1994 with the Braves and played with them on their 1995 World Championship club. He spent 1996 and 1997 with the Reds, and 1998 with the Devil Rays. His final season was in 1999 with the Colorado Rockies. He never fulfilled the potential of a #1 pick, but did hit 22 Home Runs in a 6 year career as a reserve outfielder.

Mike only got 2 Topps card in his career, a '94 Topps Traded card, and a '95 Topps card. He is missing cards from the 1996-2000 Topps sets. This card covers the '99 set. I also made a Draft Pick card of Mike as part of my other blog, Completing the 1992 Topps Set. I don't know why he was left out of the '92 set, as most of the picks in the first round of the '91 draft were included in the 1992 set.

Today is the big day when we attempt to move everything into the new house. We closed yesterday, and in an interesting twist, I got promoted to full-time at work today. All I can say is it's about time. I put a lot into my work and it's nice to know that I will be able to make a little more money for my family. Thanks for checking out the latest card.
-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 11: 1999 Topps #498 Rick Williams Coach

Rick Williams never made it to the Majors as a player, but he did as a pitching coach. Rick, who is the son of Hall of Fame Manager Dick Williams, was the pitching coach for the Florida Marlins from 1995 to 1996. After his time in Florida, he became the pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their first season in 1998. He held the position until the end of the 2000 season.

Rick doesn't appear on any Topps cards, so he needs ones in the 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2001 sets. This custom for his first year with the Rays knocks out his 1999 Topps card.

Our softball team lost again tonight, 15-5. I went 1-2 at the plate, hitting a bloop single in between third base and the pitcher in my first At-Bat. I got to second when the next hitter singled, but was thrown out on a close play to 3rd on the next play. In my 2nd At-Bat, I hit lefthanded (I normally hit righty, but we had a runner on 1st, and I wanted to pull the ball towards first so I could try to at least advance the runner). I fouled off 2 pitches, so I was in the hole 1 ball and 2 strikes with no fouls left. The pitch came in and looked a tad high, and inside, and I froze and decided not to swing. The pitch nicked the corner of the plate, and the ump called me out on strikes. It may have been a ball, and the ump didn't give very distinct strike calls, so I was unsure if I was out or still alive for a second. A few of my teammates thought the pitch was a ball, but the ump didn't, and I am no longer batting 1.000. I still haven't scored a run, and have only come to bat once with a runner on base. Clearly we need to hit better.
I also played an inning in Right Field. A lefty came up in the 1st Inning, and hit it to me. I started drifting back towards the fence, and the ball kept carrying and I couldn't see it very well in the lights, and it went over my head a few feet. Don't know if I could've caught it if I ran faster, but it did allow a run to score. That was the only inning I played the field, and I was ok with that. We needed our best guys out there. A few guys made some nice catches, but we also had some close calls that were missed, and ended up giving up a Grand Slam because of 2 of them.

My wife and I are both off tomorrow, and I hope to pack the last of our stuff tomorrow afternoon and evening, maybe give the dogs a bath, and load up our van with as many boxes as will fit. That way, late Wednesday when the house finally closes, we can get right to dropping boxes off, and maybe even getting the U-Haul and starting on furniture. If not, Thursday and Friday will hopefully have enough time to do that.  We also have a 3-D ultrasound on Wednesday, and I'm excited to see what our first son will look like hopefully. We toured the hospital where my wife will give birth today, and it seemed pretty nice. Not exactly what I expected, but what do I know, I'm not a doctor or anything.
On a kind of sad note, I'm sure all of you know that Arnold Palmer passed away on Sunday. The hospital we will be delivering at is Winnie Palmer Hospital, and Arnold Palmer Hospital is right next to it. It was kind of eerie going there and knowing that the person who the main part is named after passed away yesterday. I expected to see flags at half mass, and maybe something about it on the random TV screens that we passed by, but for some reason, we didn't see anything. I didn't see any flags, and I'm sure they were half mast. Maybe the hospital didn't want to dwell on the sadness that Arnold had passed and were trying to keep it low key. It is sad to see such a legend go, and also sad to see a young life like Jose Fernandez snatched away too quickly. You never know when your last day is, so don't hesitate to be at peace with your Maker and be at peace with those in your lives.
Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #518 Matt Ruebel

Matt Ruebel pitched for 3 seasons in the Majors. He came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996, played with them in 1997, and then signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a Free Agent in early 1998, and spent his final season with them. It is interesting to note that he signed with the Diamondbacks as a Free Agent in December 1998, never made it back to the Majors with them, but  his profile picture on his Baseball Reference page shows him with a Diamondbacks cap on.

Matt appeared on 1 regular Topps card, a 1996 Pitchers Prospects card. He is missing cards from the 1997, 1998, and 1999 sets, and this custom gives him his sunset Topps card. Matt appeared in the 1996 Bowman's Best set, as well as the 1997 Stadium Club set.

My last softball game(s) got rained out on Monday, which sucks, because we had a doubleheader. The good news is that my Batting Average stays at 1.000 for another week. Everything is lined up for the house to close on Thursday, and if the sellers are ok with us moving our stuff in the garage, I think we might just be able to get everything out of our apartment by the time the lease expires at the end of the month. Between all that and the baby shower on Sunday and work, I'll be ready for a few weeks of hopefully not much stress before the baby comes in November.  I'm almost done with the 1999 Rays team set, just a few more cards, and then some fun ones coming up (including 2 of a minor league pitcher named Steve Sharts). Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #517 Dave Silvestri

Before I started my project to give every 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Ray a 1999 Topps card, I looked at their roster and searched for pictures for every player. I couldn't find any of Dave Silvestri, and I was afraid I would have to photoshop a Rays uni on him. When I made this card, I did another search, and there were more than a few photos of Silvestri in a Rays uniform. One of the photos came from a site called baseballslant.com. There was a forum there with a post about former 1998 Rays with many pictures and some crazy detailed info. It was able to help me get photos of just about every '98 Ray, even some of the more difficult ones.

Back to Silvestri, Dave Silvestri made his MLB debut in 1992 with the Yankees. He played with them from 1992-1995. He went to the Expos midway through the '95 season, and stayed with them through 1996. He played with the Rangers in 1997, the Devil Rays in 1998, and spent a final season with the Angels in 1999.

Dave's first Topps card was special, as he got into the 1988 Topps Traded set since he was part of the 1988 USA Olympic baseball team. His only other Topps card was in the 1993 set on a a Top Prospects card that he shared with Chipper Jones. He appeared in some other Topps-made sets, including the 1989 Topps Big set, the 1992 Bowman set, and the 1994 Team Stadium Club set. He is missing cards from the 1994-2000 Topps sets, and this 1999 Topps custom leaves him with only 5 more cards needed to complete his career Topps run.

I did some more customs today and now am up to card #300 in my set. I also finished finalizing the rosters for the 2000 season for every NL team, and made the '01 Topps templates for them as well, so that set might be on its way to getting completed. Richard, who has made some sweet customs that I have featured on this blog, has said he wants to help with the '01 Topps set, so that set may be the next one completed maybe by the end of 2017. I hope to finish the checklist and templates by the end of this year and start the '00 set by then as well. Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 10: 1999 Topps #497 Greg Riddoch

Greg Riddoch first got into the Majors as a coach for the Padres. He served as a coach with the Friars from 1987 through the middle of the 1990 season, when he took over the managerial duties. He stayed on as Padres manager until the last few days of the 1992 season when Jim Riggleman replaced him. I'm not sure what he did from 1993-1997. Wikipedia doesn't mention anything, but I would assume he was in some kind of coach or player development role with a team. In 1998, he was a coach with the Devil Rays in their first season, and remained with them the next year, which would be his final one in the Majors.

Greg appeared in the 1990 Topps Traded set, and got into the 1991 and 1992 regular sets. He is missing from the 1988 and 1989 sets as a Padre (I will make a card of him in the 1990 regular set as well as a Padre coach), and he is also missing from the 1999 and 2000 sets as a Devil Ray. This '99 card gives him his 2nd to last Topps card.

My 2nd season as (hopefully if we get enough and don't have too many players) First Presbyterian DeLand's starting right fielder will begin on Monday at 6:30. My wife has an appointment at one of her pregnancy doctors earlier in the day, so we will probably head there after I get off work, grab some dinner, and then head to the ballpark. If I'm not zonked, I'll probably post a card and how I did at the game. High goals for this year will be to bat .400 with a hit in every game, an extra base hit, maybe a walk-off RBI, and a few decent plays in the field. Realistic ones are maybe hitting .300, scoring a few runs, driving in 3-5 RBIs, and making 2-3 putouts in the field. Hopefully my stats will fall somewhere inbetween and we will actually win a few games this year too.
Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 9: 1999 Topps #496 Frank Howard Coach

Frank Howard is a longtime player/coach/manager.  His career began in 1958 with the Dodgers. He stayed with them until 1965 when he was traded to the Washington Senators. He stayed with the franchise (which became the Tecas Rangers in 1972) until the middle of the aforementioned '72 season, when his contract was sold to the Detroit Tigers. He played the '73 season with Detroit before trying to keep playing by going to Japan in 1974. In his first At-Bat for the Taiheiyo Lions, he swung fiercely, and was injured, ending his playing career.
His coaching career started in 1977 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He stayed with the through the 1980 season. He managed the San Diego Padres for the 1982 season, and then became a coach for the New York Mets from 1982-1984. He also was the clubs manager for part of the '83 season. It was back to the Brew Crew for 1985 and 1986, then he went to Seattle in 1987 and 1988. He coached the Yankees in '89, skipped the 1990 season, before coming back to them for '91 and '92. He didn't coach in 1993, then came back to the Mets from 1994-1996. His final coaching stint came in 1998 and 1999 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

'Hondo' appeared on many cards as a player, and even a few as a manager. Topps hasn't made coach cards since the mid '70's, so Frank is missing many cards as a coach. I will start with the '89 set since that's the set that my blog is starting with (the first set I remember getting packs of from my parents/grandparents as a kid). Howard is missing cards from the '89-'90 sets, the 1992 and 1993 sets, the '95-'97 sets, and the '99-'00 sets as a coach. This '99 custom crosses that one off of the list, and I made this '92 Topps card for my other blog.

I might try to work on some customs late tonight. I have a first time fathers class from 6-9, so maybe after I get back from that. Tomorrow I'll be stuck at the doctors for a while, so I might try to work on finilizing some rosters for the '01 set. This could be the last chance I have to work on customs the next week or five. It looks like we should close on the house next week, so that means all the craziness of packing/unpacking/painting should start, and between that, softball season, work, random doctor appointments, and preparing for the baby, I think I'll be just begging for time to sleep. If I can just get through the end of the year, I think I'll be fine. I'm sure someone can relate. Thanks for checking out the latest card in my custom set. 

-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 8: 1999 Topps #495 Steve Henderson Coach

Steve Henderson played in the Majors from 1977-1988.  He played for the Mets from 1977-1980. He played for the Cubs for the next 2 seasons, then saw time with the Mariners from 1983 to 1984. He played for the Oakland A's from '85-'87, and then spent his final season with the Astros in 1988. After his playing career, he coached for the Astros from 1995-1996, got 1 season with the Devil Rays in 1998, coached in the minors for a while, then coached again for the Rays from 2006-2009, and then with the Phillies from 2012 to now.
He got Topps cards from 1978-1986, was skipped in the '87 set, and got a final card in the 1988 set. He is missing cards from the 1987 and 1989 sets from his playing career and from the '96, '97, '99, '07-'10 sets, and '11-'16 sets from his coaching career.
I met Steve in 2002 when he was coaching in Orlando with the Rays organization, and he was nice, signing his '84 and '86 Topps cards for me. I think I've met him a few other times over the years when he was coaching for the Rays.
I wish I would've taken a picture of him and the other Devil Rays coaches in 1998 and 1999 during the dozen or so games that I went to during that period. I was unable to find a picture of him in the original Rays uniform that was worn during their first 2 years ('98-'99). The best I could do was find this picture from 2006 I believe, and photoshop the old Rays logo on it, but the colors on the sleeves and hat totally don't match the old logo. Oh well. This custom crosses his 1999 Topps card off of the list.
I'll have some free time tomorrow night and Friday, so I hope to work on some customs. I think I'm going to try to do some cards of a friend that plays in the minors, maybe in the '17 Topps design and finish the back to a '16 Pro debut card. I also kind of want to try some '89 Topps cards and other sets that have a curved writing style ('98 -'99 prospects, '99 draft picks, '02 and '06 Topps mainly), since I recently got Microsoft Office and I believe that Word will let me write text on a path. I will let you know how that goes. I also might try to post some templates on here. They will probably be random ones, but hopefully someone will be able to use them.
Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 7: 1999 Topps #493 Orlando Gomez Coach

Orlando Gomez is a longtime player, coach, and minor league manager. As of this year, it marks his 53rd consecutive year in baseball at some position. His time in the Majors started in 1991 as the Bullpen Coach for the Texas Rangers. He served as the Rangers First Base Coach in 1992. He got back to the Majors in 1998 with the Devil Rays as their Bullpen Coach after 5 years in the minors. He stayed with the Rays through the end of the 2000 season. His final 2 years in the Majors came in 2003 and 2004 as the Seattle Mariners Bullpen Coach. 

Orlando doesn't have any cards in any major sets, but does appear in a number of minor league issues.  He is missing cards from the 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2005 Topps sets. 

I knocked out the 1999 set with today's card, and I also made his 1992 Topps card (front and back) as part of my other blog, Completing the 1992 Topps Set.  

Thanks for checking out the lastest custom.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #492 Scott McClain

Scott McClain got his first appearance in the Majors in 1998 with the Rays. He spent the next to years in the minors before playing in Japan from 2001-2004. He got time with the Cubs in 2005, spent 2006 in the minors, before playing his final 2 seasons in the Majors with the Giants in 2007 and 2008. He spent 2009 in Japan before retiring.
Scott put up some great power numbers in the minors and Japan, but was unable to get significant playing time in the Majors. He gained some notoriety in 2008 when he hit his first Major League Home Run, becoming at 36, the oldest position player to hit his first Home Run.

Scott doesn't appear on any Topps cards, so he is missing cards from the 1999, 2006, and 2008-2009 sets. He did appear on a 1996 Bowman card. This 1999 custom gives Scott his rookie card, and leaves him with just 3 Topps cards needed to complete his career Topps run.

I am thinking about possibly posting templates of a few different years of Topps cards just to help out the custom card making community. Templates are hard to make sometimes, especially when the set has a different one for each team, but if custom card makers can share templates, that means more cards can be made and enjoyed by more people. The next time I get to working on customs, I think I am going to try to get templates for the 2001 Topps set started. Let me know if you think this is a worthwhile idea. Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #491 Aaron Ledesma

Aaron Ledesma made his Major League debut in 1995 with the New York Mets. He spent 1996 in the minors before making it back to the Bigs in 1997 with the Orioles. In the 1997 Expansion Draft he was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He played 1998 and 1999 with the Rays, before spending his final season with the Colorado Rockies in 2000.

Ledesma doesn't have any cards in Topps sets, although he has a 1993 Bowman card. He doesn't really have many non-Topps cards either, save for a '96 Score, '99 Fleer Tradition, and a few various Pacific issues. Aaron is missing a 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2001 Topps card to finish his career Topps run, and this custom covers his '99 Topps card.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1999 Topps #489 Jerome Walton

Former NL Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton made his Major League debut in 1989 with the Cubs. He won the '89 Rookie of the Year award, but was unable to capture the magic of his rookie season thereafter. He stayed with the Cubbies through the end of the 1992 season, then played with the Angels in 1993. He played with the Reds in 1994 and 1995, got time with the Braves in 1996, the Orioles in 1997, and spent his final MLB season with the Rays in 1998.

Walton appeared on a few Topps cards during his Cubs time, getting into the '89 Traded set, and the regular sets in 1990-1992. After 1992, he appeared on a few random sets, but no Topps cards and no Rays cards from any major sets. He is missing cards in the 1993-199 Topps sets, with today's custom finishing his sunset card.

I haven't got to work on customs in a month it seems, and it will be a while till I have any free time. My wife and I are in the process of (hopefully) buying a house, so most free time I have will be spent packing, and we also have our first child coming in the end of November. I hope all the craziness will die down towards the end of the year, but we'll see what happens. Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

Coaches Center Part 6: 1999 Topps #494 Billy Hatcher Coach

Billy Hatcher was a Big League Outfielder from 1984-1995. He played for the Cubs from '84-'85, then it was on to the Astros in 1986. He stayed with them through the middle of the 1989 season, then was traded to the Pirates. He spent 1990-1991 with the Reds, winning the 1990 World Series with them. He played with the Red Sox in 1992 and 1993, spent 1994 with the Phillies, and his final season was with the Rangers in 1995.
His coaching career began in the minors in 1997, and he got promoted to the Majors to start the 1998 season with the Devil Rays. He remained with them through the end of the 2005 season. In 2006 Billy started coaching with the Reds, and remains with them today as a coach.

Billy started appearing in Topps sets in 1986, and was in every set through 1995. He is missing a 1985 card and a 1996 card from his playing days, and 1999-2016 cards from his coaching career.

It was tough to find pictures of Billy in the pre-2000 Devil Rays uniform. I wish I would've took more pictures during the 10 or so games I went to in 1998 and 1999, but I was 15 and technology was pretty new back then and I didn't know what a custom baseball card was back then. Oh well. The photo I found will work for the card. This card marks the start of a ton of '99 Topps Devil Ray cards, but once they are done, I have some neat cards coming up, stay with me. Thanks for checking out the latest card.
-Jeremy

Favorite Player Collection Part 9: 1999 Topps Jason Johnson

Jason Johnson doesn't have many cards in Topps sets, even though he pitched from 1997-2008 (spending 2007 in the minors).  He only appeared in the 2003-2005 sets. He is one of my favorite players because he, like me, is a Type 1 Diabetic, and was the first player to wear an insulin pump on the field. I really wish there was a jersey card of him because I would love to add it to my pc, as well as an autograph or two.

I featured him on a post a few months ago featuring his 1998 Topps card.

I will probably try to give him a complete run of Topps card, and I'm off to a good start knocking 2 of his first 3 cards out. Like the '98 Topps that I did, his 1999 card has foil that's hard to see because of darkness in the background. I should've switched photos for both cards, but I'm happy with the cards the way they are. 

This card marks the last card of the '98 Rays team that I will post for a while. I still have about 10 more cards to make to complete the project, but I have been working on some Draft Pick and Prospect cards lately, so the Rays project has been on hold for a little bit. The next post will be a card that I'm surprised nobody has made yet, as it features a Hall of Fame pitcher in his final season. Thanks for checking out my latest card.

-Jeremy

1999 Topps Kerry Robinson

Kerry Robinson came up to the Bigs in 1998. He stayed there until 2004, spent '05 in the minors, and played 1 final season in the Majors in 2006. His only Topps cards came in the 2002 and 2003 sets.

Kerry was a decent spare Outfielder, getting some popularity with the Cardinals midway through his career. I will always remember him for the couple of time I've seen him in person. I would try to get autographs before games and any time I would ask Kerry for his he would reply "You don't want mine, I'm not famous" or something like that. He was a funny guy.

This would've been one of his first cards. It will be one of the final 1999 cards I do for a while, I promise. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy