One card only - a grandstand great

Card Number 1024: Fleer Platinum Grandstand Greats, 2001: #7GG

These insert cards had rounded corners as befitting an 'old timey' retro set. Fleer Platinum was marking Fleer's 20th year producing baseball cards - the base cards recalled the 1981 template. On this insert the picture of Tony has been laid over a vintage photo of a baseball stadium. I never visited Jack Murphy Stadium, but I know that isn't a picture of it. The same picture appears on all the cards in this insert set.

The cardback write up is remarkably restrained considering it's a Fleer card. 

Fleer Platinum was successful enough to continue in subsequent seasons. I can see its appeal. The cards are neatly understated, printed on retro card stock, with good photos and not too big a set list. Fleer managed to get the retro feel right, and make it timeless.

Total: 1024 cards

End of a century - 4 from 1999

Getting towards the end of Upper Deck week, here are four cards from the end of the 20th century, the last year starting with 19 - 1999.

Card Number 828: Upper Deck View to a Thrill insert, 1999; #V24

It's a shiny card! I gave it a couple of passes on the scanner.

That second one is a bit over-exposed. It's tricky to get this right. 

Design notes - hexagons are unusual. I've always liked them ever since watching Doctor Who in 1984 when the interior of the TARDIS was made of white hexagons. Red always looks good on baseball cards too. The red foil on the front isn't as bright as the red on the back, somehow.

This insert series is reminiscent of the last James Bond film to feature Sir Roger Moore in the role, A View to a Kill. That was also released in 1984 and featured a theme song by Duran Duran. None of that has anything to do with this card, of course. But it's funny how certain cards trigger all kinds of tangential thoughts.

Card Number 829: Upper Deck Challengers for 70, 1999; #73

Remember the power hitting contest between home run sluggers seeking to break all kinds of records for home runs, which later was revealed to be fueled by steroids? Upper Deck got caught up in the hype and released an entire 90-card set about the 'race for 70 home runs'. Depsite never, ever, being a big hitter of home runs, Tony got a card in the set comemmorating his home run in the World Series the previous year.

I'm a fan of cards that refer to Tony's World Series appearances, even if they are in weird cash-in sets like this one. Upper Deck were skimping on the photos in this set, with the same picture appearing on the front and the back.

I've mentioned before how David Wells was on the mound for San Diego the night I went to my first ever Padres game. I didn't know then that he was the pitcher that Tony hit his home run off in the World Series in 1998. I might not have ever seen Tony play, but I saw David Wells, so that gives me a personal connection to this factoid.

Card Number 830: Upper Deck MVP, 1999; #S4

Shiny insert!

"Swing Time" gives me an earworm of that song 'Springtime' from Mel Brooks's The Producers. Which is unfortunate. I love pseudo-sciencey diagrams on baseball cards. This looks like a blueprint. They add to the technical manual look on the cardback.

The write up for point 2 uses the phrase "as much as" twice in one sentence. That repetition is below Upper Deck's usual standards for cardback factoids.

Card Number 831: Upper Deck Ultimate Victory, 1999; #93

I've previously blogged three of Tony's cards from the Victory set in 1999. This is the 'Ultimate Victory' foil version of Tony's Victory base card... which is the one card I don't already have! There were 470 cards in the Victory set, but only 180 were included in the Ultimate Victory parallel set. 

It's a nice card with a posed portrait photo. The back is absolutely rammed with information including a write up of the Jack Murphy Stadium and a breathless summary of Tony's career below a truncated stats box. They have not wasted any space at all!

And that's the end of the blog post about cards from the end of the century!

Total: 831 cards

Electric Diamonds = Tuesday Twins

These are some cards that are very similar to cards that have been on the blog before. They are parallels from Upper Deck in the early 90s. The cards are interesting, although the 'parallel' bits aren't particularly.

Card Number 727: Upper Deck Electric Diamond, 1994; #279

The regular version of this card was the 87th card I blogged about, back when I did 'Monday Mixers' of unrelated cards. 

This card wasn't an insert. It was in the Upper Deck base set, with every team receiving a card numbered between #267 and #294. Tony Gwynn's minor league room-mate and lifelong friend, John Kruk, features on the card for the Philadelphia Phillies (#276).

The parallel bit is the silver foil 'Electric Diamond' written up the side of the card. There was one of these parallels in every pack. I already have the Electric Diamond parallel for Tony's regular card in the set. 

The back is more interesting than the front. I am certain this is the only Tony Gwynn card to mention skunks on the back. 

It's one of my great regrets that I didn't get to visit Jack Murphy Stadium. My wife Cathy and I were planning on a baseball pilgrimage to California in 2020. Jack Murphy Stadium was on the list of holy sites to visit. But then we had the global pandemic and we weren't able to go, and while the world was locked down, Jack Murphy Stadium got knocked down. 

Card Number 728: Upper Deck Electric Diamond, 1995; #135

The regular version was the 263rd card on this blog. 

The Electric Diamond logo replaces the bronze Upper deck logo on the regular card. This is the silver foil version, which was included at the rate of one per pack again. A gold foil version was released too, but it was much rarer - collectors would only find a gold one in every 35 packs. 

This base card photo is from the same game as the image used on cards released by Leaf and Fleer in 1995 - see them all here. I wonder if the card companies ever compared notes and realised they had basically all bought the same photo. Not a bad day's work for the snapper. 

The back is just a classic Upper Deck cardback. They liked to give their photos space and truncated the stats box.

These parallels have given me the task of reorganising my Upper Deck binder, which I have to admit has been badly arranged from the get go. I want to make space to put the parallel cards next to the regular versions of the cards. That's a fun job I think I will leave for a wet weather day!

Total: 728 cards

Score shows some heart

It's been a while since I last blogged about a Score card.

Card Number 607: Score Hobby Reserve Heart of the Order insert, 1997; #25

So, this gets a bit confusing. There were 18 'Heart of the Order' insert cards in Score Series 2 in 1997, and another 18 'Heart of the Order' in Score Hobby Reserve. According to Trading Card database, Hobby Reserve was "a hobby release that paralleled 1997 Score Series 2. Cards are slightly thicker than the Retail version and have white fronts with a "Hobby Reserve by Score" gold stamp." Hobby Reserve cards have 'HR' in front of the numbers.

The card shows Tony photoshopped over a virtually empty Jack Murphy Stadium. The arrangement makes it look like Tony is swinging in the top deck of the stadium. The red foil squiggle is a stylised ECG line with the word 'Heart' written above it. 

Tony's sleeve patch is the Jackie Robinson 50 years commemoration, so this is a photo from 1997 on a card issued in 1997.

On the back the stadium in the background has a lot more people in it. There's also a rare photo of Tony wearing glasses with regular lenses in.

It was easier to find these inserts in Hobby Reserve then in the Score Series 2. The ratios respectively were 1 in 15 packs for Hobby Reserve and 1 in 23 packs for Series 2. That meant you had mildly better odds of finding a card of Tony than for any of the players on the 18 cards inserted in Series 2... as long as you could find packs of Hobby Reserve to buy.

Total: 607 cards

Sharing the Spotlight - with Fernando in the Gallery

This card came via Andrew T in the UK collectors Facebook group. Andrew offered me first dibs on it and I said yes. 

Card Number 573: Topps Gallery, 2020; #MA7

There were 10 cards in this "Master & Apprentice" insert series in Topps Gallery.

Fernando Tatis Jr has really made the headlines in the last year or so, and his rookie cards have been very popular. In fact, as a Padres collector, the chase for rookie cards featuring "El Nino" made Padres cards more expensive than usual recently, and slightly harder to get. Suddenly people wanted the Padres in box breaks. What is this popularity thing? 

The 'Master & Apprentice' phrase feels a bit Star Wars-ey to me. And that is a slight niggle about this card. As far as I know El Nino never actually met Mr Padre, or was coached by him. (One of Tony's students at San Diego State was Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 World Series MVP!)

Another discrepancy is that the players have been painted with Petco Park in the background. Now, while Tony did go to Petco Park after he retired, he never played at the Stadium. For his entire career the Padres played their home games at the Jack Murphy Stadium (most recently known as the SDCCU Stadium), which is apparently being demolished right now. (Bang goes my plan of a pilgrimage there when the pandemic is over!)

But apart from that anachronism, it's clear why Topps paired Tony and Fernando on this card - they are both exemplary hitters. Fernando is a great batsman and despite the nonsense last season about him having to apologise after hitting a grand slam when Texas were already trailing in a game, he's clearly one of the most exciting players in a currently very exciting Padres team. So, a worthy young player to share a card with Tony.

I didn't know until reading this card that Fernando's batting average in his rookie year was higher than Tony's. Whether it will be a similar "springboard" to batting titles and an eventual place in the Hall of Fame is impossible to know right now. Hopefully he has a long and mega-successful career ahead of him, particularly in Padres colours, but these things are totally unpredictable. Whatever happens, Fernando will always be remembered as a contributor to the "Slam Diego" grand slam streak of 2020 that really lit up the season.

Topps have included the artist's name on this card. On his website John Giancaspro says he was six years old when he first saw a DonRuss Diamond Kings card and realised he wanted to be a sports artist. John uses photos as a base for his art, which is fairly common on these kinds of "illustrated" cards. He started doing portraits when he worked as a bat-boy or the New York Mets in 1991-92 - there's a fun photo album on his website - and he also designed some cards for the Diamond Kings series in 2012.

I like learning about the artists whose drawings of Tony Gwynn feature on baseball cards, so Topps get a bonus point from me for including the artist's name like this. 

Total: 573 cards - this is the 27th card in the collection released in 2020.

Modern Monday - face of the franchise

There's no doubt that Tony Gwynn is the face of the San Diego Padres franchise. He is "Mr Padre" after all. Here's a couple of recent cards that confirm his status. 

Card number 498: Topps (Franchise Feats insert), 2019; #FF-23

I have to admit, reading those "feats" feels a bit underwhelming. Although they are currently the only Major League franchise still in San Diego, the Padres used to be one of three. Both the Clippers, who drafted Tony out of college the same day he was drafted by the Padres, and the Chargers, who shared occupancy of Jack Murphy Stadium the entire duration of the Padres' 24 years located there, have both moved to LA now. (In fact, Jack Murphy Stadium is still the only stadium to host a Super Bowl and a World Series in the same year: 1998.)

The other Padre to win a batting title was Gary Sheffield. No Padre has been a batting title contender since Tony's final title in 1997. The Padres have won two divisional titles since Tony retired.

As it's a 2019 card, I suppose having Manny Machado's transfer from that year on it makes sense. It's a bit of a dull feat, though.

Trevor Hoffman has been inducted to the Hall of Fame since I visited it in 2016. But I saw Dave Winfield's plaque along with Tony's in the hall.

Card Number 499: Topps Chrome Update (Greatest Seasons insert), 2019; 150C-24

In 2019, Topps celebrated 150 years of professional baseball with this series that featured 25 legends of the game.

Even though this card is in an insert series about "Greatest Seasons", the write up on the back doesn't mention a specific season. 

It's a nice card though.

Total: 499 cards

Back to Base - the 1994 edition

A Back to Base post with a difference - three base cards from 1994.

Card Number 331: Topps, 1994; #620

1994 was a special year for Tony. It was the year he was a couple of hits away from recording a .400 batting average, and had to settle for the modern record of .394. 

1994 was also an infamous year for baseball, with the season cut short in August as the Player's Association called a general strike. The curtailed season meant there was no World Series. 

1994 was neither special nor infamous for the design of Topps baseball cards. This is bland. The photo of Tony running is well centred in the frame, though, and his face is visible, which elevates this above many other cards issued by Topps. 

There's a nice band of orange on the back. Very 1994.

The factoid notes that Tony was in illustrious company as one of only four players ever to have five hits in four games during a season. 

Card Number 332: Fleer, 1994; #665

A second card from 1994 that shows Tony running. Sometimes cards from particular years seem to have themes. At least these don't look like they were all from the same game, as three cards from 1995 do. Fleer earn themselves a bonus point for having the release year on the front, but otherwise this is another unremarkable card. 

The back mentions Tony's batting average in 1993 and how it was the highest he had posted since 1987. Brace yourself, lads!

Card Number 333: Leaf, 1994; #254

Leaf showed Tony at the plate on their card, although he is not in his batting stance.

The back is a collage.

The view of Jack Murphy Stadium is a great background. The designer has opted for a one line stats box with just the previous year's figures in. I'm OK with that. The faux ticket stub is a surprisingly uncommon design element on baseball cards, so that elevates this to a better than average base card.

Total: 333/394

Monday Mixer Time Again

Here's a Monday Mixer of totally unconnected cards from my collection. Because sometimes when life is less organised it can be more fun. Same with collecting.

Card Number 85: Fleer E-Motion XL, 1996; #277
This was a weird card set from the Fleer / Skybox company in the mid-90s. I have a few of these cards for other Padres players. The basic premise is that every player illustrates an emotion. Tony's emotion is "relaxed".

It might just be me, but I don't think he looks relaxed. He looks like he's about to club the catcher.

He doesn't look like he's relaxed in the photo on the back photo either. If anything he looks like he's about to exert himself throwing the ball or something.

Is "relaxed" even an emotion? I understand it is a state of mind, but is that the same thing? There is also no explanation on this card as to why he illustrated being relaxed. But while it's a very odd selection, he did get off lightly. One of his team-mates, Fernando Valenzuela, had the word "wily" written next to him, which isn't very complimentary.

In fact, I went and found the relevant page in my Padres binder and here's the list of players' cards that I have, and their designated E-Motions.

• Fernando Valenzuela - "wily"
• Jody Reed - "joyful"
• Steve Finley - "surprised"
• Wally Joyner - "calm"
• Ken Caminiti - "solid"
• Brad Ausmus - "springing"

Fleer were really reaching with those last two "emotions".

Card Number 86: Panini Prizm, 2015; #168
Allan from the Baseball Card UK Facebook groups sent me this. I really appreciate his kindness. However, Panini Prizm are hard cards to love.

They are shiny, but they scan grey. Panini airbrush off the logos because they don't have a license with MLB. However, the need to circumvent the licensing does make me smile sometimes, like in the blurb on the cardback.

"Playing against the Bronx squad"? Seriously, what? I know a few Yankees fans and even they would find that drop-dead hilarious.

And now for a moment I like to call "Jon's utterly torturous personal links to Tony Gwynn, part 1"- the cardback notes that Tony clocked his home run at Yankee Stadium in the World Series off pitcher David Wells. In September 2004, I went to watch the Padres play the Giants at Petco Park, and David Wells was the starting pitcher for the Padres that night.

(The Padres won that game 4-3 in the 10th inning, in case you needed to know the score. I had decided I would follow the fortunes of whoever won that night. On such small winning margins are life decisions made.)

Card Number 87: Upper Deck, 1994; #279
This was from the Homefield Advantage series of insert cards in the Upper Deck 1994 set.  It's not particularly interesting as a card design, with the diagram of the field taking up most of the space.

The back is about the ballpark and how well the Padres have done when playing at home (or not).

Tony never played at the Padres new stadium, Petco Park, which opened for the 2004 season. However, the player's entrance to Petco Park is 19, Tony Gwynn Way. Tony was also the first manager to stand in the 'home' dug out, as his San Diego State team that he was coaching played the first competitive baseball game in the new ballpark. The attendance that evening set a new record for collegiate baseball.

Jack Murphy Stadium was also the home of the San Diego Chargers American Football team until they relocated to Los Angeles in 2016. It is now the home of the San Diego State University American Football team, the 'Aztecs'. I like the cardback factoid about the ground being invaded by a skunk. A better factoid is that it is the only sports stadium to host the Superbowl and the World Series in the same year (1998).

There's your Monday Mixer. I hope you enjoyed it.

Total 87/394