Tuesday Twins - another Magic Moment

In 2000, Topps included some 'Magic Moments' cards in their flagship set. They were issued with overprints commemorating various things. I blogged about three of the cards, and an Opening Day version, back in June.

There are five different overprints in this set, and I have recently added a fourth version of this card to my collection.

Card Number 548: Topps, 2000; #240 (1995 Batting Title)

The cardback explains why Topps picked the 1995 batting title as the one to highlight on this card.

Putting all four cards together makes a nice display.

The 3000th hit card was included in the Topps Opening Day set in 2000. There is a fifth overprint still to get as well. So, Topps really made the most of this photograph in 2000. However, that wasn't the first time Topps had used this photo. It also appeared on the back of a Bowman Chrome card in 1999.

This takes this photo up to 7 appearances on baseball cards across 3 sets, which is reasonably impressive for a time before the current era of multiple parallels. 

Total: 548 cards

 

Tuesday Topps 2000 Twins

Cards that look the same at first glance, the Topps 2000 edition. This time it's not because of a reissue saying Topps 2000. These were all cards issued in 2000 as part of a 'Magic Moments' subset, with overprinting of Tony's achievements on the front.

As it's the anniversary of Tony's untimely passing today, it seems fitting to be recounting his achievements in this post.

Card Number 105: Topps, 2000; #240 (1984 Championship)
1984 was the first time the Padres were National League Champions.

The back records how it was Tony's double in the seventh inning of the deciding Championship game that took the Padres to the World Series.

Card Number 106: Topps, 2000; #240 (1998 Championship)
There's no obvious way of grouping these cards, so I'm going to put the 1998 Championship version of the card next.

Even though the back has the same number and design, the blurb is all about the 1998 Pennant, and how Tony hit a home run at Yankee Stadium during the World Series.

Card Number 107: Topps, 2000; #240 (3000th Hit)
Tony achieved his 3000th hit in August 1999, so it was almost inevitable it would be celebrated in the following year's Topps set.

The back names the pitcher who pitched the pitch that he hit for #3000 - Expos rookie Dan Smith. I'm going to have to try and find one of his cards now.

Trading Card Database logs five variations of this card, so there is another set of "twins" out there - those cards denote his 1984 batting title (his first) and his 1995 batting title, the season after he posted his average of .394. It seems odd not to have a card for the .394 season, but that was a foreshortened season because of the player's strike.

Eagle-eyed readers would have noticed there were three cards in this post about twins. Should I have called them triplets? Well, no, because I have a 4th card here to make a second set of twins and round out the post.

Card Number 108: Topps Opening Day, 2000; #109 (3000th Hit)
Same card front as the regular flagship release, except for an embossed "Opening Day" logo.

Same cardback as the regular flagship release, except for a different card number.

The "3000th Hit" overprint was the only "Magic Moments" card featuring Tony in the Opening Day release. So at least I don't have to go tracking any more down from this release. (I still have a gap in my collection for the Opening Day version of Tony's base card, though.)

Total: 108/394