Staying in the Club

Fuji commented on yesterday's post saying how much he likes Stadium Club cards. So this post is for Fuji!

Card Number 1012: Topps Stadium Club Members Only, 1994; #43

Tony featured in this 50-card set that was only sold to members of Topps' Stadium Club. According to Baseballcardpedia, in 1994 Topps issued 50-card sets of baseball, football, or ice hockey players, and members could choose one set as part of their membership. They were also given the option to buy the other sets. The 'Members Only' card design is different to the main Stadium Club release in 1994.

I suspect the guy who wrote this cardback was later headhunted by Fleer/Skybox, because the Picasso references are reminiscent of the fanciful cardbacks found in their ranges. It looks like Tony is signing a baseball card in the photo - I hope that card is treasured somewhere. 

The cardback doesn't add in this context, but Tony's "2nd-best mark ever" in 1993, wasn't enough to win him the batting title that year. His second run of four titles in a row began the year this card was released!

And now for something a little bit different - not a new card, but one that looks new.

Last year I acquired a number of cards close together, so I'm not sure where this came from, but it was in a job lot of cards. When I saw it, I thought, 'ooh, that's a variant'. but weirdly, it's not. The card in question was this one:

This is a card from a subset in the 1995 Stadium Club set, where various players were recruited into the "Extreme Corps". I thought this might be some kind of foil variant, except the only variation I can find listed is a silver versus a rainbow foil variant. These cards are both rainbow-ish, albeit covering different parts of the spectrum - the blue end and the red end. 

So, although this isn't a new card, I've put both of them in my binder. They look different enough due to the foil colouration and look nice next to each other. Of course, I've also now learned that there is one with just silver foil on, so I am going to have to keep an eye out for that too. And any other colours of the rainbow!

Total: 1012 cards

Modern Monday... (2015 is still modern, right?)

Generally speaking I get my recently released cards from people in the UK Facebook groups breaking new product wanting to move on the cards they don't want. It seems that in the last couple of months the number of people buying boxes and ripping packs has really slowed down.

However, what counts as 'modern' for a "Modern Monday" post. Well, 2015 wasn't that long ago, even if it does feel like it was.

Card Number 861: Topps, 2015; #FHR-18

Come on, Topps! Card number 18 in an insert series? When you could so easily have given Tony number 19? I swear, sometimes it feels like you don't even try...

This insert series comemorated the first home run of several players. There were 40 inserts in both Series 1 and Series 2 of Topps's flagship set and both are numbered FHR-01 to FHR-40. Because, Topps, I guess.

We get a photo of Tony in the classic early 80s Padres road uniform on the front, along with the date of Tony's first major league home run. 

I was going to look up the date on Baseball Reference, but Topps have put details on the back. Should I fact check this? It is a Topps card...

I went and checked. Tony hit a home run off Bill Campbell in the sixth inning. He had two hits that game and scored two runs.

That last sentence is an opinion rather than a fact. Did Tony develop more power later in his career? He was never much of a home run slugger even though he played through the power slugger record-chasing era.

Card Number 862: Topps Stadium Club, 2015; #265

Whoah! That is a card.

My only criticism of this card is that, like all modern Stadium Club cards, it's warping slightly. 

But still, what a lovely card. Quite apart from the photo on the front, everything on the back is spot on, from the use of the word "thwack" in the write up to the one line of career stats, to the picture showing Tony with a handful of bats. 

I know I give Topps a hard time sometimes on this blog -  in fact, even in the first half of this blog post! But in this case, I have nothing but admiration for what they have done here.

Total: 862 cards

Back in black (foil)

Here's my third version of this year's Stadium Club card. Gawain sent it to me and we agreed that Topps are just getting really lazy with their parallels.

Card Number 712: Topps Stadium Club black foil parallel, 2021; #24

The logo and Tony's name are in black foil instead of silver or red.

Even though the back is exactly the same as the two other versions of this card, I scanned it so I could upload it to this blog. I think this means I have made as much effort, possibly more effort, than the set designers employed by Topps. 

It's a nice card, and I am grateful to Gawain for sending me this version of it. But, come on Topps, this is easily the most boring way to produce parallel versions of cards. Maybe spend less time trying to sell glorified jpegs or more unending series of samey cards designed by 'artists' and put a bit of work in on the bread and butter stuff, eh?

SIDENOTE

So, my blogging of cards is slowing up. This is mainly because I don't have a stock of cards waiting to be blogged. Last year I literally had hundreds of scans and could batch write posts and then publish them on a daily schedule. I'm waiting on people getting in touch now or I have to actively go out and find cards. 

And going out and finding cards isn't high on my priorities at the moment if I'm totally honest. In the last few weeks attending live soccer matches has been permitted for the first time since March 2020 and I have jumped on that train. I went to three matches in July, before the season had properly started, and I have already been to four games in August. That's my primary focus at the moment.

I even got offered a card last week that I turned down because, well, it was more than I wanted to pay for a brand new release and I've watched how prices of cards bubble up when a new product line is released, and then a few months later the bubble pops and a £5 card becomes a £1 card, or just gets chucked in a joblot. I literally thought to myself "Will I get £5 worth of joy from this card?" and decided that no, I wouldn't.

I'm not saying I'm bored of baseball cards or blogging. This has been, and continues to be, a really fun project and I still love my collection of Tony Gwynn cards. I'm not over Tony! Not by a long shot. But I recognise that my blogging has been very intermittent over the past couple of months and I just wanted to flag up that it may get worse at least until my need to watch soccer is sated slightly. 

As ever, I just want to say a big thank you to the regular commenters. I do read all the comments and find them very encouraging. Take care of yourselves as the world opens up again!

One card only - parallel persistence

Last week when I blogged about this year's Stadium Club card of Tony, I mentioned how Marc had also offered me a copy of the card, which I declined. However, a couple of days later Marc messaged me asking if I had the 'red foil parallel' version. And I didn't. 

So, a big thank you to Marc for his persistence in offering me cards!

Card Number 707: Topps Stadium Club red foil parallel, 2021; #24

The only difference between this card and the base card is the red foil Stadium Club logo and Tony's name in red foil too. 

This is one of 17 parallel sets that are available in this year's Stadium Club release. I have a theory that somewhere in the multiverse is a parallel universe where Topps only release one version of their cards.

The back is the same as the base card. I have already discussed the factoids.

This time around I noticed the one line stats box. I really approve of that on a card of a retired player. It's all the information that's needed.

Thanks again, Marc!

Total: 707 cards

Still a member of the Club

I don't personally open a lot of new product. Fortunately I know people who do. People like Gawain (Mr Cuban Baseball in the UK) who is my reliable source for brand new Tony Gwynn cards. Today's card arrived last week from the Cuban Museum in Surrey, and as ever, I'm hugely grateful. (I also want to say thanks to Marc who got in touch a few days after this card arrived to say he had a copy if I wanted it. I feel blessed to be on so many people's radar.)

Card Number 705: Topps Stadium Club, 2021; #24

I'm never going to criticise a picture of Tony in a brown Padres uniform. Particularly when it's a photo I haven't seen a whole bunch of times before. The Padres are back in brown now (and the uniforms look lovely), but I wish they would bring that colourway helmet back as well.

Some photo re-use on the back. This is a cropped version of the photo used on the 2020 Topps flagship short print card. 

That third sentence is worth scrutiny. The highest career average of any player in the "Expansion Era", which according to Topps started the year after Tony was born. Why not just say during his lifetime, eh? Basically, there was no better consistent hitter in the 20 years before Tony got drafted, during his 20 year career, or in the 20 years since he retired.

Greg Maddux famously swore about the fact he could never strike Tony out. I didn't realise Tony had a similar record against Pedro Martinez as well. (Although, to be honest, 139 plate appearances against both pitchers combined feels a bit low.)

With stats like this, thought, it's easy to see why Tony still has a place in the Stadium Club. Long may that continue.

Total: 705 cards

Tuesday Twins - let's do it all again in Chrome

I thought that Topps only recently started reissuing chrome versions of all their sets. Turns out they have been doing it for longer than I thought. Actually, from shortly after they patented the chromatising technique.

Card Number 656: Topps Chrome Milestones, 1998; #MS6

This is the Chrome version of a card I blogged about back in February. This is actually less shiny than that card, because the regular version was printed on foilboard.

Here's a top tip for everyone. When this card arrived, the front was filthy. Like, really grimy with dust particles stuck to it. My wife Cathy suggested I use some glasses cleaner on it, so I sprayed some of the solution onto the soft glasses cloth and gently wiped the surface of the card. It lifted the dirt clean off and restored the card to a nice sheen. 

The back didn't need cleaning. Tony appears to be gritting his teeth in the photo.

Finding out this card was a Chrome version was a bit of a bonus, because it wasn't that obvious on the scan on eBay. It's always nice when a card I had discounted as a dupe turns out to be a new addition to the collection. 

Card Number 657: Topps Stadium Club Chrome, 2000; #137

This was issued as a standalone set in 2000 instead of chrome parallel cards being included in the regular release of Stadium Club. This was also the last standalone Stadium Club Chrome release until the 2020 release last year - which also featured a Tony Gwynn card!

The front is the same picture as the regular Stadium Club card.

The back almost indistinguishable from the regular release. It doesn't even have the Chrom logo on there. The card stock is a bit different and that's it.

In one sense adding parallels to the collection is a bit dull. But Chrome cards are probably the shiniest dull cards to add.

Total: 657 cards

Set lasers to cut!

 A theme post featuring two cards with holes in.

Card Number 650: Topps Stadium Club Prime Cuts, 1996; #PC-4

Topps used the same technology as in their Topps Laser set from the same year for this 8 card insert series in Stadium Club.

The photo shows Tony's brief mid-nineties flirtation with a beard.

The white lines around the solid gold 'CUTS' are all holes through the card.... as you can see from the back view.

Tony is cleanshaven in the photo on the back. I find it slightly amusing that this juxtaposition happens on a card along the theme of 'cuts'.

These cards are 'Prime Cuts' and the stats on the back are 'Prime Numbers', except none of them are actually prime numbers in the proper mathematical sense.

Yet again, the sheer paucity of strike outs in Tony's career is remarkable. I've not seen a strike out to at bat ratio on a cardback before, but card companies should have included it more often. In 1995, Tony struck out once every 35 at bats. If he had 5 at bats in a game that would be one strike out every seven games.

The only confusing stat on the back is the batting title one. They are trying to say that Tony won his sixth National League batting title, but it looks like they are saying he was sixth in the batting tables. However, I'm not going to quibble too much with that, given how good this stats box is overall. 

Card Number 651: Pacific Aurora On Deck Laser Cuts, 1998; #14

A couple of years after the Stadium Club Prime Cuts card, Pacific lasered bits out of these insert sets from their Aurora set.

The card front is a rather glorious mish-mash of photoshop elements and the cut out 'rings' in the centre of the card. There is some gold foil applied as well for good measure.

The back has a big picture of Tony and a tiny write up underneath the lasered out section.

I have grown to love Pacific cards. True, they are gaudy and the designers never seemed to know when to stop adding stuff, but that is part of the charm. Plus they were absolutely brilliant at including the years and set names in those little circles with the card number on. It makes them so easy to identify and for that reason alone, I could forgive any excess in the design.

Aurora cards were one of the sets Pacific produced without a licence initially, which is why it just says San Diego on the card. However, this was before companies with licences got really protective about the official MLB team logos and icons, which is why the logos on Tony's shirt and helmet haven't been airbrushed out of the photo on the front. Those dark days of airbrushed jerseys were coming. 

Total: 651 cards

Modern Monday - Stadium Club Chrome

Tony was card #160 in the Topps Stadium Club release in 2020, and Chrome parallels were included in that set. However, Topps also released an entire set of Stadium Club Chrome at the end of the year. My friend Gawain "busted some product" and it's my good fortune that he found Tony's card in his box.

Card Number 570: Topps Stadium Club Chrome, 2020; #160

This is a different picture than the one used in the regular Stadium Club release (as blogged back in October 2020). It's a picture from earlier in Tony's career. The pinstripes and brown jacket and helmet date this to between 1985 and 1991. I would estimate it being from about 1986-7, based on Tony's moustache.

Apart from a blue tint to the background, the cardback is exactly the same as the regular Stadium Club set.

I've read different opinions of Topps's release of Chrome versions of their sets. Some collectors see it as a 'cash grab', although that could be applied to just about every Topps release. If they didn't think it would make money then they wouldn't release any sets. To me, their use of a different photo, and using one which I personally haven't seen used in other sets recently, makes this much more than just a chromatised reissue. 

Total: 570 cards

Modern Monday - Stadium Club 2020

Andy M, who sent me the DonRuss card packet featuring Tony recently, got back in touch to ask if I had the 2020 Stadium Club card. (At that point I didn't, although I've subsequently been offered it by several people.)

Card Number 402: Topps Stadium Club, 2020; #160

That's an attractive photo, although Topps seems to be doing their darnedest to make it look like a logoless card. However, it's a great pose and always fun to see a batting doughnut on the bat.

Tony's place on the all-time hitting list is dependent on whether you count Cap Anson's total as 3,435 or 3,081. This comes down to which leagues are counted as "major" leagues. Baseball Reference includes Anson's batting record from the five seasons he spent in the North American League before he joined the Cubs in the National League. Topps have followed the Baseball Reference list.

As an aside, I've noticed that Tony has had a card in all of Topps's main releases this year. This includes in Topps Archives, where it makes sense for Tony to have a card, but it also includes a short print card in the flagship set along with some inserts and retro cards, a faux rookie card, cards in Allen & Ginter and the Topps 206 sets, and so on. There have also been more than a few put out by Panini under various brands like DonRuss.

Out of curiosity I went to Trading Card Database to see how many Tony Gwynn cards have been released recently. I was astounded really to see that since Tony passed away, almost 1,800 cards have been produced and listed on the database.

In 2015, the year after he passed away, 313 cards were produced. That's understandable given the cicumstances. DonRuss produced a set of 5 tribute cards for example. There were 155 cards released in 2016, 153 in 2017 and 159 in 2018. A lot of these are parallels and short print versions of the same card, so in reality there aren't that many cards to collect to have an example of each type.

150 cards a year for a player who stopped playing over a decade beforehand is a lot. But things went slightly bonkers in 2019. TCDb lists 514 Tony Gwynn cards released last year. That level of production has continued into this year. As of the 2nd October when I was looking these numbers up, TCDb had 426 cards listed. That's more than were released in 2001, the season Tony retired.

The peak year of releases during Tony's career was 1998 when 812 cards are listed. However, at least 200 of these are variant patterns in the plastic on "Topps Tek" cards. While that is a ridiculous volume, it was at the height of the mad card boom in the 1990s, and, more importantly, Tony was still playing!

Just to show the 'bloat' in production, at the end of the 80s Tony's card totals rose from 66 in 1987 to 108 in 1990. in 1995, the season after he recorded his .394 modern day batting record, he featured on 173 cards. Then there is a huge peak at the end of the 90s, before the bell curve drops back down to more sensible levels. In 2002, the year after he retired, he featured on 232 cards. It peaks back up for a few years to an ultimate high (1,297 cards in 2005 after 648 in 2004 and before 485 in 2006), mainly because card companies started doing lots of very short print memorabilia cards, and then drops again (189 in 2010). So this is definitely a third surge in sheer numbers of cards.

There are probably lots of reasons why Tony is such a popular choice for the card companies in the last year or two. I get a sense from reading card blogs that a lot of collectors are a bit older and nostalgia plays a factor in their collecting. Cards of retired heroes, particularly the cards designed to look like cards from the 70s and 80s, or referencing events in the 80s and 90s, are targeting that demographic of collector who isn't interested in the latest hot rookie. And because absolutely every card in a set released this year will have multiple parallels as a matter of course, the number of cards will be inflated even more.

And that's why I'm blogging about a Stadium Club card released this year on a blog dedicated to a player who stopped playing 18 years ago and passed away six years ago.

Total cards: 402

Saturday round up - filling the gap in Stadium Club

I mentioned in one of my posts about Stadium Club how I discovered I had a gold parallel of a card that I thought was just a base card. And I didn't have the base card.

What was particularly galling is that I had just sent a load of cards back to Gawain, who had sent me a box of Tony Gwynn cards to look through. I was fairly certain one of these Stadium Club cards was in that box, so I sent a grovelling apology to him and asked if he could check.

Fortunately he is a top bloke and didn't mind fishing through the box, finding the card, and then sending it to me. I am greatly appreciative because that means I can now say I have the complete run of Tony's Stadium Club cards that were issued during his career.

And with no further ado, here it is...

Card Number 174: Topps Stadium Club, 1994; #151

The front has a red logo and a red background behind 'Gwynn'.

The back is exactly the same as the parallel, complete with a slew of fonts and trippy background.

The thing that struck me about this card, seeing it with the red name tag, is how that looks like a name tag printed off a Dymo Label Maker. Dymo still make labelling devices, but labels that looked like the name label on this card are a real 90s technology throwback. There was even a Seinfeld episode that revolved around a label-maker in 1995, when Jerry and Elaine suspect another person of "re-gifting" unwanted presents to other people.

Speaking of throwbacks, the card from Gawain arrived on the same day as an item I won off eBay, making it a even better mail day. At the risk of alienating people who have come here to read about baseball cards, here's me in a photo taken a few seconds after I tore open the parcel.

It's not a genuine vintage shirt. It's by Majestic as part of their Cooperstown Collection. Still, at less than £20 including postage I'm well chuffed with it.

And that's the end of today's Saturday round up.

Total: 174/394

Join the (Stadium) Club 3 - including a familiar photo

On the home straight now with the Stadium Club cards. First up, a magnificent image from 1999.

Card Number 161: Topps Stadium Club, 1999; #126

A bit like the 1997 card, this is a photo and design combination that looks incredibly modern, even down to the logo.

It's also without a doubt the most green card in my collection.

There is a green sheen on the cardback as well with the stripes.

The batting breakdown covers Tony's career performance against a number of variables. The only one that seems to make mush of a difference is whether he was playing on artificial turf, when his batting average is a bit higher. Otherwise he is the model of consistency.

There's another 'bottom line' statistic as well, that the previous season he had broken Stan Musial's record for seasons in a row with a batting average over .300.

Card Number 162: Topps Stadium Club, 2000; #137
It would be hard to better the photo in the 1999 set, so Topps didn't try.

The back has a photo taken at dusk in what looks like a stadium parking lot.

There's nothing particularly notable about this card really. In 2000 the Stadium Club set was down to 250 cards, much reduced from its 900-card heyday earlier in the decade. It was beginning to look a bit tired.

Two years later, in 2002, the set was down to 125 cards. A similar small set was released in 2003, before a five year hiatus. The brand had a one-off reprise in 2008 and then it was put back to sleep for another half decade. When Stadium Club came back in 2014 it included some retired players, but was soon almost indistinguishable from Topps's flagship series which dispensed with borders around about the same time.

Tony had a card in the 2001 series - which I've blogged about here. He also had a card when Stadium Club came back in 2014.

Card Number 163: Topps Stadium Club, 2014; #161

If that photo looks familiar, it's because Topps reused it in 2015 as the basis for an 'Archetypes' insert card. (Which I blogged about previously.)

The 2014 Stadium Club cardback uses a youthful picture of Tony, but lists his later career weight under his personal data.

There's a nice 2-sentence summary of Tony's career and a one line career batting record. It's a clean, unremarkable design. There's a Cooperstown logo on the back which is bit odd considering this is a product with an official MLB licence. I think that might be because retired players are represented by a different organisation.

This has been a fun trek through the Stadium Club output. Tony also featured in the 2015 and 2019 sets. (I haven't seen a checklist for the yet-to-be-released 2020 set.) Those cards are still out there for me to add to the collection. In the meantime, there will be something different in the next post!

Total: 163/394

Join the (Stadium) Club 2

Continuing the series on Stadium Club cards. Let's dive straight in!

Card Number 158: Topps Stadium Club, 1995; #508

This is from a little grouping of cards featuring players that Topps dubbed the "Extreme Corps". I don't know what that is meant to mean.

I presume it's not a reference to rock band Extreme, whose star was beginning to wane in 1995. That logo with the swirling letters does look like it belongs to them though.

The back is, well, this:

It's a nice photo of Tony, is what I'll say about it. To be fair, the stats display is a massive improvement on previous years. Everything is oriented the same way. It's not terrible the way other cardbacks from the Nineties are terrible.

Tony's 1996 Stadium Cluib card has a great photo of him sliding towards a base - read about it here.

Card Number 159: Topps Stadium Club, 1997; #219

Tony's jogging in the photo.

Another year, another new branding choice. This has a pennant feel to it. It's also embossed.

A much simpler cardback, which I think looks quite modern despite it being 23 years old.

Seriously, if someone told me they had pulled that from a pack in the last 3 years I would believe them. It has proper factoid stats as well. 37 games with 4 or more hits is quite something. It also notes he was one batting title away from a record-setting eighth. He got that eighth title that season.

Card Number 160: Topps Stadium Club, 1998; #113

Full pelt running profile!

I don't know what that ball is above Tony's head. I have a feeling it might be part of the design on the advertising hoarding behind him. The embossed stitching motif invades the picture a bit, and there's another new Stadium Club logo.

The back has Tony in a fielding pose.

This year, Stadium Club included a 'bottom line'. That is some factoid - he had a hit in 80% of games he played in. It still means that one in five game he blanked. 

I'll round up the Stadium Club cards tomorrow.

Total: 160/394

One Card Only: "Now, that's a bat!"

I'm running a little series of posts about Stadium Club cards. I really like this one.

Card Number 157: Topps Stadium Club, 1995; #475
That's a bat suitable for a hitting champion.

I simply adore this photo. It is so odd and staged and Tony looks a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

It also reminds me of the denouement of the Dr Seuss book I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, which chronicles the dangerous journey of a disaffected youth who wants to leave behind all the irksome beasties that are troubling him by escaping to the magical city of Solla Sallew, where they don't have any troublesome critters. He eventually gives up when he realises there are troubles everywhere and goes home to try a different approach to dealing with the things that trouble him. The last page always makes me laugh:

"But I've bought a big bat.
I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going
To have troubles with me!"

Anyway, this card picture makes me think of that line. "I've bought a big bat!"

The cardback is a definite contender for the 'Mid-90s Design Horror Award', if such an award existed. Topps have managed to orient the wording in three different directions! On the plus side it has bar charts.

I am a bit of graph nerd and I like a good bar chart. These don't seem to be based on actual figures and are more of a graphic representation. However they show that Tony was the league leader for hits and batting average, and the Padres leader for second base hits, third base hits and RBI. The blue bar chart is just the "Topps Skills Rating System", which I suspect are totally arbitrary opinions of Topps staff rather than based on any observed measurements.

Also, of note, this is the third Topps Stadium Club logo. The second logo lasted one season.

More Stadium Club cards tomorrow.

Total: 157/394

Join the (Stadium) Club

A few posts back I included a couple of cards from Topps's Stadium Club range and realised I hadn't yet blogged about any Stadium Club cards. So to rectify that, I'm going to post some over the next few posts.

Stadium Club was Topps's premium product in the early 90s, produced to compete with Upper Deck. From the outset the cards featured 'full bleed' imagery, in other words, they didn't have borders. They also tried to use better, more innovative photography, and had jazzier card backs.

Card Number 151: Topps Stadium Club, 1991; #308
This shows off the best of Stadium Club's very first set. A close up, high resolution, photo that is in focus and captures the subject in a way that makes them look good. In other words, it's the opposite of the kind of photos Topps used on their regular flagship products at the time.

Perhaps to highlight my point about Topps photography they used a picture of Tony's rookie card on the reverse, where the main focus of the picture is Tony's bottom.

I have a theory Topps included rookie cards to remind everyone that they were the company with the history in the baseball card world, unlike those upstarts Upper Deck. (I've only just noticed he's not wearing number 19 on that uniform. Whoah!)

Topps also tried to provide some more in depth 'analysis' on the back, dividing up Tony's hitting averages on fastball pitches and identifying strengths and weaknesses. I don't think that would be much use to the average baseball card collector, but it may have informed some discussion among pitching staff. "Pitch it at waist height on the inside!"

Card Number 152: Topps Stadium Club, 1992; #825
Another iconic photo. I particularly like how the photographer is reflected in Tony's Oakleys.

The cardback is very similar to the previous year, including the rookie card.

Again, the analysis is about how well Tony fared against fastballs, although they have limited this to batting against left-handed pitchers. The square for right-handed pictures is confusingly left blank. I'm certain he hit a few.

There was a special issue of Stadium Club in 1992 called Stadium Club Dome. It was mainly rookie cards, draft picks and the players selected for the All Star Game in 1991, which was held in Toronto.

Card Number 153: Topps Stadium Club Dome, 1992; #73
The first Stadium Club card to feature Tony at the plate.

The back includes the logo for the All Star Game in Toronto. There was a fashion in the early 90s for cards devoted to the All Star Games - Tony had an Upper Deck card from the Toronto game as well, but they had stolen a march on Topps and released it at the tail end of the 1991 season.

The statistics on the back explain why Tony was selected for his seventh consecutive All Star squad in 1991. His good form continued as he got two hits in the game, although he ended up on the losing side.

Card Number 154: Topps Stadium Club, 1993; #538
This photo looks like it's from the same day as the 1992 card photo.

This was the last year of the oval Stadium club logo. Nineties design was starting to creep in, with the little ball element whizzing in from behind Tony on the card.

The cardback includes a photo with very crisp Padres pinstripes. The rookie card makes its final appearance on a Stadium Club cardback.

The stats on the back have grown more eclectic. Tony's hitting average when playing on artificial turf was high. His percentage of missed swings was incredibly low, getting down towards 1 in 20. (That's actually quite incredible, almost 19 times in 20 swings he connected with the ball.)

Card Number 155: Topps Stadium Club, 1994; #151 (Gold Parallel)
The foil bit under 'Gwynn' marks this out as a parallel. I actually didn't realise this until I came to write this blog post. That's another ordinary base card to chase down.

I think this is a great photo, reminiscent of the best of the Studio cards. Tony has a no nonsense expression. He looks serious, but not stern. Also, that's his name on the bat he's holding. Product placement!

To be a proper Nineties cardback, a card needs a mix of fonts, all in different colours, odd kerning, design elements dropped all over each other, and as many licensing logos as possible. There are at least six fonts crammed onto the cardboard rectangle here.

The little batting graphic is supposed to illustrate which areas of the field Tony was most likely to hit the ball towards. He was remarkably consistent, according to this, as he sprayed the ball in every direction about equal amounts of time.

Card Number 156: Topps Stadium Club, 1994; #537
A second card for Tony in the set, part of the "Quick Start" insert series.

The blur effect makes this card look cool. And a bit like the overly airbrushed monstrosities being issued today.

From what I can work out, the players in the Quick Start series all had a tendency to start the season well and then tail off. In Tony's case that usually because his injuries started to mount up. One of the contributors to He Left His Heart in San Diego reckoned that if Tony hadn't played the final few weeks of the season for most of the seasons his overall batting average would have been higher and he would have won more titles. But Tony wasn't that kind of player. He wanted to go out and play even if his form was tailing off.

There are more cards from the Stadium Club to come over the next few days.

Total: 156/394