2001: A Card Odyssey

Today's blog post has a hackneyed title. Sorry. Anyway, some cards today from 2001 for our little odyssey where I will point out a couple of oddities. (I realised rather late yesterday that it was the six month anniversary of me starting this blog, so welcome to month 7!)

Card Number 471: Fleer Ultra, 2001; #9

I don't think I've blogged a card that was #9 in a set before.

Although the photo of Tony launching himself towards first base is a great action shot, my eyes are drawn to the spectator with their feet up on the railings in the background. 

On the back, Tony's disembodied feet under the stats box are another quirky design choice.

Tony's 2001 stats weren't great. He featured in 71 games but made fewer plate appearances and hits than the previous season when he only featured in 36 games. Although this card shows him running, he was almost crippled by a knee injury at this point in his career and usually had to have fluid drained from it straight after a game - sometimes on the 'plane home after a road game. (Which are rarely actually road trips!)

Card Number 472: Topps Finest, 2001; #80

A shiny card that doesn't scan well.

The back of this card is quite fun. Tony's finest feature is "Bat Magic".

There's a great little summary of Tony's hitting game as well. Tony pretty much said the same thing about his game in the book Tony Gwynn's Total Baseball Player, that he wrote with Jim Rosenthal. He explains that through careful study he could usually predict what a first pitch would be and be ready for it. (A copy of the book has just arrived from eBay, so I will probably be quoting from it in future posts!)

Card Number 473: Fleer EX, 2001; #98

This card has a kind of glittery effect on it.

The photo on the back shows Tony with a salt-and-pepper beard that makes him look older than 41. He wisely shaved this off and looked much younger after he retired.

The stats on the back has some odd selections of performances. Why include three teams who he didn't face? Still it's rare to find a card that offers a breakdown by team and I like the "Best Game" stat - that's the sort of nugget of information that keeps me interested. 

Total: 473 cards