Last time, I got through cards 1-50 comparing 1959 Topps and 2008 Heritage. Rest assured the pairings will not be this dense throughout the entirety of the sets. And again, my criteria for approval is pretty lax. They just have to have something in common, like the same position, accomplishment, stat leadership, or even something about their name. The only semi-strict requirement is that they be on the same team.
Let's get rolling again...
#55 - Red Sox Aces from the previous year. Spot on!
The equivalent duo from the Yankees at #60.
So you got Mantle and A-Rod right, but couldn't find another superstar on the '59 Yankees to match up with Jeter at #68? To quote an ESPN NFL show from several years ago "Come on, man!"
The regular Yankees shortstop was down at #505. I thought Topps was in New York. Are they Mets fans?
Back on track at #70 with these Tiger clutch hitters.
#74's Washington combos have one major flaw, the 2008 exclusion of managers in any form. (And the font thing.)
You would expect Minoso to be aligned with someone like Paul Konerko, but since he's on the Indians in this case, #80 is good to go.
Anderson had a better previous year than Werth, to lead the Phillies at the plate. Nice black scheme reproduced here at #85.
Another proper set of Yankees hitters showing up at #90. Still can't understand why Jeter was left out.
Braves pitchers with successful first years and pink color schemes at #95. Both faded into the crowd otherwise.
#99 is déjà vu all over again! Mariano paired with another Pennsylvania infielder (who incidentally sounds a lot like a serial killer). I'm just at a loss.
And ya got Don Larsen languishing at #205 matched up with Milton Bradley. Oy.
And rounding out to one hundred, a couple A's hitters. Sort of anti-climactic, but valid.
Family ties bond the two #102's. This pair is Alou-icious!
A couple tolerable matchups at #105 and #114. Same team performers, although in different aspects of the game. I marked the good pairs in green and the bad ones in red on my spreadsheet. These were in yellow, but I'll give it to them.
#115 will end this chapter with two Indians First Basemen. One a veteran of twenty years in the majors, and the other a rookie who contributed well in his first full season.
Next time: the Rookies! (or not.)
I guess it didn't occur to anyone at Topps that the card was called "Directing The Power" BECAUSE it showed the manager. See, the manager directs the players. So the new version doesn't make any sense....
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Jeter stuns me, I thought Topps gave full attention to Jeter before anything else.
ReplyDeleteLol. I wonder if any of Ted Kazanski's friends every said... "dude... your name sounds like a serial killer".
ReplyDelete@Fuji - I wonder if the Unabomber's friends ever say, "There was a baseball in 1959 with your same name!"
ReplyDelete@Brett - you're right about that "Directing the Power" card. Totally dumb.
On a side note - I went to the same college as Tom Brewer. He was a very good friend of Ted Williams during his lifetime. He passed away a few years ago.