2002 has a good run in the steve garvey binders

sheets 36-40 of the steve garvey binders, like sheet 35 and most of sheet 34 before them, consist of nothing but cards from 2002.  there are lots of inserts and parallels and just good ol' garvey goodness.  have a look.

here's sheet 36:

those cards are:

1. 2002 fleer greats of the game
2. 2002 fleer greats of the game unredeemed autograph redemption card
3. 2002 fleer greats of the game certified auto
4. 2002 leaf clubhouse signatures (bronze)
5. 2002 leaf clubhouse signatures (silver)
6. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic
7. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (debut year) with patch
8. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (debut year)
9. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (position)

true story: when i redeemed one of my 2002 fleer greats of the game autograph redemption cards (back then you had to mail them in), fleer sent back two copies of the certified auto card.  i picked up another redemption card later on and kept it to restore balance to the universe.

i am missing the gold version (numbered to 25) of the leaf clubhouse signatures card, but i have two versions of the leaf certified debut year relic, because one has a patch piece and the other doesn't.  i am weird like that when it comes to garvey relics as we have seen before and will see again later.

here are the backs:

i didn't mention that the debut year relics are numbered to 69 (garvey debuted in 1969), but i don't know why the position relic is numbered to 45.  seems random.

the fabric of the game parade continues on sheet 37:

those cards are:

1. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (jersey number)
2. 2002 topps archives
3. 2002 topps archives certified auto
4. 2002 topps archives relic
5. 2002 topps archives reserve
6. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (gold)
7. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (platinum)
8. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (titanium)
9. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (gold)

the jersey number relic is a fairly new addition to my steve garvey collection (it's numbered to 6), and the archives certified auto was pulled from a pack by yours truly.  that was some good karma coming to fruition that day.

i appreciate the gold label cards, as the first three use the photo from garvey's 1978 topps card with his 1974 topps card there in the background. the next three (two of which are on the next sheet) use his 1971 topps card photo with the 1978 card in the background.

here are the backs:

not much variation to the backs of the cards on this sheet.

as i mentioned, the mlb awards ceremony bat relics continue on sheet 38:

those cards are:

1. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (platinum)
2. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (titanium)
3. 2002 topps traded who would have thought
4. 2002 topps traded who would have thought (gold)
5. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought
6. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought (refractor)
7. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought (black refractor)
8. 2002 topps tribute
9. 2002 topps tribute lasting impressions parallel

i was pretty excited to see that garvey was included in the 'who would have thought' subset in the 2002 topps traded set, but i was even happier that he was on the checklist for 2002 topps tribute after being left out of the inaugural 2001 release (even though his number was one of just two retired by the padres at the time).

here are the backs:

the lasting impressions parallel is numbered to 87, which was garvey's last season in the big leagues.

topps tribute spills over onto sheet 39:

those cards are:

1. 2002 topps tribute first impressions parallel
2. 2002 topps tribute matching marks dual relic with gil hodges
3. 2002 upper deck piece of history
4. 2002 upper deck piece of history mvp club insert
5. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes insert
6. 2002 upper deck piece of history mvp club relic
7. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes relic
8. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes relic (with pinstripe)
9. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts

nice to see garvey and gil hodges on a card together. they are on that particular card because both drove in over 1250 runs in their respective careers. garvey got just past 1300, while hodges topped out at 1274.  here we see my need for relic variations again, but the next sheet is even worse.

here are the backs:

it's worth noting that, on this sheet and the next, there are 16 cards produced by upper deck from 4 different sets that use only six different photos (counting the backs).

sheet 40 is chock full of relics:

those cards are:

1. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts relic (bat)
2. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts relic (jersey)
3. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics
4. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (bat)
5. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (cream jersey)
6. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (cream/dirty jersey)
7. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (white jersey)
8. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (brown jersey)
9. 2002 upper deck world series heroes

in 2002, i actually called upper deck to find out how many different jerseys they used for garvey's sweet spot classics relics because it sure looked to me like there were three. they confirmed the use of a cream or off-white jersey which must have been from the minors unless the pads home whites were actually an off-white.  whatever. i was most happy that they used a photo of garvey from the 1978 world series with the jim gilliam memorial patch.

here are the backs:

and we aren't done with 2002 just yet.  stay tuned.

puig x pwe

2x3=6, which is the number of cards that jeff at 2x3 heroes stuffed into a pwe and sent my way recently.  i am going to break protocol here at garvey cey russell lopes, and not show the steve garvey card from the envelope first.  that's because yasiel puig's 2014 donruss elite dominator insert was included

and that kind of crazy card design deserves top billing.  besides, the garvey card was from 2002 topps archives which used his 1977 topps card

which is not necessarily one of my favorites.

there was one other dodger in the envelope - manny ramirez makes an appearance on a 2010 topps attax card

but the other three cards featured dodgers, sort of.  here's future dodger juan uribe who played for the white sox on tatooine as seen on his 2009 topps

and 2009 upper deck cards,

(that's probably very very likely a double play turn now that i look at it more closely)

and a former dodger henry blanco, who also played on tatooine as demonstrated by his 2011 topps walmart blue parallel card

blanco recently retired, but was able to carve out a nice 16-year career that started with a pinch hit single as a dodger back in 1997.  curiously enough, blanco never caught in any of the three games he appeared in as a dodger - he subbed in at third base after singling in his major league debut, pinch hit without playing in the field in his next appearance, and then subbed at first base in his third and final appearance in '97.  he signed with colorado after spending all of 1998 in the minors, and the rest is an 11-team big league journey.

thanks jeff!  i'll see if i can fit 6 cards in a pwe shortly.

let's bat around with make believe cards

i am going to take a very narrow approach to the third bat around, and just address one set i would like to see issued next year or someday.

i went crazy for topps heritage in 2001. i pre-ordered a box as soon as i heard about it and waited not so patiently for the release date. long story short - the guy i pre-ordered from went out of business or worse, and i never got my box. i still bought a lot of packs, though. then i went crazy for topps archives when they came out. same with topps fan favorites. upper deck vintage. fleer tradition. i have always believed very strongly in the strength of baseball's connection with the past, so seeing current players on vintage style cards was almost as cool as seeing some of my favorite retired players in different poses on those same style cards.

couple all of that with my love for the final tributes - cards that include a player's complete career statistics issued the year after they retire - and you get what would be my favorite set. a set that would include a 1970 don drysdale, a 1977 hank aaron, a 1988 topps steve garvey, a 2007 todd hollandsworth, a 1976 juan marichal and a 1973 jim lefebvre.

now, i understand that there are limits to the number of retired players that can be included in a base set, so you could include current players on cards in the style of the year they were born. how about a 1972 topps manny ramirez or a 1985 topps evan longoria?

given the appreciation i and others have for the digital work of punk rock paint, goose joak, the writer's journey, white sox cards, and others, i think this set would be awesome. i would even pre-order it.

oh, and i would also like to see documentary done correctly. and sold in team sets. thank you.