Random Cards From My Collection #12

Card #2106
2004 Upper Deck #127 Derek Jeter

It doesn't matter who does it, silver foil on a dark background is a bad idea. What percentage of cards do you think feature the glove hand of a catcher?

Card #29147
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini #127 Francisco Liriano

Ah, the good old days when Goodwin Champions was mostly a baseball card set and Upper Deck still had a license. This was my favorite set of 2009.

Card #18837
2007 Topps Turkey Red #60 Mariano Rivera

I think everyone liked the Topps Turkey Red cards.

Card #21348
1989 Topps #499 Don Heinkel

You're excused if Don Heinkel isn't in your memory banks. He made his debut in April 1988 and was gone by May 1989 having appeared in 28 games and going 1-1 with 1 save.

Card #6596
1990 Donruss #370 Bob Walk

Bob Walk will always hold a special place in my baseball heart. Not only do we share a surname but he won the first game of the 1980 World Series for the Phillies, the first World Series game they ever won.

Card #6837
1988 Topps #312 Joey Meyer

Future star? Nope.

Card #18039
2002 Upper Deck #469 Ivan Rodriguez

Just one of the many sets, inserts and subsets celebrating the international origins of baseball players. This was not an insert but a subset of the 2002 Upper Deck set.

Card #4204
1996 Pinnacle Aficionado #199 Greg Maddux

Pinnacle Aficionado was a weird but attractive set put out in the declining years of Pinnacle when they were just blasting out set after set hoping something would be a hit. The cards featured a chromatic foil close-up on one side. It's strangest feature however was the card's smell. Apparently they tried to make the cards smell like bubblegum. It wasn't an unpleasant or strong odor but it never reminded me of gum.

Card #3485
1992 Donruss Bonus #4 Jeff Bagwell

One of my all-time favorite players.

Card #27443
2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #39 Aaron Baker

I always wonder what reasoning Topps uses for a player like this. Baker was a 37th round draft pick by the Twins in 2006 then redrafted by the Pirates in the 11th round in 2009. How much of a prospect can this guy be? Considering how long the odds are of making it big in the majors, I wish this guy well.