2003 Topps 205

I posted some of this set before. I believe the Topps 205 set to be one of the better issues of the past 20 years or so. We've had lots of early tobacco card issues, but 2003 Topps 205 remains one of the best. Way better then any issue of Topps Gypsy Queen (to make just one comparison). I'd already purchased two hobby boxes of this product, one in 2003, the other in 2010 but still need almost 100 cards of the 335-card set.  I'm making completing this set a 2017 priority. Here are seven cards I just acquired which show the diversity of design, and other particularities, of the set.

Several designs feature various framing devices like the Boone card and this Crawford card.

The cards feature a wide variety of back ground colors too.

A number of the cards have variations, some subtle some not. Most usually have the same picture, with a background color change, or team logo change. I already had the variation of this Giamib card. I'd say this is more on the subtle side.

This Piazza card also has a variation but I didn't have either of them. The variation card has a solid orange background.

 Boone, Piazza, Smoltz and Beckett are all players I collect so the cards plug a few different holes.

7 of the first 8 cards I went looking for on eBay were readily available. The one I didn't see was the Piazza variation.

Ivan Rodriguez - 2017 Hall of Fame Class

I have 218 Ivan Rodriguez cards in my collection. Here's a selection of his cards that I own, one for each year of his career.

1991 Upper Deck Final Edition #55

1992 Topps #78

1993 Score Gold Dream Team #6

1994 Fleer All-Stars #22

1995 Leaf Great Gloves #16

1996 Ultra Prime Leather Gold #5

1997 Stadium Club #200

1998 Leaf State Representatives #21

1999 Crown Royal #140

2000 Upper Deck HoloGrFx #9

2001 Upper Deck UD’s Most Wanted #3

2002 Fleer Tradition This Day In History #30

2003 Topps 205 #10

2004 Upper Deck Power Up #39

2005 Topps Cracker Jack Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2006 Upper Deck 2006 World Baseball Classic #44

2007 Upper Deck Goudey Memorabilia #7

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter #78

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #80

Probably the first time in history that 2 players associated with the Astros were elected to the Hall of Fame at the same time.

2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Threw Out #48

2011 Topps Heritage #262