It was Thursday afternoon, I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic on US–78 when I made the decision. For the past week, I had seen post after post after post online showing off box breaks of Topps newest product, 2012 Topps Archives. Topps hadn’t used the Archives brand since 2002, but the formula used this year differed from the older Archives sets. The previous sets featured a checklist of nothing but retired players. Due to restrictions in place with their current exclusive licensing agreement, a new set can only contain so many retired players. Sure, I would have preferred this set contain nothing but retired players. Still, Topps did an excellent job with the design of the set.

The first 200 cards in the base set are based on the designs of previous Topps sets. The first fifty cards are done in the style of the 1954 Topps set. This design, with the small black and white action shots juxtaposed with the larger color shots, will never grow old. Cards 51 - 100 are done in the style of the 1971 Topps issue. Over forty years later and this design remains the finest black bordered set ever issued. Cards 101 - 150 were designed to match the 1980 Topps set. The 1980 design is simple, but it remains one of my favorites, not least because it was the first Topps set I tried to put together. The non short printed section of the base set concludes with fifty additional cards using the 1984 Topps design. While not as iconic as the 1954 and 1971 designs, the 1984 design is a fine representation of the Topps design aesthetic from the mid 1980s and has not been overused, so the cards look fresh to my eyes. These 200 cards are mostly current players, but there is a smattering of retired players included as well.

It wouldn’t be a Topps retro product if there weren’t short prints, and Archives includes short prints at a rate of one in every four packs. The forty short prints have been done in the style of a set that Topps put out in 2003 through 2005, Topps All-Time Fan Favorites. These forty cards each feature a retired player on a card based on a past Topps design. Numerous designs are included in this portion of the set. It’s important to note that these cards are not reprints of previously issues Topps cards, but new cards based on numerous old designs. There is one additional short printed card, which I will discuss later. The set is complete at 241 cards.

Continuing a trend that Topps started with Lineage last year, Archives included several insert sets based on older Topps oddball sets. There is a 25 card insert set based on the 1977 Topps Cloth Stickers specialty set. These stickers use the same design as the 1977 Topps set. In 1967, Topps issues two small sets of stickers for the Pirates and the Red Sox. That design is represented with a 25 card insert set. There is also a 15 card set in the style of the 1968 Topps 3-D test issue and a 15 card insert set based on the 1969 Topps Deckle Edge set. There is a 50 card insert set featuring reprints of older Topps cards. The inserts sets are closed out by two ten card insert sets that mimic the design of cards that were included in older base sets. The first set is done in the style of the In Action cards included in the 1982 base set. The second set are Classic Combos, like those in the 1958 set. There is a wide variety of inserts with a strong mix of current players and retired players.

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Collecting Brandon Beachy

Thursday night, my wife and I drove over to Discover Mills mall in Lawrenceville. John Smoltz was there signing his recent book, Stating and Closing. We arrived about an hour and a half before the signing was set to begin, and was fortunate enough to get place 73 in line. We appeared to be the only people with a single copy of the book to be signed. I could see people buying copy after copy, seemingly for every Braves fan they know. Me? I’m not that nice I guess.

I struck up a conversation with the older guy in line in front of me. His son used to own a card and memorabilia shop over in Roswell. At some point, he stopped selling cards since he couldn’t compete with the internet retailers. Eventually he would sell his shop and now works as an independent dealer of signed jerseys and stuff. He said that his son has a closet filled with signed Braves jerseys, including a Spahn and a Mathews. His son already had a lot of Smoltz stuff, but he thought he would enjoy a signed copy of the Smoltz book.

When an individual picked up their number, the bookstore employee would place a yellow post it note on the title page. We were told that if we want the book personalized, to put the name on the post it. The old guy saw my name and informed that I would have a hard time selling the book if I got the autograph personalized. Well, OK then.

Of course, I have no intention of ever selling the book. John Smoltz remains one of my favorite players in the history of the game. As the line moved through the store, I thought back over his career. When Smoltzy was first called up in 1988, he got knocked around quite a bit. He seemed to put it all together on the awful 1989 Braves team, but Smoltz was wildly inconsistent through the early part of his career. It’s hard to forget a year like 1991 when he had his infamous Jekyll and Hyde season (2–11 5.16 through July 6, 12–2 2.63 after), which he followed up with a dominating post-season. Still, other than game 7 of the 1991 World Series, I’m having trouble remembering any defining moment from the early years of his career. Maybe I’m just getting old.

It took the line a while to wind through the store to the signing table. We were all Braves fan, so no one complained when someone started streaming the audio from the game to their phone. That brings me to Brandon Beachy.

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In the world of professional sports, there are very few people who say what they mean without filter. In baseball, the vast majority of managers and players toe the line. They can spend hours saying the same things, day after day after day. They’ve all been well coached in the art of saying the exact right thing. Sure, there are many players that offer the occasional honest comment, but most know when to hold back and keep their mouths shut. Most people associated with the game are very controlled with every comment they make in public, even those that can be viewed as impolite. It can all be very boring. Ozzie Guillen has none of these issues. If he’s asked a question by a reporter, he’s going to answer it and then he’ll just keep talking about whatever pops into his head, rarely going more than five or six words without dropping an F bomb. Ozzie Guillen loves to talk. The only two words not to pass his lips are no comment. He is volatile, funny, bright, passionate, ridiculous, absurd, loud, obnoxious, profane, honest and occasionally self-destructive.

I like Ozzie Guillen and I like him a lot. Of course, I’m also awfully glad that he isn’t managing the Braves. Ozzie's act will eventually wear thin, even with those who love him.

Rick Morrissey’s Ozzie’s School of Management is the story of former Chicago White Sox manager, current Miami Marlins manager, and former Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Guillen and his philosophy on managing a baseball team. I began this book with trepidation. There’s an entire genre of business books about sports personalities. The author attempts to make these strange analogies between athletic success and business success. More often than not, the pages of these books offer more value as toilet paper than as a fount of business wisdom. My boss forced me to read Rick Pitino’s "Success is a Choice" back in 1998 and after reading five or six pages each night I would beat the crap out of my pillow. I was afraid that this was going to be that kind of book. I would not put it past a "culture of management" guru to try and cram all that is Ozzie into a serious business book, no matter how absurd the notion. It was a relief to discover that Morrssey had other goals. This is a parody of those sorts of books. The book is wildly entertaining and puts Ozzie on display, warts and all.

From the beginning of his professional career at the bottom of the San Diego Padres sytem (where John Kruk would teach the young Guillen the F word and all the various ways in which it can be used), through his time in the majors with the White Sox, the Braves and others, to his days as a coach with the Florida Marlins, Ozzie Guillen wanted to learn more about baseball. He was always planning for the day when he would be a manager. He would ask any question of any one and he was not afraid to be an irritant. When he first broke into the majors with the White Sox, he was desperate to learn from Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines and Tom Seaver. Try as they might to shut up the young Venezuelan shortstop,it just couldn’t be done. He would learn from managers he respected like Tony LaRussa, his first in the big leagues. He would also learn from managers he did not respect, most notable Terry Bevington. When he arrived in Atlanta, late in his playing career, he would watch Bobby Cox work and ask him questions about why he would make a certain move and why he would stick by a certain guy. He soaked it all in.

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If you need any help looking for cards to chase for your favorite players, then Five to Collect is here to help. These aren’t necessarily the five best cards for a player. The list won’t always include a rookie card. The list is simply five cards that are interesting and show off both the best of the player and the best of baseball cards.

1986 Donruss Highlights #22

It’s not hard to imagine Bob Horner hitting four home runs in a game, which he did on July 6, 1986 for the Braves against the Montreal Expos. It was one of those games where seemingly every Braves fan was tuned to TBS. He hit a majestic shot to left off Andy McGaffigan in the 2nd. He would repeat that shot in the 4th. Both of those shots were hit with the bases empty and the Braves falling behind fast. By the 5th inning, the Braves were down eight runs with only Horner’s homers on the scoreboard.

I’d like to sell this as a feel good story about the team, but the team lost that day. In fact, being behind helped Horner out. As Horner himself told the AJC, “ Every time I came up to bat, we’re behind, so the pitchers, luckily for me, are trying to come after me because they had nothing to lose.” So, in the fifth, with Jeff Dedmon and Ken Oberkfell on base, Horner would pull another McGaffigan pitch over the wall in left. That was as close as the Braves would come. Still, it’s hard to forget that moment when Horner crushed a Jeff Reardon pitch to deep left in the bottom of the ninth.

A lot of Braves fans memories have turned back to Bob Horner’s feat in the wake of Josh Hamilton’s four home run game this past week. How can you not remember an accomplishment that is even rarer than a perfect game? I’m not sure how the average Braves fan remembers Horner. He may well have been the Braves second most popular player after Dale Murphy when TBS baseball exploded nationally in the early 80s. His career was hampered by both injuries and allegedly his weight. He only played nine seasons for the Braves and one for the Cardinals. As a result of collusion, he spent one season playing in Japan. It wasn’t a long career, but I dare say, most Braves fans remember him, and not just for that game against the Expos in 1986.

In their post-season, hobby store only boxed set from 1986, Highlights, Donruss would celebrate Horner’s achievement. Ignore that odious yellow and black border, this is a wonderful card. That’s a great shot of Horner’s powerful follow through and it’s a wonderful memento from one of the more memorable moments in Braves history.

1979 Topps #586

Bob Horner didn’t just hit home runs. Balls that jumped off his bat went a long, long way. He would set high school home run records at Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona. He would set the Arizona State University record for most home runs by a freshman in 1976. His 58 home runs over his three seasons at ASU were, for a time, the NCAA all-time home run record. He would be named MVP of the 1977 College World Series. He entered the amateur draft at the conclusion of the Sun Devils 1978 season and the Braves would take him with the first pick in the draft.

Expectations were high for Horner at the point he was drafted. The Braves decided he was ready to make an impact immediately and installed him as the team’s starting third baseman. Bob Horner would not play a single game of minor league baseball. In his first game in an Atlanta Braves uniform, he would ground and fly out in his first two at-bats. He was facing the Pittsburgh Pirates best starter, Bert Blyleven, but any notion that the Hall of Fame pitcher had Horner’s number was erased in the 6th inning. With two outs, the Braves young catcher who was hitting in front of Bob Horner, Dale Murphy, rapped a single to left. The bonus baby college phenom then stepped to the plate and crushed a home run.

He would hit 22 more home runs over the remaining 88 games of his rookie season. At the end of the year, he was voted Rookie of the Year over the Wizard, Ozzie Smith. He would also be named to the 1978 Topps All Time Rookie team. His rookie card, pictured here, was included in the 1979 set featuring his ROY campaign statistics on the back. It’s not a great card. The picture is simply odd and the shadow over most of his face is unfortunate. For reasons known only to Topps, this was one of a run of years where they stopped including the All-Star Rookie trophy symbol on the card. No matter, if you were a Braves fan in the late 70s and early 80s, you want this card.

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When I got back into card collecting in late 2005, my only goal was to get as many Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz cards as I possibly could. Well, actually, I thought it might be possible to get the vast majority of the cards put out featuring any of the three. As I immersed myself back into the hobby, I quickly realized that things had changed greatly since I last collected regularly in the early 90s. Not only did they each have dozens of cards produced each year, they had dozens of relic cards and autographed cards as well. I know of at least 204 Greg Maddux cards that were produced in 1998, and there’s no way that I know of them all. It was all so overwhelming to me.

I received some advice upon my return and I’ll pass it on to you. If you want to start a player collection, look for player lots on eBay. There was no shortage of Greg Maddux player lots, and Glavine and Smoltz lots weren’t exactly rare either. I’d search for “Greg Maddux Lot” and there would be several pages of listings with titles like “800 Count Lot of Greg Maddux”, “241 Different Greg Maddux Cards”, and “Maddux, Maddux, Maddux!!!!”. I think the first lot I purchased promised 250 different Greg Maddux cards. There were numerous cards from the junk wax era, but there were also dozens of shiny inserts from the late 90s. As someone who had always collected sets, I found most insert sets to be rather boring. Sitting together in a plastic page in a binder they all looked the same to me. Now, I saw them in a new light. The key was not to look at them as a set, but rather to look at them combined with other inserts.

Of course, the initial rush was tempered by the realities of eBay. I once ordered two different lots of Greg Maddux cards on the same day. One promised around 100 different cards. The other promised 75. In the 100 card lot, I only needed around 5 cards for my collection. The 75 card lot was even more disappointing as every single card in the lot was also in the 100 card lot. It turns out that even though I purchased the lots from different eBay sellers, they were shipped from the exact same address in Lexington, Kentucky. Yeah, those things stick with you.

There were other lessons I had to learn. In a fit or irresponsible spending, I laid out several hundred dollars buying 15 different Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux lots on a single day. Some of the lots were nice, but the majority were a major disappointment, but at least I had learned another lesson. In this case, it was to pay much closer attention to words like “Different” and “Assorted”. If a listing promises 100 different Tom Glavine cards, you can be reasonably certain that you will receive at least 98 different Glavine cards. You may even receive 100 different cards. If a listing advertises 100 assorted Tom Glavine cards, you might receive 5 different cards including 96 of the same ugly 1989 Tom Glavine Classic card. That is not a true story. The true story is worse. I bought a lot for around 30 dollars, free shipping, that promised 2000 Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz cards. “There are duplicates,” the listing said. Still, 2000 cards, dirt cheap, of my three favorite baseball players. How could I say no?

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1990
Typically, draft picks didn’t make an impact on the hobby until their Major League careers began. By the late 1980s though, the rookie card craze had a firm grip on collectors and manufacturers alike. The manufacturers were looking to get a jump on each other by featuring the first card of a player, and major league experience was no longer a criteria for making a checklist. The entire story of Chipper Jones selection ensured that both his name and that of college bound (ha) Todd Van Poppel were known by virtually every collector. The manufacturers would cram Chipper Jones into virtually every product they could. By the time he made his major league debut in September of 1993, there were well over 20 cards already available.

The first manufacturer to get Chipper Jones cards into a national product was Classic with their 1990 Classic Draft Picks and 1990 Classic Yellow products. Now, Classic had a single minded mission in their early days. They were determined to make the ugliest cards possible. To this day, no card company has ever produced a group of baseball cards as ugly as those Classic inflicted upon the world in the late 80s and early 90s. Chipper’s card in the Draft Picks set was simply garden variety ugly. Sure, the large camouflage print border was awful, but at least it was a neutral gray color. Plus, the picture of Chipper in his high school uniform is pretty cool. The Classic Yellow product is just horrendous to look at. It’s sad to me that Chipper’s first card in an Atlanta Braves uniform shows him surrounded by a large, loud, atrocious yellow border. Sure, every Atlanta Braves fan should own the card. It is his first card showing him in a Braves uniform. This historic card is ugly, ugly, ugly.

1991

The other manufacturers would start to get into the Chipper Jones business in 1991. For obvious reasons, the Classic cards were considered minor league in quality and collector attention. When the 1991 sets from the major manufacturers were released, collectors across the country began to stock up on Chipper Jones cards. If he lived up to his promise and proved to be the second coming of Cal Ripken, Jr., then collectors everywhere would be able to put their children through college by selling a handful of Chipper cards.

From a numbers standpoint, Chipper’s career would eclipse that of Ripken. His rookie cards, however, can often be bought for mere pennies. It isn’t Chipper’s fault of course that Topps and Upper Deck were caught up in the era of rampant over-production. Although many collectors love to blame the 1994 strike for the collapse of the baseball card market, that was simply the moment the bubble burst. Value requires scarcity, and Chipper Jones rookie cards are as plentiful as water and air.

Pictured here are two of the better Chipper rookie cards. The Topps card is the classic bat on the shoulder pose. 1991 design isn’t overly impressive, but at least it doesn’t get in the way of the photograph. The Upper Deck card is even better. The picture showing Jones manning shortstop is especially nice. More than anything, I like that it looks like something is inflating inside his cap. Less successful is the card from Score. Generally speaking, cards with the backgrounds removed are almost always worse, but that’s not the only problem with the card. The design is bland, bordering on amateurish. There’s something off about the look on Chipper’s face. It just isn’t a very good card.

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It’s hard to think of many Braves that could write a book that would be more hotly anticipated. Of that fabled trio of Braves pitchers from the historic playoff run, he remains the favorite of many. While many Braves fans believe that Greg Maddux is the greatest pitcher of his generation, we also know that he has to be shared with Cubs fans. As for Tom Glavine, he may have pitched his best years in an Atlanta Braves uniform, but when he left Atlanta, he wore the blue and orange of the hated New York Mets. John Smoltz didn’t just continue to wear a Tomahawk across his chest after the playoff run concluded, he seemed to thrive, remaining one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. During his career, Smoltz was well known for speaking his mind honestly. As we’ve learned during his announcing career, he is also a very funny man. A book by one of Atlanta’s best, funniest and most blunt players will be welcomed with open arms by the Braves faithful. That book, Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith and One More Year arrives May 8 from William Morrow Press.

Before I had even read the first word, I knew that this book was not going to be what I anticipated. Looking through the section of pictures that are always placed in the middle of these sports biographies, his emphasis became clear. The pictures start with the obligatory shots of the Smoltz family and of him as a youngster, including numerous pictures of him as young player. There are pictures of Smoltzy as a minor leaguer and as a baby Brave, including a photo from his first All-Star team in 1989. Then, there are pictures of him as a Red Sox and as a Cardinal in the last season of his career. There are no pictures of Smoltz with the 1995 World Series trophy. There are no pictures of him with his Cy Young award. There isn’t a single picture that was taken during the Braves run of fourteen straight division titles. The closest is a picture of him with the Roberto Clemente award he received after the 2005 season.

Smoltz himself makes clear near the beginning of the book that this isn’t your typical sport star autobiography. He did not, in fact, have any desire to write a book for the longest time. It was only after he felt a calling that the book was written. If it isn’t a typical sports autobiography, then what is it? Well, it’s a motivational book and it is a religious book and with few exceptions, baseball is used as a vehicle to express his thoughts on success and faith.

The book is structured around the last of John Smoltz’s “one more years”. When he made the decision the have surgery on his shoulder during the 2008 season, he had every intention of coming back and pitching for the Braves in 2009. That season did not work out as he had planned, of course. His shoulder surgery and his 2009 season with the Red Sox and the Cardinals serve as the book’s framework. He uses this period to relate back to stories of his life and of his career.

“… this is not your typical autobiography.” -John Smoltz, p. 22

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The collecting year, much like the regular season of the game itself, is a grind. We’ve already seen Series 1. Heritage followed soon after. This year’s sticker set is out. With Tribute and Museum Collection, Topps has even released two high end products already. The season has barely started and the most recent Topps product hit the shelves this past Wednesday. That product, Gypsy Queen, was last year’s big hit. Gypsy Queen easily surpassed Heritage and Allen & Ginter as the top retro product on the market. (In retrospect, it should have replaced Allen & Ginter on the schedule, but that’s nit picking coming from someone who is trying to complete both sets.)

As I said, the collecting year is a grind. There’s always another product on the way. Unless you are blessed with unlimited resources, you have to be rather choosy when deciding which products to buy. When Gypsy Queen came out last year, my resources were very limited. Basically, I had decided that I would invest in either Gypsy Queen or Allen & Ginter. Honestly, the early previews of Gypsy Queen didn’t impress me. Sure, the Allen & Ginter design was a little stale, but I’d been building Allen & Ginter sets since the first release so that’s the path I chose. By the time I picked up a few packs of Gypsy Queen and decided that it was a terrific product that I wanted to build, its popularity had skyrocketed and I couldn’t find it on store shelves anywhere. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake this year.

Of course, I’m also down on buying new wax, especially when a new box is over a hundred dollars. What’s a collector to do? Well, a change made to this year’s product by Topps has made the decision for me. If I get it, I want to collect the entire set, and that means that I have to track down any short prints. Last year, cards numbered 301 - 350 were short printed and were inserted at a rate of one in four packs. This year, there are no cards numbered 301 - 350. There are still 50 short printed cards in this year’s set, but I find it easier to ignore them. Topps has decided to create photo variation cards of regular cards in the set rather than just short print 50 otherwise regular cards. (You can see an example of the regular Freddie Freeman card and the variation card after the fold.) When a card is checklisted, I feel like it’s a part of the set and needs to be purchased. In this case, I can ignore the variations and complete the set.

So, I went ahead and ordered a hobby box off of eBay and stopped in a local Target to buy up all of the rack packs they had available. (When it comes to new wax, I lack self control. I’m certain that I’ve mentioned this before.) My first pack hooked me on the set. One of the pluses of most of Topps non-Heritage retro products is the inclusion of mini cards. For many, these cards are an obsession. I like them because they are fun, they give me additional Braves cards to collect, and they make great trade bait. Each pack of Gypsy Queen includes a single mini card. In my first pack, I pulled a black parallel mini of John Smoltz. In my second pack I pulled a regular John Smoltz mini. My third pack offered up the base Chipper Jones card. Yeah, that was a fun run. (I even pulled an autograph from a retail pack. Sure, it was just a Drew Stubbs, but I almost never pull an autograph from retail wax. Heck, I might get five whole dollars on eBay for it!)

Yes, the collecting year may be a grind, but once a product catches my fancy, I feel like a new collector all over again. My hobby box should arrive sometime this week and I’ll open it with glee next weekend. I’ll spend an hour or two sorting out the cards, posting my want list and my trade bait online, and putting what I have of the set into card sheets in a binder. Chances are, I’ll do it with a Braves game playing on the television set. Life and work aren’t always perfect, but for a few hours next weekend, none of life’s problems will matter. (It’s nice to be in an optimistic frame of mind with the hobby.)

And then, next month, Topps will release Archives. And then, in June, they will release Series 2. And then, in July, Allen & Ginter will hit the shelves. And then, in August, Finest and Chrome are out. The grind goes on.

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In my mind’s, I occasionally try to conjure up a picture of Wes Covington’s batting stance. I try to figure out how a player can hold the bat horizontal to the ground, yet as high as his chin. I try to figure out how a player who holds hit bat like that can hit for power. I can only assume he must have been hunched over, leaning over the plate. How would it work otherwise? It must have been something to see. Virtually every paragraph written about Wes Covington that I could find on the internet mentions his batting stance. Kids loved to imitate it.

He was also known for wasting time at the plate. There was no part of his uniform that didn’t need adjusting. There was dirt that needed to be knocked off his spikes with the barrel of his bat. His shoes needed to be tied and retied. He had to get his cap just right and there was always dirt that had to be wiped off his hands. He was known to drive opposing pitchers to distraction. I’m shocked that Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale never clocked him for it.

More than anything, I wanted to see video of his batting stance. I wanted to see exactly how he put that unorthodox swing together. I wanted to see his routine before stepping into the batter’s box. I didn’t get that chance through. There’s so much great MLB footage available from yesteryear, but MLB clamps down hard on anyone who tries to use it. If you ever see old-time footage you enjoy on You Tube, my advice would be to save it as soon as possible before MLB arranges to have it taken down.

It wouldn’t bother me so much if MLB did a better job of making the footage available. Sure, I can search the video at the MLB web site and find footage of Aaron’s 715. I can see snippets of Koufax’s perfect game. I can see a number of Mickey Mantle’s home runs. These are all great of course. There’s no doubt that footage of the superstars is the most in demand. Still, for a sport that celebrates its history as much as baseball, it’s a shame that I can’t find any footage of player like Covington. I can’t even find footage of his two great catches in the 1957 World Series.

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It had almost slipped by me that this week's Braves Cardboard Sunday was the 38th anniversary of the night that Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. (Thanks for pointing it out gondeee!) There’s no greater cardboard memory than that.

When Henry Aaron hit the 713th home run of his career on the next to last day of the 1973 season, there was certainly good reason to think he could tie or break the record. It was, despite fewer than 390 at-bats spread across 120 games, his 40th home run of the season. The Hammer had been locked in all season and he had extra motivation to finish the record off and put the whole thing behind him before the off-season began. As his race for the Babe heated up during the summer of 1973, many fans voiced a displeasure bordering on the psychotic.

From the moment that it became clear that it was Aaron who would break the Babe’s record, there was a backlash. There were members of the press that were openly against Aaron taking the record from Ruth. For some, it was that he wasn’t as great as Ruth, for others it was that he wasn’t from New York. Members of the press would, of course, deny it had anything to do with his race. Would there have been a similar backlash if it was Mickey Mantle challenging the Babe? Of course not. Still, the attacks in the press were overwhelmed by the largely positive coverage that Aaron received. For much of his career, Aaron’s accomplishments took place under the radar, but he was now front page news and many were celebrating his accomplishments. These press attacks were mild though when compared to his hate mail. Aaron’s hate mail has become nearly as legendary as home run number 715 itself.

He opened and read every letter, before they were turned over to the FBI. The racial slurs are shocking, even when compared to the standards of the time. It is hard to fathom the hate sent Aaron’s way for no reason other than he was a black man challenging sport’s most hallowed record. While the hatred and racial slurs were bad, it was the threats that were worse. Even at the time, both Aaron and the authorities knew that the majority of the threats were coming from little brained people who lived impotent lives. They were about as likely to harm Aaron or his family as they were to have an intelligent thought. Still, the sheer number of threats necessitated that they be taken seriously. A few of the threats were even specific as to the time and place they planned to kill Aaron. From the summer of 1973 until the record fell, Aaron lived under a cloud of hate and the threat of murder. (Aaron was heartened however when news of the hate mail was made public and the overwhelming majority of the mail became positive and supportive.)

Obviously, Aaron wanted the home run race over as soon as possible. It wasn’t to be though. Number 713 was a three run shot off the Astros’ Jerry Reuss near the end of September. The final game of the season was the next night, and Aaron had a great game banging three singles off of starter Dave Roberts, but both he and closer Don Wilson kept Aaron in the ballpark. He entered the off-season one home run short of the all-time record and those few months were hell for Aaron. The hate and the threats continued. His daughter required an FBI escort at college. The stress was taking its toll on Aaron. He was seething and was more determined than ever to take the record, if for no other reason than to spite those that were threatening him and his family.

He came into the 1973 season as a man on a mission. In his first at-bat, in the first game of the 1974 season at Riverfront Stadium, Aaron took Jack Billingham deep to tie Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs. The Reds fans came unglued at the history they had just witnessed. It was a great moment, but it was followed almost immediately by controversy. Aaron was pulled after his third at-bat, and Braves’ manager Eddie Mathews announced that he planned to keep Aaron out of the starting lineup for the next two games so that he could break the record in front of the home crowd. There was an uproar from sportswriters across the nation that the Braves were destroying the integrity of the game, led by Dick Young. The toady of the press, commissioner Bowie Kuhn, called Mathews himself and ordered him to start Aaron in the third game, or the Braves franchise would face serious consequences. Ultimately, it didn’t matter as Aaron went hitless in his three at-bats in his second game against the Reds. He headed home to try and break the record against the Dodgers.

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I’m trying to get used to the idea that there are more than one type of card collector. For years and years, if you were a baseball card collector, you were probably a set builder. Your goal in the hobby was to complete a set of baseball cards. When I left collecting in the early 1990s, this was still the main focus for the majority of collectors, even with the numerous sets the manufacturers were bringing to market. When I returned to the hobby in 2005, I found that things had changed. Now, the world is overrun with player collectors, team collectors, prospectors, high end collectors, case breakers and on and on and on.

Some have used this change in collecting habits to predict the death of the hobby. I’m certain I’ve even done so here in one of my more pessimistic moments. Last Sunday, CBS Sunday Morning aired a piece by Armen Keteyian that was ostensibly about the death of the hobby. It would be generous to simply say that the story wasn’t very good. There’s little doubt that the hobby is not the force it was in the early to mid 1990s. Numerous manufacturers were making money hand over fist before the collapse of the mid 1990s, and the hobby has certainly regressed since then. Of course, all those people buying baseball cards in the 1990s had little to nothing to do with baseball and little to nothing to do with collecting. It was all about chasing the dollar. Yes, the manufacturers were making a killing before the collapse, but it was a house of cards. The vast majority of those cards released in the salad days are now close to worthless. I’d argue that the collapse just purged the hobby of a specific type of odious speculator. It was no longer possible to buy dozens of cases of baseball cards, stick them in a warehouse somewhere, and wait to get rich.

So, what are we left with in 2012? As Chris Harris at Stale Gum points out, the kids are gone and the hobby is now dominated by the internet-savvy young. That certainly isn’t a description of me and I can’t speak for everyone, but I suspect the hobby is going to become different things to different people. Old timers like myself will continue to build sets until they aren’t putting out sets worth building. Guys like cbwilk will continue to buy prospect cards like Bowman and Minor League Heritage to collect autographs. Others will buy up the prospect cards hoping against hope that one of the young kids featured will break through and have that big year. There will always be those that are so infatuated with a team or a player that they will go out of their way to add to their collection. Case breakers will continue to buy up product in large quantities allowing the rest of us to swoop in and get the individual cards we want off of eBay. There will always be those fortunate collectors to whom money is no object and will be willing to take the gamble on the high end.

Us old timers should relax a little. I suspect we can all co-exist in this hobby.

Of course, I can’t pretend to understand high end collectors. Why would someone drop nearly three hundred dollars for a box of baseball cards that is far more likely to disappoint than it is to bring happiness? All of which brings me to the first high end product of the year from Topps, 2012 Topps Tribute.

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If you need any help looking for cards to chase for your favorite players, then Five to Collect is here to help. These aren’t necessarily the five best cards for a player. The list won’t always include a rookie card. The list is simply five cards that are interesting and show off both the best of the player and the best of baseball cards.

1991 Upper Deck #55

We could be talking about Todd Van Poppel. Think about that for a moment. How different would our lives as baseball fans have been if the Braves had selected Van Poppel? The Braves could have easily taken the stud pitcher out of Arlington, Texas with their first pick in the 1990 draft. Van Poppel insisted that there was no way he would sign with the Atlanta Braves. He was going to college. When he was selected by the Oakland A’s with the 14th pick of the first round of the draft, he changed his mind. The A’s had, after all, been in the 1988 and 1989 World Series and were on their way to their third straight Series appearance in 1990. Did Van Poppel work out a deal with baseball’s best team while denying interest to lesser teams? That’s certainly the opinion of many Braves fans.

If Van Poppel did do everything he could to avoid being drafted by the Braves, he should be sent an honorary 1995 World Series ring. Everyone knows that the Braves took Chipper Jones instead. It’s 22 years later, and Van Poppel’s career consists of numerous years of poor performance, with two solid years of middle relief for the Cubs as his only real success. (Was it because of injury or a lack of minor league development time? Who cares?) Chipper Jones has a World Series ring, an MVP award and will one day enter Cooperstown. Van Poppel was a bust and Chipper Jones has been the face of his franchise for as long as many can remember.

The MLB draft was not considered a big deal by even many devoted fans back in the day. Because of the Van Poppel controversy though, Chipper arrived in the Atlanta minor league system with a lot of pressure. He had to be better than the kid from Texas who was going to be the next Nolan Ryan. The first time most of us saw Chipper was on his prospect and draft pick baseball cards. It’s the Topps card from 1991 that most people know, but the Upper Deck card is the better card since it pictures Chipper in a Braves uniform. He looks like such a kid here, which he is of course. This certainly doesn’t look like the picture of a future Major Leaguer.

21 years after that card was produced, and Chipper Jones has announced that he is retiring from baseball at the end of the season. Chipper is an interesting character for sure. While he is most certainly the Braves most popular player of the last 20 years, he has more detractors among Braves fans than you might think. One thing is undeniable though, and that is that the Braves have been, for the majority of his time in the majors, his team. The Braves were once Hank Aaron’s team and Dale Murphy’s team. I speak from experience when I say that it was hard to ever picture the Atlanta Braves without Dale Murphy roaming the outfield. I’m sure fans in the 60s and early 70s felt the same way about Hammerin’ Hank.

The post Chipper Jones world begins next year. Like Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy, the Braves will go on and even thrive without him. Starting in 2013, this will be someone else’s baseball team.

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I have no idea if the players even care. As a fan and as a collector, it bothers me a great deal. As I age, I forget things. It’s hard enough for me to remember the players who started for the Atlanta Braves teams of the past. (Do you guys remember that Walt Weiss played for the Braves? Surely, I knew that.) The lesser players come and go. Some leave their mark, and others don’t. One thing is for sure, if they don’t get a baseball card, I am far more likely to forget them. It is, after all, hard enough for me to remember them anyway.

I spent most of last season, and much of the season before, obsessed with the fact that Topps wouldn’t put Eric O’Flaherty on a baseball card. Considering the sheer number of sets that Topps puts out each year, it seemed ridiculous that he wouldn’t get a card. His graduation from LOOGY to dominant reliever last season finally earned him his card in an Atlanta Braves uniform. That card was in 2011 Topps Update Series and was my favorite card of the year for no other reason than it felt like I had waited so long.

When a player comes up through your team’s minor league system, their first card will inevitably be in one of the Bowman sets. This is true of Jason Heyward. It is true of Brian McCann. When a player, however, arrives to your team through different means, their first appearance in the new uniform will typically be in one of the three series of the base Topps set. Top players are usually featured in their new uniform as soon as possible. Both Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes were rushed into 2012 Topps Series 1 with pictures in their new uniforms, even though there are no actual pictures of them in those uniforms. As Braves fans, we didn’t have to wait long to see Dan Uggla wear his new uniform.

Non star players are rarely rushed onto a card in their new uniform. If their contribution to their team is significant enough, they will find their way into the Update Series. If not, they will be on hold, as EOF was, until someone at Topps pulls the trigger. EOF’s card last year was overdue. (Of course, considering the season he had, you would think he was a shoo-in for the base set this year, but he was not in Series 1 and is not on the preliminary checklist for Series 2. Bummer.)

When looking at the Braves checklist for Topps latest release, which hit store shelves this past Wednesday, it all makes perfect sense with a single exception. I am confounded by the arrival of a Jose Constanza card in 2012 Topps Heritage. Not unhappy mind you, just perplexed.

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I know that there are kids that still collect baseball cards, but for the most part, they must be in hiding. I’ve seen the occasional kid with his Dad at a card show. A few were clearly there against their will, but most seemed to be truly into the experience. I can distinctly remember one kid running across the room to tell his Dad about a card displayed by one of the dealers at a show I went to late last year. Other than card shows though, I can’t remember the last time I saw a kid anywhere near baseball cards. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a kid at the baseball card rack at Target or Wal-Mart. I’ve never seen a kid in one of the (admittedly few) local card shops I visit. They just aren’t there.

When did the kids leave the hobby? My Dad and my Uncle collected baseball cards. My brother and I collected baseball cards. A great many of our friends collected baseball cards. There were kids younger than me in the neighborhood where I grew up still collecting cards in the early 1990s. Where are they now?

I’ve heard numerous theories expounded. Truth be told, I don’t think it is so much a problem with the hobby itself, but more of a problem with the game itself. Kids just don’t seem to be as interested in professional sports as they were when I was a kid. Why? I have my theories, as do many others. When I was younger, even after we got cable, there simply weren’t a lot of television channels. Programming that catered to children couldn’t be found all day long. If I wanted to watch cartoons, my options were early morning, when I got home from school and then Saturday morning. Outside of cartoons, the only children’s programming available was on PBS. Additionally, most households of the time only had a single television set. If Dad was watching a baseball game, and you wanted to watch television, you watched the game too. Eventually, you were a fan.

Oh, I know there are many kids that still like sports and are big baseball fans. You can go to any Braves game and see the kids. Many are having a great time at the ballpark too. Still, is it just me, or are many of these kids less interested in what’s going on down on the field than years ago? The game itself was enough for me. Now, the ballpark is practically a miniature amusement park. Outside of the concession stands, the music, the fireworks, the silly mascots, and the dancing girls, let’s face it, the game itself almost seems secondary.

I’m reminded of a conversation I had last summer with my ten year old nephew Alex. I was watching a Braves game while he set next to me on the couch playing his sister’s Nintendo DS. He told me that he liked going to the ballpark to see a game, but he really didn’t see the point. I suppose I could say the same about his video games. Still, what happens when kids like him get older? Do they become fans of the game? I’m sure many do. I doubt many of them will ever be card collectors though. It is, after all, a silly hobby. I collect, and frankly, I go crazy over pieces of thick paper with picture of baseball players on them. I still go crazy over the game of baseball itself. Yes, it may be silly, but for me there is a point.

Baseball connects me to the memory of sitting at my Grandpa’s knee when he told me the story of Harvey Haddix. It connects me to my Uncle telling me the story of going to St. Louis and getting to see Stan Musial play in person. It connects me to the hours upon hours I spent watching the Braves on WTBS with my Dad. It’s baseball cards that connect me to the game that connects me to those memories. To me, that’s the point of both the game and of the hobby.

Nonetheless, I can see the day when there will be no more new baseball cards. I’m certain the game itself will go on. Kids will find other ways to connect to the memories of their Dads and their Grandfathers. The world will be just fine. That doesn’t mean it won’t break my heart a little bit.

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If you need any help looking for cards to chase for your favorite players, then Five to Collect is here to help. These aren’t necessarily the five best cards for a player. The list won’t always include a rookie card. The list is simply five cards that are interesting and show off both the best of the player and the best of baseball cards.

2005 Bowman Heritage Mahogany Parallel #302

When I returned to collecting in 2005, there were two sets that hooked me back into the hobby. The first was 2005 Topps Total and the second was 2005 Bowman Heritage. In a rash of irrational spending, I would seek out excuses to go to Target, and with every visit, I’d buy at least one box of each product. The Bowman Heritage product in 2005 was based on the design of the iconic 1951 Bowman product. 1951 was a big year for Bowman and was the last year that they would dominate card collecting as Topps would become the hobby leader in 1952.

The 2005 Bowman Heritage set did a masterful job of mimicking the classic look of cards from the early 1950s. Typically, the cards were black and white photos that were then hand colored with black outlining used throughout the photographs as well. For years, I had no idea how exactly these cards were created. They looked a little too photo-realistic to be paintings, but they were clearly not photographs. I have no idea of Topps used this technique directly, or if they just used some fancy Photoshop filter to mimic the effect, but it works and it works well.

As a rule, I’m not a fan of parallel cards in a baseball card set. I’m a bit of an old school set builder type. Every parallel card I get in a pack is one less card I get towards the set I’m looking to build. The parallels in this set though fascinated me from the start. Each pack contained two parallel cards. The first parallel card was a mini card. The size of the modern baseball card has been more or less fixed since 1957 when Topps slightly reduced the size of the cards in their base set. Although the base cards in 2005 Bowman Heritage mimic the design of 1951 Bowman, they are sized to the 1957 baseball card standard. To celebrate the connection to the 1951 Bowman design, the first parallel set was a mini set whose cards were sized the same as the rather small 1951 Bowman cards. A great many collectors preferred the minis to the regular cards, and it’s hard to blame them.

My favorite parallel is represented by the card you see pictured here. The mahogany parallel cards are sized the same as the base set, but are printed on extra thick cardboard stock. Additionally, the cardboard used is a dark mahogany color. The dark color of the stock somewhat obscures the photo, but I think the look works in spades. (No, I wouldn’t care to have the photo obscured in a new card, but it’s a look that works in a retro set.)

This is my favorite Tim Hudson card in my collection. I love the thick, sturdy feel of the card when I hold it in my hands. I love the grainy look and feel of the photo. More than anything, I love that you can just make out Hudson’s gigantic right eyebrow. This card is a home run.

The other four cards are after the fold.

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There’s little doubt that every season since the 2005 season has been a bit of a struggle for Braves fans. With every passing year, the feats of the team that won 14 straight division championships fade a little from our memories. Where has the time gone? It was 20 seasons ago that Sid Bream slid across home plate to send the Braves to their second straight World Series. It’s been 17 seasons since Tom Glavine shut down the Cleveland Indians to lead the Atlanta Braves to their only world championship. It has been 10 seasons since the Braves roster included Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. It has even been seven seasons since Brian McCann hit that home run off Roger Clemens in the last post-season of the division championship run.

Sometimes, it seems as though the championship run was an illusion. Check the sports shelf at any bookstore, and you will find numerous books about the Yankees and the Red Sox. Seemingly every player on both of the teams has their own book. Numerous serious sports journalists have written about the teams. World famous authors like Stephen King have even contributed to the mix. Every accomplishment of every player from the Yankees and the Red Sox, whether meager or substantial, is deemed worthy of a book. An unprecedented run of 14 division championships by a team with national television is not, however, worthy.

I’m not suggesting that there’s a conspiracy. The publishing industry releases books about the Red Sox and the Yankees because they sell and because the players are willing to do them. For the most part, it just doesn’t seem to be the Braves way. Throughout the run, the Braves carried themselves in a quiet and unassuming manner. The team was confident, but never cocky. Compared to most championship franchises, there was very little in the way of drama. Still, you would think the magnitude of their accomplishment would have led to at least one book examining the historical nature of the run (and, of course, why the team failed to win more than a single World Series). The good news is, now that the players have settled into their retirements, we are starting to see a few willing to step up and tell their stories.

First out of the gate is Behind the Plate, A Catcher’s View of the Braves Dynasty by Javy Lopez. Behind the Plate was coauthored with Gary Caruso and it reads in a very conversational tone. It is little more than Javy Lopez telling his story and offering his opinion wherever he feels its needed. There’s little to nothing in the book to spark controversy, but at the same time, Lopez isn’t afraid to offer criticisms of both his teammates, his manager, and of himself. (It should be noted that at no point in the book are steroids or other PEDs mentioned. This will pretty much confirm that the book will be ignored by the mainstream press.) He manages the trick of being a little prickly without compromising the affable good nature we saw on display week in and week out throughout his career.

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In the first at-bat of the 1995 World Series, Rafael Belliard found out that Kenny Lofton was a threat. During the 1995 season, Jeff Blauser received the vast majority of the playing time, but he suffered an injury early in the playoffs and was kept off the roster for the World Series. Bobby Cox made the decision to go with his defensive specialist as the starter. He didn't get off to the best of starts. On Greg Maddux’s second pitch of the game, Belliard made an error on a ground ball by Lofton. Lofton would steal second, and then third. He then scored the game’s first run on a Carlos Baerga ground out. (My apologies for an error in the original post. You can find out more in the comments below.)

Kenny Lofton wasn’t finished. In the seventh inning of the second game, he singled and stole second with two outs leading to another Cleveland run. In the third game he went wild collecting three hits and three walks, not to mention stealing third, all of which led to three runs. The Braves would shut him down in games four and five. It was clear that with their pitching staff keeping the Indians big bats in check, the Indians could not be allowed to manufacture runs. The key was to prevent Kenny Lofton from getting on base.

On the second pitch of game six, Kenny Lofton drove the ball to right center, but David Justice tracked it down to record the out. Lofton would again lead off the fourth, but Glavine got him to ground the ball directly to Fred McGriff who raced to the bag to beat the hustling Lofton. In the top of the sixth, Tony Pena poked a single into shallow center for the first hit of the game off for the Indians. With one out, Lofton hit a come backer to Glavine, who sent a perfect throw to Belliard at second to get Pena, but the relay was late. In 1995, you were not going to double-up Kenny Lofton. On the second pitch to the next hitter, Omar Vizquel, Glavine had Lofton picked off, but Lofton dug in and raced for second and beat McGriff’s throw. Vizquel’s at-bat was tense with the umpire failing to call strike three on a pitch that hit the inside corner. Still, Glavine would get Vizquel to pop up behind first to end the inning. Lofton’s base running gave the Indians a chance in a scoreless game.

As virtually every Braves fan can remember, David Justice smacked the biggest home run of his life in the bottom of the sixth, and the Braves carried a 1-0 lead into the top of the ninth. Braves fans were a little shocked when Mark Wohlers came out to close the game out. His first challenge was to keep Lofton off the base path. It was hard for most Braves fans to imagine a scenario where Lofton getting on first with nobody out would not lead to a Cleveland run. On the 2-1 pitch, Rafael Belliard would make the play of his life.

Braves third base coach Jimy Williams was responsible for placing the infielders. With the speedy Lofton at-bat, and with a measly one run lead, he had Chipper and McGriff guarding the lines and playing in to try and take away the bunt. Belliard and Mark Lemke were stationed even with second base bag, about halfway between second and their respective foul lines. Williams didn’t want the guys too deep because they would have no chance to throw out Lofton at first. The stage was set.

Wohlers threw a fast ball inside, just over waist high to Lofton. Lofton took a bit of an over-protective inside-out swing. He got under the ball and it floated to a spot in foul territory beyond third base. Chipper Jones, Mike Deverueax were both converging on the ball, but it looked to be perfectly placed where neither could reach it. From his spot on the infield dirt though, the Braves little shortstop from the Dominican Republic ran with everything he had. Somehow, he reached the ball and squeezed it into his glove. Lofton would not get the chance to terrorize the Wohlers and the Braves on the base path. Two fly balls later, the Braves were World Champions.

There’s little doubt that the two things most Braves fans take away from the sixth game of the 1995 World Series is Tom Glavine’s performance. The image that dominates is that of Marquis Grissom catching that fly ball off the bat of Carlos Baerga to end the game. We remember Javy Lopez leaping into Mark Wohlers arms. I also think you’d be hard pressed not to find a Braves fan who doesn’t remember Rafael Belliard’s impossible snatch of Kenny Lofton’s foul ball.

That’s what I think of when I see a Rafael Belliard baseball card.

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The T206 Honus Wagner is a beautiful card, but I do not desire it. If I were to see it in a museum, I would certainly ooh and ah, but even if my financial situation made the acquisition possible, I would not pull the trigger. Although Wagner is certainly one of the great players in the history of the sport, he is also a Pittsburgh Pirate, so he doesn’t rate as a favorite. Besides, I could find better ways to spend a million dollars.

What about the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle? It is certainly the most iconic card in the modern era of card collecting. Mantle himself remains one of baseball’s most enduring icons. If you are willing to accept a card that looks like it was wadded up and kept is some kids pocket for the better part of two decades, you could even get one for around five-thousand dollars. If it were within my means, I’d grab this card in a heartbeat. Of course, Mantle was a Yankee, and I’m a Braves fan, which means I won’t likely save up five-thousand dollars to acquire a Mantle card. It isn't a card I dream of owning. Besides, I think the 1952 Topps design is overrated.

Every collector has their white whale. For a certain type of collector, that whale is the T206 Wagner or the 52 Topps Mantle. It might also be the 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth. Some have set their sites on slightly more modest cards like a 1963 Topps Pete Rose or the 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax. These days, many collectors have no interest in vintage cards, and their white whales are rare cards released in modern products. A good many collectors dream of landing the 2001 Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols auto. Some want to land that Bowman Chrome Stephen Strasburg auto. Last year, collectors were paying top dollar for boxes hoping to pull a Bryce Harper. A collector’s whale could also be simple like the one collector I know who’s looking to acquire every single card featuring C.C. Sabathia in a Brewers uniform.

I say it again, every collector has their white whale. For me, that card is the 1954 Hank Aaron.

Whenever I dream of the one single card I would like to add to my collection more than any other, I picture the 54 Aaron. Whenever I think of the one card that I would love to shove into the face of every visitor to my house, it’s the 54 Aaron. It is the rookie card of the single greatest player in the history of my favorite team. It is the single most important card issued of any Atlanta Braves player. It is from one of the most beautiful sets that Topps has ever produced. It is perfect in each and every way. It is my white whale.

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Last week, I professed my love for Topps Series 1. A few days ago, my set arrived in the mail. There are few things I enjoy more than slipping cards into pages to place in a binder. It’s an ideal opportunity to inspect each card. I say again, I love the 330 cards that comprise 2012 Topps Series 1. That said, you might find it strange that I purchased the set rather than opened a box and attempted to build a set in the more traditional fashion.

I’ve mentioned before that opening wax is a high. If money were no object, I would purchase and open everything Topps puts out. My money is limited though so I have to be choosy how I spend it. When I got back into card collecting in 2005, I opened a box of each series of the main Topps sets. I’d then complete those sets using eBay or by trading with other collector’s that I’ve met online. This is my preferred method of set building, especially for the Topps base set. It’s also something I don’t do anymore.

Topps has begun to cram more and more items into the base set product in attempt to drive up popularity. I can only assume that the thought is that the traditional set builders are in for the long haul, and the gimmicks are to try and attract high end collectors and outsiders into the hobby. If you check out the sell sheet for any base Topps product, the emphasis is not on the cards in the base set. Topps is selling the inserts. Topps is selling the squirrel cards. Topps is selling the short prints and the autographs. To those people who buy numerous cases looking to make money off the big hits, the base set cards are an irritant. Often, they dump them for cost on eBay.

One thing you’ll hear a lot of collector’s talk about, incessantly in some cases, is the “integrity of the base set”. The idea is that since the Squirrel card is a variation of Skip Schumaker’s regular card, it is a part of the set. All of the other short printed variations are as well. These collector’s would not care if these cards were included as inserts. They only care that the base set has been, in their opinion, compromised. It is now impossible for most collectors to complete. I don’t totally disagree, but I still want to collect and I still want to collect the flagship Topps product. Topps has gone whole hog down the gimmick path, and I don’t see any going back now. This is what base Topps is now, and we can either accept it, or we can stop collecting.

The real question is this: are gimmicks good for the hobby? The squirrel card has attracted a lot of press and along with the publicity for the Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes short print cards, has no doubt led many people to purchase cards that might not have before. The thing is, these gimmicks are short prints. This means, these guys probably didn’t get one of the chase cards. The question is, are these individuals enchanted enough by the base cards to keep collecting, or are they turned off at not getting hit? This shouldn’t be about getting people to buy a box of this year’s baseball cards. It should be about turning people into collectors and getting them to want to buy boxes every time a new series comes out. Only time will tell if Topps has succeeded.

There’s no doubt that I feel robbed of the chance to build a set in the more traditional fashion. The gimmicks do, after all, drive up the price of a box of baseball cards to a point where I just don’t see the purchase as worth it. Still, I’m going to take the glass is half full approach. I was able to pick up the 330 cards that comprise the main set for just fifteen dollars shipped on eBay. Checking eBay right now, there are numerous auctions closing in the ten dollar range for the complete set. These cards may not matter to the case breakers, but they matter to me. I’m happy to use their foolishness for my collection’s personal gain.

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At the collective bargaining table in 1980, the Major League Baseball owners made an offer to the union that, at first glance, would seem generous. It was a move that was intended to divide the union membership and bring about a settlement that would be favorable to the owners. Ultimately, the divide and conquer strategy failed as the union held together and accepted the offer. Unfortunately many former players would not share in the victory. Douglas J. Gladstone’s A Bitter Cup of Coffee is the story of 874 big league baseball players. Each of their careers lasted less than four year. Many, were simply “cups of coffee”. None of these men would collect a pension from Major League Baseball.

Starting in 1947, Major League Baseball offered a pension to any player with five years of service in the big leagues. In 1969, with Marvin Miller at the head of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association, the years of service needed was reduced to four years. Since service as a player, trainer or coach counted towards the pension, player’s who were close to qualifying would seek out a roster spot or a coaching position to get those last few days of service. Unfortunately, not everyone who was close was given this opportunity.

In the 1980 contract negotiations between the owners and the union, the owners would make their offer and the change would make the MLB pension plan generous to a point almost beyond belief. A player with even a single day of service in the big leagues would receive health care for the rest of their life. After just 43 days on a Major League roster, a player becomes eligible for the pension plan. A player with the minimum amount of service would earn around $34,000 a year. It certainly isn’t a king’s ransom, but for a player who didn’t make a fortune during a brief stay in the majors, it’s financial reassurance.

That reassurance was not available to those players who played before 1980. The owners certainly did not offer to make the changes to the pension plan retroactive and the union seemed unwilling to go to bat for their former union members and risk losing the offer for their current membership. Despite the ever-increasing amounts of money that both the owners and players have been raking in over the past three decades, there has been little movement to help out these players.

Helping them would certainly not be without precedent. Annuities were awarded by baseball to those players whose careers ended before the 1947 pension plan went into effect. Additionally, MLB attempted to right a wrong by awarding service time and consequently annuities as well to many former Negro League players. These moves are widely considered to have been just and overdue.

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A squirrel. People have apparently paid over $600 for a baseball card of a freaking squirrel. (You can find them in the $99 to $200 range right now on eBay, but I would hardly consider that a return to sanity.) Ladies and gentlemen, I give you 2012 Topps Series One, also known as the box of baseball cards as lottery ticket. As seen on Yahoo News, it’s a squirrel on a baseball card! It’s a super short-printed card of Albert Pujols with a computer generated Angels uniform! There’s also a super short-printed card of Jose Reyes with a computer generated version of the Marlins awful new uniform! There are cards made of gold! There are cards made of wood! There are authentic autographs of Willie Mays and Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax!

It was just a few short weeks ago that cases with 6 Jumbo HTA boxes of Topps Series 1 were selling for just over $500. You could even get a single jumbo box for just under $100. Of course, at that point, all the product promised were baseball cards. Now? Reputable dealers are selling the very same cases for $750. The boxes are north of $120. Yes, now the product promises the potential squirrel!

Of course, that’s not all the product promises. There are also the same old parallels as last year. (Wait, I’m sorry. Last year, it was Diamond parallels. This year the parallels are gold. My apologies.) The inserts are mostly new, if non-sensical. (Golden Futures? Golden Moments? Gold Standard?) They are also somewhat boring since they feature the same old players. (Well, the mini inserts done in the style of the 1987 Topps set are pretty great.)

Then you have the autograph list. Sure, it includes Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, and it also includes Brian McCann, Tommy Hanson, and Chipper Jones. I’ve busted a lot of these boxes the last few years. You won’t get an Aaron or a Mays. Chances are the autograph in your box won’t be McCann or Chipper or Hanson. On the other hand, you might land that Adam Lind or Chris Sale. There will be Chris Coughlan cards coming out of nearly every box. (The good news is that Topps did not include Felix Pie autographs this year.)

I was ready to hate 2012 Topps Series One.

For five straight days I made the trip to Target. Topps put a release date of February 1 on the product, but it always hits retail a little early. Some years, it hits the shelves as early as a week before the release date. There’s a Wal-Mart just two of three minutes from my house, but they never get the releases on time. Often, they don’t even get a product until it has been out for a month. Target tends to be reliable. Unfortunately, the closest store is 15 to 20 minutes away. Not a long drive by any means, but long enough.

Each day, at a different time of day, I made the trip over. I looked over each of the boxes. Occasionally, they just stick out a single box of packs and if that’s all they have, I want to get as many of those packs as I can. Each trip ended in disappointment. Even worse, I have this pathological hang up that doesn’t allow me to walk in the store and leave without buying something. On different days, I left Target with new socks, new batteries, a box of oatmeal, razor blades and a bag of gummy bears. At no point did I walk out of Target with 2012 Topps Series 1.

The day before the release, I couldn’t get away to Target. I planned on going in the evening. My wife, who was having dinner with her best friend in Athens, called and asked what it was I was looking for. She had found it. She bought me a blaster and some loose packs. When she got home, I was bouncing up and down like a small child. I tore into the packs with a frenzy.

Every season is the same. Topps announces the new set. The announcement disappoints me a little. As the date approaches though, I’m as excited as I was when I first started collecting. The first set of the year means a new set to complete. It means new backs of cards to read obsessively. It means opening a pack of cards and with an increasing sense of hope, thumbing through each of the cards hoping to see an Atlanta Braves logo.

More than anything though, it means that the season is about to start. It means that pitchers and catchers are about to report. It means that baseball is near.

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I'm going to change up "Five to Collect" this week and feature a different card for five different players. This year, the Atlanta Braves placed five players on MLB's Top-100 Prospect list for 2012. I'll show you one great card for each player that would make a terrific addition to any collection.

Julio Teheran: 2011 Topps Chrome Autograph

Has Julio Teheran's time arrived? MLB has rated him as the number 4 prospect in all of baseball. He dominated AAA last year. Still, even with the departure of Derek Lowe, the Braves have a lot of quality starting pitching. There's a chance that Teheran will start the season back in Gwinnett. I think there's little doubt that at some point this season, you will see Teheran on the mound every fifth day for the Braves. I can't wait.

If you need just a single card of Teheran for your collection, it would be easy to recommend his 2010 Bowman Chrome auto. A player's first Bowman Chrome auto is typically considered the "must buy" for any collection. If you are looking to "invest" rather than collect, then this would also be the card for you. It is already selling at $35.00 on eBay, so it isn't a bargain anymore. Still, if he breaks camp in the rotation, you can expect a solid bump. If he starts racking up quality starts, you can look for the price to increase even more. So, while there's little doubt that his Bowman Chrome card is the best investment, with its posed picture and spring training background it just doesn't hold a candle to the card pictured.

Julio Teheran's 2011 Topps Chrome auto is a nearly perfect baseball card. You won't find better photography of a pitcher. He's captured perfectly in his follow through. I love that the picture is a close enough shot that you can see the determination on his face, but not so close that you can't make out his motion. The photograph's perfection is achieved by the capture of the baseball in mid-air. This is a great looking card and best of all, you can find it on eBay right now in the ten dollar range. It's hard to imagine a better modern baseball card.

Teheran looks poised to become a hobby darling. He has been signing for Topps at a prodigious rate which, while not good for card value, is great for collector's who want to amass a collection is his autographed cards at an affordable price. He had numerous auto cards selling in the eight to twenty dollar range. The time seems right to start that Teheran collection.

Arodys Vizcaino: 2010 Bowman Chrome Autograph

How glad are we, as Braves fans, that Melkey Cabrera wasn't the centerpiece of the Javy Vazquez trade? In making that deal, Frank Wren was looking to add Vizy to the farm system's already impressive collection of young arms. Last season, he moved from A ball into the Atlanta bullpen and excited everyone with that live arm of his. I have no idea if the Braves view him as a reliever permanently or whether they plan on sending him back to the rotation once the ranks thin out a bit. Either way, he's fun to watch. (MLB ranked him at 36th in their list.)

Unlike Teheran, Vizcaino is not a darling of the hobby yet. In addition to the card pictured, he has been featured on an auto card available from the 2010 Donruss Elite set, but I can't recommend that card. The set doesn't feature team logos on any of the uniforms since Donruss doesn't have a license. The air brushing looks far better than it did in the old days where it typically looked like someone had used a crayon to replace the logos. Even with the perfected photo doctoring though, there's something about a player not appearing in a true uniform, logos and all, that takes me out of a card. I am not a supporter of MLB allowing but a single card manufacturer, but I typically can't buy a card without recognizable logos.

So, I recommend getting Vizcaino's 2010 Bowman Chrome auto card. I would prefer an action-shot, but that's generally not what you get on the cards of young players in Bowman Chrome. You tend the get the pitcher looking in for the sign in a posed shot. With this card, that's what you get, and fortunately, its a good shot with a good view of the kid's face. Buy it Now auctions on eBay are typically priced in the 25 dollar range for the card, but you can typically win open auctions for the card at around 15 dollars.

Randall Delgado: 2011 Tristar Obak Autograph

If I had told you at the start of the 2011 season that Randall Delgado was going to become one the most important arms on the staff in Atlanta, you would have thought I was crazy. With each season, Delgado's stock has seemed to improve and I think we knew it was only a matter of time before he was an impact arm in Atlanta, but last year was shocking. What wasn't shocking to anyone who had watched the kid pitch in the minors was his mound composure. From the first moment he took the mound, he looked like he belonged in the big leagues. He may start the season in Gwinnett, but like Teheran, it's only a matter of time before the player MLB ranked as the 42nd best prospect in baseball is in the rotation.

Topps swung and miss on Delgado until he made it to the big leagues. Unlike Teheran and Vizcaino, Delgado has never appeared on an autographed Bowman Chrome card. For a kid who made an impact at age 21 in the big leagues, this is a big miss. Topps tried to make up for it by featuring his auto in both Topps Finest and Bowman Platinum. Both are certainly nice cards and can be purchased for less than 15 dollars typically on eBay.

As my recommendation though, I'm going to chose a card that is a bit out there in terms of obscurity. For one thing, the logo has been airbrushed off the hat in the photo. Yes, I just railed against this practice above, but in this photo, it doesn't distract as much. It helps that they chose a shot of Delgado's back so the front logo did not have to be removed. There's also the background. I've never understood why a photo of a baseball player should be superimposed on a strange background like a wheat field. There's also something about the way the light hits Delgado's face on the card. The kid looks old here. Despite all this, there's something about the way the red in the hat and the uniform pops out from the wheat field and the blue sky. The card is vibrant and since it can often be picked up for around a five spot, I'm recommending it.

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Rick Mahler had already given up home runs to Jody Davis and Leon Durham, but things were starting to look up for the Braves by the bottom of the fourth. Behind home runs from Ken Oberkfell and Gerald Perry, the Braves would plate seven runs and take an 8-4 lead. The Cubs would bring the gap within reach after a three run homer by Shawon Dunston. The Braves would score one more, and with a 9-7 lead, manager Chick Tanner would give the ball to future Hall of Fame closer, Bruce Sutter. Sutter had missed the entire 1987 season due to injury and Braves fans everywhere were hoping he would return to form. A walk, a double and a single later, the game was tied. Four innings later, with the Braves Jim Acker on the mound, it was a double, a bunt and a sacrifice fly. The Braves would lose 10-9 in 13 innings. That was opening day. The Braves wouldn’t win until the 11th game of the season.

If you’re a Braves fan and your baseball fandom began in 1991 or some point after, you have no idea just how long a baseball season can be. If there was any optimism to be had coming into the 1988 season, and there certainly wasn’t much, it was gone in the blink of an eye. The Braves won the NL West in 1982 on the strength of a 13 game winning streak to open the season. Well, in 1988, the Braves were out of it after just ten games.

I’m not sure how to describe the futility that was that season. The Braves would not win more than three games in a row all season. Other than three days in late May and early June, the Braves would occupy last place the entire season. The entire division would finish over .500. The Braves would finish thirty-nine and half games behind the first place Dodgers. As you would expect from a team that would lose a hundred and six games, they had the worst offense in the league and the second worst pitching staff in the league.

There were few bright spots that season. Dale Murphy remained the team’s top offensive threat, but his decline from his career best numbers of 1987 was stunning. Gerald Perry had his own career best year in 1988, but it was nothing to scream about. Rookie second baseman Ron Gant showed some pop, but still needed seasoning. Rich Mahler and Pete Smith were solid, but unspectacular in the rotation. Even the stories that you wanted to make you happy, like the return of veteran utility man Jerry Royster, would ultimately disappoint. (Royster would turn in the worst season of his career. It would be his last.)

The 1988 Atlanta Braves were just awful. Historically awful. Thanks to TBS, they were on display for the entire nation. If you were a Braves fan, you still loved your team. It just wasn’t easy. Still, brighter days were ahead and many of the names that would lead the Braves franchise into an unmatched streak of post-season appearances began making their mark in 1988.

After debuting in late 1987, Tom Glavine would spend the entire season in the rotation. He would lead the league with 17 losses, but he pitched better than that number would indicate. It was also Ron Gant’s first full season wearing a big league uniform. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year balloting. It was Lonnie Smith’s first year in a Braves uniform, and while it was an awful year, he would begin a stretch of three solid seasons for the Braves in 1989. The two men who would man the middle for the Braves for a large portion of the 1990s, Mark Lemke and Jeff Blauser, would see limited playing time in 1988. John Smoltz would also debut by holding the Mets to a single run in eight innings for his first major league win.

It’s easy to remember how bad the Braves were in 1988. They would be bad again in 1989 and 1990 as well. It’s easy now to look back and see that the Braves were planting the seeds of what would blossom into a championship franchise. We may not have seen it then, but the team was starting to come together.

At the time, it was excruciating. More painful than heartbreaking. They were simply a really bad baseball team. A really, really, really bad baseball team.

* * * * * * * * * *

Tom Glavine and John Smoltz will both make the Hall of Fame one day. Still, I doubt their rookie cards will ever make much of an impact on the hobby. Both are victims of the era of rampant overproduction. Glavine would appear in all four major sets released that year. (The manufacturers in 1988 were Topps, Fleer, Donruss and Score.) To say his rookie card can be found in abundance would be an understatement. The Fleer Update card on which John Smoltz would make his first appearance in a major set is only slightly rarer. Still, I highly recommend every Braves fan pick up these cards. After all, you can probably get all five for two bucks.

In the summer of 1992, I was working as a microfilm clerk for Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Georgia and it was an awful job. For eight hours every night, I would sit in a small, unpadded seat and push pieces of paper through the microfilm machine. My only respite were the trips the Braves made to the west coast. I worked from 10pm to 6am most days, so when the Braves were out west, I’d spend my first three hours at work listening to the Braves games on WRCG.

There was one perk to the job, and that was their method of implementing personal days. We were given five personal days to use every year, and all we had to do to use them was to call up to an hour into our shift and say we weren’t going to come in, and more importantly, we did not have to give a reason. A good friend of mine who was going to UGA called me up during the day and asked if I wanted to go to the game that evening. Why would I say no? I called up the office and let them know I wouldn’t be in. I got in my awful blue Chevy Cavalier and hit the highway. A little less than two hours later, I was parking in my favorite lot just west of I-85. (I’m not sure I ever used a personal day for any reason other than a Braves game.)

Steve arrived after me and we walked around the stadium looking for someone selling tickets. It was a Tuesday night game and there were plenty of seats available. We were hoping that this meant we could get good seats cheaply from a scalper. We didn’t have much experience getting our tickets through anything but the normal means, so we were slightly nervous. Nonetheless, we were approached and ended up with seats just a dozen or so rows behind first base. All we needed for a perfect night at the ballpark was a good game.

I’m sure that many at the time considered the Braves fifth place standing as a disappointment, but to a lot of us, it just seemed like a return to normal. Still, it was early in the season and nobody was ready to give up hope just yet. After all, the race in the NL West was still tight and the Braves were sitting only four games back. The Phillies were in town and sitting five games under .500. It was a good chance for the Braves to pick up a few wins. The night before, the Braves picked up six in the third and despite an uncharacteristically wild performance from Tom Glavine, were able to hold off the Phillies for a 7-6 win.

Charlie Leibrandt was on the mound and his season had been up and down to that point. In his last start, the Montreal Expos knocked him out after a mere three innings. Leibrandt is often credited by Glavine and John Smoltz for the veteran leadership he showed the young pitching staff. His role in helping Glavine and Smoltz develop into Hall of Fame caliber pitchers cannot be understated. Even though Leibrandt wouldn’t pitch his best on this night, he would battle from the first pitch until his last.

In the first, Lenny Dykstra would get on first thank to an Otis Nixon error, and would promptly steal second and third before scoring on a Mariano Duncan ground out. The Phillies would strand a runner on second in the second, leave the bases loaded in the fourth, and leave two more runners on in the sixth. When Leibrandt needed to make a pitch, he would.

As for the Braves offense, they wouldn’t get to Phillies starter Brad Brink until the sixth. Otis Nixon, Terry Pendleton and Ron Gant would string together three straight singles to tie the game. In the top of the seventh, Leibrandt was weakening. After giving up two straight singles, Bobby Cox would pull him for Señor Smoke, Juan Berenguer. Unfortunately, Berenguer would allow a single to Dave Hollins and the Phillies would retake the lead. The game would go into the bottom of the eighth with the Phillies leading 2-1.

With one out, Ron Gant would smack a solid single up the middle. Phillies manager Jim Fregosi had seen enough and decided it was time to bring in his closer to get the final five outs. A confident Mitch Williams took the mound and was ready to shut down the Braves. Of course, things don’t always work out as planned. While Williams was utterly dominating at times, at others, he would seemingly be unable to get anything to go his way. This was the case when David Justice would place a ground ball almost perfectly between the first baseman and second baseman for a single putting Gant at third. After getting Brian Hunter into a 1-2 hole, Williams would give up a fly ball to center that was just deep enough to score the speedy Gant. Frustrated at failing to get Hunter out and letting the Braves tie the game, Williams would walk Greg Olson sending Justice to second. Williams would go right after Mark Lemke, but the Lemmer would smack a line drive right at Phillies shortstop Kim Batiste. The ball would fly off his glove and Justice would come around to score. After Williams retired Jeff Blauser, the Braves would find themselves up 3-2.

Looking to shut down the Phillies, Bobby Cox brought in the hard throwing Mark Wolhlers. He dominated Mariano Duncan getting him to hit a weak dribbler to second for the first out. Dave Hollins would line a 1-0 pitch to left for a single and the Phillies looked ready to rally. Big bat John Kruk was next, and he would crush a ball off the wall in left-center. Gant would make a clean play, hit Blauser with a perfect throw who would nail Hollins at the plate with a perfect throw to Greg Olson. The crowd was alive and was ready to see the Braves put the game away.

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There was a time that it wasn’t hard to find a card show. I grew up in Columbus, GA, and even in a town our size, we had regular card shows. Most of the local shows were at Peachtree Mall, the most popular shopping destination in town. There were never more than a handful of dealers, but to the eyes of this young collector, there were so many wonderful cards to be had. I often found the shows overwhelming and wouldn’t know where to look first. Still, I would find something I wanted and would inevitably spend every dollar in my wallet.

It was a different time for sure. Even in a city the size of Columbus, there were several card shops throughout town. I’d go whenever I could persuade my Mom to take me. Sure, the owner had little interest in catering to a kid who wanted to look at everything. Still, even under the owner’s harsh stare, I could have spent hours flipping through every available card in the shop. My mother must have spent countless hours sitting in her car waiting for me to buy my cards so she could go home.

It was also a time where at any store with a magazine rack, you could find a magazine about baseball card collecting. The two I remember most are Baseball Cards and Sport’s Collector’s Digest, which is still in print today. Unlike the collecting magazines published today by Beckett, these weren’t glorified price guides where the editorial content was underwritten and often uninteresting. These magazines relished in telling stories of the history of baseball card collecting. They were an indispensable guide to the history of the hobby.

This was a time when baseball cards were everywhere. We didn’t need card shows, card shops or magazines for news about the latest sets. Topps, Fleer and Donruss released their sets at the beginning of the season. After the season was over, I could count on the Traded and Update sets appearing at the local card shop. Card collecting was easy. The most valuable service provided by the shows, and by the shops and by the magazines of the time was their window into vintage trading cards.

These were the cards that were displayed under glass at the card show. These were the cards that the owner of the card shop refused to let a kid like me touch. These were the cards that were featured in beautiful photography in the pages of the collecting magazines. These were the cards that every collector lusted over. These were the cards that were collected by our fathers when they were our age. The names on the cards are as familiar as the game itself. There was Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle. Sandy Koufax, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson. Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. For anyone who loved baseball and loved the hobby, they were the stuff from which dreams were made.

They were also out of my reach. For a young boy living on an allowance, or even on his meager hourly wage from working in the kitchen of a pizza joint, the cards were simply unobtainable. It was obvious that this young Braves fan wouldn’t be able to afford a Hank Aaron or an Eddie Mathews or a Warren Spahn card any time soon. It was just as unlikely that I would be able to get my hands on a Joe Adcock or a Lew Burdette. Of course, that didn’t stop the lust.

There was one card in particular at my favorite of the local card shops with which I had fallen in love. The card was almost shaped like a square. The colors were exaggerated, but accurate. I had no idea whether this was an actual photo or some sort of weird painting and photo combination. The left-handed pitcher pictured on the card was shown with his leg held high in a kick as he prepared to deliver a pitch to the plate. From the vantage point, you could even see the spikes on his shoe. The card was a 1950 Bowman Warren Spahn and I was obsessed with the card. I still don’t own it.

The set would become one of my favorites. I began to notice other cards from the set at card shows. Jackie Robinson was shown taking a practice swing as he approached home plate. Ted Williams appeared to be watching a pop up sail into the seats. Richie Ashburn was staring straight ahead, as if to let the pitcher know that the ball would not be thrown past him. Just like the Spahn, I would never own one of these cards.

Still, all hope wasn’t lost if you were a kid who fell in love with a vintage set. There was a secret weapon that allowed you to get a card from that set you craved. That weapon was “the box”. Every shop had one. Seemingly, every dealer at a card show had one as well. It was a box filled with cards from older sets. They were never cards of the star players. Truth be told, even the above average players couldn’t be found in the box. The box never held cards in mint condition. There was usually a price written on the outside of the box. It might be a dime or a nickel or a quarter. The box would be filled with vintage baseball cards.

When I first discovered and approached the box, I had one goal. I wanted a card featuring a Braves player from 1950 Bowman. How simple is that? At the time, it wasn’t quite as simple. There’s no telling the collecting gold I passed over looking for a simple 1950 Bowman Braves card. I suppose since this was Georgia, everyone else was after the Braves as well. I was on the hunt. It would take months, but I would finally get my card.

I don’t remember if I found the card at a card show or at the local card shop. I only remember pulling it from the box. I must have thumbed through hundreds of cards in that box before I found the card I wanted. It was, and is, beautiful. The player is depicted making a leaping grab of a line drive. The Braves logo on his uniform is prominent and gorgeous. The player is Willard Marshall. It was my first vintage baseball card and remains one of the most treasured possessions in my collection.

It isn’t as easy to find a card show in 2012, but when you do, you can still find the box. Almost every dealer at every table has one. The price has gone up to a dollar or more on most of the boxes. Still, they are filled with collecting gold and are reason enough to attend any card show.

Willard Marshall may not be a household name, but he had a respectable career and was a genuine American hero. After a rookie season with the New York Giants in 1942 that led to his selection as a reserve for the National League All-Star team, Marshall enlisted into the Marines. He would spend three years in the military and would serve in the Pacific during World War 2. He returned to the Giants in 1946 and would enter the most productive stretch of his career. In 1947, he would slug 36 home runs and have his career season, receiving another All-Star game selection and finishing in the MVP voting. His last year with the Giants was in 1949, and he would appear in his final All-Star game, as a starter no less, and would again appear in the MVP voting.

The Boston Braves would send Al Dark and Eddie Stanky to the Giants for a package of players that included Marshall. Marshall would prove a solid addition to the Boston Braves lineup, but he would never again match the success he had with the Giants. His most notable accomplishment with the Braves was starting 123 games in right field in 1951 without making a single error. The Braves would sell Marshall to the Reds early in the 1952 season and would end his career a few years later as a bit player for the Chicago White Sox. He would be pictured in a Braves uniform in cards from 1950, 1951 and 1952.

When the Braves exited the playoffs with a whimper in 2005, I’m certain that I wasn’t the only one who believed we had just witnessed the end of the streak of division championships. That’s not a knock on the 2005 team. After all, many of us thought the streak would end before the 2005 season had even begun. Instead, led and inspired by the Baby Braves, a group of rookies including Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer, the Braves would take the division lead on July 22 and not relinquish it. It was an exciting season highlighted by McCann’s home run off Roger Clemens in the division series.

Still, this Braves team was no longer the lock to win the division they had been for so much of the streak. The offense seemed to be fine. Andruw Jones looked to be hitting the peak of his career. Chipper Jones remained one of the best players in the league when he was healthy. Adam LaRoche was showing a lot of pop and a lot of promise. McCann and Francouer had the look of future stars. There was little doubt that the Braves would continue to score runs. It was the pitching staff that was a cause for concern.

The Braves backbone throughout their run of division championships was their starting pitching. Even if the quality of the starting staff had diminished a bit towards the end of the run, the staff was still better than most. It was almost like there was a magical quality to pitching for the Braves. Even Russ Ortiz was a somewhat productive starter while in a Braves uniform. Of course, the true backbone was the three future Hall of Fame pitchers: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

Of course, Smoltz was the only pitcher of the trio to remain in a Braves uniform at the end of the 2005 season. The rest of the rotation was a question mark. The Braves had no idea when Mike Hampton would return from injury. Tim Hudson looked to be slipping from his form with the A’s. It was possible that Horacio Ramirez, Chuck James and Kyle Davies would turn into first rate starters, and it was also possible that they would remain wildly inconsistent and a source of constant frustration. The years when the Braves were anchored by three Hall of Fame starters were becoming a distant memory.

* * * * * *

When I first started collecting baseball cards in the late 1970s, it was easy. There was one set of any note put out each year. The Topps base set was the entire hobby. That would change in 1981 when Fleer and Donruss would enter the business. Still, three major sets a year wasn’t a difficult task. Sure, it meant my allowance money got spread around a bit more and left me far shorter of the cards I needed to complete the Topps set, but all three manufacturers were putting out quality product. Score started pushing out sets in 1988 and Upper Deck followed with their on line in 1989. Topps resurrected the Bowman brand as an individual product. It was no longer possible for a set collector on a High School budget to keep buying as many baseball cards as he could find.

While I still bought the occasional pack just for the thrill of opening, I would simply wait until late in the season and buy a few of the sets from the year. The manufacturers had been releasing complete "factory sets" of their cards to retail for a few years. I was now purchasing them every year. It wasn’t as much fun as trying to piece the sets together by hand, but it was easier and less frustrating. Still, the hobby kept changing.

It was Upper Deck who raised the stakes. They used glossy photographs. They used holograms to make their cards harder to counterfeit. They abandoned cardboard. They had the gall to charge a dollar a pack. They sold like gangbusters and the hobby began to spiral out of control. Fleer would introduce their Ultra brand to compete with Upper Deck. Topps would introduce Stadium Club with full bleed color photographs. Prices were on the rise. Speaking for myself, the money I spent on cards didn’t seem to go as far.

Soon, there were more products than anyone could reasonably keep up with. Dozens of sets at price points that were higher and higher were being released each year. Worse yet, the cards were ugly. Time has mellowed my opinion on the insert cards of the 1990s somewhat, but at the time, they were simply gaudy monstrosities. Technology allowed the manufacturers to get further and further away from the simplicity of a player’s picture on a piece of cardboard. Cards were now shiny and overloaded with graphics. Sets were overloaded with these "chase cards" and the regular baseball card became an object of disdain to most in the hobby.

I may sound like a dork, but the whole thing began to leave me a little cold. I’ve always spent a lot of time reading about the history of baseball, and I knew that the sport itself had always been a hard-edged business ruled by money. Free agency made that clear to even those who wore the foggiest of glasses. It was always true and it would always be so. I thought the hobby was different, but I was clearly wrong. The history of the baseball card business shows that it has always been about the buck. I still loved the Braves. I still loved the game of baseball. I just couldn’t feel any connection to the cards that were being released. I can’t say when, but I simply stopped as an active collector. I wouldn’t become an active collector again until after the 2005 season.

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2011 has been a big year for Atlanta Braves baseball card collectors. Due to trends in card collecting, teams with many young players tend to get a lot of attention from the card manufacturers. It isn’t often that the Braves get so much attention so we should enjoy it while it lasts. Sure, the wallets of those of us who collect are taking hits, but isn’t it worth it for a few quality baseball cards? Here are the bigger stories in Braves card collecting from 2011. (And for Christmas morning, I’m going heavy on the pictures, and lighter on the words. Enjoy.)

The Return of Hammering Hank

When Donruss lost the right to produce new baseball cards following the 2005 season, they still had Hank Aaron and Willie Mays under exclusive contract. Although Donruss would produce several sets featuring Aaron, Mays and other Hall of Fame players alongside recently drafted prospects pictured in their high school uniforms, Aaron had for all intents and purposes been dismissed from the hobby.

Early this year, Topps made a big splash when they announced that Aaron would be returning to Topps products. The big tease was a picture of a blue-ink autographed replica of his 1962 Topps card that would be inserted into the 2011 Topps Heritage set. It wasn’t just a beautiful card, it was the most impressive card I’ve ever laid eyes on. I even bought a case of Heritage hoping to land the card. (I didn’t of course.) Of course, excitement turned to disappointment for many collectors when the card turned out to be a mail-in redemption. Still, I’m jealous.

Of course, Topps sprinkled Aaron (and fellow Hall of Fame superstar Sandy Koufax) throughout all of their products this year. There are times when I find insert cards to be annoying and pointless, but when those insert sets include pulling Aaron or Koufax in a new pack of baseball cards, you can only complain so much. Many fans and many of the younger collectors don’t have a real sense at the history of the game. I hope that Topps keeps including players from yesteryear in their products as a way to educate the masses.

Here’s one of those cards that gives me mixed feelings. I love the big beautiful patch on the card. I love that the card is numbered to 10. The picture of Aaron is simply too small though. This is a typical design failing on the part of Topps. I need a Hank Aaron patch card, but this isn’t the one, although, that is one beautiful patch.

I’m not a big fan of gimmicks in the Topps base set, but the veteran short prints have started to grow on me. (In each set, Topps inserts 24 different legends cards into packs. These cards are considered variations since they have the same number as cards in the regular set.) This year, Topps included Hank Aaron in an Atlanta Braves uniform in Series 2, but the card pictured above is my favorite. I’m a sucker for the old school Milwaukee Braves uniforms. I also like the diamond variation. The shot of Aaron really pops from the surface of the card.

There's much more to see on the other side!

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The Bowman Brand

When Topps began regular production of what we now consider the “base set” in 1952, they were going to battle with a venerable rival who had begun producing a base set in 1948. (Actually, as Gum, Inc., Bowman also produced sets of baseball cards from 1939 to 1941.) The Bowman sets of the 1940s and 1950s remain popular with collectors to this day. At the time, Bowman and Topps were in a fierce battle, with both attempting to get as many players as possible under exclusive contract. In 1956, Topps would win the battle and put Bowman out of business. It would be 33 years before cards would again be issued under the Bowman brand.

In the late 1980s, Topps was making millions of dollars and was looking for additional revenue sources. They decided to resurrect the Bowman brand in 1989, and production has continued to this day. As a way to differentiate Bowman from base Topps, they would turn the Bowman brand into the “Home of the Rookie Card”. Essentially, the set would feature the sport’s top stars as well as numerous cards of rookies. In the early days of the set, this meant that in addition to your Dale Murphy or Tom Glavine card, you would also get an Andy Nezelek card.

In the early days of Bowman, the sets were large enough that each team was covered fairly comprehensively. This would change as the 1990s moved on. Topps would focus more and more on including players who had yet to play a day of major league baseball. In the early days of the Bowman revival, Topps would issue the Bowman cards in factory set form. As the years moved on, Bowman would cease to be a brand directed at set collectors.

Generally speaking, a set collectors is looking to capture the history of the game. I can pull a binder of a set from any particular year, and I can get a pretty good picture of the state of the game that season. If I were to flip through a binder filled with a Bowman set, my mind would fill with questions. Who are these people and why would anyone want to collect them?

Before anything else, I am a set collector. The idea that a set of baseball cards constitutes a history of the game is what interests me more than anything else. I don’t pretend to understand the popularity of the Bowman brand. Yes, when Bowman picks the right rookies, the cards can hit the stratosphere. For the most part though, the cards are losers. I’ll leave boxes of any Bowman product to the gamblers and be content to accept cards of the Braves or other favorite players as they come my way in trades. The product certainly offers strong appeal to the player or team collector though. Even I can see that.

2011 Bowman Chrome

In 1997, Topps began issuing a new set under the Bowman brand called Bowman Chrome. This set would feature a subset of the regular Bowman set issued that season printed using Topps Chromium technology. The set was popular from the start, but really took off in 2001. In that year, Topps would render Bowman Chrome as a set all but uncollectible. Many of the cards would be short printed and only available in one out of every four packs. These cards were also limited to refractor versions only. Additionally, 20 cards from the set were distributed only in autograph form and each was serial numbered to 500. These cards could only be found in one of every 147 packs.

If the 20 rookies selected had not panned out, the set would not have been a big success. Yes, the 2001 autograph listed included the usual Bowman players who would never wear a big league uniform. However, the set also included two of the most collectable players of the era. The Bowman Chrome brand was built on the rookie autographed cards of Ichiro and Albert Pujols in 2001 and the brand hasn’t looked back since.

At this point, Topps no longer includes rookie autographs in the checklist for the Bowman Chrome set, but these cards are still the draw of the product. Last year, it was the Stephen Strasburg card that captured the collective fancy of the hobby. This year, it’s Bryce Harper.

One of the additional draws of Bowman products are the endless series of refractor parallels. For years now, the base Bowman sets have been black bordered cards, with parallels sporting any number of colors from year to year. It has been all the rage for some time now for the player collector to attempt to build a rainbow of cards of their favorite player.

The 2011 Bowman Chrome set offers no surprises for Braves fans among the veteran star cards. As for the prospects, that’s more complicated. Any Braves fan who follows the Braves minor league system would be interested in these cards. Not one of the prospects stands out as a must buy, can’t miss prospect who should be collected immediately. Time will tell which of these guys will even get a chance in a big league uniform. (It is safe to say that we might be seeing Tyler Pastornicky in an Atlanta uniform early this season.)

I can’t recommend purchasing this product to any Braves fan. The likelihood of hitting a worthwhile autograph is slim and there are NO Braves autographs available on the prospect autograph checklist. If there are cards you want, I’d recommend just going after them individually.

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There’s nothing any card collector likes to unwrap more than cards from his favorite team or of his favorite player. Each of the recommendations below are guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any Braves card collector. Also, if you know someone who is a fan and not a collector, one of these as a gift just might turn them into one. (The prices listed represent a ballpark figure of what the item might cost on eBay. Every auction is different, and eBay is certainly not the only source for acquiring cards.)

An Old Warren Spahn Card

Sometimes, you can get a real sense of just how unknowledgeable baseball fans can be by listening to them debate the undebatable. For example, listen to the numerous debates over who the greatest Braves pitcher of all-time is. Fans of a certain age will say Phil Niekro. Every Braves fan loves Knucksie, but he can’t be considered the best Braves pitcher ever. Others will argue for Greg Maddux, the best pitcher most of us were fortunate enough to watch on a regular basis. Still, despite his dominance with the Tomahawk across his chest, he only made roughly half his starts while a member of the Braves. I’ve even heard some say Tom Glavine, since, unlike Maddux, he started his career in Atlanta and spent most of his career here. Again, Glavine was great, but he isn’t even the greatest southpaw in Braves history.

It is shocking to me that any Braves fan would even think to debate this. Warren Spahn is not simply the greatest of all the Braves pitchers, but I think we can safely say that he’s one of the ten best pitchers to every hurl a baseball. He has a lot of great cards, and I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from getting one of Spahn’s great base cards, but if you want to keep things affordable, I’d suggest his 1964 Topps Giants card. There’s no mistaking the southpaw for a young man on this card, but it’s a great shot of his mischievous smile.

1964 Topps Giants Warren Spahn, $5.00

1969 Team Set

In the first year of divisional baseball, the Atlanta Braves would appear in the National League Championship Series. This team may have been anchored by the excellent starting pitching of Phil Niekro and Ron Reed, but it’s the big bats that make this team set one for the ages. The names Hank Aaron, Rico Carty, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Clete Boyer, and Tito Francona are familiar to any baseball fan. The 1969 Topps team set is a must own for any Braves team collector.

1969 Topps Atlanta Braves Team Set, $80.00

A Hank Aaron / Mickey Mantle Card

If you take the greatest player in the history of the Braves franchise, Hank Aaron, and you put him on the same card as the most popular player in modern collecting, Mickey Mantle, you have a great baseball card that will be desired by many, many people. Aaron and Mantle would face off in the 1957 and 1958 World Series at the peak of their powers. Both would win MVP in 1957 and Topps would snap a photo of the two together at the 1957 World Series and memorialize the moment in the 1958 set with one of the ten best cards Topps has ever produced.

I recently acquired this card myself and can guarantee that any baseball fan, but especially a Braves fan, will be giddy with excitement if they were to receive this card as a gift. (If you want a cheaper option, Topps featured Aaron and Mantle on a card together in the 1975 set. This card includes images of both players 1957 Topps base cards and commemorates their receiving the MVP award in the same year.)

1958 Topps World Series Batting Foes Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron, $50.00 - $400.00

1982 Team Set

It was the 1982 NL West champion Atlanta Braves that would eventually lead to the crowning of the Braves as America’s team on TBS. Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro was still going strong and Dale Murphy turned himself into one of the most popular players in the sport with his MVP performance. This team set has all the players you saw on TBS, like Chris Chambliss, Bruce Benedict, Rafael Ramirez, Glenn Hubbard, and Bob Horner. While the 1982 Topps set is nice, the Donruss set is better looking and therefore, the best of the bunch.

1982 Donruss Atlanta Braves Team Set, $5.00

A Glavine/Maddux/Smoltz Card

We all know how fortunate we were to see these three masters pitch together for as long as they did. There have been several cards over the years showing them together in base sets, but they have typically been cluttered by the inclusion of Steve Avery or Kevin Millwood. If you want a card featuring just these three, then you typically have to look for relics and autos. Well, make that just relics if you want to keep the card affordable. Even then, you have to be careful. You want the card to include Braves relics, and only Braves relics. The occasional Cubs relic for Greg Maddux is one thing, but who among us could stand looking at an orange jersey fragment for Tom Glavine?

Unfortunately, the best relic card featuring all three is the 2005 Donruss Prime Patches card. Make no mistake, it is a beautiful baseball card. Plus, each of the three windows on the card should feature a bit of patch in addition to jersey. The problem is that this is not an easy card to track down. They do show up from time to time on eBay, but not often. If you find one, you should snatch the card up immediately, whether for yourself or for your favorite Braves fan.

2005 Donruss Prime Patches Team Materials John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux, $100.00

A Julio Teheran Autograph Card

A baseball fan always worries about the arrival of their team’s top prospects. As you follow these kids through the minors, you become attached. It isn’t just about the team, but you come to care for the kids as well. We all want to see Julio Teheran live up to the hype. You can show your support for the kid right now by tracking down his 2010 Bowman Chrome Auto. If there’s one card a collector wants for any rookie, it is his first Bowman Chrome auto. If you want to gift this card, you should get it now. If he even lives up to fifty percent of the hype he’s received, the cards won’t be affordable for much longer.

While you’re picking up a Teheran, you might as well track down Mike Minor, Randall Delgado, and Arodys Vizcaino as well. Their cards won’t be getting any cheaper either, and they’ll make a great gift as well.

2010 Bowman Chrome Auto Julio Teheran, $40.00

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Greg Maddux

Sometimes, I can be really stupid about professional sports. I told anyone who would listen that Emmett Smith wouldn’t be able to cut it in the NFL. I once remarked to a friend that Michael Jordan would never be good enough defensively to truly be one of the greatest. I believed, to an astonishing degree, that Tom Glavine had been screwed out of the 1992 Cy Young Award. Anyone who knew me heard my rant. I was a 22 year old idiot. I had no interest in learning about the man who won the award until early December 1992.

When Greg Maddux chose to sign with the Braves over the Yankees, I was elated. I would learn that Greg Maddux had a lights out season for the Cubs in 1992, and as good as Tom Glavine was, Maddux was even better. With even a modicum of run support, he could have won five to ten more games. For the Braves in 1993, Maddux would not only cement himself as the best pitcher in the game, he would also make it obvious that he was one for the ages. It’s hard to believe in retrospect that the Braves won the division twice without him. They certainly wouldn’t have won it in 1993 without him.

Maddux was selected to start the first game of the season against his old Team, the Chicago Cubs, and against a good friend, Mike Morgan. Morgan would pitch a very good game. The only run the Braves would put on the scoreboard was from a David Justice RBI single in the first. Maddux would make it stand. In 8.1 innings, he would not allow a run across the plate. It was as great a debut as you can imagine. Watching him on television that day, he instantly became my favorite player. He still is, in fact.

How many people have you watched play for your favorite team and known, as you watched them, that you were watching one of the greatest to ever play the game? It was an honor and it was a privilege.

Otis Nixon

The Cubs inability to resign Greg Maddux was brushed off by Cubbie GM Larry Himes. He didn’t need Greg Maddux. He could use the money earmarked for Maddux to sign Candy Maldonado, Dan Plesac and Jose Guzman. I’m sure that Cubs fans still have plenty of reasons to hate Larry Himes after all these years, but letting Maddux go was the big mistake.

The day after Greg Maddux made his Braves debut at Wrigley, the Braves would find themselves on the wrong side of a 1-0 loss and that Jose Guzman signing wasn’t looking so bad. Through the first seven innings of the game, Guzman was perfect. At times, it looked as if he was playing with the Braves hitters. He’d catch them looking. He would throw balls by them. He’d force them to hit the ball into the ground. He’d get them to pop the ball in the air weekly.

The 8th wouldn’t go as well for Guzman. He’d walk Terry Pendleton to start the inning. Down only a run, Bobby would send Deion Sanders in to run for TP, but Deion would promptly be cut down attempting to steal second. Guzman would then walk David Justice before retiring the last two batters. He would take his no hitter into the ninth.

On his first pitch of the game’s final half inning, Guzman would get Mark Lemke to ground weekly to Mark Grace for the first out. Two pitches later, Francisco Cabrera would just on a 1-0 pitch and pop up weekly to third. It looked like we were about to witness history when Otis Nixon stepped to the plate.

The game was only 1-0, so it would not have been out of character for Nixon to try and bunt his way on to get something started, but Nixon respects the code of the game and wanted to earn his way on first the old fashioned way. Otis would take the first pitch for a called strike. Guzman did not look tense at all as he served up the next pitch, which Otis Nixon would drive to left field. It was a good clean hit. While standing on the bag at first, Nixon would tip his cap to the pitcher who would, in return, tip his cap to Nixon. Guzman would then get Jeff Blauser out to complete his one-hit shutout.

After the game, Otis Nixon was complementary to Guzman, but was still pleased with his hit. As he would tell the papers after the game, nobody wants to read about their team getting no hit.

There are more memories over the flip.

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