"Short Term Stops": Yes, it's another new theme

1998 Fleer Tradition #391 Mike Piazza (Marlins)

As some of my regular readers might know, I am a huge fan of collecting cards of guys in unfamiliar uniforms.

I know it's not a new topic in the blogosphere by any means, but I just love these cards too much to not post them on at least a semi-regular basis. I debated adding this theme because I don't want to get too carried away with the theme posts, but don't worry. I'll still dedicate at least one post per day to just totally random cards. That's a promise.

Ever since I was little, these cards have been a major part of my collection. I've collected certain players and then stopped. I've had periods of time where I collected certain teams and then stopped.

But I've always collected these. As a result, I've amassed quite a collection of these types of cards.

I don't know what it is; I just like seeing guys in uniforms that they're not remembered for. And I know I'm not the only collector who feels the same way.

Hopefully, most of them are cards you've never seen before. Maybe you didn't even know some of these guys played for these teams. My goal is to educate and share my love for these cards.

So without further ado, here's the first "Short Term Stops" post.

Mike Piazza's five-game stint with the Florida Marlins might be the most famous example of the unfamiliar uniform theme.

On May 14, 1998, the Dodgers dealt Piazza to Florida in a deal that sent slugger Gary Sheffield to Los Angeles. Piazza was basically a "rent-a-player" for the Marlins, because eight days later, they sent him to the Mets for then-budding prospect Preston Wilson, who would go on to have a solid career in Florida.

Although he played just five games as a Marlin, I own three different cards of him in a Marlins uni. (One of the others can be seen in this post.)

Piazza went 5-for-18 in his five games in Florida. One of those five hits was a triple, one of just eight he'd hit in his entire career.

This is the only Marlins card of Piazza I own that actually comes from when the trade was made. (The other two come from 2002 and 2004, they're more like "flashback" cards.)

I find it odd that Fleer chose to use a picture of Piazza as a Marlin for their '98 Tradition set. Surely they could've gotten a shot of him as a New York Met after the trade was made.

But hey, I'm not complaining.