Zero-Year Cards, Part 15

2005 Topps Cracker Jack #210 Andre Ethier RC (A's)

Before I start, I'd just like to thank Ted over at "Crinkly Wrappers" for mentioning my blog in his latest post.

Thanks again, Ted!

Well, this is it. My last blog post of winter break. Tomorrow morning, I'll be back at school. My first class? Algebra. Ugh.

How did I spend my last day of break? This afternoon, I got some trade packages ready and watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. I've been watching the MLB Network for most of the evening.

Hey, it was about as productive as any other weekday of my break.

Anyways, on with the actual baseball part of this post.

This shot of Andre Ethier in an Athletics uniform must pain a lot of A's fans. That is, if there are any A's fans left out there.

Surely the A's got something good from the Dodgers for this future star. 

They got Milton Bradley. In his only full season in Oakland, Bradley hit .276 with 14 homers. He'd be dealt to the Padres midway into the '07 season. Two years later, Bradley would cement himself as my all-time least favorite Cub. 

Ethier, on the other hand, is now my favorite Dodger now that Jamey Carroll is a Twin (yes, I like Carroll that much). In his first season as a Dodger in '06, Ethier would hit .308 with 11 homers, placing him fifth in the NL ROY voting. He's been an All-Star the last two years and took home a Gold Glove in 2011. In his time with the Dodgers, he's showed that he's one of the best players to have at the plate in a clutch situation.

In relation to the set, Topps Cracker Jack is one of the first sets I can remember getting into after my plunge back into baseball card collecting. The photography for this set is great and the picture frame border is fits well with the time period it recreates. I'm a sucker for throwback sets, and this is one of my favorites.

It's interesting to think about where the A's would be if they still had Andre Ethier.

But we'll never know.