Into the Sunset: The AL West Team

It's been darn near a year since I did a Sunset post, so I figured it's time I revived the theme here today.

A refresher, if you're new here or don't quite recall how these work (for which I wouldn't blame you): with these posts, I'm trying to make the best team possible out of players who finished their careers in each respective big-league division (since I don't quite have enough of these to do each individual team). Much like actual All-Star teams, all franchises will be represented at least once, and I'm doing my best not to repeat players/stints already covered in my Short Term Stops theme, unless relevant and/or necessary.

Today begins our trek into the American League world of Sunsets, starting with the AL West division, which is notable because it contains my two favorite non-Chicago ballclubs with the Angels and A's (and the Astros were probably my third-favorite before...you know). Outside of the respective Central Divisions, this is probably the division I pay the most attention to during the baseball season, and thankfully either the A's and/or Angels have been in the race in recent years.

Oddly enough, however, my two favorites are the two least-represented teams on this Sunset roster, with only one player a piece -- which I hope shows I don't play favorites here.

Pitchers

1993 Select #252 Bert Blyleven

Bert Blyleven (Years Active: 1970-1992) -- 1992 Angels, 25 games, 8-12, 4.74 ERA (sunset season)

The lone Angel on this roster is the pride of the Netherlands, none other than Bert "Be Home" Blyleven (one of my favorite Chris Berman nicknames).

Blyleven was 42 years young in 1992, and had his prior season completely wiped out by injuries. But that didn't stop him from making a valiant comeback, appearing in 25 games and posting an inauspicious 4.74 ERA in what would be the final season of a Cooperstown-bound career.

Bert was lucky enough to receive a handful of true sunset cards in 1993 -- cards issued the year after his retirement and thus featuring complete stats -- which look nice in my collection of a guy I believe to still be vastly underrated (if such a thing is possible for a HOFer).

1994 Donruss #1 Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan (1966-1993) -- 1993 Rangers, 13 games, 5-5, 4.88 ERA

What more can be said about Nolan Ryan?

He debuted during Lyndon Johnson's presidency, and retired during Bill Clinton's, which is mind-boggling if you sit and think about it. Statistically, Nolan's sunset season wasn't too notable -- he won five games and notched the final 46 strikeouts of his record 5,714 career K's -- but it definitely marked the end of an era. 

The five years Ryan played for the Rangers is actually tied (with the Mets) for the least amount of time he spent with a club during his career, but weirdly, I think of him as a Ranger more than anything else.

1995 Fleer #268 Goose Gossage

Goose Gossage (1972-1994) -- 1994 Mariners, 36 games, 3-0, 4.18 ERA

There's not much to say about Goose Gossage's sunset season, except that I find it insanely fascinating that a guy who debuted in 1972 played long enough to be featured on a design like 1995 Fleer.

Catcher

1987 Topps #258 Steve Yeager

Steve Yeager (1972-1986) -- 1986 Mariners, 50 games, .208 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI

Steve Yeager was a Dodger for 14 of his 15 big-league seasons -- the lone exception, of course, being his sunset season with the Mariners. 

Or, at least it's his sunset season if you don't count his time as a third-base coach with the Indians in Major League.

First Base

2006 Topps #573 Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell (1991-2005) -- 2005 Astros, 39 games, .250 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI

As much as I love Short Term Stops, I have immense respect for dudes who spent their entire career with one team.

And depending on how you look at it, Jeff Bagwell did exactly that. Even though he was drafted by the Red Sox and infamously traded to the Astros before ever appearing in a big-league game in Boston, I tend to label Bagwell as a Career Astro despite those early years in the Red Sox system (though I understand why others might think otherwise). Bagwell's sunset season was a classic tale of ecstasy and agony -- he missed most of the year with a shoulder injury, but he healed in time to play in the first World Series of his long career (which the Astros lost to the White Sox).

Not a bad ride into the sunset.

Second Base

2007 Topps #517 Craig Biggio

Craig Biggio (1988-2007) -- 2007 Astros, 141 games, .251 AVG, 10 HR, 50 RBI

Craig Biggio, like Bagwell, was another Career Astro -- sadly though, he doesn't seem to have any true sunset cards to his credit, which means I have to settle for this one, courtesy the awful 2007 Topps design.

Craig Biggio had a strange career -- he broke in as a catcher but became a star as a second baseman playing right alongside Jeff Bagwell. He's got 3,000 hits and a plaque in Cooperstown, but never came all that close to winning an MVP.  He was even thrown out at second trying to stretch his 3,000th hit into a double, which I think is both tragic and awesome.

I don't often think of Craig Biggio as one of the best players of my baseball lifetime, but he probably was.

Shortstop

1982 Fleer #325 Mario Mendoza

Mario Mendoza (1974-1982) -- 1982 Rangers, 12 games, .118 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Fun Fact #1: Mario Mendoza may have hit well below the Mendoza Line in his sunset season, but he actually finished above it for his career (.215).

Fun Fact #2: Mendoza did hit below the Mendoza Line in five of his nine big-league seasons, though.

Fun Fact #3: Mendoza became a minor-league hitting coach after his playing career ended.

Third Base

2019 Stadium Club #275 Adrian Beltre

Adrian Beltre (1998-2018) -- 2018 Rangers, 119 games, .273 AVG, 15 HR, 65 RBI

With Nolan Ryan and now Adrian Beltre, the Rangers seem to have a way of making players their own.

Unlike Ryan, Beltre did spend the majority of his career with the Rangers (eight seasons), but it was the last stop of his long career and wasn't anywhere near a career Ranger, considering he played in the bigs for 21 years. His years in Texas were indeed spectacular: three All-Star Games, three Gold Gloves, and over 1,000 hits -- including his 3,000th during his 2018 sunset season.

When the time comes to give Beltre a plaque in Cooperstown, I'll bet he'll be wearing a Rangers hat on it, because that's where he seemed to become the beloved man he is today.

Outfield

1988 Score #504 Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson (1967-1987) -- 1987 A's, 115 games, .220 AVG, 15 HR, 43 RBI

These sunset posts can get a bit tricky with guys like Reggie Jackson who ended their careers as DHs after a career overwhelmingly spent at other positions.

For posterity's sake, I'm including Reggie as an outfielder on this roster even though he spent his final years as mostly a DH, and is listed as such on his sunset cards. All three of the outfielders on this roster (as you'll soon see) had gloriously full-circle careers, in that they returned to their original teams in their final years. Reggie broke in with the (Kansas City) A's in 1967 and returned to them a full 20 years later for a final swan song, hitting the final 15 of his 563 career homers in 1987.

Jackson received a handful of true sunset cards -- though oddly, none from Topps -- Score's tribute to Mr. October is still one of my favorite subsets in baseball card history.

2010 Topps #85 Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. (1989-2010) -- 2010 Mariners, 33 games, .184 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI

It's hard to fault guys like Ken Griffey Jr. who want to squeeze every last ounce out of their careers, but typing out that very un-Griffey sunset stat line made me cringe.

Griffey, like Reggie Jackson, wound up as a DH, but he's much more famous for roaming center field, of course. Also like Reggie, Griffey returned to his original club at the end of his big-league tenure, spending his final two seasons with the Mariners in what has almost become a footnote to his otherworldly career.

I'm not sure that The Kid has any true sunset cards, but despite the mediocrity of his last season, this Topps card remains one of my very favorite modern final tributes.

2019 Topps Now #1 Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki (2001-2019) -- 2019 Mariners, 2 games, .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI

As promised, Ichiro completes the triad of full-circle outfielders on this sunset roster.

Ichiro semi-retired in 2018 after 15 games with the Mariners, but returned to play the final two games of his career in 2019, when the Mariners opened the season in Japan. He didn't get a hit (0-for-5), but his farewell was still a wonderful tribute to the man who is probably my favorite player of my baseball lifetime (approached only by Vladimir Guerrero in that regard).

Some baseball moments need the passage of time to become iconic, but not this one -- it'll be etched into my memory forever.

Designated Hitter

2005 Donruss Champions #224 Edgar Martinez

Edgar Martinez (1987-2004) -- 2004 Mariners, 141 games, .263 AVG, 12 HR, 63 RBI

Because we're in the American League now, the DH is a thing, and who better to introduce it than probably the greatest man to ever play the position.

When you look at the stats, it's shocking that it took as long as it did for Edgar Martinez to get into the Hall of Fame (the .418 career OBP alone should've done it). But count me among the many who, at first, didn't think of him as a HOFer. I'm not one of those people who penalize DHs (and I have yet to hear a viable argument why anyone would), but when I thought of Edgar Martinez, I just didn't think Hall of Famer. But time, as it so often does, changed my opinion, and I'm ecstatic he's finally in Cooperstown.

Also, I wasn't even sure I had a true sunset card of Edgar -- he's not a top-tier player collection of mine -- but as fate would have it, I did, so thank god for Donruss Champions!...which is probably the only time you'll hear me say that.

That's it for this sunset squad -- thanks for tuning in!

Free Card Friday #4

Quick Update #1: I visited my bookstore earlier this week as a furloughed employee/book shopper -- things seem to be going well and my coworkers and a couple of my higher-ups even hinted at me possibly being called back to work by the time the month is over (not getting my hopes up yet though).

Quick Update #2: I mailed out the first batch of Free Card Friday claims a couple days ago, so most of you should look for those to show up soon! However, I still need addresses from the following people who've claimed cards over the first few FCFs -- if you see your username below, please email your mailing address to me at nickpecucci AT gmail DOT com.

bbcardz
Brett Alan
GTT
Jeremy @ Topps Cards That Never Were (We've traded but I can't find your address)
Trevor P.

Quick Update #3: The above Hosmer, and everything you see below, is up for grabs in this week's Free Card Friday!

Page #1

Notes: For the memorabilia- and scarcity-minded collectors, some jerseys, autographs, and numbered cards! Triple-jersey Smith is /49, Pryor auto /819, Oliver /499, Moyer /100, Ramirez /799, Skaggs /2013, Jenkins /2008.

Page #2

Notes: For the vintage-loving older souls! Walton is a standard Topps issue this time, Smith is a rookie card. Simpson has creases but the rest are in at least decent shape.

Page #3

Notes: Can't find any 2020 cards because people are harassing Target vendors and buying 4,875 blasters for themselves? Well, I've got a few for you! Fiers is a Flagship foil parallel, Alfaro is an Opening Day foil parallel, Frasso has a USA-era shot of Stephen Strasburg on the back. Others are standard base/inserts.

Page #4

Notes: Or maybe you're like me and are starting to REALLY miss dime boxes...well, here's some dime box-friendly randomness for you! Carter is an Archives reprint, Justice is a Japanese Kanebo issue, and the Monds is Wonderful.

That's all I've got this week -- claim away!

In honor of ugliness

I was reading a SABR article a while back that called 1973 Topps, and I quote, "The Ugliest Baseball Set Ever."

I often hesitate to throw the word "clickbait" around, but I think that's clickbait. Are you seriously going to sit there with a straight face and tell me that 1973 Topps is uglier than, say 2000 Topps? Really? At the very least, calling '73 Topps ugly, well...them's fighting words for me. I personally rank it as the 3rd best Topps set ever made, and on some days, I'm willing to put it as high as #2 ('65 Topps is forever #1, and '75 is usually #2). Opinions are opinions, and I understand that not everyone rates '73 Topps as highly as I do. But to call it the pinnacle of the Ugly Topps Mountain borders on the ridiculous.

I get that action shots aren't everyone's cup of tea, and that '73 Topps features them prominently, to the point where it looks nothing like any Topps set made before or since (which is, for me, why it's so iconic). This, I think, is a problem I sometimes have with the all-vintage community -- they instantly don't like anything with an action shot or anything that doesn't look like it came out of '59 Topps (in the SABR article, all the "good" '73 Topps cards are, not surprisingly, all poses). I like poses, and I like action shots, but I certainly wouldn't call a set "ugly" if it pushes the envelope in combining the two in weird and sometimes beautiful ways like '73 does.

And because my brain seems to be stuck on making lists lately, I decided to undertake a project that once seemed impossible and nail down my ten favorite cards from 1973 Topps, the best of the best from this so-called "Ugliest Topps Set Ever."

#10 -- 1973 Topps #372 Oscar Gamble

I get why images like this would rub some baseball-card purists the wrong way.

It's way zoomed-out, it crams four different guys into a single frame, and, oh yeah, it's airburshed, too! Safe to say this isn't your standard Topps baseball card. But oh my goodness is does this scream beauty to me. Double play shot, dude lost in a cloud of dust, and Oscar Gamble's Afro!

How in the world could you call this ugly?!

#9 -- 1973 Topps #263 George Scott

If '73 is the most bizarre Topps set ever, then this card is the Most Bizarre of the Most Bizarre.

I'd bet money that, for whatever reason, Topps spliced this pickoff shot onto a completely different backdrop. It just seems...off. The fence in the background is oddly out of place and most of the fans aren't even looking the right way. Much like '73 Topps as a whole, there's no explaining how or why this card came about.

Who knows why they did it, but Topps unwittingly created a bizarro masterpiece here.

#8 -- 1973 Topps #273 Chris Speier

You know a set's good when a frankenset champion only reaches #8.

#7 -- 1973 Topps #456 Dick Green

Since the frankenset's over, I guess I can reveal my true thoughts and say that I was rooting for Dick Green, and not Chris Speier, to win the frankenset.

Only '73 Topps could make a guy flubbing a grounder look so beautiful -- and if that doesn't sum up what makes this set so special, I don't know what does.

#6 -- 1973 Topps #530 Jim Kaat

The first hitting-pitcher card I ever saw, and a card so integral to my collecting youth that I've never bothered to upgrade the massively miscut copy I've owned since I was a kid.

#5 -- 1973 Topps #380 Johnny Bench

With the weirdness and general roguish quality that permeate the rest of the set, it's easy to forget that '73 Topps awarded some of its best cards to stars.

The Stargell at the top of this post is a classic -- a card like that not cracking the Top 10 should tell you how much I like this set -- and this spectacular Johnny Bench has long been a member of my personal Cardboard Hall of Fame.

#4 -- 1973 Topps #170 Harmon Killebrew

This is the card that made me fall in love with '73 Topps as a kid -- I can just see Harmon Killebrew hitting a ball 800 feet the second after this photo was taken.

#3 -- 1973 Topps #627 Luis Alvarado

What I imagined the 1970s looked and felt like, all summed up in a single, classic image.

#2 -- 1973 Topps #542 Pat Corrales

Alvarado and Corrales are really 2a and 2b on this list, and the one I rate higher can change depending on the day.

At this particular moment in time, I'm giving Corrales the runner-up honors, mainly because I've never seen anything even remotely close to a moment like this captured on any other baseball card (and oh yeah, the sliding runner is none other than Fergie Jenkins!).

#1 -- 1973 Topps #50 Roberto Clemente

I can talk about the weird and the bizarre and the abnormal of this set all I want, but the single greatest compliment I can pay to 1973 Topps is that it produced my all-time favorite baseball card.

It's a tall order to produce a final farewell to a posthumous hero, but '73 Topps did exactly that with this tranquil tribute to the late Roberto Clemente. I can never quite explain why the image of Clemente checking his swing in a sun-covered baseball field is so fitting and touching, but it is. It's not weird, and it's not quirky. The calmness of it, in an odd way, seems almost out of place in this set. But to me that just makes it stand out all the more. It's just...it's everything a baseball card should be.

And if that's ugly to you, well then I just don't know what to say.

Post #2,000 (or, an ode to Ian Kinsler)

This post, whenever I hit Publish, will be the 2,000th in the history of "Dime Boxes," and I'm using it to honor...Ian Kinsler?

I'm not sure I've mentioned Ian Kinsler even once in the first 1,999 posts I've written. He retired from the game this past offseason and managed to become one of those guys who hung around baseball for a good long while (14 years) without ever really approaching stardom. And while Kinsler's good enough to be a "binder guy" in my collection, I don't chase his cards with anything near urgency outside of the few Short Term Stops he had near the end of his career. So why the sudden interest?

I knew my 2,000th post was coming up, but even as recently as last night, I wasn't quite sure what to do for it. It's not a major milestone in the baseball world: you rarely hear about a hitter getting his 2,000th hit, or a pitcher notching his 2,000th strikeout. It's the 3,000th hit, the 3,000th strikeout that people seem to care about.

But as I was poking around some stat sites last night (a common evening activity for me), I discovered something that could only be described as serendipitous.

I discovered that Ian Kinsler retired with exactly 1,999 career hits.

I didn't quite believe it when I first read it, and I had to go get one of Kinsler's 2020 baseball cards (with complete career stats!) to confirm the strange fact. But there it was, clear as day: 1,999 career hits. On the eve of my 2,000th post, I discovered Ian Kinsler and his 1,999 hits. Weird.

Baseball stats are sometimes exciting and sometimes painful, and the latter is no doubt true with Ian Kinsler. To think, if he hit just one more ground ball just a little harder across the infield, or perhaps if the rain in a shortened game would've just held off a little longer -- if any of those (or the infinitely other possibilities) had happened just once during his 14-year career, Kinsler would have that 2,000th hit. But the reality is that 1,999. And while 1,999 career hits certainly isn't anything to sneeze at, it just makes the guy's career seem...incomplete, somehow. 1,999.

Ian Kinsler became Mr. 1,999. So when I publish this post and hit the little Publish button at the top of my screen, I'll turn that despairing number ending in all those 9s into a happy round one: 2,000. I'd like to thank all my readers who've helped me get this far over my eight-and-a-half years around here -- I wouldn't have come anywhere close to this milestone without your support, readership, and overall good vibes. I offer my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

And so Dime Boxes, unlike Ian Kinsler, flips the page to #2,000...and counting.

Free Card Friday #3

My bookstore opened back up to the public last week, but as of right now I'm still in job limbo, which I suppose I don't mind as much because I'm not sure how I feel about things opening back up en masse again.

A few of my coworkers have been asked back to work, a few were (sadly) outright fired, and a few (like me) are still on furlough. I'm living on my savings for now, and the good news is the stamps I ordered arrived, so I'll be starting to get these Free Card Friday claims out in the mail at some point in the next few days. Also I'd like to note that I changed emails recently and lost a fair amount of the mailing addresses I had saved in my old account, so if we haven't traded in the last few months and you have claimed/want to claim cards, please email your address to me at nickpecucci AT gmail DOT com.

And, oh yeah, today's Friday, so that means more free cards -- the above Griffey (from what I'm already decreeing the Insert Set of the Year) and the following cards in today's post are all up for grabs to whoever wants them!

Page #1

Notes: Latest-and-greatest stuff -- Santana is /99, Soto is one of the Holiday SPs (note the Christmas tree in the background), Allard is an auto. Others are standard base/inserts.

Page #2

Notes: Minis, in all their page-unfriendly glory! '69 Deckle Edge is Frank Howard.

Page #3

Notes: Vintage! TCMA A's card is Hawk Harrelson, '60 Mazeroski is in rough shape overall, '75 Santo is also in less-than-ideal condition. All others are at least in fair shape.

Page #4

Notes: Miscellany I figured someone might want (which is really the key to any good dime box!). Boggs has soft corners/general condition issues, but it's the real deal. Thames is a photo-variation SP. '89 Topps Traded Teke is a glorious sunset/short term stop combo!

That's all I've got this week -- claim away!

There's something about Hoyt

When I started collecting Hoyt Wilhelm, I thought I was the only one doing it because who else would collect Hoyt Wilhelm?

Turns I was wrong, so very wrong -- I've come across at least a half-dozen other Hoyt collectors, and has something of a rabid cult following (Pat Neshek named one of his kids after him). Hoyt's kind of The Big Lebowski of card collecting, and so the obvious question is: what is it about Hoyt Wilhelm, of all people, that draws so much love?

To tell you the truth, I don't really know. There's a certain weirdness to his career -- career knuckleballer, odd-sounding name, long and well-traveled career, etc. -- but I think it goes deeper than that. If you asked me why I collected Hoyt, I don't know that I'd be able to give you a precise reason. I never saw him play and have no personal connections to him...but he's at the very top of the mountain as far as my player collections go. It's been that way for what seems like forever. In the end, Hoyt's just one of those guys who, for whatever reason, endears himself to a select few.

And more than any other single player I've come across, the people who like Hoyt really like Hoyt...

...and some of them enough to create a complete and insanely detailed custom set of the guy.

Hoyt superfan Brett Honeywell (who runs the excellent Hoyt Wilhelm Fan Page on Twitter) curated, designed, and printed an entire 54-card set entirely devoted to the immortal knuckleballer. It makes sense that he got a little help from the custom aficionado of the blogosphere along the way, none other than Gavin of "Baseball Card Breakdown" fame (and a fellow Hoyt fanatic!). Apparently only a couple of these were intended to be printed, but, knowing my Hoyt fandom, Gavin was nice enough to have Brett print an extra Hoyt set for me, which I received in a Breakdown package recently.

Gavin already posted about this set on his blog, so I'll try to keep my thoughts brief -- I will say that even though I pride myself on knowing a lot about Hoyt and his career, this amazing 54-card set opened up a whole Pandora's box of stuff I hadn't a clue about.

From this page I learned that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Hoyt wasn't perpetually a 50-year-old man!

From this page I learned that the latter half of Hoyt's career (which featured perhaps his best years) all began with a waiver claim, when the Orioles claimed him from the Indians in 1958.

From this page I learned that Hoyt once received a shotgun as a retirement present.

From this page I learned that Hoyt once coached a prospect named Mariano Rivera in the Yankees' chain.

Perhaps my favorite fact of all (and one I couldn't believe I didn't already know) came from this page: Hoyt had a younger brother (Gary) who briefly played in the Orioles' system.

And finally, from this page I learned that Hoyt has two baseball fields named after him, both in his home state of North Carolina.

There may be a lot of Hoyt fans out there, but not many of 'em own one of these sets, which makes it an incredible honor to know that Gavin requested a Hoyt Wilhelm superset for me, and that Brett went through the time and effort to actually do it (thanks, fellas!).

(Gavin also sent a few other cards along for the ride -- which, though great, seem almost parenthetical next to the Hoyt set.)

(Also included was a fantastic minor league card of future Moneyball spearhead Billy Beane, a card which may or may not have subconsciously fueled other ProCards purchases a few days later.)

(But even great cards seem parenthetical next to Hoyt.)

Shadow ball

Every time I call myself a baseball fan, I am forced to live with the incredibly flawed and whitewashed history of my favorite game in the world.

When it comes to cards, my consciousness of baseball's checkered history runs even deeper than that -- I admit that I myself am a privileged and imperfect card collector. I collect cards of Ty Cobb. I collect cards of Cap Anson. I collect cards of many figures from baseball's early days who forced black players out of the major leagues. I do this because, as a fan, I am intensely interested in piecing together the history of the game. But as a living and thinking and rational human being, I am often ashamed of my ability to sometimes compartmentalize the racism of baseball's past as I look through my cards.

With everything happening in the country right now, and the incredible sadness I've felt about it, I tried to cope by looking through my Negro League collection today. My Negro League cards are a treasured corner of my collection, but they're relegated to a small, separate binder outside the shelves of my standard team binders since many of the game's greatest black stars spent the first century of baseball's history unable to play for teams like the Cubs and Red Sox. The sum total of my Negro League collection spans maybe a dozen double-bagged nine-pocket pages. My Yankees binders contain hundreds.

While looking through my Negro League cards, I couldn't help but think that the card industry itself, by reprinting the same '52 Topps Mantles and T206 Wagners to death, was doing a disservice to the real history of baseball, a history that included black players well before the rise of Jackie Robinson. Outside of a few random inserts here and there, Negro League stars are all but ignored in today's hobby (which still includes copious amounts of Ty Cobb cards). For a few years there, Topps included a terrific subset of forgotten Negro Leaguers in their A&G sets, but those faded away ten years ago and haven't resurfaced since. The voices of the Negro Leagues have been all but silenced in today's hobby.

With that in mind, it seems relevant to acknowledge ten card producers who, whether through entire sets or individual cards, documented the Negro Leagues in all their glory, and acknowledged their importance to the game we love.

#1 -- 1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball Stars

This is one of the few all-Negro League sets I've come across -- they're fantastic and not as terribly scarce as many of the non-major-brand oddballs of the era.

#2 -- 2001 Topps "What Could Have Been" inserts

Not the most thrilling design, but a rare nod from Topps to the importance of the Negro Leagues.

#3 -- 1993 & '94 Ted Williams Negro Leagues

I don't know how much input Ted Williams actually had into the sets that bore his name in the '90s, but I tend to think it was at least a fair amount since Teddy Ballgame was an early advocate for Negro Leaguers being inducted into the Hall of Fame (he said as much in his own HOF speech).

It makes sense, then, that the sets he (perhaps) created are home to some of my very favorite Negro League cards ever made.

#4 -- 1992 Eclipse Shea Stadium Negro Leagues

Best I can tell, this set was given away at a Mets game in 1992 -- I only own a couple of 'em, but they're awesome.

#5 -- 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game

Many sets that contain the name "Greats" or "Legends" solely focus on the best players of the major leagues as we know them -- if they acknowledge someone like Satchel Paige, they only do so because of the time he spent well past his prime with the Browns and Indians.

Given that, it's quite a treat to see a select group of Negro League stars such as Rube Foster honored in the '01 Fleer Greats of the Game checklist, one of the few sets to actually live up to its name.

#6 -- 2012 & '13 Panini Golden Age

The sympathizer in me wants to think there's a legal reason for Topps not making Negro League cards, like copyright issues or something along those lines, rather than flat-out ignorance or worries that they wouldn't "sell" as well as Bowman.

The fact that Panini included a good amount of Negro League stars in their Golden Age sets a few years ago seems to line up with some kind of legal reason -- either way, cards like these are a big reason why I still miss this brand so much.

#7 -- Topps Fan Favorites

The only flaw in the excellent concept of Fan Favorites featuring star players on old Topps designs is the fact that Negro League stars were never featured on old Topps designs.

I'll give credit where credit is due, however, to Topps including this nod to Buck O'Neil on the iconic '62 woodgrain -- even though it feels shoehorned and bit revisionist, it's still a wonderful card.

#8 -- 1987 Donruss Highlights

It may have happened far too late, but many Negro Leaguers were eventually enshrined in Cooperstown -- including Ray Dandridge, whose HOF induction in 1987 was documented on this Donruss Highlights card from that year.

#9 -- 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers

As a whole, I've yet to find a better set that honors the Negro Leagues' HOF inductees better than the aptly-named 2001 UD Hall of Famers release, which features a healthy amount of the game's pre-integration stars (this Cool Papa Bell might well be my favorite Negro League card ever made).

#10 -- 1994 Upper Deck Ken Burns Baseball

Unlike most compendiums of baseball history, Ken Burns's Baseball gives the Negro Leagues its rightful amount of screen time, and juxtaposes it brilliantly next to the goings-on of the all-white major leagues that so often dominate the history books.

It makes sense that the card set issued in accordance with the opus -- which I received as a gift from my parents as a child and have treasured ever since -- contains so many of the stars like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson that made the Negro Leagues the success it was.

Of course, the obvious tragedy of the Negro Leagues is that they never should've had to exist at all, which is a great source of pain when I look through the (far too few) cards I own of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. Buck O'Neil and Rube Foster should have been allowed to play next to Jimmie Foxx and Babe Ruth. They should have been able to wear the Yankee pinstripes or Dodger blue. The black greats of baseball should have been able to flourish in the major leagues, and have their stars burn every bit as brightly as the white greats of the same era.

Their lives, then and now, should have never had to endure in the shadows.