Thursday, November 13, 2008

Leader of the Pack: 2005 Topps Bazooka

Ok, Ok, I know I said yesterday that I probably wasn't posting anymore here. But I enjoyed that post so here's another one.

This is a pack of 2005 Topps Bazooka, which ridiculously says on the wrapper "Look for Barry Bonds cards inside!" Not autographed or game-used cards, mind you, just regular cards. WTF?

In case you don't remember how we score each card, check out my first Leader of the Pack post right here.

Let's rip:

First I popped that 3-year old gum into my mouth and it was pretty good!

#93 Ted Lilly: Player who is starting to live up to the hype, 3/5. Photo is a posed shot with mostly just pale sky, leaving a bit to be desired, 2/5. At the time he was coming off an all-star year and appeared to be finally turning the corner, 3/5. No intangibles. Total = 8/20

#153 mini Aubrey Huff: lost in the garbage can with Tampa Bay when they were still a poor franchise, this guy is a great offensive player, 4/5. Photo shows him having just run across home plate but is otherwise pretty stark, 2/5. At the time he was coming off 2 great seasons in a row, 3/5, and as a mini card I'll give 2/5 on intangibles. Total = 11/20



#165 Bobby Abreu: this guy is immensely underrated and according to his B-R.com page already has just about average HOF Standards. 5/5 as a player. Photo shows him bunting up close which is cool, except that his face is half hidden. 2/5. At the time he was in the midst of his string of great seasons, 3/5. No intangibles. Total = 10/20

Silly Tattoo card

#139 Gold Chunk Omar Vizquel: He went from being a no-hit great fielder to a pretty good hitter (and then back to no-hit) but overall he's had a pretty good career, 3/5. This photo also shows bunting, but we can actually see his face, 3/5. At the time, this wasn't all that exciting a card, 2/5. As for intangibles, this card is basically just a gold parallel printed on very thick stock. Booooring but I'll give it 1/5. Total = 9/20

#143 Chris Carpenter: He recovered from a serious injury to become a Cy Young winner with the Cardinals. 3/5. The photo is fine although his face is a bit in the shadows. 3/5. At the time, Carpenter just had a great comeback year in 2004 and was about to win his Cy Young in 2005, 4/5. For intangibles, I'm giving him another point here due to his injury comeback. 1/5. Total = 11/20

#19 Mark Prior: We'll never know how good he might have been if he had stayed healthy. His final career numebrs are actually quite good, if only over 650 innings. 3/5. The photo is remarkably similar to Carpenter's in almost every way. 3/5. At the time, people were still hopeful that Prior was going to be a star, 3/5. And I give this card 1 intangible point, again because hype around Prior was still going at this time. Total = 10/20



#183 B.J. Upton: Tough to say how good this kid is as he hasn't been consistent yet. I'll give him a generous 3/5. The photo ain't bad, especially if you like Adidas. 3/5. At the time, this was a cool card to get as he was perhaps the most interesting rookie in the game, 4/5. And he gets a few points for intangibles, 3/5, as an interesting character who many thought (and still think) that he will be a star. Total = 13/20

There you have it, folks. B.J. Upton is your Leader of the Pack for this shot of 2005 Topps Bazooka.

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