Tony Gwynn 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants
When I hear the theme ‘Past Time Pennants’ I immediately think of older players. Legendary players. And I also tend to think of playoff performers as well; I guess the word ‘pennants’ takes me there…
So, when I saw that Tony Gwynn was a part of this set, I was very curious about his playoff history. Sure, I knew that he never won a World Series, but I wanted to get a little more detailed than that…
Gwynn played in the big leagues for twenty seasons. His Padres team made it to the playoffs in just three of those years – 1984, 1996, and 1998. They did make two appearances in the World Series, but they lost both times – in 1984 to the Detroit Tigers and in 1998 to the New York Yankees.
While not upset that Gwynn was put into this set of cards, if the theme was to be celebrating legendary playoff players from the past, I think that Upper Deck was a little lenient with their selections…
Just sayin…
I don’t know if it was this set or a similar one, but Gwynn was included along with Cal Ripken and Nolan Ryan. All were legends, but none did a whole lot in the playoffs.
Marcus- ill have to find the checklist. The cards are sweet, but it would be cool to see more worthy names in a set with that kind of name.
Sure Cal only had one homer and 8 ribbies in postseason play and had a forgettable ’83 Series but he did bat .336 overall in playoff games and in four of six series he hit about .350 or better.
btw… that is a really cool set. Some wonderful pictures. The Rocky Colavito is my favorite I think.
It’s an interesting point and a good one at that. Being a lifelong Gwynn fan, I can admit I agree with you: the series is a bit misleading. That shared, many view Gwynn a hitting legend and I have to include him in the designation, “legends of the game.”
I immediately begin to think of all that’s been said of the ’70 and ’73 Reds teams along with the ’01 Mariners…comprised of “legends,” but I guess that depends on the definition?
Underdog, I agree. Gwynn belongs in a lot of individual accomplishment series’. Just not one that makes you think of the post-season…
Yup, I (sniffle) agree. Hence, Gwynn = Capt. Honorary Underdog.
; )