1998 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

1998 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

By the time the 1998 Topps set was released, Florida Marlin fans were taken on quite a ride.

From the thrills of the 1997 World Series to the horror of watching our championship winning squad dismantled right before our eyes.

At least the team set from the 1998 Topps set still allowed us to enjoy that team one more time…

And my favorite card from this team set???

I have so many great memories from that historic 7-game series.

But none remains engrained in my brain than the one captured on this card of Edgar Rentaria as he celebrates his game-winning and series-clinching hit.

Reader Gerad Sends Over Three Cards For My 2012 Topps Heritage Miami Marlins Team Set!!!

Reader Gerad Sends Over Three Cards For My 2012 Topps Heritage Miami Marlins Team Set!!!

The readers of this blog continue to amaze me with their generosity.

This time around, it was loyal reader Gerad that offered up a fe treats.

3 to be exact - and all are needs for the 2012 Topps Heritage team set I am building of the Miami Marlins.

Check them out:

1st – NL Home Run League Leaders card featuring Giancarlo Stanton among some other names you may know…

2nd – Matt Dominguez rookie card

3 – Jose Reyes

I will have to check the official checklist, but I believe that this means that I have completed the base part of the set.

Now, on to the short prints – and there are a lot of Marlins SP’s to go after!!!

Thank you again, Gerad.  I will have some ‘Cards’ for you soon.

Ryan Pitches Over Some Great Fish!

Ryan Pitches Over Some Great Fish!

I got a few bites when I recently asked the readers of my blog to donate any Miami Marlins cards from the 2012 Topps Heritage set a few weeks back.

And the cards that Ryan, of Ryan’s Pitch, sent over really helped me get closer to completing the base part of the set.

Ryan offered up four cards from my ‘Need List’:

That is a nice chunk of cards to knock out.

But, Ryan was not done…

There were a few more Marlins goodies included.

He gave me the Blue-bordered Hanley Ramirez card from the same set, two Gypsy Queen mini cards for the Marlins team set I am working on from that release, and a pretty sweet Orange-border card of Mike Stanton from the 2011 Topps set.

Have a look:

And then, he also threw in a Josh Johnson game-used jersey card from the 2007 Upper Deck Apparel Artifacts set.

Here it is:

And then came the BOOM!!!!

A Blue-Bordered Andre Dawson Gypsy Queen card from this year’s set!

And she is a B-E-A-U-T-Y!!!!

Thanks again Ryan.  I am already working on a way to re-pay the kindness!!

Stop by and check out Ryan’s Pitch - you’re gonna like it!!!

Scooped This Up At Wal-Mart Last Night On A Quick Errand Run…

Scooped This Up At Wal-Mart Last Night On A Quick Errand Run…

I had to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart list night to grab some stuff for a party at my son’s school this afternoon.

And as quick as I had to make that trip, I was able to squeeze in a few minutes to scan the baseball card area located near register #21.

I saw a lot of new stuff, and  a lot of stuff marked with clearance tags too – mostly 2011 baseball and some basketball stuff.

And then I saw this:

Somehow, it ended up in my shopping cart.  So, I just paid for it and brought it home with the rest of the items I needed to get.

The set is a 17-card set, and it features some players that are not included in the 2012 Series 1 Marlins team set.

I really want to rip it open and check them out.  But something is telling me to keep it sealed…

Decisions, decisions….

It Starts With One!!!

It Starts With One!!!

It all starts with one.

Everything starts with one.

What the hell am I talking about???

Well, it could be anything.

But this time, it is Heritage – 2012 Topps Heritage to be exact.

And for me, it starts with one.

One card that will get my Miami Marlins team set started.

One of my loyal readers, ‘Q’, sent me one.

And this one will get my gears going.

This one will make me build a checklist.

This one will send me on my way.

The One:

Thank You Quentin.  I am on my way!!!

Miami Marlins 2012 Topps Opening Day Team Set & Inserts

Miami Marlins 2012 Topps Opening Day Team Set & Inserts

I have been a Marlins mood for a while now – and a lot of my recent pick-ups are centered around my favorite baseball club.

I recently scooped up a very nice stack of modern-era Marlins team sets from a seller on Ebay.  The card cover both the Florida Marlins era and the new Miami Marlins era.

The first set that I want to show off is the 2012 Topps Miami Marlins Opening Day set.  In total, I was able to grab 14 cards from the set, and I am thrilled with the turnout.

Have a look: 

Here is the seven card ‘base’ set that features Heath Bell, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Anibal Sanchez, and Mike Stanton.

And my favorite mascot, ‘Billy The Marlin’.

There are two Marlins’ players featured in the ‘Elite Skills Player set – Jose Reyes & Mike Stanton.

And three Marlins in the ‘Fantasy Squad’ set – Jose Reyes, Mike Stanton, and Hanley Ramirez.

And lastly, Hanley is als part of the 3-D Opening Day Stars set.

Pretty nice start to what will be a fun set to collect.  And I am more than 60% done!!!  I still need to find the Blue bordered cards that are a nice compliment to the base 7-card set.  And there is one autographed card of Chris Coghlan that I will try to scoop up too…

Thanks for reading.

YIPPEE!!!

1998 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

1998 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

The 1998 Topps Florida Marlins team set is a special one because it features most of the World Series roster from the prior season, plus a few extra Championship cards!!

Let’s dig right in:

And my favorite card from the set:

You can’t go wrong with a card that shows off the team’s reaction to the clinching moment of the championship.

I still recall this exact moment vividly.

Livan – Edgar – Counsell: Names that will remain with me for the rest of my life!!!

I Would Be Happy To Take Those 2012 Miami Marlins Cards Off Of Your Hands!!!

I Would Be Happy To Take Those 2012 Miami Marlins Cards Off Of Your Hands!!!

I have a strong case of ‘Marlins-Fever’ and I am in the mood to collect.

So, if you have any Miami Marlins baseball cards that you want to part with, please let me know.  Hopefully we can work something out that benefits us both.

I am looking for any and all Marlins cards from the following releases:

2012 Topps Series 1

2012 Topps Heritage

2012 Topps Opening Day

2012 Topps Tribute

2012 Topps MLB Stickers

2012 Topps Museum

My goal is to build all of these Miami Marlins team sets – so anything that you have that can assist me with this process, I would be very grateful.

Thanks for reading!!!!

1997 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

1997 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

Ah, 1997 – the year that the Florida Marlins took the baseball world by storm.  That squad holds a tremendous place in my heart as a baseball fan, and that team sure did feature a wide range of talented players and quirky personalities!!!

The 13-card set that was issued by Topps in the early part of 1997 does a good job of capturing that team – but there are some noticeable omissions to.

Still, I like this set quite a bit and the Green border that surrounds the player’s pictures is a nice compliment to the Teal and Black of the Marlins.

And now for the set:

And my favorite card from this team set is….

Of course it is going to be the card that celebrates Al Leiter’s no-hitter from the 1996 baseball season – I was there!!!

 

 

1996 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

1996 Topps Florida Marlins Team Set

I am cruising right along as I work to collect every Topps-issued Marlins team set issued during the team’s history.

This is the first ‘small’ set, as it features much fewer cards than the team sets issued in 1993, 1994, and 1995.

What also stands out to this Marlins’ fan is that while this set was the one issued prior to the team’s 1997 World Series title, the players included in the set hardly remind me of the roster that would win it all just one year later…

On to the cards:

My favorite card from the set? 

Of course my favorite card from the set is the one that features Andre Dawson.  Duh…

This was The Hawk’s final major league season.  I really like that Topps used a photo of Andre at Wrigley Field for this final card.