This is the post that I teased to last week when I wrote those back-to-back posts on Fan Favorites. Out of the three Topps All-Time Fan Favorites sets issued between 2003-05, which set was the best?
For me, "best" means that the cards themselves properly reflected the player, the team and the design. That's because it's very apparent that Fan Favorites' attempt was to show each player with a team for which they were popular, a "favorite". It also tried to pick a year, meaning the Topps design it chose, in which the player did particularly well or was noted in some other way (it was their rookie year, for example). It's the reason why I love the set so much ... that, and all of the new photos that were used.
I don't know how you determine accurately which set is the best by looking at every single card in each set. That sounds exhausting. So, what I did instead, is figured out which individuals received a card in 2003, 2004 and 2005. And then determined which card was the best for each individual. Yup, this will be equally as exhausting.
There are 35 individuals that received cards in each of the three sets. Many are the players I mentioned on the "most favorite fan favorites" post from last week. So my guesses about those players were probably right (I also may have missed a couple).
One player, Reggie Jackson above, received four total cards. He got two in the 2004 set for some reason. Too bad, Reggie, that disqualifies you. I can only consider one card per year.
So I'll show the 34 individuals' three cards now with a grading for each players' cards.
Grading is as follows:
10 points for the photo
20 points for whether the photo goes with the year portrayed
10 points for whether proper year was chosen
In most cases, except when a horizontal card is involved, the cards are, from left to right, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Here we go:
1. Harold Baines
2003: 40 points; 2005: 35 points; 2004: 30
The green border of Harold Baines' rookie card is well-known, and so is the uniform that the White Sox wore at that time. The 2003 set gets both right, although Baines was wearing the dark Sox uniform on his rookie card. The 2005 card comes close, but I almost gave negative points for the jarring change in uniform styles between the photo and the inset.
2. Johnny Bench
2005: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2003: 30 points
Bench is a weird one for me because the magnitude of his cards from the mid-1970s is such a part of my childhood. 2005 gets a slight edge because it accumulates points in every category, even though the disembodied hands lunging things at him is a bit strange for a photo. The photo on the 1970 card is likely more recent than 1970.
3. Yogi Berra
2005: 40 points; 2003: 35 points; 2004: 5 points
I like the 2003 Fan Favorites Yogi quite a bit, so this is a little disappointing. But by 1958, Berra was starting to decline a little. The 2005 Fan Favorites 1973 card, meanwhile, highlights the manager who took the Mets to the World Series that year. The 2004 card, I don't know what they were thinking. That is not a photo of an active major league catcher.
4. Vida Blue
2005: 25 points; 2004: 20 points; 2003: 20 points
Not the greatest reflection of Vida Blue. Topps gets the design right, featuring Blue during his breakout Cy Young year of 1971, but then uses the same design again. Also, Blue did not have a mustache on his 1971 Topps card. For the Giants card, the 1978 design would have been the better year as he had a better season and started the All-Star Game that year.
5. Wade Boggs
2003: 30 points; 2005: 25 points; 2004: 25 points
Personally, I would have gone with the 1983 design (rookie card and a big year) or the 1985 or 1987 design (two of his best years). The 1986 design is in the wheelhouse, but as mentioned in the comments below, the photo is from Boggs' 1993 card. I like the 2003 Fan Favorites card a lot. The 2004 card with Boggs as a Yankee is just wrong, but he did ride on a horse around Yankee Stadium that year.
6. George Brett
2004: 40 points; 2005: 40 points; 2003: 30 points
I picked the 2004 card because I break all ties. And I'm a sucker for a mid-1970s All-Star banner. Although I'm supposed to go gaga over Brett's rookie card look, the 2003 Fan Favorites doesn't do it for me.
7. Lou Brock
2005: 40 points; 2003: 35 points; 2004: 30 points
I didn't see this one coming at all, but the 2004 Fan Favorites commits a cardinal sin (ha!) in showing a uniform on a '75 design that didn't appear until 1976. The 2005 card, although I'm bugged that the banner is not as large as they were on the 1965 cards, gets it right across the board. 1965 was Brock's first full season with the Cardinals after absolutely going nuts for part of a season in '64.
8. Jose Canseco
2005: 40 points; 2003: 40 points; 2004: 35 points
Another tie, and I'm picking rookie cup Canseco. He was the rookie of year the previous season, so good choice with the '87 design. The 1991 design works, too, as Canseco hit a career-high 44 home runs that year, but using it twice is a no-no when his MVP year of 1988 was ignored. Also the 2004 Fan Favorites looks a lot like this card.
9. Rod Carew
2003: 40 points; 2004: 35 points; 2005: 10 points
The 2003 Fan Favorites shows Rod Carew's July 1977 Time magazine cover shot on the 1977 Topps design. Outstanding. I won't mention that you'd never see a photo like that in the '77 set. Meanwhile, the 2005 Fan Favorites card is all wrong. Nice photo, but I don't even know if we had reached the '70s when that photo was taken.
10. Gary Carter
2004: 40 points; 2003: 30 points; 2005: 20 points
The 2003 Fan Favorites card may have won if not for butchering the team name color (Red?). But in the end, I like Carter as an Expo a lot better.
11. Orlando Cepeda
2004: 35 points; 2003: 30 points; 2005: 30 points
The photo used with the 2004 Fan Favorites was also used in the 1968 Topps set, but I'm not going to take off points for that. All of these designs are from years in which Cepeda did very well (or in the case of the '68 design, coming off an MVP season). But apparently they don't have any photos of him wearing a Giants cap.
12. Andre Dawson
2003: 40 points; 2004: 40 points; 2005: 35 points
Although 2003 and 2004 tied, I'm calling 2003 almost a perfect card and selecting that one. Great photo, design from his MVP year, you can't go wrong. As for the 1990 design in 2005, I would have gone with 1983 with Dawson as an Expo. He was terrific that year.
13. Whitey Ford
2003: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2005: 30 points
Lot of similarity here with Whitey. The 2003 Ford wins because his 1961 season was bananas. The 2004 card is more pleasing than the others, but his 1954 season didn't particularly stand out.
14. Steve Garvey
2005: 40 points; 2004: 40 points; 2003: 35 points
The cards are out of order because of the horizontal card. The 2005 card is on top with the 2003 card at left and the 2004 at right. I picked 2005 over 2004, because, of course, Garvey is a Dodger first. Nice photo of Garvey signing for misguided Padres fans, though. (P.S.: The 2003 Garvey makes up for Wes Parker hogging Garvey's '73 Topps card).
15. Dwight Gooden
2005: 40 points; 2003: 35 points; 2004: 35 points
It's sad that some people only remember Gooden as the Yankee no-hitter guy. They missed the best part. The other two cards show Gooden on designs when he was at his best and most famous. I prefer the photo on the '86 design.
16. Tony Gwynn
2004: 25 points; 2003: 20 points; 2005: 10 points
Not a good showing by Mr. Gwynn. I don't know why Topps chose the 2000 and 2001 designs -- those were Gywnn's two final years and he didn't play a lot (and why is the 2000 border gold?). The 2004 card, although the winner, shows Gwynn during two different uniform periods. Urg.
17. Keith Hernandez
2005: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2003: 30 points
Sometimes I get the feeling Topps ran out of decent photos to use. Neither Mets photo is great. But the 2005 Fan Favorite 1984 design wins as it was Hernandez's arrival with the Mets. The Cardinals card should have featured either the 1979 or 1980 design as he won the MVP in '79.
18. Monte Irvin
2005: 40 points; 2003: 40 points; 2004: 35 points
The 2005 Fan Favorites card edges out the 2003 card because way to get 1951 Topps in there!! It's interesting to me that players like Aaron and Mays received cards in just two of the Fan Favorites sets but Irvin appeared in all three.
19. Bo Jackson
2005 Topps: 40 points; 2004 Topps: 35 points; 2003 Topps 30 points
Jackson's most sensational period was sandwiched within three years with the Royals. I like the 2005 card with the 1988 design a lot, although it's not as good as Jackson's actual 1988 Topps card.
20. Al Kaline
2005: 40 points; 2003: 35 points; 2004: 30 points
(2003 card is on the top) It's difficult for me to gauge whether '50s players have time-appropriate photos according to the design used. Uniforms barely changed then and everyone had the same haircut. But I went with the 2005 Fan Favorite's 59 design because I like that design the best.
21. Harmon Killebrew
2005: 40 points; 2004: 30 points; 2003: 15 points
All of these cards feature designs from years in which Killebrew performed very well. But, caught ya, Topps, I believe the photo used on the 1961 design is from 1972 or later (red, white and blue collar is tip-off).
22. Don Mattingly
2004: 35 points; 2003: 35 points; 2005: 30 points
I went with the 2004 '84 design over the 2003 '86 just because of the rookie card angle (yeah, look at me, all about the rookies). But bonus points to 2003 Fan Favorites for using a photo of Mattingly with the black arm band, which I believe is for remembering Roger Maris, which the Yankees wore all during the 1986 season.
23. Dale Murphy
2005: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2003: 25 points
A rocky showing for Murph. While I love the photo used for the 2003 Fan Favorites, the Braves ditched those helmets in 1980 and they were nowhere to be found in 1985. Also, granted, Murphy's only decent season with the Phillies was 1991, but him as a Phillie is too weird. How about a card from one of his MVP years in 82 or 83?
24. Stan Musial
2003: 30 points; 2004: 20 points; 2005: 20 points
Topps was a bit stuck with Musial because his best years were before Topps had a contract with him. The design years used -- 1958 and 1961 (twice) -- were particularly notable years for Stan the Man. But the two '61 cards allow me to show this:
Topps noted Musial's military service on one card and left it out on another.
25. Paul O'Neill
2003: 40 points; 2004: 35 points; 2005: 30 points
Oscar Gamble and Steve Carlton get one Fan Favorite card and Paul flipping O'Neill gets three. There is no justice. O'Neill's best card is the 2003 card from the year he helped the Yankees win the World Series (1998). I would've replaced O'Neill's 2005 card with the 2001 design for a 1994 design as he led the league in batting that year.
26. Cal Ripken Jr.
2005: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2003: 20 points
Cal on the base paths!!!! ... Like with Gwynn, Topps was obsessed with Ripken's final seasons, I don't know why. The 2005 card of the 2001 design (Ripken's last year) gets the nod only because the inset photo on the 1983 design is from Topps' 1984 all-star card of Ripken and does not compute! Also, a card with a 1995/96 design would have been nice as he broke Lou Gehrig's record in late 1995.
27. Brooks Robinson
2005: 35 points; 2004: 25 points; 2003: 5 points
The 2003 Fan Favorites Robinson card might be the worst card in the set in terms of proper time placement. That's an old Robinson pictured during a set issued during his MVP season (1964) nine years into his career. There has to be 12 years difference between the design and the photo.
28. Frank Robinson
2004: 35 points; 2005: 25 points; 2003: 15 points
The 2003 card with the 1966 design is not right at all. Robinson is older in that photo than he is on the 2005 '71 card. The 2005 card shows Robinson's picture from his 1968 all-star card. So with the O's cards in disarray, the Reds Robinson card steps in for the win.
29. Nolan Ryan
2003: 35 points; 2005: 30 points; 2004: 30 points
I am so over Nolan Ryan as a Ranger and have been since the early '90s. Where is Ryan as a Houston Astro here??? I would have been happy to select the '79 style Ryan, but he had a bunch of 300-strikeout seasons in the '70s and 1979 wasn't one of them.
30. Ron Santo
2004: 40 points; 2003; 35 points; 2005: 25 points
You can't go wrong with the giant rookie trophy. The Santo on the 1965 design looks a little young for that period. Either that or the '66 design Santo look a little old for that period. Good to see the cubby bear is featured in each one.
31. Mike Schmidt
2003: 40 points; 2004: 35 points; 2005: 25 points
Seeing Schmidt without a mustache is odd, so seeing him on 2 of the 3 cards without a mustache is unsettling and basically because we have to be all rookies all the time. Schmidt was still trying to figure things out in those two photos on the right. I prefer the 1980 design, when he was the MVP ... and had a mustache.
32. Tom Seaver
2003: 35 points; 2004: 30 points; 2005: 20 points
I'm fairly certain the 2003 '69 design is just Seaver's 1970 Topps card with a slightly different crop. ... I detest the 2005 '77 card for the same reason I didn't like capless cards when I was a kid. Bleah.
33. Duke Snider
(The 2003 card is on the top with the 2004 card underneath)
2004: 40 points; 2003: 35 points; 2005: 30 points
Anything from the mid-1950s is good for Snider. Right in his peak years. The 2005 '58 card is from Snider's first year in L.A. It's only notable because it's odd to see an actual L.A. cap on a 1958 design instead of the paint jobs on Dodgers' caps that year.
34. Carl Yastrzemski
(Counterclockwise from bottom left: 2003, 2004, 2005)
2004: 35 points; 2005: 20 points; 2003: 15 points
Two of the Yaz cards are all wrong. Let's start with the most painful: the Red Sox's red caps were almost 10 years from being born when the 1967 card set was out. Also, the 2005 card with the 1963 design features a much older Yaz and in '63 the action shot was in the inset! Congrats, 2004 rookie Yaz, you win.
That's all of them. Phew!
Now let's total it up and see which set did it best:
2005 FF: 1,035 points
2003 FF: 1,040 points
2004 FF: 1,070 points
2004 Topps Fan Favorites is the winner!
2004 has always been my favorite because it's the set that brought me back to collecting modern cards.
So that kind of proved absolutely nothing, but I thought it was a fun exercise. And for all 2.5 of you who read to the end, here is the list of each Fan Favorite and how many cards they received in the series. After this I think I'm done writing about Fan Favorites for awhile.
1 Aaron, Hank 2
2 Abbott, Jim 2
3 Allen, Richie 1
4 Alou, Jesus 1
5 Alou, Matty 1
6 Anderson, Brady 1
7 Anderson, Sparky 2
8 Andujar, Joaquin 1
9 Armas, Tony 1
10 Aparicio, Luis 2
11 Baines, Harold 3
12 Baker, Dusty 1
13 Balboni, Steve 1
14 Banks, Ernie 2
15 Barfield, Jesse 1
16 Barrett, Marty 1
17 Bauer, Hank 2
18 Beane, Billy 1
19 Bell, Buddy 2
20 Bell, George 1
21 Bench, Johnny 3
22 Berger, Sy 1
23 Berra, Yogi 3
24 Blair, Paul 1
25 Blomberg, Ron 1
26 Blue, Vida 3
27 Blyleven, Bert 1
28 Boddicker, Mike 1
29 Boggs, Wade 3
30 Bonds, Barry 1
31 Bonilla, Bobby 1
32 Boone, Bob 1
33 Boston, Daryl 1
34 Boyer, Clete 1
35 Brantley, Jeff 1
36 Bream, Sid 1
37 Brett, George 3
38 Brock, Lou 3
39 Brosius, Scott 1
40 Brunansky, Tom 1
41 Buck, Joe 1
42 Buckner, Bill 1
43 Buhner, Jay 1
44 Bunning, Jim 1
45 Butler, Brett 2
46 Campaneris, Bert 1
47 Candelaria, John 2
48 Canseco, Jose 3
49 Carew, Rod 3
50 Carlton, Steve 1
51 Carter, Gary 3
52 Carter, Joe 1
53 Cash, Norm 1
54 Cepeda, Orlando 3
55 Cey, Ron 1
56 Clark, Jack 1
57 Clark, Will 1
58 Coleman, Vince 1
59 Concepcion, Dave 2
60 Cone, David 1
61 Cooper, Cecil 1
62 Craig, Roger 1
63 Cruz, Jose 1
64 Cuellar, Mike 2
65 Darling, Ron 1
66 Daulton, Darren 2
67 Davis, Alvin 1
68 Davis, Eric 1
69 Dawson, Andre 3
70 DeCinces, Doug 1
71 Dempsey, Rick 1
72 Dernier, Bob 1
73 Dibble, Rob 1
74 Drabek, Doug 1
75 Dykstra, Len 2
76 Dunston, Shawon 1
77 Eckersley, Dennis 2
78 Elway, John 1
79 Epstein, Theo 1
80 Erskine, Carl 1
81 Evans, Darrell 2
82 Evans, Dwight 1
83 Face, Roy 1
84 Feller, Bob 2
85 Fernandez, Sid 2
86 Fernandez, Tony 1
87 Fidrych, Mark 2
88 Fielder, Cecil 1
89 Fingers, Rollie 2
90 Fisk, Carlton 2
91 Ford, Whitey 3
92 Foster, George 2
93 Freehan, Bill 1
94 Frey, Jim 1
95 Fryman, Travis 1
96 Friend, Bob 1
97 Fuentes, Tito 1
98 Gaetti, Gary 2
99 Gamble, Oscar 1
100 Gant, Ron 1
101 Garner, Phil 1
102 Garvey, Steve 3
103 Geronimo, Cesar 1
104 Gibson, Bob 2
105 Gibson, Kirk 2
106 Giuliani, Rudy 1
107 Gooden, Dwight 3
108 Gossage, Rich 1
109 Grace, Mark 1
110 Gregg, Eric 1
111 Grich, Bob 2
112 Griffey, Ken 1
113 Grote, Jerry 1
114 Gruber, Kelly 1
115 Guerrero, Pedro 1
116 Guidry, Ron 2
117 Gwynn, Tony 3
118 Hammaker, Atlee 1
119 Harwell, Ernie 2
120 Hernandez, Keith 3
121 Hershiser, Orel 1
122 Herzog, Whitey 1
123 Horner, Bob 1
124 Horton, Willie 1
125 Hough, Charlie 2
126 Hrabosky, Al 1
127 Hrbek, Kent 1
128 Hubbard, Glenn 1
129 Incaviglia, Pete 1
130 Irvin, Monte 3
131 Jackson, Bo 3
132 Jackson, Reggie 4
133 Jacoby, Brook 1
134 Jeffries, Gregg 2
135 Jenkins, Fergie 2
136 Jocketty, Walt 1
137 John, Tommy 1
138, Johnson, Dave 1
139 Johnson, Howard 2
140 Jones, Cleon 1
141 Jones, Randy 1
142 Joyner, Wally 1
143 Justice, David 1
144 Kaat, Jim 1
145 Kaline, Al 3
146 Kay, Michael 1
147 Kelly, Tom 1
148 Kessinger, Don 1
149 Key, Jimmy 1
150 Killebrew, Harmon 3
151 Kiner, Ralph 1
152 Kingman, Dave 1
153 Knight, Ray 2
154 Knoblauch, Chuck 1
155 Koosman, Jerry 1
156 Kranepool, Ed 1
157 Kruk, John 2
158 Labine, Clem 1
159 Larsen, Don 2
160 LaRussa, Tony 1
161 Lasorda, Tom 1
162 Law, Vern 1
163 Lemke, Mark 1
164 Lemon, Chet 2
165 Leonard, Jeffrey 1
166 Leyland, Jim 1
167 Leyritz, Jim 1
168 Lonborg, Jim 1
169 Lopes, Dave 1
170 Loria, Jeffrey 1
171 Luzinski, Greg 1
172 Lyons, Barry 1
173 Lyons, Steve 1
174 Lynn, Fred 1
175 Maas, Kevin 1
176 Maddox, Garry 1
177 Madlock, Bill 1
178 Magadan, Dave 1
179 Maldonado, Candy 1
180 Marichal, Juan 2
181 Martinez, Denny 1
182 Martinez, Edgar 1
183 Matthews, Gary 1
184 Mattingly, Don 3
185 Mays, Willie 2
186 Mazeroski, Bill 2
187 McBride, Bake 1
188 McCarver, Tim 2
189 McCovey, Willie 1
190 McDowell, Jack 1
191 McDowell, Sam 1
192 McGee, Willie 2
193 McLain, Dennis 1
194 McRae, Hal 1
195 McReynolds, Kevin 1
196 Mendoza, Mario 1
197 Miller, Marvin 1
198 Molitor, Paul 2
199 Monday, Rick 1
200 Morgan, Joe 2
201 Morris, Jack 1
202 Murphy, Dale 3
203 Musial, Stan 3
204 Newcombe, Don 2
205 Nettles, Graig 1
206 Niedenfuer, Tom 1
207 Niekro, Phil 1
208 Norris, Mike 1
209 Oglive, Ben 1
210 Oliva, Tony 2
211 O’Neil, Buck 1
212 O’Neill, Paul 3
213 Oquendo, Jose 1
214 Orosco, Jesse 1
215 Palmer, Jim 2
216 Parker, Dave 1
217 Parrish, Lance 1
218 Pendleton, Terry 1
219 Pepitone, Joe 2
220 Perez, Tony 1
221 Perry, Gaylord 1
222 Pesky, Johnny 1
223 Piersall, Jim 1
224 Pignatano, Joe 1
225 Podres, Johnny 2
226 Powell, Boog 1
227 Puckett, Kirby 1
228 Raines, Tim 2
229 Reardon, Jeff 1
230 Reynolds, Harold 2
231 Rice, Jim 2
232 Richard, J.R. 2
233 Richardson, Bobby 2
234 Ripken Jr., Cal 3
235 Rivers, Mickey 2
236 Rizzuto, Phil 1
237 Roberts, Robin 1
238 Robinson, Brooks 3
239 Robinson, Frank 3
240 Rudi, Joe 1
241 Ryan, Nolan 3
242 Saberhagen, Bret 2
243 Sabo, Chris 1
244 Sandberg, Ryne 1
245 Sain, Johnny 1
246 Santana, Rafael 1
247 Santo, Ron 3
248 Sax, Steve 1
249 Schmidt, Mike 3
250 Schoendienst, Red 1
251 Score, Herb 1
252 Scott, George 1
253 Scott, Mike 1
254 Seaver, Tom 3
255 Sheppard, Bob 1
256 Skowron, Bill 2
257 Smalley, Roy 1
258 Smith, Lee 1
259 Smith, Lonnie 1
260 Smith, Ozzie 2
261 Smith, Reggie 1
262 Smith, Zane 1
263 Snider, Duke 3
264 Snyder, Cory 1
265 Spahn, Warren 1
266 Steinbach, Terry 1
267 Stieb, Dave 2
268 Stewart, Dave 1
269 Strawberry, Darryl 1
270 Sutcliffe, Rick 1
271 Sutter, Bruce 2
272 Sutton, Don 1
273 Swoboda, Ron 1
274 Tekulve, Kent 1
275 Templeton, Garry 1
276 Thomas, Gorman 1
277 Thomson, Bobby 1
278 Tiant, Luis 1
279 Trammell, Alan 2
280 Tudor, John 1
281 Ueberroth, Peter 1
282 Valentine, Bobby 1
283 Van Slyke, Andy 2
284 Vincent, Fay 1
285 Viola, Frank 1
286 Wallach, Tim 1
287 Walton, Jerome 1
288 Watson, Bob 1
289 Weaver, Earl 2
290 Weiss, Walt 1
291 Welch, Bob 1
292 Wetteland, John 1
293 Whitaker, Lou 2
294 White, Devon 1
295 Williams, Dick 1
296 Williams, Matt 1
297 Williams, Mitch 1
298 Wills, Maury 2
299 Wilson, Mookie 1
300 Wilson, Willie 1
301 Winfield, Dave 1
302 Wood, Wilbur 1
303 Yastrzemski, Carl 3
304 Young, Anthony 1
305 Yount, Robin 2
306 Zimmer, Don 2
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