Card Stacks Blog

Seems like some other bloggers are running across this too, but this has been a busy week and as a result I've missed a few days blogging.  I've really enjoyed posting since I've started the blog as it's given me a reason to look through my collection and remember some of my favorite players who have retired.  I've got some insert cards coming in the mail soon that I'm excited to share and some other ideas in the works.  I also need to get my want lists in good shape and put up some kind of trade list.  There's a lot to get done with the blog in the coming weeks!

You might notice a trend in some of the players I am blogging about- quite a few have been a member of the 1995 Braves World Series team.  I'd like to share some cards of the catcher of that team (for everyone except Maddux), a 3-time All-Star and MVP of the 1996 NLCS, another player on my favorite team from the 90s, Javy Lopez.  Javy was another player to come through that AAA Richmond with Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Mark Wohlers and others.

The cards in each row have something in common with each other that is absent in the cards on the other rows... can you tell what each row has in common?

Each card in the first row shows Lopez with a bat in his hands.  His 1993 Topps card tells us that Javy was signed by Jorge Posada, the father of Yankee catcher Jorge Posada.  It also shows stats from his minor league years, although he played 100 games for the Richmond Braves in 1993 and this card shows his stats through 1992.

The 2000 Topps Stars is one of the few in my Lopez collection that actually show his swing.  The back of the card gives his hitting 4 stars, power 4 stars, speed 1 star, defense 3 stars, and arm 4 stars.

I've made it no secret that I appreciate vintage looking cards, and this card from 2001 Upper Deck Vintage is no exception.  Maybe I'll go after some Oriole and Brave team sets here.


This row shows Lopez in his catchers gear.  I like this first card from 1995 Pinnacle Zenith because the back of the card shows you where each hit from the 1994 season went.  Pretty neat idea for the back of a card.  Based on this chart, Javy sent more hits to left field against right handers than any other location and pitcher combination.

As mentioned, I enjoy the transparent cards and one from 1998 Topps Tek is an interesting one.  Apparently there are a bunch of different patterns for the background of these cards.  This could seemingly be a nightmare for player collectors if they decided to go after each pattern.  I don't think I'd have the patience.  This is a cool card nevertheless.

I remember opening several packs of 1996 Pinnacle being excited to pull some of my favorite players.  I'm not as fond of this set design now as I was then, but it still brings back good memories of opening packs when I was younger.

I have always been a sucker for shiny, glossy, and chrome cards, so I was excited to see Cal's card from  1999 Topps Chrome.  It's currently my only Chrome Ripken, something that needs to be fixed.

The All-Star Connection card in the center looks much better in person than in the scan.  At first I assumed this was a regular Upper Deck insert, but then realized it was from Collector's Choice.  I opened a lot of Collector's Choice in second half of the 90s mainly due to affordability.  Upper Deck definitely put some inserts in there that I appreciate today. The base set design not as much, but at the time I was pleased to open any kind of packs.

At first I thought the 1999 Topps card on the right was a gold parallel, but it appears the base 99 set has a gold border and the gold parallels that we see today didn't start for a few more years, which I'm sure you readers already know. How obvious is it that I was paying more attention to basketball cards than baseball around this time in my life?


The first card in this row from 1996 Pinnacle is one of my favorites.  The back of the card notes that Cal won MVP awards in 1983 (sadly before I was born), and 1991.  Being awarded MVP eight years apart (and not missing a game in-between) is an impressive feat that certainly makes him worthy of being in a subset called 'Hardball Heroes'.

The only comment I have on the middle card,  is I've always appreciated the cursive font in combination with it being shiny, like an Electric Diamond card from 1995 Upper Deck, or Electric Court as I remember it from collecting Hoops.  Also, the card back says that Cal's hobby is basketball and his favorite show is Seinfeld.  It's like we're the same person!

Rounding out this row is a card that at first glance I recognized as from a Z-Force set, but is actually listed as Skybox Circa Thunder.  I always appreciated the inserts from Z-Force sets and I imagine there's some good ones from this Thunder product as well.

That's all for now- more Cal's to talk about soon!