- Jim was never close to earning the Triple Crown, he only led the league in home runs once (NL in 2003 with 47) and never led in RBI's or batting average.
- This card marks the eighth release from Fleer that I've shown on the blog for 2001. Yea, that's a lot.
- Expensive for a base card: 4 copies of this on COMC now, cheapest is $1.95! Three of the 4 are that price, the 4th is $2.75. Glad I bought this one a while ago, not sure what I paid for it though...
- Robert
- Photo is a little bit grainy, but still a pretty good shot of Ichiro relaxed in his windbreaker. The '04 Vintage set design is a bit bland in my opinion.
- There's a lot of empty space on the back as well; normally on most cards there would be some kind of blurb about Ichiro's greatness. Reminds me of the OPC releases in hockey over the past decade.
- Game 22 sees Ichiro's hit streak climb to 4 with a 1 for 5 performance with 2 runs scored. Seattle's win streak climbs to 7 with a 7-3 win over the Yankees, Edgar Martinez drives in 4 runs in the victory.
- Robert
- Looks as if Jim was well off the line and is trying to move to the left to field a ground ball. Too bad he doesn't have a left foot to help him.
- Joking aside, I like this Pacific design. Nothing outlandish, just a simple bar at the bottom with name, team and position. It even looks as if the grass was freshly mowed.
- Bio on the back: "Jim hammered a three run homer off of Toronto's David Wells on October 1st, 2000..." Enough said, I never cared for David Wells anyway...
- Robert
- Boy I missed out on a lot during the mid 2000's. I remember Flair being a thicker stock card and full bleed photos, not a "normal" card with a border. Not saying this is bad, it's just different.
- I also remember Flair being a decent size set; the 2004 version is just 82 cards, almost like an A&G sized insert set. Kind of disappointing in that regard.
- Game 21: Hitting streak up to 3 games with a 2 for 5 performance against the Yanks, singling in an insurance run in the 7th to propel the M's to a 7-5 win. Ichiro's average climbs to .355, which is behind John Olerud at the time(!) who is hitting .360.
- Robert
- You pretty much have everything on the front of this card to know who it is, what set the card is from and even the player's jersey number. The gold Chief Wahoo in the lower right is a little spooky though.
- A lot of gold on the front of the card, more than I can recall than any other card I've showed on the blog.
- This set contains 210 cards and is chock full of serial #'d rookie cards, including Albert Pujols. Ichiro also has an RC in this set, it is an Auto/Jersey card but I don't believe it's serial #'d.
- Robert
- One of my favorite sets that I never collected. I've seen several of these before when Blue Jays from the set have come my way. Love the Seattle skyline in the background.
- Startling revelation: I just noticed when I looked at the card back that Ichiro is listed at 5'9". Then I look at Baseball Reference, which lists him at 5'11", which makes more sense. I never thought of Ichiro as my height, and heaven knows I wish I was 175 lbs. again...
- Game 20: Ichiro waits until his 5th AB to get a hit, an infield single back to pitcher Mike Hampton of the Yankees. The M's won the game 7-5, and increased their record to 16-4. Ichiro's average drops to .352
- Robert
- Post #800 tonight. I expect #900 to hit in April and #1000 in July. I'll probably have card #350 for Sakic on the blog by July as well.
- Added this card to the TCDB tonight. This will also move me into 7th on the Joe Sakic contributor list on the site. Unofficial goal of making it to the top 5 by this summer.
- This is a really nice, but a bit bizarre looking insert for Omega. The scan actually looks better to me than the card does in hand. Usually it's the other way around.
- Robert
- Jim Thome, first ballot Hall of Famer. Has a nice ring to it.
- This is part of a 130 card set, which also features 2 of the other 3 HOFers from this year's class. Trevor Hoffman is the only one who doesn't have a card in this set.
- Career homer #273 was the 40th of the 2001 season for Jim. Joe Mays of the Twins was the victim of a 2 run shot that put the Tribe ahead 5-0. Cleveland would end up winning 8-2, making a winner of Chuck Finley.
- Robert
- Not a bad design. I like the font that Fleer used for the name, team and position on the front. Can't say that I ever remember buying any packs of this back in the day.
- For a set that says Premium on the front, Jim's base card is reasonably priced. The 9 copies currently on COMC range from 74 cents to $1.25.
- Career home run #272 was hit 8/11/01 off of Texas' Jeff Zimmerman. The solo shot in the top of the 9th got the Indians to within 6-5, but that was all they could muster.
- Robert
- I can honestly say I've never seen any of the Fleer Inscribed cards before I picked up this one of Ichiro. Very nice, but a lot of empty space on both the front and back.
- No copies of this card at all on COMC. 3 copies on ebay, anywhere from 99 cents to $2.50. Have no idea what packs of these went for back in the day, so I couldn't say whether that's accurate or not.
- Game 19 starts Ichiro's 2nd hitting streak. Ichiro goes 2 for 5 against the Angels, rapping a pair of singles in a 5-0 win.
- Robert
- The black border rule: Someone should make a rule that states any card company should release at least one set per year with a black border. There's like 6000 sets a year, so how hard should this be?
- I would be willing to take a wild guess and say that this isn't Ichiro's real signature...
- Game 18 saw Ichiro's 15 game hitting streak come to an end. Jarrod Washburn was the Angels starter, and Lou Pote and Ben Weber mopped up in a 5-2 M's win. Game 19 would see Ichiro start another long hitting streak.
- Robert
- I have no idea what the difference is for an Electro-Optical Portrait. But none the less, here it is!
- It also has been added to the Trading Card Database. This card should boost me to 7th on the Joe Sakic contributor list. Still a long way to go and a lot of Sakic cards to add.
- I don't remember what I paid for this, or how long I've had it, but I'm glad to do have it. 3 copies of the card currently on COMC, cheapest at $3.20, and the highest is $10.25! Not sure why this particular card is priced so high...
- Robert
- As with other foil cards, this one scanned dark. Once I upped the brightness setting I was able to make out his stick blade, along with his name and team logo on the bottom.
- Bio on the back: Something a little different from Bowman on the back. Time on Ice per game, which they listed at 23:05. It was also a bit funny to see that Joe had more power play points (28) than hits (24) for the 97-98 season.
- There is a refractor version of this card, limited to 400 copies. There's one copy on COMC right now, listed at $6.25. That's just under 10 times what the base is going for. Might be a while before I pursue it.
- Robert
- This is more like it. I like the stitching feel of the card, it's what I always remembered about the Ovation releases from the early 2000's.
- Bio on the back: "Thome has been consistent driving in runs for the Indians, recording 577 RBI during the last 5 seasons." 115 RBI per year over a 5 year period certainly isn't anything to sneeze at.
- Career homer #271 was hit on the road, 8/7/01 against Rick Reed of the Twins. It was a 2 run shot that extended the Indians' lead, and allowed them to cruise to a 7-2 win. CC Sabathia pitched 7 innings for the win to up his record to 11-4.
- Robert
- Nice looking card, it's good to see something that honors a part of Ichiro's game that often was overlooked, his defense.
- Bio on the back: Ichiro made only 1 error during his rookie season, winning a gold glove. That would be the first of 10 consecutive gold glove awards.
- Quite the common card: 33 copies of this card currently on COMC. Cheapest is 45 cents. Most expensive is $4. I would think somewhere in the middle is about right.
- Career game #17 see Ichiro's hit streak extended to 15 games with a 2 for 5 performance. During the streak he's hitting .400, the M's are 12-3 and had an OPS of .989. 7 of those games were also multi hit games.
- Robert
- If I remember correctly, Pacific devoted an entire baseball set called Online. This appears to just be an insert set of 36 cards.
- Just looking at the TCDB, I didn't realize how many inserts/parallels that Omega has. I'm sure it will be quite a while before I see many of them in hand.
- Speaking of the TCDB, I was able to add this card to the site today. Just need another card or two to move into sixth on the Sakic contributors list.
- Bio on the back: Another card that mentions Joe's short handed prowess. Kind of getting tedious isn't it?
- Robert
- Love the idea that Donruss employed, using a different design for a "missing" set from a couple years previous.
- Donruss also had another retro card for the 2000 year, but I don't have that one as of yet. There are also stat line serial #'d parallels for the '99 and '00 missing sets; I wonder if this is when Donruss started using the stat line idea.
- Career homer #270 was another Jacobs Field blast, this time hit off Seattle's Paul Abbott. It was Jim's 3rd home run in 2 days, a 2 run shot that brought the Indians to within 6-4. The Indians would get those 2 runs back the very next inning and go on to win 8-6.
- Parallel PC: Ichiro would go 3 for 5 in that game to raise his average to .335. Ichiro had 2 doubles, drove in 2, scored once and walked once.
- Robert
- As you all know I'm not a big fan of mini cards, but I don't mind the actual look of this card. There's a variation of this card with Ichiro looking right.
- A little blog maintenance today as I finally added the Ichiro PC page. I still have 28 cards of his on my desk that I have to write posts for. Have to get into the habit of getting things off the desk again.
- Was surprised that I was able to add this to the TCDB. I don't expect to add many Ichiro cards, as I plan on focusing mostly on his base cards. I would imagine that a lot of those have already been added by other members.
- Robert
- I believe that it's the next season's Omega release that I really liked. The 3 photos on the front is kind of overkill for me.
- Bio on the back: Again another card describes Joe's shorthanded prowess; this time mentioning that he scored a SHG while assisting on the game winner against the BlackHawks on January 10th, 1999.
- Interesting set size for Omega, as it totaled 252 cards. Cards #251 & 252 honored the first and last games played at Maple Leaf Gardens, as it closed its doors to pro hockey in February '99.
- Robert
- Reminds me of the Pacific Revolution cards from the early 2000's. Only brighter.
- I liked the patches on the sleeve featuring the spring training location. I'm looking forward to hopefully catching a game or 2 during spring training this year. Even the mrs. is hoping to go once or twice.
- Seeing the parallels of this card on COMC definitely make me think Pacific. 4 different parallels, ranging from 62 cents to $14.99 (magenta out of 25). Yep, Pacific it is...
- Robert
- Maybe one of the most boring design for Fleer ever. The border reminds me of a granite countertop.
- Limited: There is a black parallel of this card, limited to 499 copies. Still looking for one of those for the PC.
- Career home run #268 was the first of 2 on the day for Jim, a 2 run shot that got the Indians on the board against Seattle. Problem was that the Mariners already had put up 12 runs by the 4th. OK, maybe not a problem as the Indians came back from 12 down to win 15-14, scoring 3 in the 7th, 4 in the 8th and 5 in the ninth, and 1 in the 11th to finish it off. Holy cow!
- Robert
- I have 2 of the 3 variations of this card, I just need the one that features him in the blue warmup jersey. Maybe I'll find it this weekend at the card show.
- Ichiro's hit streak runs to 13 games as he goes 1 for 5 against the Rangers in career game #15. His hit was a homer off of Doug Davis, but it wasn't enough as the M's lost 8-6.
- There are quite a few of these on COMC right now, 31 to be precise. The range is crazy though, anywhere from 49 cents to $2.63(!). Can't see me paying that much ever for a base card, no matter what the set.
- Robert
- I was kind of worried about how this card would scan. It is rather dark in hand, but when scanned it turned out all right.
- This card has now been added to the Trading Card Database. I'm only a card or two away from climbing the ranks of Sakic card contributors, moving up to 7th on the list.
- More shorthanded goodness: The last card I posted talked about Joe scoring a SH goal in 3 straight games. This card on the back states that Joe led the NHL in SH goals and ranked 2nd in SH scoring through the first half of 98-99. You don't see too many superstars such as Joe killing penalties now.
- Robert
- I don't mind the crossover from the Bowman original card to the Topps Then & Now insert theme. I can't say that I've ever seen Andrew without any facial hair during his time with the Bucs.
- The card you see on the left? There are currently 21 copies on COMC right now, the cheapest at $4.70, and the highest priced card is $12.25. Quite the range.
- In awe: My McCutchen collection, 112 cards. Collecting Cutch's 1/1 of collection? 182 cards. Damn.
- Robert
- I never really cared much for this card aside that it had Sakic on the front. I'd probably never collect the set, which is 200 cards.
- Bio on the back: "..Sakic's goal on the penalty kill gave him a shorthanded goal in 3 consecutive games." Amazing, since some teams will go months without a shorty. 3 straight games for a team would be good, but for a certain player is outstanding.
- 9 copies of this card currently on COMC, ranging from 77 cents to $1.75. Not sure if I'd go as high as $1.75 for singles from this set, even though it was one of Pacific's pricier releases from back in the day.
- Robert
- I originally had thought of stopping my McCutchen collection at 100 cards. Didn't think of him as a long term PC. That has changed...
- Very depressing to hear the trade talk with him going to the Giants. It's bad enough one outfielder went on to greatness after leaving Pittsburgh for SF, please don't make it 2.
- Part of my recent Sportlots order, this card cost me just 18 cents. Doesn't get much better than that for a star player.
- Robert
- Card looks more shiny in hand. Scan kind of makes it look dull.
- No protective coating, thank goodness. Those peel stickers are something that I never liked.
- Bio on the back: "...His .410 on base percentage is fifth among active players with at least 2000 plate appearances." I know that Frank Thomas is one of the 4 ahead of him, I'm guessing that Wade Boggs and Edgar Martinez are 2 others. Not sure who the 4th might be...
- Robert
- There are three versions of card #256 for Ichiro. I currently own two of them.
- Bio on the back: Ichiro won rookie of the month 4 times during the 2001 season (April, May, August and September). I checked Baseball Reference, and they list him also with Rookie of the Month in June. The two players to win Rookie of the month 4 times in a season since then? Mike Trout and Aaron Judge.
- Career game #14 was hit 2nd career 4 hit game; he went 4 for 4 against the Rangers with a triple. He was also caught stealing twice by Ivan Rodriguez. M's won 6-4. Ichiro increases his hit streak to 12 games, hitting .404 over that period.
- Robert
- Oh my goodness are there a ton of these parallels and variations for Ichiro in this set! It truly took me about 5 minutes on the TCDB just to figure out what version this one was.
- 1st post of 2018 after 380 last year and 397 the year before. Would like to keep the average at least above 1 card per day, even if it means more 2 a days...
- Game 13 for Ichiro was a 2 for 4 performance to bring his average back up to .333. His hit streak increases to 11 games, and snaps a 7 game streak where he only had one hit each game.
- This card also surprised me, it's a little bit thicker than a normal card, but not as thick as a jersey card. It's solid!
- Robert
