By the page: 2002 Topps

Think for a moment.  When was the last time you saw a post about 2002 Topps anywhere in the blogosphere?

Don't think too long, because it's probably been quite a long time.  Outside of the gold parallels that define my SNI project, I don't remember another set released by any of the major card companies that have the gold borders like 2002 Topps.

Top row:  the infield

Brad Fullmer had a very short lived but productive career in the bigs.  His 2000 season saw him hit 32 HR and drive in 104 for the Jays.  Homer Bush was part of the deal that saw Roger Clemens go to the Yankees, and in his first season in Toronto, he hit .320 with 32 steals, and looked to be a solid addition to the club.   He didn't make it through the 2002 season, being released on the 10th of May that year. 

Middle row:  Buck and a couple of starters

Not too often you'll see managers cards posted anywhere as well.  Buck only lasted 1 and 1/3 seasons as the skipper, before being replaced by Carlos Tosca.  2002 was a disaster for Loaiza, with an ERA of almost 6.  I think I would have rather had Michael Young and his bat for over a decade instead of the mess that was the 3 years Loaiza pitched in Toronto.  The Jays experimented with Kelvim Escobar as the closer in 2002.   38 saves was a good number, but 5-7 with an ERA over 4 led to him being put back into the rotation in 2003.

Bottom row:  the stars

Jose Cruz Jr came into 2002 on quite a roll, he had hit 65 HRs the past two seasons with the Jays. Cruz would only hit 18 homers in '02 and wound up signing in the off season with the Giants.  The 2002 season in Toronto would also mark the debut of a player who later on in the decade would become a big man in Philly, Jayson Werth.

I actually like how this page looks, not because of how I situated the cards, but because of the way the gold borders look together.  The only thing I believe that Topps could have done better was not use a ribbon for the players names, a regular rectangle would have done the job a lot better.

184 cards out of the box now....a couple of posts away from 200.

thanks for reading, Robert