Peoria, IL

These 19 cards were sent by Tom with the Saints Prison Ministry out of Peoria, IL.  Tom has been a regular contributor for over a decade now, having first sent cards way back in 2014.  This batch was heavy on 1987 Donruss.  That's a card that has grown on me over the years.  I remember not being a fan of the photo when I first pulled the card from a pack back in '87, and not thinking much of it for a long time after that.  But somewhere along the way over the last 40 years and 564 additional copies, I've come to really like it.

As always, thanks for the cards Tom!

Updated Totals:

1987 Donruss x9: 565

1987 Fleer x5: 295

1988 Fleer: 430

1988 Topps All-Star: 1,026

1991 Fleer: 323

1991 Topps x2: 419

You can learn more about the Saints Prison Ministry by clicking the link above or the image below:

Miscellaneous Pickups

I've been unusually active on Sportlots lately.  I know I said I wasn't going to buy random cards this year, and instead focus on saving for a '53 Mays, but my hand was forced.  One of the perks of being a season ticket holder to the Albuquerque Isotopes, is that early in the year they put on a meet and greet with all (or most of, sans a few curmudgeons) of all of the players.  So I made a point to track down cards for as many of the guys as I could this year, which for the most part was ones I didn't have from random Bowman and Topps Debut sets (where do you even buy packs of these?).  Old habits die hard, and I couldn't just order 3 cards from a seller, without maxing out the shipping price point with a few Wallach's.  That's where most of the 80 cards above came from.

The best cards of the bunch, pictured again below, were two random eBay purchases.  These sort of oddballs aren't all that hard to find, but usually sellers want about $5 a pop for them.  The Rancho Cucamonga showed up for a buck shipped, and the lot of Stuarts was less than a buck a card, so I pulled the trigger.  It's actually the first Ranco Cucamonga card I've added since 2013.  So maybe it's a little more rare than I thought it was.

Updated Totals:

1983 Donruss x10: 235
1983 Stuart x7: 17

1983 Topps x8: 460

1984 Donruss x2: 241

1984 Topps x19: 1,306

1987 O-Pee-Chee: 28

1988 Donruss All-Star x3: 79

1988 Fleer: 429

1988 Fleer Baseball MVP: 33

1988 Revco: 50

1989 Donruss Baseball's Best x4: 38

1989 K-Mart x4: 80

1990 Donruss Baseball's Best: 22

1990 Fleer League Leader: 14

1991 Classic: 10

1991 Score Super Stars x4: 33

1992 Bowman: 93

1992 Triple Play x3: 152

1993 Topps Traded x2: 41

1994 Pacific: 24

1995 Topps Finest: 20

2001 Rancho Cucamonga: 5

2011 1992 Bowman #557 USA Baseball Alumni "No Foil Error"

Card Review: N/A (I gave the non-error a 4.5)

I came across this on eBay recently.  This an error (that's what we used to call variants back when they were unintentional) printing of the 1992 Bowman card.  The correctly printed version has gold foil around the edges of the card.  This one is just plain card stock, like the rest of the 1992 Bowman set.

I prefer the standard '92 Bowman to these USA Gold Foil subset cards, but I don't mind the foil as a limited run in the set.  So I have mixed feelings about this card.  That said, it's fun to come across new Wallach's from that era some 30 years after they were produced.  I'm not sure how rare these are or if the other USA cards also have non-foil versions floating around.  I also haven't checked to see if the gold foil is something that can just be rubbed off.  If it's the case, then this post will be getting a big re-write and this card will just get tallied with the others as a low grade copy.

Here's a look at the 1992 Bowman for a refresher:

   

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Wood Stock" #/5

 

Card Review: 9.4

I like this non-autograph version better than the autographed version (sharpie marks don't belong on baseball cards).  These wood variants, while certainly a goofy gimmick, are a very cool goofy gimmick.  They sort of have the feel of those old wooden airplanes that you could buy and then assemble.  The back of the card feels like a normal card, but the front is very much thin wood.  Snapping one of these in half wouldn't take much pressure, though the paper back would likely hold it all together.  Given that there are only 5 of them, I'm not willing to spend the $5 to $20 bucks the cheaper ones demand to find out.

If Topps is going to continue to insist on stuffing their hard to find, overpriced packs with all sorts of junk that isn't part of the set, then I fully support them getting weird with it.  I'd like to see them try to print on gum.  A card sized slab of gum with a card, even if monotone, printed on the front that is fully edible.  Different flavors can be printed in different numbers.

I also like the idea of intentionally embracing errors, but curated.  Print off centered cards, but go ahead and slap x/# on the back, with the more off-centered ones being more scarce, or start slapping wax stains on cards.  Call them "variants" and individually number them.  I'm just sick of refractors, gold borders, and other similar things.  As far as non variants, would modern collectors like cards that were nothing more than offers to mail in $10 for your favorite teams painters cap if they were individually numbered?  Yellow ones could be common, with green ones being out of 100 and red ones out of 10?  Then do the same thing with offers to win a trip to the All-Star Game or something.  I wouldn't be as annoyed with inserts like those.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Vintage Stock" #/10

Card Review: 9.3

Much like the "Vintage Stock Auto" variation of this card, I have hard time interpreting this card as being "vintage stock."  I guess the feel is a little less glossy than the current Topps cards, but this is a lot closer in look and feel to a 1993 Topps than it is a 1963 Topps.  In any event, it's not going to be an issue for too many collectors as there are only "ten" of these (unless you count the other ten they slapped an autograph sticker on) floating around out there.  I prefer this normal variant over the autographed one, but there both pretty nice cards.

A few the eBay sellers seem to have accepted that I can in fact live without all of these as the prices on these has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.  That's what led to me recently adding this, and a few other of the remaining variants I don't have yet.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

Chasing 2,085

                                

Over 23,000 people have played Major League Baseball, give or take a few, depending on what year you start.  Of those 23,000 people, a mere 251 of them have reached the career milestone of 2,085 hits.  That's 0.01%.  There are currently four active players in Major League Baseball who have reached the vaunted milestone of 2,085 career hits.  It's no small feat.  A player needs to average a 140 hits a season for 15 years to reach the rarified air of 2,085 hits.  

140 hits a year may not appear to be all that impressive of a mark on first blush.  Yet last season, only 68 players reached the number.  Look deeper, and you'll find that only 14 players have reached the number in each of the last four seasons, those being; Bobby Witt, Bryan Reynolds, Francisco Lindor, Freddie Freeman, Jose Ramirez, Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, Matt Olson, Rafael Devers, Shohei Ohtani, Trea Turner, Vladimir Guerrero, and Yandy Diaz.  Again, 2,085 demands 140 hits for 15 seasons.  It's an incredible mark.

You may have heard of a few of these players below.  They all have something in common.  They're all Hall of Famers who came up short in their chase for 2,085 hits.  It's a long list, full of household names, but here are few of the legends it includes: Johnny Bench, Andruw Jones, Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson, Hack Wilson and Gil Hodges.

Of course, 2,085 hits doesn't assure a player a place in Cooperstown.  Some notable players to have reached the milestone and not receive a plaque include; Omar Vizquel, Al Oliver, Rusty Stuab, Bill Buckner, Buddy Bell, Torii Hunter, Mark Grace, Lou Whitaker, Paul Konerko, Bernie Williams, Willie McGee, Willie Randolph, Will Clark, Don Mattingly, and Tim Wallach.

Perhaps you have heard of a few of them.  

Below is a look at the active players who have reached the club, and the active hit leaders who are nearest to reaching it, with a breakdown of their prospects to join the club.

The 2,085 Hits Club

Freddie Freeman 2,431

Hits in 2025: 164
Average over the Last Four: 182

Will He get there: Yes, of course he's there already.  I don't think he ends up reaching 3,000, but he'll have a look at it, and even if he doesn't, there will be plenty of other stuff to put on his plaque in Cooperstown.

Age: 36

Jose Altuve 2,388

Age: 35

Hits in 2025: 156

Average over the Last Four: 153

Will He get there: Yes. If Altuve can stay on the field until age 40, he'll have a look at 3,000.  I'll be rooting against "Mr. Don't tear my jersey off because I'm cheating," but he'll make a run at it if he stays healthy.

Andrew McCutchen 2,266

Age: 39

Hits in 2025: 114

Average over the Last Four: 110

Will He get there: Already there.  At 39 and entering his 18th season, I think it's more likely McCtuchen retires with 2,266 hits than finds himself in a starting lineup on opening day.  Hopefully he finds his way to Cooperstown, he'd have my vote.

Paul Goldschmidt 2,190

Hits in 2025: 134
Average over the Last Four: 155

Age: 38

Will He get there: Already there.  Pauls's hit totals have dropped gradually each of the last four seasons, going 178, 159, 147, to 134 last season. Who knows how long he'll keep playing, but 3,000 won't be in the cards, but Cooperstown might be.

Active Players Chasing 2,085

Manny Machado 2,069
Age: 33

Hits in 2025: 169

Average over the Last Four: 161

Will He get there: Yes, likely early this season.  Machado may have an outside chance at 3,000 if he can keep being productive for another another six to seven years, but time may have other ideas.

Nolan Arenado 1,921

Age: 34
Hits in 2025: 95

Average over the Last Four: 141

Will He get there: Nolan should reach 2,085 in 2026 if he plays a full season.  A run at 3,000 isn't in his future, but 2,085 is nothing to feel bad about.

Carlos Santana 1,880

Hits in 2025: 91

Age: 39

Average over the Last Four: 109

Will He get there: I don't think he makes it.  Carlos is 39 years old and has somehow played for 7 teams in the last four years.  I'm not sure he'll play for any in 2026, but even if he does, I don't think there are another 205 hits left in his bat.  

Xander Bogaers 1,822

Age: 33
Hits in 2025: 129

Average over the Last Four: 146

Will He get there: Bogaerts should reach 2,085, but the dip in his numbers the last two seasons is cause for slight concern.  I think he gets there, but it'll be closer than I would have thought not too long ago.

Bryce Harper 1,801

Age: 33
Hits in 2025: 131

Average over the Last Four: 132

Will He get there: Harper, a two-time MVP, was right on his four year average with 131 hits in 2025.  He'll reach 2,085 at age 35 if he can maintain that pace.  He's safe bet to do so, and to reach the Hall of Fame after that.  He'd have to play into his 40's to reach 3,000 hits at his current pace, which seems very unlikely.

DJ LeMahieu 1,772

Age: 37
Hits in 2025: 34

Average over the Last Four: 80

Will He get there: No. The two time batting champion has averaged just 80 hits the last four years, and would need to play another three seasons to reach 2,085 at that clip.  I wouldn't bet on it.

Mookie Betts 1,767

Age: 33

Hits in 2025: 152

Average over the Last Four: 154

Will He get there: Yes.  At 33 Betts is already an MVP and 8x All-Star.  With three more full seasons, 2,085 hits seems like a certainty for Betts, and he could easily do it in under two.  3,000 seems like a bridge too far, so Betts will just have to settle for a plaque in Cooperstown.

Mike Trout 1,754

Age: 34

Hits in 2025: 106

Average over the Last Four: 84

Will He get there: Probably not.  Trout, who is 33, has averaged just 84 hits a season over the last four years.  Somehow that's an improvement, as he's only averaged 72 over the last 6 seasons.  If he can't stay on the field, 2,085 is going to prove too high a number for Trout to reach.  Should he fail to do so, he'll be an interesting case for Cooperstown.  He has Kirby Puckett type numbers, but without the World Series Rings.  The Hall of Fame is for stars that we see shining brightly every night for 15-20 years, not comets that streak brightly across them for just a few.  

Nick Castellanos 1,742

Age: 34

Hits in 2025: 137

Average over the Last Four: 150

Will He get there: It's going to be close.  Nick is going to need three more healthy, productive seasons, and father time starts to warm up in the bullpen for most guys when they reach around 34 or so years old.

Christian Yelich 1,741
Age: 34

Hits in 2025: 151

Average over the Last Four: 134

Will He get there: Yes. The 34 year old former MVP had a nice bounce back season in 2025 with 151 hits, 29 homers, and driving in 103 runs.  Yelich is going to be a guy somebody wants in their lineup down the road even if his numbers drop off some.  I think he'll be given the time and at-bats to reach 2,085 hits.

Salvador Perez 1,712

Age: 35

Hits in 2025: 141

Average over the Last Four: 138

Will He get there: Yes.  Perez is a 9x All-Star, has 5 Gold Gloves, and 5 Silver Sluggers and showing few signs of slowing down at 35.  If he has three more seasons in him, he should reach 2,085.  The World Series Champion would have my vote for Cooperstown even if he came up short.

Jose Ramirez 1,668

Age: 33

Hits in 2025: 168

Average over the Last Four: 170

Will He get there: Yes. A model of consistency, Ramirez doesn't appear to be slowing down. He'll hit 2,085 in 2028 at age 35 barring injury.

Francisco Lindor 1,664

Age: 32

Hits in 2025: 172

Average over the Last Four: 166

Will He get there: Yes. 

Lindor is the youngest player on this list.  He's averaged 166 hits a season the last four years and posted his highest season total since 2018 last year.  He should reach 2,085 in 2027 or 2028 if he can stay on the field.  If he can play, and produce, until he's 40 (no small task), he may flirt with 3,000 hits.

Starling Marte 1,639

Age: 37

Hits in 2025: 79

Average over the Last Four: 96

Will He get there: No. Marte's career appears to be winding down at age 37.  He hasn't logged a 100+ hits in a season since 2022, and hasn't played in more than 100 games since then either.

Marcell Ozuna 1,627

Age: 35

Hits in 2025: 113

Average over the Last Four: 137

Will He get there: No. The 35 year old Ozuna has a lot of work to do before to get to 2,085, and I just don't see another 450+ hits in his bat.

Giancarlo Stanton 1,619

Age: 36

Hits in 2025: 68

Average over the Last Four: 80

Will He get there: No. Stanton is 36 years old and only averaging 80 hits a season the last four years.  He may hang around for a few more years and be a scary out for pitchers as he tracks down 500 homers, but 2,085 hits isn't going to happen for him.

Justin Turner 1,606

Age: 41

Hits in 2025: 37

Average over the Last Four: 69

Will He get there: No. I'd call it a safe bet that this two-time All-Star isn't on a roster come opening day.

Marcus Semien 1,613

Age: 35

Hits in 2025: 108

Average over the Last Four: 153

Will He get there: No, but it'll be close.  Semien led the AL in hits in 2023 with 185.  But he's dropped off significantly since then.  Father time is undefeated, and works quickly once he shows up.

Jason Heyward 1,575

Age: 36

Hits in 2025: 15

Average over the Last Four: 45

Will He get there: No. I don't know if Heyward has already played his last game in the majors, but I do know that he isn't going to reach 2,085.  

Trea Turner 1,531

Age: 32 

Hits in 2025: 179

Average over the Last Four: 171

Will He get there: Yes.  Turner is still three full, productive seasons away from 2,085.  If he stays healthy, that shouldn't be an issue for him.  How much will he pass it by?  A lot.  Will he reach 3,000?  No.  Trea would need to average 188 hits a year over the next 8 seasons to reach 3,000 at age 40.  Not going to happen.

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Black & White" #/75

 

Card Review: 5.7

This is yet another of the endless variations of the excellent 2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures card, and like all the other variations, it's not as nice as the original.  This one is actually one of the worst.  I like it a little better than the "Sepia" variation, but not much.  At the end of the day, and this isn't unique to this set (which I actually like as a set quite a bit), I'm just left confused and asking "why?"  

Why does anyone need all these endless variations and inserts, and what becomes of them?  I opened two fat packs of 2026 Topps this year, and probably pulled cards from 9 different insert sets.  Are people actually collecting them as sets?  As for the variations, I'm the first to admit I'm a little weird when it comes to player collecting, but are there really that many of us out there?  In another 10 years is a 2021 Topps Garrett Hampson sparkle variation of his base card numbered out of 5 going to be more in demand than just his regular base card?  I doubt it.  It's all just trash, regardless of how clunky and impenetrable the top loader with a number on top you store it in is.  On the other hand, there will probably still be a few people building the 2021 set who need the Hampson.  My point is, who asked for this?  Just give me some gum to smack while I sort my pile of new cards sequentially by the number on the back.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2026 Collecting Goals

I'm getting this in just before the end of the month, so I think it still counts as the "New Year" season, and falls in the acceptable window for these sort of post.

The card above is a picture of a 1953 Topps #244.  It depicts Willie Mays of the New York Giants.  I'm keeping things simple this year in 2026.  Obtaining that card is my goal.  It's topped my list of "Ten Most Wanted Cards" every year since 2019, and every year I've failed to make an effort to pick one up, instead going scatter shot for other various cards from 1954-59 Topps sets.  I believe I could snatch a well traveled copy of this card for under $900, which is probably more than double of what I spent all of last year on various vintage singles, but not grounds for a divorce if it's the only card I buy in 2026.  It's still a hefty price tag.  It would be almost triple the most I've ever paid for a card (a '53 Mantle well before covid exploded prices) and nearly four times what I paid for a '52 Mays about 10 years ago.  I don't care, I want this card, and it's the last one I need to complete the 1953 set, which I would regard as the single biggest personal collecting accomplishment of my life.

Will it happen?  Based on last years stated goals and what I actually did, probably not.  I earned a solid "F" grade for my 2025 collecting.  Here's a quick recap of my stated goals and how I did:

1. Acquire More Wallach cards: D

I added a 741 Wallach cards in 2025.  That's a 1,000 fewer than 2024, 800 fewer than 2023, 3,500 fewer than in 2022, and so on.  741 is objectively a lot of cards of one player to add to a collection a single year, it's just not up to the standards I've set for myself since starting this blog.

2. Post on Variants: F

I didn't post on the variants.  Maybe I will one day, I'd like to, but I didn't get around to in 2025 or any of the other years I've posted it as a goal.

3. Swag: F

I didn't make any blog related swag to send out to readers.  Still something I'd like to do, who knows when.

4. Continue to build Topps Sets: D

I bought the 2025 Topps factory set, so I didn't lose any ground in 2025.  I also made some decent strides with 1950's Topps sets, albeit, ones I don't consider myself to be actively building and with card budget funds that would have been better saved and directed towards a '53 Mays.

So for 2025, of course I want to add more Wallach, but this is the year I add the '53 Mays (unless it isn't).  As such my "Goals List for 2026" is brief:

2026 Collecting Goals

1. Finish the 1953 Topps set by adding the Willie Mays

...and if I happen to do that, then these would be my next priorities.

2. Add more Tim Wallach cards

This of course isn't something I'll ignore, I'm just not going to be going out of my way to scour Sportlots looking for lots of various cards to drop $50 or so on a few times a year.

3. Complete the 2026 Topps Base set.

Probably going to go the factory set route again this year.  I just can't justify the costs of doing this by buying packs, in the off chance I can even find packs.

More out of tradition than an actual goal, here my "most wanted" non-Wallach cards.

Ten Most Wanted Single Cards

1. 1953 Topps Willie Mays (last year's rank, #1)

Maybe this is the year.

2. 1962 Topps Bob Uecker (7)

Should I finish the '53 set, I'm not sure what I'll do next.  I don't think '62 would be my focus, but it'd get some consideration.  Regardless, I've long wanted a copy of this card.  But these "Rookie Parade" cards are just really tough to find at a price that I can live with.

3. 1963 Topps Pete Rose (2)

This card drops a spot from last year, I just have less tolerance for assholes at the moment, of which Pete Rose certainly was.  Dirtbag or not, I still want this card in much the same way I still want the G.I. Joe Aircraft Carrier.  The difference is I don't really have anywhere in my house to put the USS Flag.  This card remains seared into my brain as the ultimate card to own from my early days of collecting back in the mid 1980's.

4. 1981 Topps Traded Tim Raines (not ranked)

This is one of those cards I often forget I don't own.  I probably have 30 copies of his actual rookie card in the 1981 set, but I don't own this one.  At some point a few years back, I made an effort to add every one of the little boxed Traded sets, I think I just assumed I'd add it that way, but that effort sort of wained out and I'm still short '81 and '82.  Raines is probably my second all-time favorite player and not owning this card is an enormous hole in my collection.  That said, it drives me crazy that it gets called a "rookie card."  It's his 2nd Topps card, not a rookie.  Ditto for the '82 Traded Ripken.

5. 1985 O-Pee-Chee Mario Liemiuex (5)

This card remains #5 on my list, but by way of attrition, has become my most wanted hockey card.  I've lost my desire for the 1979 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky and dropped it from the lofty perch it's held on this list for years.

6. 1961 Fleer Dolph Schayes Shoots (6)

Dolph is the father of Syracuse Orangemen great Danny Shayes, who was one of the first stars coached by the Legendary Jim Boeheim.  Dolph also also played a little basketball himself, winning an NBA Title for the Syracuse Nationals before they were tragically relocated to Philadelphia.  

7. 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle

Another high dollar card from a set I am allegedly not building.  My father's baseball card collection survived and wasn't thrown out by my grandmother.  Albeit, my much older cousins looted all the Cardinals long before I was born (not sure why kids in New York were Cardinals fans, but that's their problem).  While most of it survived long enough for me to see it, a large chunk of it was sold off around 1988 to finance a summer trip to Disney Land.  I remember my father taking my brother and I to our first card show, and watching in pain as he sold off card after card.  This Mantle, while not the "best" card he sold off, is the one that stung the most at the time.  I'd like to go ahead and finally get it back.

8. 2002-03 Upper Deck Henrik Zetterberg

My favorite NHL player of the last 30 years appears as though he is going to be a snub from the Hall of Fame.  Collector's didn't get the message as his RC still demands obscene prices, that's if you can even find one for sale.  It's literally the most expensive card on this list.

9. 1962 Topps Willie Mays

A third card from a set that I don't think I'm building.  I've just always liked this card.

10. 1956 Topps Roberto Clemente

This is one of those cards that would be on my short list for best looking Topps card ever printed.  Sooner or later I'll add it to my collection.

Thanks for reading.  Hope you have a great year.