Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2008 Topps Seattle Mariners

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Team Set of the Week:

• Team: 2008 Seattle Mariners
• Record: 61-101, fourth place, AL West Division.
• Managers: John McLaren and Jim Riggleman
• Card on the Top: Ichiro Suzuki

The checklist consists of the following players:

• SEA1 Ichiro Suzuki
• SEA2 Jose Lopez
• SEA3 Kenji Johjima
• SEA4 Yuniesky Betancourt
• SEA5 Adrian Beltre
• SEA6 Carlos Silva
• SEA7 Felix Hernandez
• SEA8 J.J. Putz
• SEA9 Richie Sexson
• SEA10 Adam Jones
• SEA11 Miguel Batista
• SEA12 Jose Vidro
• SEA13 Jarrod Washburn
• SEA14 Raul Ibanez

The cards in order from the set (the checklist at the end was cut from the back of the package. What, you don't do that?):

Key differences between the team set and 2008 Topps eponymous set:

• You see more of Kenji Johjima on his regular card than you do in the retail one...and its the same picture too:
  
  

• Same for Yuniesky Betancourt (notice how Topps chose to get pics of these guys at Wrigley?):
  
  

• Adam Jones was traded to the Orioles for the 2008 campaign with four other guys to the Orioles for Erik Bedard. I think the M's are wishing they kept him. He was included in Series 2 as a member of the O's. For the record, here is his 2008 card:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, only 1 player's card can only be found on the retail sets. The two other pairs of cards feature different croppings of the same picture, which is often the case found in some of these team sets.

Next week's featured set will be the 2009 Baltimore Orioles. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Updates and Highlights sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama