Another in a long line of blogs devoted to baseball cards, specifically from the Topps Company, and the Hobby in general. Reviews on new and older sets, along with unbiased opinions, will be included.
If you stumbled upon this blog and didn't find what you were looking for, please feel free to e-mail me at bdj610@hotmail.com. I'd be happy to answer your questions.
Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, April 1, 2026:
Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2008 Topps #FS1.
Player Name, position, team: Kazuo Uzuki, pitcher.
Major League Debut: n/a
Last Line of Statistics: n/a
Any special information about player: Throws: right. Bats: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 1. This is his first and only Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Already being called "The Uzi" by some for his 104 MPH fastball, Kaz will be the first Japan-based high-schooler to jump straight to professional baseball in America when he graduates in 2009. "He is, hands down, the best pitching prospect I've seen in 230 years,' said one MLB scout. And one unnamed American League GM said, "The contract this kid is going to get will be astronomical." At age fourteen, he was the youngest player invited to the WBC squad trials and - though he was cut on the last day - he made a lasting impression with his 17 Ks in 7 innings of work during intrasquad matches."
Commentary: Inserted into packs of 2008 Topps Series 1 at a rate of 1:72 packs, this gimmick card became such a polarizing item during the beginning of my Hobby Blogging Journey. It was panned by many, but as the years have gone by (has it really been 18 years??!) has become a card of legend. Uzuki's name, Japanese for "The First Son of April" which should have been a hint about the player. But how many prospectors would have understood the joke when they were buying and selling this card for up to $15.00 when it first came out?
Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.
I wrote about the man behind the glove, Sensen Lin, eight years ago. An alum of the New York University School of Law (class of 2008), he still works for GIC, a Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund that manages the country's foreign reserves. He is now the Managing Director, Regional Lead (Americas) within GIC's Legal & Compliance Department.
Happy Kazuo Uzuki Day to those who celebrate. Just please keep the pranks to a minimum.
Long time readers of the blog know that I am from The Philippines. I've written about the Philippines trying to get to the World Baseball Classic back in 2012. As of 2026, they still haven't done it, but it doesn't mean the country can't represent on the diamond. While they haven't competed in the WBC, the baseball team has won the Southeast Asian Games three years straight, and five titles overall.
So, let's crank out some celebratory music...
Okay, back to the point...
One of the goals of this blog is to show off my collection. Today, I thought I'd show off my collection of mini Allen & Ginter cards that feature the The Pearl of the Orient Seas.
Starting with my favorite A&G Mini Card of All-Time, from the 2007 Flag of All Nations set...
2007 Topps A&G Philippines Flag #39
The card isn't actually numbered per se, but the card is #39 alphabetically (Algeria-United States). Love this design. The sun in the background, the volcano (there's smoke coming from the top), coconut trees along the coast. It really is reminiscent of the original 1887 N9 Allen & Ginter's Flag of All Nations set. I just love the colors of this card, and how the flag is presented.
2008 Topps A&G Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo #WL35
The following year, Topps included a mini insert set featuring 50 of the (at the time) current world leaders. The Philippines was represented with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who became the 14th President of the country. Sworn to the post after the previous president was impeached, she was the leader of the country from 2001 through 2010. She did get into her own issues, but I'm not going to get into that...I am no expert in the story. She is currently a member of the House of Representatives, serving the constituents of the 2nd district of Pampanga. The card itself features a headshot of GMA and an outline of the islands. At least Topps used the right photo for her card, compared to the little mistake done for the card representing Ireland.
2009 Topps A&G Jose Rizal #NH26
The year after that saw Topps honoring National Heroes. This time, Topps selected our national hero, Jose Rizal, as a subject for it's 2009 insert set. The reverse of his card gives a really brief summary of who he was and what he did while the Philippines was under Spanish rule in the late 1800's. He was a writer and member of the Philippine Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms while the Philippines was a colony of Spain. He was executed during the Philippine Revolution, and the day of his death (December 30) is a National Holiday. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Filipino history. The card features Rizal along with the Philippines Coat of Arms.
On to lighter fare...
2010 Topps A&G Carabao #NA42
National Animals was one of the mini insert sets that appeared in the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter product. And our national animal, the Carabao, was among the 50 subjects. The carabao is a water buffalo species that is commonly used by farmers for plowing. There were also used to pull carts, whether those contained people or valuable supplies. (There's a picture somewhere of yours truly on one...can't remember where it is. I think the name of the one I was on was Gigolo...or was it Macho...)
2011 Topps A&G Philippine Eagle #AP15
Carrying the animal theme over into 2011, Topps featured endangered species in a set called Animals in Peril. The Philippine Eagle, or what is more commonly known as the Monkey Eating Eagle, was among the 30 subjects in this set. It has a six-foot wingspan, and is the largest of all eagles. It's the national bird of the country, with logging taking much of it's territory away. Current estimates say that there are maybe 400 pairs left in the wild.
2012 Topps A&G Balut #CC9
And then...there's the Culinary Curiosities set from 2012. This set featured 10 local delicacies that...let's say are unique. Between the Rocky Mountain Oysters and Haggis is this Filipino delight...Balut!!! Yes, balut. You may have seen the videos of people trying to eat it. And what is it exactly? Fertilized duck embryos boiled or steamed, and eaten in the shell. It's a street food that's sold in many countries in Southeast Asia, but it's more commonly connected to the Philippines. Now, I am more of a Penoy person myself (incubated duck egg that didn't fully develop an embryo), but I've eaten this once. And for a Filipino, once was enough.
It would be a few years before an exclusively-Filipino related card would appear in Allen & Ginter. Sure, the 2021 Mini World Leaders didn't include the President of the time, and the 2022 Mini Bearing Fruit cards had a handful of fruits that are found throughout the region, but there was nothing specifically tying the Philippines to any of them.
2024 Topps A&G The Philippines #FOTW-16
While the 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter set featured a Manila/Dubai Sister Cities full-sized card (and I have that one), the Flags of the World mini set returned after 17 years. This time, as a horizontally-oriented set, with a picture of Manila to the right of the flag. The card is nice, and again, as an extremely amateur vexillologist (definitely not Sheldon Cooper level), I like the set, I like the card.
But nothing compares to the 2007 version.
On a related note, my mom is flying to Manila to visit friends and family back home this week. I wish her safe travels. Maybe bring back the Philippines baseball team cap if you can find one. A jersey would be nice too, but that may be asking for too much. It looks like this...I think...
Well, according to LinkedIn, Mr. Lin is the Vice President, Assistant General Council for GIC, an investment management company based in Singapore. He has been with GIC since 2015. Prior to that, he worked as an associate for Ropes & Gray LLC, a global law firm with headquarters all over the world. He was first based in New York, then the Jing'an District in China.
So you can pretty much believe he's done pretty well for himself.
But by now, you have to be asking yourself, why am I talking about Sensen Lin? He's not a baseball player. He's never played in MLB. You won't find baseball cards of Lin anywhere. Or can you??!
Yes, Sensen Lin does have one baseball card, and he's the subject of one of Topps' greatest practical jokes of all time...and it all happened 10 years ago.
Before Mr. Lin climbed the ladder as a lawyer, he was a student at New York University. And a friend of his at the Topps Company had a brilliant idea for a practical joke. As Lin explains:
"They (Topps) put me in all these funky poses. I don’t know that much about baseball so I didn’t exactly know what I was doing. Turns out, the guys at Topps added some things. I wasn’t wearing that necklace and the glove in the picture is different. They also photoshopped in the background."
The results became the focal point of one of greatest "gimmicks" ever inserted into packs of baseball cards:
I do plan on requesting a connection to Mr. Lin on LinkedIn.
So Happy April Fool's Day. Please keep the pranks to a minimum.
In 2012, the Philippines, that hotbed of baseball in Asia, was invited to participate in a four-team qualifying round where the country that wins this six-game round-robin schedule, would go on to the 16-team World Baseball Classic tournament.
Okay, so hotbed isn't really the word. But listen, after the Americans introduced the Filipinos to the game during the Spanish-American War, the Philippines won the first Asian Baseball Championships in 1954. The game, however, faded in popularity, with basketball the number one team sport on the islands. But baseball is making a comeback, thanks in part to Filpino teams winning gold medals in the 2005 and 2011 Southeast Asian Games.
The WBC Philippines team shocked the world by beating Johnny Damon (yes, THAT Johnny Damon) and team Thailand in their first game (proudly recalled in this post back after it happened). And although they did eventually lose to squads from Chinese Taipei and New Zealand, a third place showing did in fact give the powers that be to give the Philippines another shot at getting to the games.
This week, the Philippines, along with Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, are competing amongst themselves for one spot in the tournament that takes place in 2017. Team Aussie will be their first opponents, which should be a challenge for the Filipino team. Australia has participated in EVERY WBC since 2006 and doesn't plan on taking next year off.
So who is on Team Philippines? Any major leaguers with ties to "The Pearl of the Orient?" The answer...is YES!!!
Tim Hulett, a MLB player from 1983-1995 and has been a minor league manager (presently with the Rangers Short-A team in Spokane) after his playing days, was tabbed to manage Team Philippines.
Clay Rapada, a journeyman left-hander who last appeared in the majors in 2013, leads a pitching staff of 13. In seven seasons, Rapada has a cumulative record of 8-0, with a 4.06 ERA, 82 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.366 in seven MLB seasons.
Chris Aguila, one of six outfielders on the team, played for both the Marlins and the Mets in parts of four seasons. He hit 4 home runs, drove in 16 rbi's, to go with a .230 batting average and slash statistics (OBP/SLG/OPS) of .280/.343/.624.
Eric Fariss, who was in the majors from 2011-2012 and was recently in the minor league system of the Twins, is on the team as well.
There are presently two players on the team with MLB affiliations, one is Marlins farmhand Brad Haynal, a catcher, and the other is outfielder Angelo Songco, who has a Pro Debut card from 2010.
By the time this post comes out, the game would be long over (they lost 11-1 by the way).
Good luck to Team Philippines the rest of the way.
It drives a certain Hobby blogger (now Twitter fiend) to the brink of insanity. But I think it's great.
Long story short, on the heels of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Topps decided to add a card of the next great Japanese pitching phenom. This kid named Kazuo Uzuki. The bio on the back of the card talks of a pitching prodigy who was so close to making that first Japanese team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, but was prohibited by age. Here's the full bio:
Already being called "The Uzi" by some for his 104 MPH fastball, kaz will be the first japan-based high-schooler to jump straight to professional baseball in America when he graduates in 2009. "He is, hands down, the best pitching prospect I've seen in 30 years," said one MLB scout. And one unnamed American League GM said, "The contract this kid is going to get will be astronomical." At age fourteen, he was the youngest player invited to the WBC squad trials and - though he was cut on the last day - he made a lasting impression with his 17 Ks in 7 innings of work during intrasquad matches.
What a prospect. No wonder Topps added his card to packs of their 2008 Topps Series 1 product.
But wait.
People started to guess that something was amiss.
There was no information anywhere on a Kazuo Uzuki. Nothing online about this wunderkid. And for all of the accolades, you'd think someone would have heard of him.
And that's when things started to unravel.
On April 1, 2008, Topps finally announced that this was an April Fool's joke, less than two months after the product went live. And go figure. Kazuo Uzuki means "first son of April" (if Wikipedia is to be believed).
It turns out that the Japanese pitching phenom was really a New York University law student named Sensen Lin (who, oh yeah, is Chinese). When he was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, he said he had summered with Ropes & Gray LLC. I went to check, and according to his LinkedIn profile, he's been with the firm for six years now (and no, I'm not going to link his profile...are you kidding? Although, I may ask if I can add him as a connection...)
So let's raise a glass to Mr. Lin, who so graciously is now a part of cardboard lore.
If you're in the Chicago area, may I recommend a certain family bakery to get your cake, cupcake, and pie fix?
Wait, it's not that kind of "pie day???"
But I had all this stuff I wanted to talk about.
Like what better time to honor Hall of Famer Harold Joseph Traynor who was honored by Topps and The Sporting News in 1976 as one of baseball's All-Time All-Stars.
No?
I also wanted to talk about former Cub outfielder Felix Pie...
Oh, his last name is pronounced \pee-yay\
So what can I talk about today???
It's 3/14...ohh...
Happy "Pi" Day!!!
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
P.S. Just think, next year, I can run this post again on 3/14/15 9:26:53...jba
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 2009 Topps eponymous set:
For the Cubs' retail set, Topps chose to crop Geovany Soto's picture, so you get a closer look at the eventual Rookie of the Year winner. Here is what his regular card looked like:
The fact that his retail card depicts a clean-shaven Kerry only shows that the picture used could not have been recent, as seen by his eponymous card below:
You could not find a more lights-out reliever from 2007 through 2010 than Carlos Marmol. Still the record holder for most K's per 9 innings, he was the closer-in-waiting, and the reason why the Cubs had no problem letting Kerry Wood move on to Cleveland for the 2009 season. He didn't get a card in the regular set, but thanks to an appearance in the 2008 All-Star Game, not only did was he included in the All-Star Team subset, but he got his base card as well:
As was the case with Soto, Ted Lilly's 2008 retail card was a cropped version of his regular card:
Ditto for Derrek Lee, my daughter's favorite Cub...EVER!!!:
Of the 14 players included in this set, 5 players have different pictures on the retail set compared to the base set, and three were of the same-photo-different-cropping variety.
Next week's featured set will be the 2009 Colorado Rockies. 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.
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.
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 Nick Swisher on his regular card than you do in the retail one...and its the same picture too:
Same for Carlos Quentin:
Orlando Cabrera played for the Angels the year before, so he is depicted as an Angel. His traded card shows him with the Pale Hose jersey:
Joe Crede's base card uses the same picure but different cropping:
So of the 14 players included in this set, four have picture variations of which only 1 can only be found on the retail sets. The three 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 2008 Seattle Mariners. 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.
Last Line of Statistics: 2007 stats (Twins): 68 G, 71.2 IP, 4-2, 15 R, 15 ER, 77 SO, 18 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 37 SV, 1.02 WHIP, 1.88 ERA.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Giants #6th, June 1995. Traded by the Giants to the Twins 11/14/2003. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his eighth Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Since becoming the Twins closer in 2004, Joe is the sole MLB pitcher (250-inning minimum) with an ERA lower than 2.0 (1.94) and the only one with fewer than six hits (5.93) allowed per nine innings."
Commentary: Probably the most dominant closer this side of Mariano Rivera, Joseph Michael Nathan has been shutting down opposing hitters as a full-time closer for more than a decade. When "Steady" Eddie Guardado left for the bright lights of Seattle, and knowing that there was a catching prospect lighting it up in the minors (that would be some kid named Joe Mauer), the Twins took a chance and traded their star catcher A. J. Pierzynski to the Giants for the reliever who finished with a 12-4 record and an ERA of 2.96, along with two future Twins pitchers (Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano). In 2008, Nathan appeared in 68 games, finished 57 of them, and earned the save in 39. Along the way, he earned a record of 1-2. Not impressed? Okay, how about a 1.33 ERA, 74 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.901? Works for me. He earned a third trip to the All-Star Game to boot. In seven years as the Twins closer (he was injured for all of 2010), Nathan would save 260 games for the Twins, earn a 24-13 record, a 2.16 ERA, a 0.956 WHIP, 561 strikeouts, and 4 All-Star berths. When the Twins decided not to re-sign their star closer after the 2011 season, Nathan took his talents to Texas and has been the closer that the Rangers had been looking for since converting Neftali Feliz into a starter.
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 38 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1986 Topps #662. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.
Last Line of Statistics: 2007 stats (Red Sox): 84 G, 186 AB, 25 R, 38 H, 12 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 3 SB, 28 BB, 54 SO, .398 SLG, .715 OPS, .204 AVG.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cubs #17th, June 1998. Signed with the Rays as a Free Agent 02/06/2008. Bats: left. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his seventh Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "After some up-and-down seasons, Eric got back to his 2002 Rookie of the Year form with the Rays in '08. Signed as a Minor League free agent, he made the club as a non-roster invitee."
Commentary: Personally, I'd like to see more action on my baseball cards. Perhaps because the space for a picture on the 2008 design was too small for a wide action shot. But you have to admit, it's a pretty unique shot of Eric Scott Hinske sliding into second (I think) and not see the fielder ahead. Was he safe? Was he out? You can't even tell who the Rays were playing on this day (or night...they play indoors remember) to figure it out. He looks like a reverse letter "l" in this shot. Awkward? Perhaps. But definitely a unique nonetheless. After four-and-half very solid years with the Blue Jays (in which he hit .259 with 78 home runs and 313 rbi's), Hinske, a former American League Rookie of the Year, found himself traded to the Boston Red Sox. Although mired by injuries during his stay with Boston, Hinske proved versatile enough in a reserve role to help the Sox win their second World Series title in four years. In the offseason, he signed a minor league contract with the newly-christened Tampa Bay Rays, a team that had never reached the postseason, let alone a winning record. He impressed the managerial staff enough to add him to the 40-man roster and make the big league roster. With Tampa Bay, Hinske appeared in 133 games, hit a cool .247 with 20 home runs and 60 rbi's. He would be added to the postseason roster during the 2008 World Series, hitting a home run in two postseason at-bats. His stay with the Rays was brief as Hinske signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2009 season.
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 28 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be 1998 Topps #23. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.
Last Line of Statistics: 2007 stats (Red Sox): 12 G, 27 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 13 SO, .148 SLG, .390 OPS, .111 AVG.
Any special information about player: Signed with the Blue Jays as a Free Agent 08/07/1999. Signed with the Red Sox as a Free Agent 01/24/2007. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his third Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Kevin won the Red Sox back-up catcher's job in 2008 thanks to his defensive acumen, and in particular, his proficiency at corralling Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. To practice the art, Cash catches from a pitching machine which spits out rag balls made of a tacky fabric that makes them stick as they go through the mechanism, causing them to flutter"
Commentary: It takes special skill to be able to catch a knuckleball. I think Bob Uecker said it best, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up." Kevin Forrest Cash did such a good job of training himself how to catch this unpredictable pitch that he made it onto the 2008 Red Sox roster as Tim Wakefield's personal catcher. Taking advantage of this new role, Cash appeared in 61 games for the Red Sox, hitting .225 with 3 home runs and 15 runs batted in. The following year, he signed a minor league free agent contract with the New York Yankees. He did appear in the Bronx for a ten game stretch when both the Yankees' regular catchers were on the DL, but Cash would wind up going on the DL himself, requiring surgery on a torn rotator cuff. He was released by the Yankees in September, and even though he had contemplated retirement, took another chance and signed another minor league deal, this time with the Astros. He did get called up to Houston in 2010, appearing in 20 games before being re-acquired by the Red Sox for the pennant chase. In his second run with the BoSox, he hit .133 with 1 rbi in 29 games played. In 2011, he signed on with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock before calling it a career for good in January 2012. After one year as an advance scout for the Blue Jays, Terry Francona, his former manager in Boston, hired Cash to be his new bullpen coach for the Indians.
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2005 Topps Update and Highlights #UH311. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.
Last Line of Statistics: 2007 stats (Mariners): 27 G, 146.2 IP, 7-13, 105 R, 101 ER, 80 SO, 35 BB, 27 GS, 3 CG, 2 SHO, 0 SV, 1.53 WHIP, 6.20 ERA.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Tigers #1st, June 1998. Signed with the Mariners as a Free Agent 01/26/2007. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his ninthTopps card.
Commentary: Jeffrey Charles Weaver's time in the Seattle lasted only one season. In 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, and was assigned to the Crew's AAA affiliate in Nashville. But after 9 games, a 2-4 record, and an ERA of 6.22, Weaver was released. A month later, he signed another minor league contract, this time with the Cleveland Indians, who sent him to their Triple-A team in Buffalo. In 13 games, he earned a record of 2-2 with a 6.07 ERA. He finished the season with a combined 4-6 record, a 6.07 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.559. He signed with the Dodgers in 2009 and after a five game stint in Albuquerque, made his return to the majors. He would pitch for two seasons with LA, his final season coming in 2010. Lately, much attention has been lavished onto Jeff's younger brother, Jered, the ace of the LA Angels of Anaheim. On June 20, 2009, the Dodgers took on the Angels, with Jeff and Jered named the starters for that day, the first time since 2002 that siblings were tasked to start against each other in a MLB game. The outcome? Big brother and the Dodgers took the victory 6-4, with Jered suffering the loss.
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 16 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #66. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2004 here on the blog tomorrow.
