1981 Topps, Andre Thornton

Card No. 388

The man nicknamed "Thunder," Andre Thornton is a member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame and is a past Roberto Clemente Award winner (1979)....Clubbed 214 of 253 career homers during his 10 years in Cleveland....On his first three cards--all with the Cubs--he was listed as 'Andy'....Shared a "Rookie Infielders card in the '74 Topps set with three other players, most notably future Royals star Frank White....Appeared in just 69 games for the Tribe in 1981, swatting 6 homers with 30 RBIs.

*MK*

2006 Topps Update, Brandon Phillips

Card No. UH50

Originally a 2nd-round draft selection by Montreal, Brandon Phillips had some excellent seasons for Cincinnati....Was part of the prospects package that Montreal surrendered to Cleveland to acquire Bartolo Colon in June 2002....Phillips snagged four Gold Gloves during his time in Cincy....This is Brandon's first cardboard appearance as a member of the Reds....His initial Topps card is part of the 2000 Update set....Batted .276 and collected 75 ribbies for the Reds in 2006, his first season on the banks of the Ohio.

*MK*

1970 Topps, Brooks Robinson

Card No. 230

If it isn't the 16 career Gold Gloves earned during his Hall of Fame career, surely the nickname "The Human Vacuum Cleaner" would give you a solid indication of Brooks Robinson's level of prowess at third base....Another beauty from Dad's boyhood card collection here....Robinson's rookie card is part of the 1957 Topps set....His 'farewell' Topps card was among the '77 checklist....Finished 7th in A.L. MVP voting following '70 season that saw him clout 18 homers and drive in 94 runs for Baltimore.

*MK*

2002 Topps, Mike Sweeney

Card No. 21

A member of the Royals Hall of Fame and a current member of the team's front office, professional hitter Mike Sweeney gets today's Jukebox nod....The era of colored borders on Topps base cards continued in 2002 with one of my favorite designs of the era....Sweeney made five All-Star teams as a Royal....He's second in team annals in home runs (197) and third in BA (.299)....His first Topps card appeared in the 1997 set....Mike cracked 24 homers and collected 86 RBIs for K.C. during the '02 season.

*MK*

1993 Topps, Bo Jackson

Card No. 400

Certainly not the most iconic card in the Bo Jackson library, but it's still one of my favorites....An elite athlete and arguably the greatest two-sport star of all-time....Bo played four years for the NFL's L.A. Raiders (1987-'90) while simultaneously starring for the Royals on the diamond....His '86 Topps Traded rookie is one of the great cards in the hobby's history....His final Topps card appeared in the '95 set as a member of the Angels....Slugged 16 homers in just 284 ABs for the White Sox in 1993.

*MK*

2011 Topps, Roy Halladay

Card No. 300

I still can't believe that Roy Halladay is no longer with us....At the age of 40, "Doc" perished in a small plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico in 2017....Roy's impeccable resume got him posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in '19 on his first ballot....A 200-game winner and author of a perfect game and a postseason no-no....Roy shares his 1998 "Prospects" rookie card with Brian Fuentes and Matt Clement....Cy Young runner-up in 2011 after posting 19 wins and a 2.35 ERA for Phils.

*MK*

1997 Topps, Jay Bell

Card No. 259

Although Jay Bell didn't get many of the headlines, he was undoubtedly a key cog in those successful Pirates teams of the early '90s....Led the majors in sac bunts in 1990 and '91, setting the stage for many a Bonds and Bonilla RBI opportunity....That's Ricky Jordan of the Phillies getting tagged out(?) at second base....Bell's rookie card is part of the '88 Topps checklist....Was traded to Kansas City in the winter of 1996, thus Jay was no longer a Pirate by the time this card came out in '97.

*MK*

1969 Topps, Jerry Koosman

Card No. 90

Thanks to Nolan Ryan I'll never actually own a Jerry Koosman rookie card, so his second-year card from 1969 will have to do....Ryan and Koosman shared a "Rookie Stars" card in the '68 set....I snagged this beauty from a card show many years ago....The condition is less than pristine but I couldn't care less...."Kooz" is third in franchise history with 140 victories and is one of only three hurlers to register 100 W's as a Met....Pitched a complete-game gem in Game 5 of the '69 Series, as the Miracle Mets finished off the heavily-favored Orioles.

*MK*

1984 Topps, Pedro Guerrero

Card No. 90

A lifetime .300 hitter and the MVP of the 1981 World Series, Pedro Guerrero is today's jukebox hit....Looks like Pedro is playing up near the infield grass in this photo....If I had to guess, I'd say the Dodgers are playing at Candlestick Park....This is Pedro's fifth Topps card and his fourth stand-alone card....He shares a "Dodgers Prospects" card in the 1980 set with teammates Rudy Law and Joe Simpson...Though his production dipped in 1984 (16 HRs, 72 RBIs), Pedro still batted .303 and scored 85 runs for Los Angeles.

*MK*

2008 Topps, Luis Gonzalez

Card No. 442

Today's Jukebox entry represents the final chapter of the Luis Gonzalez story in the Topps library....It's his 20th Topps base card (including Traded/Update issues)....It's also his one and only card as a Marlin....Luis' rookie is part of the 1991 Topps Traded set....Gonzo's excellent career included 2,591 base hits plus the series-clinching hit off Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the 2001 Fall Classic, as Arizona topped New York....In his final big league season, Luis batted .261 in 136 games for the '08 Marlins.

*MK*

2020 Topps, Christian Yelich

Card No. 200

In 2020, for the second consecutive year, Topps gave former MVP Christian Yelich the horizontal treatment on his base card....I'm still not wild about the newest Topps design, but I like the look better in landscape orientation....Yelich earned the N.L.'s MVP award in '18 and also has three Silver Sluggers in his trophy case....This is his third Topps card as a Brewer....You can find his rookie card as a Marlin in the '13 Topps Update series...Entering 2020, Christian holds a lifetime .301 BA and 1,067 hits over seven big league seasons.

*MK*

1980 Topps, Mickey Rivers

Card No. 485

Probably most remembered for his stint as a Yankee, here we find Mickey Rivers--the Ranger--ready to take his cuts in the batting cage....This is Mickey's first Rangers card...."Mick the Quick" was a part of two World Series winners during the late '70s in the Bronx....His given name is John....Mickey's rookie card can be found in the '72 Topps set....His 'sunset' Topps card appeared in '85....Had a brilliant 1980 season for Texas, collecting a career-best 210 base hits to the tune of a .333 average.

*MK*

1990 Topps, Benny Santiago

Card No. 35

If you were a Little League catcher in the late '80s or early '90s, chances are that you occasionally pretended you were Benny Santiago....Hard as I tried, gunning down a would-be base stealer from my knees never ended well....Beginning with his 1987 Traded rookie though '95, Santiago was listed as 'Benny' on his cards....From '96 to his final card in 2004, he was listed as 'Benito'....The former N.L. Rookie of the Year picked up his third Silver Slugger and his third consecutive Gold Glove in 1990 for San Diego.

*MK*

1972 Topps, Willie McCovey

Card No. 280

A member of the 500 home run club and the only man in baseball history to have a cove named after him, Hall of Famer Willie McCovey graces the Jukebox with some 1972 Topps vibes....Some people refer to '72 Topps as the "psychedelic tombstone" set, and I guess I can see that...."Stretch" had his number retired by the Giants in 1980....Willie's iconic rookie card appeared in the '60 Topps set....His final Topps card can be found in the '80 release....Played in just 81 games for San Fran in '72, mashing 14 homers with 35 RBIs.

*MK*

2017 Topps, Jharel Cotton

Card No. 451

Once a promising prospect, Jharel Cotton quickly fell out of the Athletics' long-term plans....Oakland dealt Cotton to the Cubs in November 2019....Jharel is a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands....He picked up the 'W' for the World Team in the 2016 Futures Game....Came within one out of pitching a perfect game for Nashville in the Pacific Coast League during the '16 season....His only other Topps card appears in the '18 set....Went 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts for Oakland in 2017.

*MK*

1965 Topps, Nellie Fox

Card No. 485

I think the most amazing thing about Nellie Fox's Hall of Fame career is that he never struck out more than 18 times in a single season....Over 19 years and 9,232 ABs, Fox fanned just 216 times(!)....Played the majority of his career with the White Sox where he was the 1959 A.L. MVP....This card finds Fox at the end of his decorated career, as it represents his final Topps appearance....His first Topps card is part of the '56 set....Served as a coach on Paul Richards' staff while also playing in 21 games for Houston in 1965.

*MK*

2009 Topps, Magglio Ordonez

Card No. 395

I don't think it's inflammatory whatsoever to claim that Magglio Ordonez was one of the most underrated hitters of his era....In 15 years of major league ball, Maggs compiled a .309 average and 1,200-plus RBIs....His first appearance in a Topps set was 1999 when his card was adorned with the coveted Topps All-Star Rookie cup....The 2011 set marked his swan song....Despite diminished production numbers (9 HR, 50 RBIs), Ordonez still put up a .310 average over 465 ABs for Detroit in 2009.

*MK*