Thursday 23 May 2013

Custom Card: 2004 Topps Total Adam Ottavino

A custom I made a while ago serving two purposes. First to highlight Adam Ottavino wearing number zero on his jersey. As far as I can find he is the first pitcher to wear zero and one of around 15 players in MLB history to wear that number. Second it to mention how much I miss Topps Total. Topps released the Total brand from 2002-2005 as a huge set, 990 cards in 2002 and 2003, 880 in 2004 and 770 in 2005, giving cards to many players that are often ignored in other smaller sets.  Ottavino is a prime example of the type of player Total would have included, someone who hasn't had a card since 2007 Bowman, three years before his MLB debut. Ottavino was a waiver claim by Colorado from the Cardinals and went 5-1 as a piggy-back reliever in the 2012 Rockies 4-man rotation experiment and has become a valuable bullpen piece in 2013. I highly doubt many collectors would complain about Topps losing one of their uber high end sets and bringing back Total.

3 comments:

  1. I'm a fan of that set as well. I also liked Upper Deck 40-man.

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  2. I love your custom, I love players that wear zero (or even better, double-zero) and I love Topps Total... Bought packs of all 4 years, completed 2002 and hope to complete the other three at some point.

    I wonder if it would be more cost-effective for Topps to do Total as an online-only set. I'd buy it.

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  3. I'd probably get one too.

    Role players are getting snubbed to shove in reprints of dead guys and go-nowehere rookies.

    We're being starved of the Yan Gomes, Munenori Kawasakis and Roberto Coellos of the league.

    Also, love that Ottavino wears 0, last one I remember is Rey Ordonez.

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