happy jackie robinson day, everybody!
i've been stockpiling cards for this post for quite a while, so buckle up! i have a "42" mini-collection which includes players wearing number 42 in the post-jersey retirement era, not including players like mo vaughn or mike jackson who were grandfathered in and allowed to wear the number after april 15, 1997. yes, it's been 25 years since the number 42 was retired around baseball, but players haven't been celebrating by wearing the number for quite that long.
it bothers me a bit that the majority of the cards in my 42 collection, by far, are variations or inserts but it is what it is. here we go...
the first card up is one of those variations, but it's too great to pass up. it's a super short print 2013 topps chrome matt kemp photo variation
here's a card that was easier to obtain - it's a 2010 upper deck biography insert of tim wakefield
yoenis cespedes
from the set.
who took a no-hitter in to the 8th inning on jackie robinson day, 2009.
gypsy queen is probably the most consistent brand these days for finding the jackie robinson variations. here are some from 2018 that i've acquired
ichiro
francisco lindor
yasiel puig
khris davis
chris sale
ervin santana
the puig goes in the dodger collection. someday i'll see about picking up a second one for the 42 collection.
every once in awhile, topps will let a 42 card slide in to the base set. such was the case with the 2015 update yasmany tomas card and the 2016 update chad qualls cards, and it is the case with this 2018 gypsy queen mike moustakas card
2016 is the first year i recall seeing these variations, and there were some pretty random players selected for the honors. here are some of the ones i have in my collection - brett anderson
collin mchugh
wily peralta
adeiny hechavarria
mike moustakas
travis wood
and scott van slyke
in 2017, topps moved the 42 jerseys to their "salute" insert set. these were easier to find than the variations from the previous year which was nice. they continued that trend in 2018. here are some of the 2018 cards in my collection.
adam jones
bryce harper
dexter fowler
alex wood
corey seager
and here are some of the 2017 cards i have.
clayton kershaw
mike trout
nolan arenado
bryce harper
miguel cabrera
joey votto
eric hosmer
evan longoria
ryan braun
and andrew mccutchen
i enjoy seeing mccutchen wearing number 42. i wish topps would do a better job of including players of color in these variations. i don't really need to see a guy like ryan braun wearing the jersey. it's kind of like seeing jerry jones take a knee with his players. anyway, topps also created manufactured relic cards celebrating jackie robinson day in 2017, and i have the cutch card
topps did it again in 2018, and i again added cutch
to my collection, in addition to adrian beltre
too. i like this design quite a bit, and i have a few more on their way from comc at the moment.
here are a couple of 2019 gypsy queen variations - khris davis
and zack godley
the godley is my most recent jrd acquisition, but i have a few more on their way from comc, including the manufactured relics i alluded to above.
and matt kemp
one card that isn't on its way is a second 2020 topps gypsy queen max muncy photo variation card
that one is in my dodger collection so i need another. i am also pretty sure that the blurry guy behind muncy is tommy lasorda.
aside from gypsy queen, topps now is the most reliable source of cards for this collection. i have this 2018 clayton kershaw card
2018
and 2021
and this 2021 ronald acuna/hank aaron card
in my collection. they celebrate performances that just happened to occur on april 15, but then i also have the cards developed to specifically note the special day across baseball. here are the 2017
2019
2020
versions of the jackie robinson day card. i am sure i will keep this going and pick up the 2022 version of these cards when they are offered tomorrow, but for tonight i am going to watch the dodgers and thank jackie robinson.
thank you, jackie robinson.
