The second week of the Topps 150 Years of Baseball tribute series have been announced and, as promised, commemorate some pretty big moments from America’s pastime.
A full checklist of this series can be found on the main page of this product hub. The new cards available for sale this week are as follows:
4 – Nolan Ryan, Houston Astros
On April 27, 1983, Ryan set the all-time strikeout record at 3,509. Pitching for the Houston Astros, his third team at the time, Ryan would ultimately strikeout 183 batters that season and would add 2,205 strikeouts to the record before the end of his career a decade later. In 1983 he pitched 196.1 innings and his strikeout total was the ninth-lowest of his 27-year career, the highest being his 1973, 383 strikeout, season.
5 – Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
On April 2, 2001, Ichiro made his MLB debut in Seattle against the Oakland Athletics. Batting in the leadoff spot, Suzuki went 2 for 5 with one run and one strikeout. His first at-bat, against A’s pitcher Tim Hudson, ended in a 1-0 groundout. Over the course of his first major league season, Ichiro logged a .350/.381/.457 batting line, appeared in his first of 10 consecutive All-Star games, and ended up winning Rookie of the Year, MVP, a Gold Glove, and the Silver Slugger award. Not a bad debut.
6 – Mark McGwire, Oakland Athletics
Not unlike Ichiro, Mark McGwire made the most of his first season in the majors. The 1987 Rookie of the Year hit 49 home runs with 118 RBI and a batting line of .289/.370/.618. He would also earn his first of 12 spots on the All-Star team and finished sixth in MVP voting. He would later burst his rookie numbers out of the water with a move to St. Louis but his accomplishments there, and possibly the latter days of his time in Oakland, will forever be clouded.
All three of these Topps 150 Years of Baseball cards can be purchased separately or as a bundle and are available for one week only. Final print runs will be posted on our checklist once they are officially announced.
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