My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 9-1

My Top 10 is where I show off my iconic Top 100 gems - it might be cliche to have these cards in such a collection, but it's all fun and games where I have ownership of some of quirky and odd classics.

There is a sense of accomplishment where I wrapped up something, but now I'm thinking about the next Top 100 - where I'm eager to consider the cards I have in-hand to see how each might fit in a Top 100, as well as keeping my eyes peeled for Top 100 fuel I might have not seen and/or considered before.

FWIW, maybe I'm missing a 1989 Billy Ripken FF error #616, where the copy I ended up picking up was entombed in a BGS slab - I would have added it if I had a raw copy, even if it's valued more than the $20 cap I had for any single card in this collection.

9. 1976 SSPC Oscar Gamble #526 - I did not anticipate having two Gamble cards in my Top 10 and could have added a third [2016 Topps Archives Snapshots #AS-OG] that I'll save for the 'next episode.'

8. 1982 Donruss Cal Ripken Jr. #405 - I remember coming into possession of this card under dubious means as a child once upon a time, oh so long ago.

I was bored waiting on my parents to negotiate a deal to buy carpeting for new house - I grab some tape from the dispenser handy and the first thing I do apply tape to one of the corners and cause permanent damage to one of the corners.

I probably ended up trading the card somewhere, foisting it upon someone else because I messed the card up - but I've always wanted my own copy of the card, even decades later.

7. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle REPRINT #N/A - I grabbed this card for novelty, thinking it was cool looking and certainly no one would mistake it for the real thing or even a knockoff, since it's a regular sized card.

I think the card has a glossy surface, but there any obvious identifiers as to where this card came from - I like it because it features an iconic baseball card.

6. 1976 Topps Oscar Gamble #74T - the OG big hair, afro card of the 1970s.

5. 1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin #289 - infamous mug shot card

4. 1988 Fleer Tim Flannery #582 - the surfboard card

3. 2022 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Babe Ruth #3 - for my Top 100, I wanted cards with historicity behind it, but it's a no brainer to fit a newer card featuring Babe Ruth irritating teammate Lou Gehrig, presumably at some of kind of party.

2. 1984 Fleer Glenn Hubbard #182 - this ends up being my second copy of this card where Hubbard has a boa constrictor around his neck and the Philly Phanatic is lurking in the background.

1. 1989 ProCards Minor League Keith Comstock #14 - like the Billy Ripken FF error, this card has gained some notoriety, where it may now be valued more than the $20 cap I had for any single card in this collection.

However, it was languishing loose in my collection where I did not have a place for it - finally putting together a Top 100 allowed me to formally make the notorious card a centerpiece in what might be my island of misfit toys.

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 18-10

18. 1939 Play Ball Al Schacht #113 - my oldest card in my collections.

17. 2023 Topps Now Shohei Ohtani #OS-19 - this could have been a centerpiece card for an all-time Angels Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection, but feel it has too much appeal not to be in my main all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection.

16. 1995 Pinnacle Ken Griffey Jr. #128 - I may have this card in my collection, but where it was 'easy,' I saw a copy during a card show rummage and pounced on it.

15. 2021 Topps Stadium Club Babe Ruth #32 - a goofy card with Ruth posing with a big bat.

14. 1989 ProCards Cedar Rapids Chris Lombardozzi #935 - having lunch in the dugout.

13. 1998 Upper Deck Larry Walker #355 - I've passively wanted this card for the past two or three years, without doing anything about it.

I finally spotted one in a Twitter sale and couldn't pull the trigger fast enough to claim - I think I have a soft spot where dogs end up being objects of affection, even if I have not owned one for the past 15 years.

12. 2001 Multi-Ad Myrtle Beach Pelicans Dinger The Home Run Dog Dinger The Home Run Dog #26 - it looks like a main theme to this page are doggos.

11. 1984 Fleer Jay Johnstone #495 - one ot the classic, yet random common cards of the 1980s.

10. 1987 ProCards Lenny Randle #27/1064 - an all-time classic junk wax era minor league card.

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 27-19

27. 2021 Topps X Sports Illustrated Mike Trout #1 - I figured to get a cool looking Trout SI cover card in at No. 27 as a tribute to his greatness.

I originally wanted to tease at least two or three Angels cards in my Top 100, though after thinking about it - what I want to do is have a Top 100 of only Angels players' cards as a regionally focused all-time Top 100 cheap azz collection.

26. 1992 Bowman Chipper Jones #28 - because of the of mainstream choices, this was a $25-$30 card at Chipper's peak MVP year in 1999 and I bought one for that price, thinking I had a key card that was forever going to be worth something.

Looking back, I didn't get the motivation for Topps to show all these minor leaguers [and maybe not just recent draft picks around the time the set was released] out of uniform - to make a high school yearbook inspired baseball card set.

I kind of like the Jones because the portables or storage containers in the background - reminds me of my formative years from elementary through high school, where I had my share of classes in portables.

25. 1989 Upper Deck High Jim Abbott #755 - I might have another copy of this card I can sneak into strictly an Angels all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection.

24. 1996 Score Select Ken Griffey Jr. #6 - I thought this would be a good card to replace the 1995 Pinnacle Ken Griffey Jr. #128 I originally wanted for this spot.

23. 1992-93 Topps Archives Michael Jordan #52 - I didn't know I needed this card until I regretted skipping past it during a card show rummage last year.

I ended up snagging a copy on COMC, then got another chance to pick up one during another card show rummage - where the temptation to play pretend that I actually have a Topps branded faux Jordan rookie from 1984 was just too much.

22. 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson #482 - I remember the early 1990s hype around this iconic rookie card, so it was a no brainer to add the off-condition copy I purchased a couple of years ago to my Top 100 collection.

21. 1994 Topps Archives Roberto Clemente #251 - though regular sized, this becomes a what if 1954 Topps card, picturing Clemente as a Brooklyn Dodgers minor leaguer stashed away with the Montreal Royals.

20. 1977 Topps Mark Fydrich #265 - I don't have that lingering nostalgia for Fydrich, but he was a unique, one year wonder who was quirky and different.

19. 2019 Topps Series 2 Frank Robinson #529 - is the seemingly no-nonsense Robinson presiding over the clubhouse here as Kangaroo Court judge?

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 36-28

As far as my Top 100 collection goes, I wanted cards that are generally recognizable that teases some notoriety or nostaglia - that's probably not a case for every single card, but I want to see where it makes sense to have certain cards in my Top 100 collection, even for more esoteric reasons.

36. 1989 Upper Deck Kirk Gibson #666 - a card I wanted to get into my Top 100 since it captures part of an iconic moment in World Series history.

35. 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas #300 - I had to add his most popular mainstream rookie card, where it would have a centerpiece to my Big Hurt collection during the junk wax era, if I'd veen lucky enough to get a copy.

34. 1990 Score Bo Jackson #697 - Bo was the biggest phenomenon during the junk wax era, until he got hurt in an NFL game.

He gradually started to lose relevance as he came back and tried to play only baseball through the mid 1990s - but his legacy as a two sport star has been revived at various points as part of Gen X nostalgia, foisted upon a new generation.

33. 1991 Score Jose Canseco #441 - the year this card came out, I might have wanted it so badly and resorted to ripping loose packs from the supermarket to pull a copy of this card.

32. 1999 Bowman Chrome Josh Hamilton #431 - in my Top 100, I was playing around to match a spot in my Top 100 according to a subject's uniform number.

I don't have good memories about the former big leaguer's ending with the Angels and some of the off-field stuff that has come out in the past 10 years - but when he was on that straight and narrow path at intermittent points of his big league career, he was an undeniable force.

31. 1988 Classic Update Blue Travel Edition Eric Davis #213 - whenever I come across a notable gum card like this one, I just shake my head.

When 'easy,' maybe I've resorted to buying another copy of a card I've had, just to add to my Top 100 outright - maybe I don't particularly like the idea of having to dig a card up from another collection to put in another.

30. 1997 Score Ken Griffey Jr. #14 - this one is from the Randy Johnson inspired inserts where he took the pictures for the cards.

FWIW, in 2023, Topps revived the idea of The Big Unit taking photos for cards with a 1992 Bowman inspired insert - mostly with younger MLB players posed in civilIan clothing.

29. 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Joe Rudi #52 - the image was taken from the 1972 World Series, where Rudi makes an awesome outfield action catch against the wall in Cincinnati.

28. 2013 Topps Opening Day Buster Posey #ODS-4 - I was doing the numbers thing where Posey was No. 28 and wanted to give the longtime San Francisco Giants star a micro-mini tribute.

This card ends up being a random addition where I see if it works within a Top 100 collection - the lenticular 3D nature of the card makes it stand out just a bit more than just another insert.

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 45-37

45. 1989 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan #774 - from Upper Deck's inaugural set, I wanted the Houston Astros 3D Ryan from the Low Number Series and the Texas Rangers football Ryan from the High Number Series paired together in my Top 100.

I bought back the football Ryan specifically for a Top 100 collection and also had a copy of the 3D Ryan - however since the 3D Ryan was in my decade stars / binder, I didn't want to pull the card and move things around.

Go figure I started a dig through some older bubble mailers and did not realize I had both a copy of the football Ryan and a copy of the 3D Ryan - set aside as 'unique cards' long before I started my Top 100 collection.

I already had a pair of Ryans teased towards the back end of my Top 100 so maybe the number of cards for one player in my Top 100 gets redundant- I'll probably save the 3D Ryan for another all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection.

44. 1991 Donruss Studio Jeff Kunkel #126 - I'm a gum card afficionado though I realize at least one other collector does it better about rounding up cards with notable bubble gum imagery.

I remember trying to play in a winter league version of Little League in junior high - it might have been a practice where someone left a bubble in the dugout somewhere.

One of the assistant coaches took a good look at it and said "dang, that looks like an old man's sack."

43. 2021 Topps On Demand Yogi Berra #CC-4 - as part of on-flight programming available during a trip overseas in late January, I watched It Aint Over, a 2022 documentary devoted to Berra's life and playing career.

I gave myself a pat on the back where I already had a couple of his cards slotted as Top 100 material - Berra was an unconventionally unique individual who was a great catcher [3 MVPs] and a larger than life personality based on his Yogi-isms.

43. 2021 Topps On Demand Josh Gibson #CC-4 - go figure during a trip overseas in late January, I was able to watch another baseball related docuomentary, The League, devoted to early black players in pro baseball, the formation of the Negro Leagues and players like Gibson, who never got a chance to play in Major League Baseball.

Besides a celebration of the style of play and a look back at the ugly things like segregation - there was a business aspect as far as running the league and individual teams.

There were would be player movements as owners wanted to the best players - where the owners would resort to trying to poach the biggest stars from one team to theirs.

42. 1994 Score Bob Welch #547 - the cameo of presumably Welch's son batting against his dad makes this late career era card of a pitcher [R.I.P.] outright fun.

41. 2021 Topps Allen and Ginter Chrome Alyssa Nakken #285 - I saw a Topps Now Nakken in another collection [Twitter / X] like the one I've built and was inspired to add a card of a woman trying to put her work in MLB, coaching in a professional sport dominated by males.

40. 2021 Topps Allen and Ginter Kim Ng #226 - I also felt inspired to squeeze in a card of the first woman general manager in the big leagues, may she get another opportunity.

Maybe I wanted to get diversity into my Top 100 collection - by adding cards featuring women, player of color and at least a couple of foreign born subjects.

39. 1975 Topps Herb Washington #407 - I found a pair of these Washington cards for a dollar each, where I made one copy part of my Top 100.

38. 1965 Topps Masanori Murakami #282 - I was happy to find the rookie card of the first big league player from Japan for $2.00.

37. 1995-96 Pinnacle Olaf Kolzig #134 - one of the really oddball standouts of my Top 100, taking a closer look at the hot dog in Kolzig's hand, he has his name written in mustard.

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 54-46

54. 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces Ozzie Smith #19 - I like cards that depict the unique, timeless moments, like the all time great shortstop doing a backflip.

53. 1987 Classic Update Yellow Travel Edition Joe Niekro #120 - I like this card because it's rare a player is shown caught up in an incriminating moment on the field.

I looked up a clip of this incident where Niekro ends up being thrown out of the game for scuffing balls - this actually happened in against the Angels, but this card is firmly entrenched as a Top 100 card and not a card for my stadium collection.

52. 2010 Topps Turkey Red Yogi Berra #TR83 - it almost looks like Berra is balancing his catcher's mask on his forehead just like this blog says, but taking a closer look, maybe he is just flipping his mask off.

Maybe the distinction doesn't matter where I turn a random $0.50 find of an all-time great - into something part of my Top 100 collection.

51. 1992 Topps Stadium Club Ruben Sierra #387 - looking like he's the man, presumably in a photo op back in Puerto Rico.

50. 2001 Fleer Ultra Jason Giambi #21 - there might be a couple of other 'fun' Giambi cards [2000 Topps Gallery #99 and 2002 Fleer Ultra Baseball #188] I really want, but this one stands out for the wild hair.

49. 2020 Topps Update Sean Murphy #U-216 - pie in the face cards are fun.

48. 1989 Upper Deck Gary Pettis #117 - the card within a card illusion elevated this common into something odd.

47. 1976 Topps Kurt Bevacqua #564 - a true trading card relic of the 1970s.

46. 1972 Topps Billy Martin #147 - the infamous giving the bird card.

My all-time Top 100 cheap azz keepers collection - 63-55

The idea for a Top 100 project collection was probably four years in the making, but it never got anywhere - only within the early months of this past year where I was really motivated to put something together

Past the pandemic, I had noticed the build up of the different bulk cards I'd rummaged at card shows - while that was great for my assorted mini-collections, I kind of lost my way listing out cards in a spreadsheet and putting cards away for some closure.

I got tired of the idea aimlessly collecting mini-collection cards where I needed to see if I can dig from the piles - so maybe I needed to scrutinize what I found, to see if there was Top 100 fuel outright.

I wanted to curate a Top 100 set where I had something to build on - but I also didn't want to think too much about it, where I needed that first all-time collection to get off the ground.

63. 1996 Best Tucson Toros Dave Hajek #10 - thinking about the random cards that end up in my Top 100, this one is definitely on fire.

62. 1992 Upper Deck Tom Selleck #SP4 - I liked Mr. Baseball, but had to look the part up on YouTube, where Frank Thomas makes an appearance.

In the movie's universe, Thomas is Ricky Davis, the young hot shot pushing the longtime veteran star [played by Selleck] off the New York Yankees - which explains why The Big Hurt was in Yankees colors as shown on the card.

61. 2001 Multi-Ad West Michigan Whitecaps Brian Saltzgaber #28 - the subject blowing a bubble makes a random, no-context minor league card of a coach infinitely more fun to look at.

60. 1998 Skybox Premium Dwayne Rudd #29 - I love the viking horned helmet worn by a player who plays for the [Minnesota] Vikings.

59. 1990 Hoops Sam Vincent #223 - one of my early inspirations for a Top 100 set was this NBA card, though I did not realize there were two versions and I'd gotten the corrected version showing only Vincent and without the Chicago Bulls player wearing #12 on this card.

58. 1998 Upper Deck Choice Dino Ciccarelli #93 - one of my early inspirations for my Top 100 set was this hockey card, featuring a photo op where the player is feeding a rhino at the zoo.

57. 2013 Topps Jurickson Profar #286 - I figured this pie in the face card wasn't a bad find for a little over a dollar, where it's a fun variation of a one time uber prospect, turned into a disappointing, but perfectly average rank-and-file player.

56. 2021 Topps Stadium Club Ronald Acuña Jr. #56 - it was part of a recent purchase, so I figured it would be 'easy' to sneak in a card of a 'here and now' baseball star, teasing his wild hair [as of 2020 or whenever the image was taken].

55. 1994 Topps Stadium Club Orel Hershiser #400 - I don't know what is going on in this card, I thought he was cleaning up after a cow milking competition at the ballpark, but this story from MLB.com gives more context about sod.