2001 - Not Quite an Odyssey

Once again, a year ends in a 1, and the Angels didn't have a great year.  (I'd start to think that putting up the cards by alternating decades wasn't such a great idea; luckily years that end in 2 have been much nicer to the Halos.)  They went 75-87 and finished in third place, largely due to a ton of injuries and a Seattle Mariners team that won a Major League record 116 games.  But in spite of all this, the Angels drew over 2 million fans to the ballpark (then named Edison Field of Anaheim; man, I want to smack myself for calling it the Big Ed a couple of times).

Most of the cards here are Topps' "Home Team Advantage" variants, with an extra gold stamp.  I believe these were exclusive to hobby shops that year.  That's Bengie Molina's first card as an Angel at the bottom right, and he signed it for me at the Angels Fan Fest in 2004, as did Ramon Ortiz.  Jeff Mathis signed his card for me during Spring Training in 2008.

Man, 2001 was a great year for first-year Angels cards.  In addition to the Bengie, Ortiz and Mathis cards, Scott Spiezio and Mike Scioscia got their first regular Angels cards, and there were certifed auto cards of Scioscia and John Lackey (rookie auto!).

2001 was a great looking set, with the green borders being oddly evocative of the outfield wall at the Big A.

2001 was also the 50th year of Topps baseball cards. As such, the set included a bunch of reprints, including the oft-reprinted 1980 Nolan Ryan.

Topps inserts finally got interesting in 1996, but it wasn't until 2001 that the Angels got their first jersey card with the "King of Kings" Nolan Ryan card.  The "Who Would Have Thought" cards were great this year as well, covering two of the greatest acquisitions in team history, Ryan and Carew.

Although '01 wasn't a great year, the position players got a lot of experience working together, which would come in handy in 2002...

2001 Topps Angels

4 - Garret Anderson

39 - Shigetoshi Hasegawa

80 - Darin Erstad

87 - Scott Spiezio

161 - Benji Gil

175 - Troy Glaus

186 - Seth Etherton

251 - Scott Schoeneweis

271 - Bengie Molina

309 - Matt Walbeck

324 Mike Scioscia MGR

390 - Troy Glaus SH

392 Sammy Sosa/Troy Glaus HR Leaders

397 Todd Helton/Darin Erstad Hit Leaders

419 - Troy Percival

470 - Gary DiSarcina

484 - Tim Belcher

514 - Adam Kennedy

529 - Orlando Palmeiro

546 - Tim Salmon

586 - Kevin Stocker

604 - Jarrod Washburn

621 - Mo Vaughn

636 - Jose Canseco

722 - Ramon Ortiz

728 - Phil Wilson Angels - Jake Peavey (sic) Padres - Darwin Cubillan Rangers

729 - Steve Smyth Cubs - Mike Bynum Padres - Nathan Haynes Angels

731 - Pena - Larry Barnes Angels - Wise

745 - Joe Torres/Ben Diggins

752 - Anaheim Angels Team Card

Golden Anniversary Prospect Autograph

GAAJL - John Lackey

Golden Anniversary Great Autograph

GAARC - Rod Carew

Going for Gold

GA45 - Troy Glaus

GA48 - Mo Vaughn

Through the Years Reprints

39 - 1980 Nolan Ryan

A Tradition Continues

TRC17 - Mo Vaughn

Base Hit Base Card

BH1 - Mike Scioscia MGR

King of Kings Jersey

KKR6 - Nolan Ryan

2001 Topps Traded

T33 - Ismael Valdes

T38 - Pat Rapp

T104 - Reggie Jackson 82

T120 - Wally Joyner 86

T142 - 1995 Sexson, Arias, Sweeney, Schneider Reprint

T151 - Jared Abruzzo RC

T197 - Brian Specht RC

T227 - Alfredo Amezaga RC

T258 - Jeff Mathis RC

Who Would Have Thought?

WT1 - Nolan Ryan

WT12 - Rod Carew

And lo... there shall be a banner!

Finally finished the banner! Being an Anaheim native, I had to keep the Anaheim in the logo (at least for now). And since this is a blog about Angels cards, I figured it was finally time to throw some up here. As I was flipping through the binders, I decided to go with a spread of the Angels' uniforms throughout the years, including some of my favorite players, coolest cards, and a legend. So here's the lowdown on the cards in the banner:

1961 Topps #413, Eddie Yost

This was the first card to feature a player in an Angels uniform. And he looks damned happy to be wearing it!

1986 Topps #345, Donnie Moore

If you know your Angels history, you know all about Donnie Moore. I found this signed card on the eBay, and had to grab it.

2003 Topps Prime Cuts Autograph Series #PCA-DE, Darin Erstad, numbered 14/50

Topps really went crazy with the Angels inserts after we won the World Series. This is perhaps the coolest - an end-of-the-barrel chunk of Ersty's bat, and it's signed.

1980 Topps #700, Rod Carew
Although I was a Dodgers fan as a kid, Rod Carew was almost enough to make me an Angels fan as well. One of the greatest hitters, ever. And you can't go wrong with the only player to ever be name-dropped in a Beastie Boys song.

2009 Topps #5, John Lackey
I included a card from the Angels' first year, so why not include one from this year? Lackey was the winning pitcher of Game 7 of the greatest World Series to date. Big John is also the only Angel to ever appear as card #1 in the Topps Regular set (2007).

1972 Topps #595, Nolan Ryan
How this man never won a Cy Young during his Angel years is beyond me. This is probably the most expensive non-insert Angels card ever. I'll eventually have to upgrade this one, as there are chunks gouged out of the back of mine.

2001 Topps Base Hit Autographed Base card, Mike Scioscia

This may actually be the coolest card in my entire collection. The front of the card states, "Authentic game-used opening day 2000 base," and the back states that Topps went to 28 MLB ballparks plus the opener in Japan to grab bases. Which should mean that not only is this card signed by the greatest skipper in Angels' history, but the chunk of the base is from his very first game as Manager.

1969 Topps #653, "Aurelio Rodriguez"

Here's the legendary card I mentioned earlier. Not because it's the last card from the year I was born. Not even because I knew about this card even when I was a kid. No, it's because this is likely the greatest blunder Topps has ever made with a card. The guy in the picture isn't Aurelio Rodriguez. It's the Angels' bat boy, Leonard Garcia. How they managed this, I have no idea. Much worse than when they put a picture of Adam Kennedy on the David Eckstein card in 2004.

2008 Topps Highlights Autographed Relic #HAR-VG, Vladimir Guerrero, numbered 21/25

I practically squealed with glee when the Angels signed Big Daddy. His only auto/relic card as an Angel definitely belongs in the banner.

1997 Topps #254, Rex Hudler

The Wonder Dog! I was lucky enough to get Rex, the one-time Angel and current Angels broadcaster, to sign this for me at the Angels Fan Fest in '05. Thanks, Hud!

2003 Topps #721, World Series Highlights

The greatest image ever to grace a Topps baseball card. Ever.