Cecil was the archetypal power guy in the 1990's ; massive, strong, with a quick bat and slow legs.
The 4 cards above show 'Big Daddy' in the latter stages of his career, after he'd dominated the power categories for the first few years of the decade, as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
The top 2 cards are from Fleer's 1998 Ultra release, with Cecil's brief Angels stint captured in the Series 2 card.
I chose the Upper Deck and Topps cards from 1997, because any photo of Cecil running the bases is bound to bring back some humorous memories for anyone that saw him play.
I chose the 1996 Collectors Choice 'You Make The Play' card because it showed that by 1996, Upper Deck finally had a sense of humor. That just might be the Dodger fan in me, though. See Here (Thanks, Dodgers Blue Heaven!)
Going into the 1996 season, a Stolen Base was something that had never appeared on Cecil's baseball card. Then, during that season, he somehow managed to steal two, without being caught. Who said he couldn't run!?
The 1994 O Pee Chee card is one that shows exactly why Cecil was (and probably still is) feared by anyone who should do him wrong. Guy was a freakin' Bear!
I also really like the 1986 Donruss card of Cecil depicted here. Although the card design may be lacking, it seems to suit the Blue Jays cards rather well. Imagine if Donruss had Team-Color-Coded horizontal lines that year? Red horizontal lines for Red Sox, Reds & Cardinals cards? Yellow lines for Pirates cards? I dare you to attempt to convince me that wouldn't have been an improvement!
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I wish Topps had switched the Opening Day color scheme with the flagship color scheme in 2007.
There's something about the black-bordered cards that just seemed 'below-par' to me. Maybe I was just used to the white bordered sets that had been used since 2004.
Topps clearly agreed with me, as they have used white bordered cards ever since, and will continue to do so in 2014.
The top 2 cards show a perfect comparison of the Topps photoshop process at work. I think it's a shot from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the Brewers photo is (obviously) the real one. Maybe that's why Topps don't have "The Real One" on the front of their packs anymore, because most of the photos aren't real.
Although they're plain and simple (and similar), I really like the Fleer sets from 2006 and 2007. I chose to display the 2006 Fleer card of Prince, essentially because I've had the 2007 card for a lot longer, and the photo is old, and therefore, boring to me. Good logic, eh?
Next post will have a lot more photos of a lot more cards.
Although I haven't been able to decide on the topic just yet.
To you guys who blog about a different theme/topic each and every day : A massive tip of the cap to you. I really don't know how you get so many great ideas, and continue to do so, without any loss of quality.
You're all inspiring to a complete amateur like me, and I promise that I will try not to completely steal ideas from you. Although, if I do, I will obviously offer some kind of bibliography. Links should do it!
Cheers,
Nick J
