Monster Card of the Week - 1985 Topps 3D

Topps has a long history of producing oddball baseball sets in addition to their eponymous set (I highly recommend the Topps Archive blog if you’re interested in some of these old oddball sets). Topps continued their tradition of issuing oddball sets in the 1980’s with sets such as Tattoos, Rub-Downs and 3D Stars. This week’s Monster card comes from the 1985 3D stars set and features Hall of Fame hopeful Jim Rice.

I’ll be honest in that I don’t know much about this set. The few cards that I have came from a baseball card grab bag that I bought when I was younger (I think these may have been the original repack boxes because they were full of 1980s oddball stuff). So I don’t know how much packs originally sold for, or even how available they were. What I do know is that I feel about this card the same way I feel about a lot of oddball cards – I love it and hate it all at the same time.



I love the card itself. It is printed on more of a plastic substrate than traditional baseball cards and the players’ photos are embossed to give the advertised 3D effect. The cards have a simple design that allows the player photo and the 3D effect to be the focal point of the card. And the 3D effect is actually quite stunning – the scan really doesn’t do it justice. You can really feel Jim Rice popping out of the background, that killer gaze focused intently on the unidentified pitcher’s next offering. There is nothing on the back of the card, it’s all about the 3D.

What I hate is the fact that, like most oddball designs, it is impossible to store. It will fit into no box or plastic page that I know of. For someone who likes to keep all of his Red Sox cards organized together, grouped by year and manufacturer as much as possible), these oddball cards are immensely frustrating. My solution thus far is to keep them all in a shoebox (that real shoes came in) tucked into a corner of a closet. Every now and then I pull the shoebox out and shuffle through the cards. But when I’m done they go back into the box which goes back into the closet.

My two pennies on the HOF vote

It seems like everyone is talking HOF ballots so I thought I'd chime in with my opinion. I'm not going to weigh in on every candidate (I would if I had unlimited time), just those with Red Sox ties.

1. Rickey Henderson - He's a no-brainer. In fact, you'd have to not have a brain to keep him out. Don't worry though, some sportswriter somewhere will leave him off the ballot because he's not Babe Ruth and there's this insane rule (unwritten of course) that no one should be a unanimous first time selection. Here's my question. Do they coordinate and decide ahead of time who is going to be the moron leaving the obvious candidate off the ballot? What if they all left Rickey off because, "no one should get in unanimously?" Talk about embarrassing.



2. Jim Rice - He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Plain and simple, he was a dominant offensive force for over a decade. In his 16 year career, Rice was selected to eight All-Star games, finished in the top 5 MVP voting six times (he won the award in 1978), hit at least 39 home runs in a season four times, had eight 100 RBI seasons, four seasons with 200+ hits and batted over .300 seven times. He finished his career with a .298 batting average, 382 home runs (55th best of all-time), 1451 RBIs (56th). Sure he pissed off a lot of people, but Ty Cobb was no picnic and he's in the Hall. I'd be willing to bet that you couldn't find another more dominant player from 1975-1986 who isn't already in Cooperstown.

3. Andre Dawson - I'm on the fence with the Hawk. He only played with the Sox at the tail end of his career, when his knees were shot, so I know I didn't see him in his prime. Comparing him against Jim Rice, he has more home runs, but didn't hit for average as well, and in an extra 5 seasons has only 150 more RBI. He did win an MVP award and finished in the top 10 3 other times. He ranked among the league leaders in major offensive categories 60 times compared to well over a hundred for Rice. Dawson was clearly a better fielder and was more of a threat on the bases than Rice ever was. Overall though I think the Hawk is a borderline candidate and in my opinion, borderline isn't good enough. It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Really Good. Would I be enraged if Dawson gets in, no. And I think he will eventually get in, even if its via the Veterans Committee.



4. Lee Smith - I think Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer, but I think it will take him a long time to get in. He may be another guy that gets in through the Veterans Committee. But he deserves to be in. He was one of the most dominant relievers in the mid-eighties, second only to probably Eckersley, and still ranks third on the all-time saves list (behind Hoffman and Rivera - both future HOFers). He finished in the top 5 voting for the Cy Young award three times and in the top 10 for the MVP award once, and was one of the players who helped to define the role of a closer as a vital part of the bullpen.

5. Mo Vaughn - If Mo Vaughn had been able to play longer than 10 full seasons he would probably be a Hall of Famer. In the mid-90's he was one of the best hitters in the game. He averaged 37 home runs and 117 RBIs between 1995-2000, while maintaing a .305 batting average. Unfortunately he wasn't able to stay healthy. Combined with his appearance in the Mitchell Report, Vaughn will never even sniff the Hall. I'd bet he won't even be on the ballot next year.



6. David Cone - David Cone is simply not a Hall of Famer. He was a very good pitcher, but very good doesn't get you into the Hall. His name is not one that readily springs to mind when naming the dominant pitchers of the 1990's, and his stats are simply not Hall worthy. He will forever be remembered for pitching a perfect game and that will have to be enough.