Saturday, March 17, 2012

The real "Then and Now" of Topps Heritage

The original 1963 Topps #203 was Reds All-Star shortstop/third baseman Chico Cardenas. Today's 2012 Topps Heritage #203 is Reds current All-Star third baseman Scott Rolen. What a perfect real-life "Then and Now" matchup. These guys had nearly identicle careers. Both top-notch infielders, and brought dependable bats to the lineup.

Leo "Chico" Cardenas, Mr. Automatic himself, played 16 seasons earning a career batting average of .257, 1,725 hits, 285 doubles, 49 triples, 118 home runs, 689 RBIs, 39 stolen bases, 1135 strikeouts. Chico was a 5-time All-Star, and secured a Gold Glove in 1965. Chico has notched 6 home runs off HOF pitcher Juan Marichal, and later was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF. Chico currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Scott Rolen also has played 16 seasons earning a career batting average of .282, 2,005 hits, 500 doubles, 41 triples, 308 home runs, 1,248 RBIs, 116 stolen bases, 1,348 strikeouts. Scott earned ROY in 1997, he is a 7-time All-Star, 8-time Gold Glove recipient, and secured a Silver Slugger in 2002.

What a perfect connection between past and present, 1963 and 2012, two of Cincinnati's greatest infielders to have played the game. Topps did a fantastic job reconnecting yesterday's Reds with today's.




1 comment:

  1. I hope I didn't mess up here. I sent Chico, who lives in Cincy, these two cards. I asked him to sign my Chico card and he I offered him the Rolen card in case he might not be aware of his 1963 throwback card of Scott Rolen. My Chico card was in amazing condition, though they are easy to find I really liked it, it was one of the first older Reds cards I purchased, maybe the very first. I will most definitly create a new article if this TTM comes back HOT HOT HOT!

    ReplyDelete