Random Ray - 2000 Topps HD

Topps HD was only made for a few years in the early 2000s. It was essentially an attempt to duplicate Stadium Club's photography with ultra-thick card stock. The base set cards were fine, but I originally got into this set for the autographs. The autographed cards were on acetate card stock. I am almost sure that this was the first acetate set that I really enjoyed. There are only four autographed cards in Topps HD.  I have the complete set.  

My favorite card.....

Rick Ankiel hitting back when Rick Ankiel was a pitcher. The other autographs are Adrian Gonzalez, Todd Helton, and Mark Quinn.  

Back to the base cards and Ray Lankford.  

This is the front of the Ray Lankford card from the 2000 Topps HD set. While it's not exactly Stadium Club, the photography on the front of this card is very nice.  I like how Topps did the design on the player name box on the side of the card.  

The box is discolored to standout, but if you look at the batting box lines and back of Lankford's card, it does not fully interrupt the action shot of Lankford. That astroturf looks terrible. I am glad there are not many astroturf fields left in the Majors.  

Back of the card.  

I like the back of this card for several reasons. I will start small and work my way up to larger items. First, I like that the player information box on the side mirrors the player name box on the front of the card in terms of shape, location, and orientation. The stat box is not really all that deep, but I like the white background with the black print. The stat box pops and the numbers are easy to read. The most obvious feature is the color photograph in the background. A little weird to see McGwire in the on-deck circle with Lankford batting. Usually McGwire hit third, Lankford hit fourth.  

Overall, this is a quality baseball card.