I love the older Albert Pujols cards that show him playing in the field at either third base or left-field. Twenty years later, these cards from the very beginning of his career look a little odd. Albert was originally a third baseman, but moved to the outfield full time after the Cardinals traded for Scott Rolen in 2002.
Here is the front of the card.
Great photo of Albert getting ready to field a ball here. Stadium Club always had great photography. Not big on the gray name bar going across the front of the card, but this was also towards the end of the original Stadium Club product line. Clearly, they were struggling a bit with the design here. Still an above-average looking card.
The back of the card.
Stadium Club had these split stats for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which I think were great at the time. The write-ups on the bottom were always pretty thoughtful, as is the case here with Pujols. The player information is what it is, along with the small picture at the top.
Overall, this is a very good back that, with the nice photograph from the front, make this one of Topps better base cards of Albert Pujols in 2002.
I know that it's been 20 years, but still, it's amazing how young he looks here.
ReplyDeleteYoung and svelte. I am enjoying Albert being back in a Cardinals uniform, but he is definitely a "dad bod" type at this point.
DeleteNice fielding photo... but like you mentioned... great photography is what SC is known for. As for the backs, I've always been a traditional stats kind of guy. That being said, I understand them using split stats for products like SC. As long as they reserve the traditional stats for their flagship.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the stats. I just like some of the older cards that actually show something that is more in-depth. This card has on-base percentage before Moneyball the book or the movie. Can't be too many cards that can make that claim.
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