2005 Donruss Greats isn’t considered a “fan favorite set”, but there can be a strong case made to call it such. The checklist has an abundance of Hall-of-Famers such as Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, and Willie Mays and a heavy chunk of modern players such as Alex Rodriguez, Jason Bay, Ichiro Suzuki, and Chipper Jones. So why am I calling it a fan favorite set? The rest of the checklist includes names such as Terry Pendleton, Minnie Minoso, Dwight Evans, Tony Oliva, and Marty Marion. To the average major league fan… who the hell are they? But to Braves fans, Twins fans, and White Sox fans, they were solid players that didn’t dominate the headlines but put their team in a good position to win a ballgame every night. They often have a charming and pleasurable personality to go along with their talents, a very rare combination in sports. These players are often regarded as “fan favorites”. For Yankees fans, Nick Swisher is considered a fan favorite because despite having to play in the shadow of Jeter and A-Rod, he puts up good numbers while retaining his great personality to the fans. What team wouldn’t want that?
Fan favorite sets are usually quite popular among the hobby. Collectors get a chance to pick up a card (or an autograph/relic) of a favorite player that sometimes wouldn’t be featured in a regular set. And for people who (gasp) sell their cards, there’s always a market for them. 2005 Donruss Greats gave us another great aspect of fan favorite sets; autographed cards of these players we love! Good Lord, I miss Donruss.
So when this baby popped up on the Bay, I knew it had to be in my possession.
Donruss Greats Signature Gold HoloFoil #35: Harold Reynolds
The inscription had me skeptical at first, all the other autographed cards of Reynolds had nothing but his signature. However, the seller pointed me out to a few other auctions that had autographed cards of Bobby Doerr and Kent Hrbek with inscriptions.
Harold Reynolds was a solid second baseman for the Seattle Mariners. He led the league in stolen bases in 1987 (which the inscription indicates) and won three Gold Gloves for his superb defense. However, many know him now as an analyst and commentator for MLB Network, and a previous analyst for ESPN Baseball Tonight. He was fired from the network because of an alleged sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a female co-worker. A whole mess ensued with the ordeal; Reynolds claims it was a misunderstood and sued ESPN for money owed to him for his contract and for the network failing to keep the matter “behind the scenes”. Reynolds’ “departure”, in my opinon, led to the downfall of Baseball Tonight as an entertaining and informative broadcast to a joke of a show (much like the entire ESPN network). Reynolds was by the far the best commentator on the program and always outshined his peers (although it’s not too hard to outshine John Kruk). I’m glad he’s back on the tube with MLB Network where he can display his great baseball mind.
Wow, that was a long rant. I just wanted to show you guys the card. My bad.
Fan favorite sets are usually quite popular among the hobby. Collectors get a chance to pick up a card (or an autograph/relic) of a favorite player that sometimes wouldn’t be featured in a regular set. And for people who (gasp) sell their cards, there’s always a market for them. 2005 Donruss Greats gave us another great aspect of fan favorite sets; autographed cards of these players we love! Good Lord, I miss Donruss.
So when this baby popped up on the Bay, I knew it had to be in my possession.
Donruss Greats Signature Gold HoloFoil #35: Harold Reynolds
The inscription had me skeptical at first, all the other autographed cards of Reynolds had nothing but his signature. However, the seller pointed me out to a few other auctions that had autographed cards of Bobby Doerr and Kent Hrbek with inscriptions.Harold Reynolds was a solid second baseman for the Seattle Mariners. He led the league in stolen bases in 1987 (which the inscription indicates) and won three Gold Gloves for his superb defense. However, many know him now as an analyst and commentator for MLB Network, and a previous analyst for ESPN Baseball Tonight. He was fired from the network because of an alleged sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a female co-worker. A whole mess ensued with the ordeal; Reynolds claims it was a misunderstood and sued ESPN for money owed to him for his contract and for the network failing to keep the matter “behind the scenes”. Reynolds’ “departure”, in my opinon, led to the downfall of Baseball Tonight as an entertaining and informative broadcast to a joke of a show (much like the entire ESPN network). Reynolds was by the far the best commentator on the program and always outshined his peers (although it’s not too hard to outshine John Kruk). I’m glad he’s back on the tube with MLB Network where he can display his great baseball mind.
Wow, that was a long rant. I just wanted to show you guys the card. My bad.
I love fan favorites... it's a big part of collecting for me. As an A's fan... obtaining autographs of Terry Steinbach, Mike Norris, and Dave Stewart were just as exciting as getting autographs of Jason Giambi, Jose Canseco, and Dennis Eckersley.
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