Jeff Tackett, 1993 Topps #6

For a backup catcher with a career batting line of .217/.300/.336 and 136 total games played, Jeff Tackett had some truly righteous cards. This 1993 Topps card, which holds a position of honor on the first binder page of the set (nestled snugly next to Tony Gwynn, no less), was my first exposure to Chris Hoiles' water carrier. Jeff gets the unique designation of being the first Oriole featured in the first card set that I collected as a kid, which was somehow 20 years ago. As vivid a story as this photo tells, with the catcher taking a moment to sullenly contemplate what seems to be a run-scoring play at the plate, it's not even the most visually compelling of his cards. You can see an art gallery's worth of Tackett action shots and portraits in my archives.

This card serves as a not-so-sneaky segue to the official launch of my 1993 Topps set blog. I've been kicking the idea around for months, but I wasn't about to toss another chainsaw into the fire until I'd wrapped up my 1965 Topps blog, which I finally got around to doing last weekend. I'm really excited to jump into this, since the set and its players hold a personal nostalgia for me that the truly vintage sets don't. There will be pithy remarks, a few less-known facts about each player, recollections of my childhood, historical and pop culture facts from '93, and a bit of wit and wisdom borrowed from Bill James. Be sure to bookmark the blog now, share it with the people you love, and get to reading! I've already posted an introduction of sorts, as well as the first card of the set. One down, 824 to go!

...Of course, there were six extra players who appeared only in the Gold parallel set, replacing the checklist cards. So that's 830 to go. Oh, and I can't forget the 132-card Traded set. So that takes us to 962 posts left to write. I wonder if I should do the 44 BlackGold inserts....

What have I started?