The 2001 Topps Archives set consisted of reprints of classic Topps cards, but they took some creative license with this re-imagining of a Dennis Martinez rookie card. In the original 1977 Topps set, "El Presidente" shared a four-player card with three other rookie pitchers: Mike Dupree of the Padres, Craig Mitchell of the A's, and Bob Sykes of the Tigers. You can see the real deal
here. For the Archives card, they just cropped the Martinez quadrant and zoomed in on it. It's funny to see Dennis without his customary mustache, isn't it?
Yo quiero el Presidente. Saw him a couple years ago being the pitching coach for the Astros at Spring Training and he was signing autographs for the fans during the entire game and talking to anyone who approached him. A great baseball guy who I hope stays in the game for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI can only echo what Zach said. He's a long time favorite. I talked to him a couple of years ago in Houston and he was as nice as could be.
ReplyDeleteI've never had the pleasure to meet Dennis, but I've also never heard a bad word against him.
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