12/16/2022

2022 Topps Museum Collection


A few weeks ago, I saw that a card shop sold an interesting product. It’s a lucky bag. In the lucky bag, there are 3 hobby packs and a hit, which is an autograph card or a relic card.

 

When I received the package, I saw a box. It’s a mini box from the 2022 Topps Museum Collection. Topps Museum Collection is a premium brand and I never bought this product before. When I saw a mini box of the 2022 Topps Museum Collection, I was quite surprised and just wondered what I would find in this mini box.

 

It’s my first mini box of Topps Museum Collection and I found a very cool card. It’s a silver frame autograph card. On the front, it’s quite clear that you can see Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell’s autograph. 

 

While seeing this card, I began to think about those days of the Killer B’s.

 

Jeff Bagwell made his MLB debut in 1991. In his first season, he slashed .294/.387/.437 with 15 home runs and 82 RBI in 156 games. He had a great start in his career and he won the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year award. 3 years later, he hit .368/.451/.750 with 39 home runs and 116 RBI. He was selected to the All-Star game for the first time in his career. Additionally, he won the 1994 NL MVP award. In total, he played 15 seasons in the majors (all with the Astros). Bagwell batted .297/.408/.540 with 449 home runs and 1529 RBI. Furthermore, he had 202 stolen bases.

 

Bagwell was surely one the most dangerous hitters in the majors while he was playing for the Astros. After reviewing his career stats, I was just wondering whether there are many active players who would be able to reach some milestones as Bagwell did.

 

Home Runs (Career, Active Players)

Player

HR

Miguel Cabrera

507

Nelson Cruz

459

Giancarlo Stanton

378

Mike Trout

350

Joey Votto

342

 

Bagwell crushed 449 home runs in his career. Among active players, only Miguel Cabrera and Nelson Cruz blasted more home runs than Bagwell did. Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton just turned 33 in November, he has 378 home runs now. Stanton crushed 35 home runs last season and smashed 31 HRs in 2022. He should have enough time to surpass Bagwell’s 449 home runs. Furthermore, Mike Trout is now 31 years old and he already blasted 350 home runs. Trout missed some playing time due to injuries in 2021, but he crushed 40 home runs this season. If Trout stays healthy, it will be possible to see him hit more home runs than Bagwell did. Nonetheless, Joey Votto is now 39 years old and he might not have enough time to reach 400 home runs. 

 

Hits (Career, Active Players)

Player

H

Miguel Cabrera

3088

Robinson Cano

2639

Joey Votto

2093

Nelson Cruz

2018

Elvis Andrus

1997

 

Finally, Bagwell collected 2314 hits in his career. Among active players, Cabrera already joined the 3000-hit club. Robinson Cano has 2639 hits. Furthermore, Joey Votto and Nelson Cruz each have 2000+ hits so far. However, Votto will turn 40 in 2023 and Nelson Cruz is 42 years old. They probably won’t have another 2 or 3 years in the majors.

 

Adding a Bagwell autograph card is surely wonderful. Bagwell didn’t win the World Series title with the Astros in his career. However, he surely has a great career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017. Albert Pujols blasted 703 HRs and collected 3384 hits in his career. Additionally, Miguel Cabrera now has 507 home runs and 3088 hits. Pujols retired after the 2022 season and Cabrera will retire after the 2023 season. In the short term, it’s not that easy to see many active players reach at least 440 home runs and 2300 hits as Bagwell did. 

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