MLB Showdown 2005 Mini Set Part 3: Historical Collection

Now for the moment we have all been waiting for, the Historical Collection!!!! Now what this is, is basically a collection of some of the best seasons of a player from every team over the years. Now on this site we have seen a ton of cards made, so the goal here was to not include any of those, so I already had a tough task at hand, and in a few cases I remastered an old card to make it look more up to our current standards. Also the exciting part on top of the players, is a brand new card design. With the old pictures it is hard to find pictures for a great cutout, so using a whole photo with a tint in the background, I drew inspiration from some of the later years of showdown foils. I think these cards would look really cool printed off as foils, and I hope you enjoy the looks of the cards as much as the actual card. Now we get to take a look through the history books at some of the best seasons in Major League Baseball.

1948 AL MVP and World Series Champion, as a lifelong Indians fan I had heard his name, but grew up on Omar and now Francisco Lindor, never though I needed another shortstop, but this guy was really good.

The Baseball world lost this legend recently, so it makes sense that we debut his new showdown card in his honor.

Hammering Hank won the Gold Glove in 1959, led the league in batting average, hit 46 doubles, 7 triples and 39 home runs. 

1959 NL MVP Ernie Banks is a remake on an old creation of mine, and it looks fantastic in this new style. 45 home runs and 143 runs driven in for the back to back 58-59 NL MVP.

1965 Jim Malomey went 20-9 with a tremendous season, 14 complete games. His walk rate wasn't great but his lack of allowed extra base hits makes his card deadly if the rolls are on your side.

The 1965 NL MVP Willie Mays hit 52 home runs and won the gold glove, so the over the shoulder catch wasn't a fluke in showdown terms.

1966 NL MVP is a remake of an old card of mine, this guy is an absolute monster, 3000 career hits, 31 doubles, 11 triples. and 29 home runs in the 66 season.

Marichal went 25-6 with a 2.23 ERA and a .859whip destroying the league in route to a stellar card. 8IP basically guarantees he will go a complete game like he did in 1966 25 times out of his 36 starts.

The speedster, that will probably be the cheap point favorite as his 24 speed and tons of extra base hit pop will make his a great option at the top of an order. 46 doubles 14 triples and 62 stolen bases and a bad ass powder blue jersey!!

McCovey was the 1969 NL MVP and is the third Giant featured in this collection. .453 On-base percent, hitting 45 home runs and 26 doubles.  The reason we have a McCovey Cove for Barry Bonds and other players to blast homers into.

Nolan Ryan posted a 2.28 ERA and a 1.137 WHIP, 20 complete games and a league leading 329 strikeouts and 19 wins.

When making this card, all I could think of was Adam Sandlers Hanukkah song when he says, Hall of Famer Rod Carew. 1977 AL MVP had 239 hits 38 doubles and 16 triples! This card will be an awesome leadoff or second hitter to set the table for the rest of the lineup.

Finishing third in MVP voting in 1979 and winning a gold glove, Dave Winfield has an awesome card. 27 doubles, 10 triples and 34 home runs will make this guy deadly in your lineup.

1980 AL MVP George Brett was a tremendous hitter, batting .454 OB% 33 doubles, 9 triples and 24 homers. Also led the entire league in average, on-base, slugging and OPS.

Mr. October has arrived in a Yankees uniform, finished second in MVP voting behind George Brett and blasted an AL leading 41 home runs on the season.

The mustache deserved it and the chart cemented it as on of the best closers we have seen so far. 1981 AL Cy Young and MVP!!! What a stellar year, 1.04 ERA .0872 WHIP and 28 saves.

Finishing 3rd in MVP voting and was a silver slugger, I randomly fell across this guys stats by clicking on his picture on the baseball reference home page. 42 doubles 5 triples 30 home runs.

In 1982 Steve Rogers went 19-8 with a 2.40 ERA 1.119 WHIP and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting. I will refer to him as the right handed 00 Randy Johnson.

Winning the Cy Young in 1983, John Denny went 19-6 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.162 WHIP. He had a league leading 0.3 HR/9 rate as well.

Finishing 3rd in AL MVP voting, Carlton Fisk had 26 doubles and 26 home runs, adding some new found catcher  depth to the legends roster.

The second place finisher in the AL MVP voting, also won a silver slugger and a gold glove, hitting 30 doubles and 33 home runs while driving in 111 runs. For as solid of an  all around player as he was, he never won an MVP but finished in the top 5 five years in a row.

World Series MVP also won a gold glove and was an all star in that season. His top notch defense and 34 doubles make him a great batter to have in the middle of a lineup.

The most likely to be unknown in this set, finished top 10 in MVP voting this season, and never returned to that list again, hitting 46 doubles and stole 24 bases.

1986 Cy Young winner will dominate from the hill, but sadly will not be the manager at your paper company. went 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA and a league leading .923 WHIP, also leading the league in strikeouts.

1987 AL MVP, silver slugger and all star led the AL with 134 RBIs. 32 doubles, 4 triples and 47 home runs. He is a all out slugger at the plate and will do tons of damage.

Finishing 4th in the 87 MVP race Dwight Evans had a nice 30+double 30+ home run season. His dual position eligibility makes him a nice player to have offering some flexibility.

Sadly another player that we lost recently, who will live on in showdown forever won a gold glove in 1987 and finished 8th in the AL MVP voting. He stole 32 bases and is a tremendous option as a lead off hitter.

Harold was an all star in 1987 and led the AL in steals with 60 stolen bases. He brings awesome speed to a team, and some great defense while being a great late lineup hitter.

Going 20-3 in 1988 David Cone finished 3rd in the NL Cy Young voting. His 2.22 ERA and a 1.115 WHIP gets him this great chart.

1988 NL Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser went 23-8 with 15 complete games and a league leading 8 shutouts. He also won the gold glove for pitchers, which we don't reflect in showdown but still impressive.

Nolan is back, I figured we already had Peters Astros version, and I made an Angels version, we need Nolan Ryan on all of his teams. He finished top 5 in AL Cy Young voting, striking out a league high 301 batters.

As the great Jay-Z once said "At the 40/40 Club ESPN on the screen" A-Rod joined the elusive 40/40 club. He was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and finished 9th in AL MVP voting. 35 doubles, 5 triples, and 42 home runs. He also stole 46 bases, joining the club that only 4 players have ever joined, 1988 Jose Canseco, 1996 Barry Bonds, and 2006 Alfonso Soriano are the other members. How do you like the 40/40 club logo?

We have great Beltran cards from all his later seasons and other teams, it felt like it was time for the Royals to be rewarded pre trash can banging Carlos Beltran. 32 doubles, 12 triples and 24 home runs going along with 31 stolen bases. It is hard to believe he didn't finish on the MVP ballot with those kind of numbers.

Speaking of MVP Ballots, 2001 Todd Helton finished 9th in the National League, won the gold glove and a silver slugger. 54 doubles, 49 home runs and a chart that should be what his original 2001 MLB Showdown card should have looked like.

2002 Randy Johnson won his 4th straight CY Young award, winning 24 games, posting a 2.32 ERA and a 1.031 WHIP. Led the league in strikeouts, IP, and K/9.

His teammate Curt Schilling finished 2nd in the NL Cy Young voting for the second season in a row, very reminiscent of this year Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole Duo. He led the NL in WHIP with a .968 while winning 23 games that year. Johnson and Schilling combined for 47 recorded wins in 2002.

AL MVP played the full season and had a semi lack luster season for a MVP winner, especially with all the other MVP winners that we had seen so far. He had 30 doubles, and 34 home runs, but drove in 131 RBIs.

This guy may have played for every single team in the Major Leagues. Winning a silver slugger, selected as an all star, and finishing third in the NL MVP voting. He hit 37 doubles and hit 39 home runs while stealing 18 bases.

What a difference a year makes, 2005 Mike Lowell is terrible but in 2004 he was an All-Star hitting 44 doubles and 27 home runs.

2007 Carlos Pena blasted 46 home runs,won the silver slugger and finished 9th in the AL MVP voting, driving in 121 runs. He will be a great addition to an all time Rays team.

There we have it, the historical collection is finished. Tons of great players that can be used for some devastating lineups. What is everyone's thoughts on the players, the new design and the set overall.


I bet someone out there is thinking, did you forget that they played basell in the 1970s? No I didn't