From the Pedro Binder

2005 Topps AL Strikeout leaders

I just talked about what a great idea it is for the card companies to make League Leaders cards. This is certainly a clear example of that. Topps got to make a card with Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, and Curt Schilling on it. Not sure there were bigger names in the pitching arena in 2005. Of course, the bittersweet part for me is that Pedro was no longer a Red Sox by the time this card came out.

But, I like this card, because sometimes I forget how good Pedro still was in 2004. He certainly wasn’t up to Pedro standards. And, there was a championship and a new guy in Curt Schilling who was taking up some of the attention. Some people even being foolish to suggest Curt was the new “ace” of the Sox. So, sometimes I forget that Pedro was still one of the top pitchers. As this card clearly shows, only one pitcher struck out more guys than he did in 2004.

Otherwise, the card is really nothing special. It features the twisted ribbon design common with all 2005 Topps cards. It lines up the three players in a format that become all too familiar with the recent LL cards. The card should be centered properly. My scanner, for some reason, disagreed. So, there isn’t even any creativity from that.

But, the card is all that it’s made out to me. It gets three stars on one card. It celebrates the best strikeout pitchers in the league. It has two Red Sox players on it.

And it has Pedro.