Roger Clemens might be one of the least likable baseball players of all time. But I've always had a thing for press conference cards. It's probably the reporter in me. And this presser capped one of the most surprising moves in Toronto Blue Jay history, when they signed Clemens, who had played his entire career up to that point with the Boston Red Sox, to a four-year, $40 million contract as a free agent before the 1997 season. The Rocket more than lived up to the deal, too, winning the Cy Young award in both 1997 and 1998. He asked to be traded after the 1998 season and the Jays dealt him to the New York Yankees for David Wells, Homer Bush and Graeme Lloyd.
We move from a guy who's widely reviled to one who's widely revered, at least in Toronto: Former manager Cito Gaston, who appears to be tearing up in the midst of a ceremony celebrating one of the Jays' two World Series championships. Gaston, of course, was the manager of both of those teams and he remains by far the winning-est (?) manager in Blue Jay history. But what on earth is going on with that AstroTurf-green sweater/jacket? This card celebrates the Blue Jays' career, active and season leaders in a variety of batting and pitching categories, and I believe it's part of a franchise subset within 2010 Topps. The Jays' all-time leader lists are dominated by two guys in particular: Carlos Delgado, who holds the franchise records for home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage, and Dave Stieb, who holds the records for wins, strikeouts and earned run average.
The last card that came my way isn't a Blue Jay but it is someone from Toronto: Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto. The 2010 National League MVP, Votto is generally regarded as the third-best Canadian baseball player of all of time, after Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker. I know base rookie cards aren't especially valuable nowadays, but I still can't resist 'em.
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