Commanders of the Hill

This weekend I spent over ten hours in my office going through boxes and sorting cards into stacks.  There were stacks all over the floor.  I thought about taking a picture, but the mess wasn't something I'm too proud of.  And I'm not even close to being finished.  That was really only the first phase of the sort where I pulled cards out of grimy penny sleeves, sorted them by sports, and separated the ones I plan to keep, the ones I intend to ship, and the ones I plan to drop off at Goodwill.

I've put everything back into boxes, so that I'm able to move around.  At some point the next level of sorting needs to take place.  That's where things are broken down into teams, players, rookies, inserts, base, etc.

However that's gonna happen another weekend, because I'm taking today off.  My back is sore and the goal is to relax as I have the day off for Veteran's Day.

In honor of this federal holiday, I thought I'd dedicate this post to all who have served or are currently serving in our country's armed forces and show off an oddball issue that was distributed exclusively on military bases.

Back in 1993, Topps produced a set consisting of only pitchers called Commanders of the Hill.  I was introduced to this set back in March when SumoMenkoMan reviewed these cards on A Pack To Be Named Later.  It inspired me to head over to eBay and purchase some packs (which unfortunately were never shipped).  As luck would have it, SumoMenkoMan would hook me up with twenty-one packs in a care package that I finally got around to opening yesterday afternoon.

Each pack contains five cards... so I knew I had a pretty solid shot at building the thirty card set.  I was right.  In the sixteenth pack, I pulled the Melido Perez and Dave Stewart which completed the set.  Here the entire set for your viewing pleasure:

#1 Dennis Eckersley   #2 Mike Mussina   #3 Roger Clemens

#4 Jim Abbott   #5 Jack McDowell   #6 Charles Nagy

The first sixteen cards in the set represent the American League.  The first card in the set honors Eckersley for winning the 1992 AL Cy Young Award, while the next fourteen cards feature each team's 1992 ERA leader (among starting pitchers with a certain number of appearances). 

#7 Bill Gullickson   #8 Kevin Appier   #9 Bill Wegman

#10 John Smiley   #11 Melido Perez   #12 Dave Stewart

#13 Dave Fleming   #14 Kevin Brown   #15 Juan Guzman

#16 Randy Johnson   #17 Greg Maddux  #18 Tom Glavine

Randy Johnson closes things out for the AL with a special American League Strikeout Leader card, while Greg Maddux kicks things off for the National League with the NL Cy Young Award card.

#19 Greg Maddux   #20 Jose Rijo   #21 Pete Harnisch

#22 Tom Candiotti   #23 Denny Martinez   #24 Sid Fernandez

Maddux is the only player who appears twice in the set, since he was also the Cubs' ERA Leader as well.

#25 Curt Schilling   #26 Doug Drabek   #27 Bob Tewksbury

#28 Andy Benes   #29 Bill Swift   #30 John Smoltz

John Smoltz closes things out with his National League Strikeout Leader card.

Here's a closer look at the three different types of cards in the set...

Cy Young Award Winner

Team ERA Leader

League Strikeout Leader

Although I don't think this design would work for a flagship series, it definitely gives off the oddball issue vibe.  I like the use of camouflage on the front and red, white, and blue on the backs.  I also think it was cool to have at least one player from each team represented in the set.  And the game by game record on the team's ERA leader was a nice touch.

The set is obviously loaded with big names.  There are six hall of famers on the checklist:  Dennis Eckersley, Mike Mussina, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.  Dennis Eckersley, Jim Abbott, Dave Stewart, Kevin Brown, and Dennis Martinez are all members of the No-Hitter Club.  And these eight guys each took home at least one Cy Young Award:  Roger Clemens (7), Dennis Eckersley, Jack McDowell, Randy Johnson (5), Tom Glavine (2), John Smoltz, Greg Maddux (4), and Doug Drabek.

But I also think it's cool that this set provides an opportunity for Tigers fans to add a Bill Gullickson oddball issue to their collection.  Or there's one more Billy Swift card for San Francisco Giants collectors to track down. 

Oh and before I forget, here's a look at an unopened pack, which according to Baseballcardpedia originally sold for 25¢ with the purchase of a fountain drink at Army and Air Force Exchange restaurants or snack bars:

Well that wraps up my Veteran's Day post.  A special shout out to Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders.  His Sportlots post reminded me that I had these packs laying around waiting to be opened.  Thank you to Ryan (aka SumoMenkoMan) for supplying these packs.  And of course a huge thank you to all of the veterans and people currently serving in our country's armed forces.  You truly are real American heroes.

Happy Veteran's Day and sayonara!