MLB Showdown Obsession

 Congratulations! You've been waiting for what seems like an eternity and finally you got the phone call: you're going to the Hall of Fame! Now comes the whirlwind of interviews, TV spots and well wishes from everyone. Time to make plans for the following summer to hit up the Hall for your induction ceremony. But before you write that speech, or look for where the heck Cooperstown even is on a map, the Hall has one very important question for you: What logo do you want on your plaque? When someone is elected to the Hall of Fame, they get a nifty plaque with their face and list of accomplishments. If that person was a player (or Manager) that image of their face will always include them wearing a baseball hat. For some people, the choice is automatic; either their entire career took place on one team, or the vast majority of their success was in one place. For example, Mariano Rivera only ever pitched for the Yankees, so there was no question that an interlocking NY would be fea...

 MLB teams love their anniversaries. Growing up, I remember watching all the teams throw out there a special anniversary patch or logo like the Rockies celebrating 10 or 20 years, or the Yankees and their 100 seasons. Heck, the 2003 World Series logo was making a big fuss about it being the 100th fall classic. So everyone loves their special round numbers in baseball, and this year the Toronto Blue Jays are no exception. For 2026, the only team left in Canada marked their 50th season in baseball. So let us today take a look back 50 years to that debut season of the great white north's 2nd MLB franchise. The 1977 season saw more expansion as baseball would return to Seattle, and arrive for the first time in Toronto. Roy Hartsfield was chosen to make his debut as a Major League Manager. The excitement was high for the Blue Jays as they opened the season at home with a strong win over the Chicago White Sox. From there they would tread water but slowly dip more and more under .500 befo...

 There were two perfect games during the official Showdown era, and while David Cone's accomplishment earned him a place of honor in the original starter set, Randy Johnson's wasn't quite as easy to get in the 2005 Showdown collection. Johnson had a typical Johnson season in 2004, leading the majors with 290 Strikeouts and nabbing his 10th all star nomination, but something atypical was on May 18th when he rolled up to Turner Field to face the Atlanta Braves and pitched a perfect game where he struck out 13 men, the 2nd most total at the time for a perfect game and just one short of Sandy Koufax's masterpiece . Typical of the Diamondbacks of that time, they gave him minimal run support in the 2-0 win, but perfection never requires much. At 40 years old, Johnson became the oldest perfect game pitcher in history, displacing the legendary Cy Young from the mark. It was also the 1st no hitter in Diamondbacks history, a great accomplishment for Johnson along with his 1990 n...