Cards "missing" from a player's career

Has anyone else noticed glaring (and not so glaring) omissions of cards issued for the players the collect? Maury Wills is probably the poster boy for missing cards, but it happens more than I'd expect in modern sets.

For example, Dave Henderson's rookie card is in the 1982 Topps set, shared with two other players. He was a regular in the Mariners lineup, but didn't get a solo card in the 1982 Topps Traded set. Despite being a starter, he was also left out of the 1983 Donruss set. Hendu showed up for the first time in the 1984 Donruss set, but was then left out of the 1985 Donruss set as well. On the minor league side of his career, he spent most of 1981 in Spokane, but didn't rate a card in their 1981 TCMA team set.

Hensley Meulens, while getting his first card in the 1989 Donruss set, and then being a Rated Rookie in the 1991 Donruss set, has no 1990 Donruss card, despite being in all of the other main 1990 sets. Maybe that was a result of their inclusion of the All Stars in the base set that year. But he was also left out of 1990 Bowman, which was Topps most prospect-heavy set, despite making it into the main 1990 Topps base set. In 1992, he spent the almost all of 1992 in Columbus, but was left out of both the 1992 ProCards Tomorrows Heroes and 1992 Skybox AAA minor league sets. Meulens goes to Japan in 1994, plays there though 1996, yet doesn't get a single card from Calbee, the oldest continuous issuer of baseball cards in Japan, despite being in all three of the much more obscure Takara Pro-Baseball game sets. Fast forward to 1997, and Bam Bam is playing with the Ottawa Lynx, the AAA affiliate of the Expos. Despite playing 121 games with them and leading the team in multiple statistical categories, he is completely absent from their yearly team set.

What are your players' missing cards?
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As requested, here is the running list of cards that should have been (for one reason or another). For players that didn't get any cards at all in a year, I'll just list them as missing their Topps card.

1952-1958 Topps Stan Musial
1954-55 Bowman Stan Musial
1954 Bowman Hank Aaron
1954-55 Topps Mickey Mantle
1955 Bowman Sandy Koufax
1955 Bowman Roberto Clemente
1964-1970 Topps Tony Horton
1966 Topps Robin Roberts (CHC)
1975 Topps (Traded?) Harmon Killebrew (KCR)
1977 Topps Goose Gossage (PIT)
1977 Topps (Traded?) Reggie Jackson (BAL)
1978 Topps Jim Bouton (ATL)
1978 Topps Gorman Thomas
1983 Donruss Dave Henderson
1985 Donruss Dave Henderson
1987/88 Topps (Traded?) Phil Niekro (TOR)
1990 Bowman Hensley Meulens
1990 Donruss Frank Thomas
1990 Donruss Hensley Meulens
1990 Upper Deck Frank Thomas
1992 Topps All-Star Ken Griffey Jr.
1992 Triple Play Dave Winfield
1993 Donruss George Brett
1993 Finest Derek Jeter
1993 Fleer Ozzie Smith
1993 Triple Play Barry Bonds
1994 Bowman Mariano Rivera
1995 Topps Matt Stairs (BOS)
1995 Topps Dave Hollins (BOS)
1995 Topps Update Tuffy Rhodes (BOS)
1996 Topps Mariano Rivera
1997 Flair Will Clark
1997 Ottawa Lynx Hensley Meulens
1997 Topps Gold Label Will Clark
1997 Topps Update Hensley Meulens (MON)
1998 Topps Update Hensley Meulens (ARI)
1998 Topps Update Mike Piazza (FLA)
1998-2006 Topps Jason Varitek
2000 Topps Gary Gaetti (BOS)
2007 (any brand) Sandy Alomar Jr. (NYM)
2009-2014 Topps Matt Wieters
2011 Topps Hideki Matsui (OAK)
2012 Topps Update Hideki Matsui (TB)
2013-2014 Topps Ichiro Suzuki

I always though it was strange Griffey wasn't featured on a 1992 Topps All-Star card, despite being one of the most popular players at that time. (He was a starter in 1991 and a starter/MVP in 1992)

Football but I remember handing Bruce Matthews a topps rookie to sign at training camp a few years ago and he laughed and said he'd been in the league for 4 years by the time that card was made. I never checked into it though.

The biggest one that bothers me about Sandy Alomar Jr. is that he has no cards with the New York Mets. He only played eight games with the Mets in 2007, but it just feels incomplete without having a card of him with the team. I have had to settle for his 2007 New Orleans Zephyrs card instead.

There are also a number of players that I would like to see cards of with the Boston Red Sox, including Matt Stairs, Dave Hollins, Gary Gaetti, and some others.

Always hated / missed that Will Clark wasn't in the 97 and up Flairs and the Gold Label brand. Some of my favorite sets and photos as well as the Legacies. But he is a no show in them ;(

Ryan

shadowking86 said:

The biggest one that bothers me about Sandy Alomar Jr. is that he has no cards with the New York Mets. He only played eight games with the Mets in 2007, but it just feels incomplete without having a card of him with the team. I have had to settle for his 2007 New Orleans Zephyrs card instead.

There are also a number of players that I would like to see cards of with the Boston Red Sox, including Matt Stairs, Dave Hollins, Gary Gaetti, and some others.

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Topps needs to issue a "Don't Blink!" set that covers players for teams they were with only briefly. Then I could get Hensley Meulens cards with Arizona and Montreal, and a Tuffy Rhodes card in Boston. Did Hideki Matsui get any American cards in a Rays uniform? I'm pretty sure he got one in Japan for the home run he hit in his debut with them.

Or where photos are available, cards of players in uniforms for teams for which they never officially played a regular season game. Then I could get Meulens with the Braves, Rhodes with the Reds and Roberto Kelly with the Padres.

Wills is the original case where Topps's contract situation bit them. But A-Rod is probably the biggest one. Can you imagine what a 1994 Bowman's Best of Finest Refractor would've been going for in his prime or if they had gotten him into 1993 sets, before he was the most hated guy in the game?

It was kind of frustrating in the mid-00s where Grady Sizemore was in an insert set but not the base set for that same product.

A lot of stars are mysteriously left off checklists, usually just through simple oversight. Like Ozzie Smith wasn't in 1993 Fleer, IIRC, just because they forgot.

I actually like the idea of a Don't Blink set. Lots of players, especially in the trade deadline churn before their FA winter, get traded to new teams and then sign somewhere else, or retire, so there's a decent chance you never see a card of them on that team. Then there are guys like Steve Carlton who was on 5 different teams in his last 2 years, but I think he only showed up in 3 teams unis on cards. Reggie Jax on the Orioles has been covered by now, and Mike PIazza on the Marlins, but there are surely others.

smapdi said:

A lot of stars are mysteriously left off checklists, usually just through simple oversight. Like Ozzie Smith wasn't in 1993 Fleer, IIRC, just because they forgot.

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I was wondering why Ozzie was in the 1993 Fleer Final Edition set when he hadn't changed teams or anything.

I guess Matt Wieters is sort of a modern day Maury Wills. He still hasn't appeared on a regular Topps card. He had an eTopps, and he has been in the yearly Sega Card-Gen sets in Japan that are printed by Topps, but has never had a standard Topps card. And Ichiro hasn't had a Topps card since 2012 due to his exclusive with Leaf.

I can not believe I forgot this. Jason Varitek did not have any cards in Topps sets from the time he was drafted until 2007. He had the Team USA cards in 1992 and 1993 but that was it until 2007.

shadowking86 said:

I can not believe I forgot this. Jason Varitek did not have any cards in Topps sets from the time he was drafted until 2007. He had the Team USA cards in 1992 and 1993 but that was it until 2007.

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I have close to 300 Varitek cards and never noticed this until now. That is a weird one! Any idea why?

Does anyone have a reason why Tony Horton was never on a Topps card? While not a huge star, he had a few great seasons in the late 60's.

Stan Musial wasn't in '52 Topps, '53 Topps, '54 Topps or Bowman, '55 Topps or Bowman, '56 Topps, '57 Topps and '58 Topps (he made the final series All-Star card in '58, but had no regualr base card.)

Mickey Mantle wasn't in '54 or '55 Topps because of a contract with Bowman those years.

Hank Aaron did not have a '54 Bowman Rookie.
Same with rookies of Koufax and Clemente in '55 Bowman.

Back in 1994, Upper Deck had cards of a Billy Hall on the Red Sox. I'd never heard of him, and I never saw him play for the Sox. Wasn't until years later that I found out that not only did he never play for the Sox, he never made the majors at all in a 15 year career! Padres drafted him in 1991, was a Rule V pick for the Sox (who returned him to SD after UD made his Red Sox RCs), then bounced around for another decade.

DeliciousBacon said:

Back in 1994, Upper Deck had cards of a Billy Hall on the Red Sox. I'd never heard of him, and I never saw him play for the Sox. Wasn't until years later that I found out that not only did he never play for the Sox, he never made the majors at all in a 15 year career! Padres drafted him in 1991, was a Rule V pick for the Sox (who returned him to SD after UD made his Red Sox RCs), then bounced around for another decade.

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I had that Billy Hall card too. In regard to Varitek, I think it was the same reason A-Rod did not have any Topps cards for a few years. Problem with the contract.

DaClyde said:

Topps needs to issue a "Don't Blink!" set that covers players for teams they were with only briefly. Then I could get Hensley Meulens cards with Arizona and Montreal, and a Tuffy Rhodes card in Boston. Did Hideki Matsui get any American cards in a Rays uniform? I'm pretty sure he got one in Japan for the home run he hit in his debut with them.

Or where photos are available, cards of players in uniforms for teams for which they never officially played a regular season game. Then I could get Meulens with the Braves, Rhodes with the Reds and Roberto Kelly with the Padres.

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Harmon Killebrew on the Royals is a good one for the "Don't Blink" set. Or Jose Bautista with the Royals, Orioles, and Rays. I'm sure a few other late bloomers like Bautista will have a few teams they bounced around with before sticking.

1. 1994 Bowman Mariano Rivera - Was featured in 1992, 1993, and then 1995.

2. 1996 Topps Mariano Rivera - Had a dual card in 1995, and then had a single card in 1997. He finished 3rd in Cy Young voting that year as a set up man for Wetteland. One of my favorite years, too bad there is no Rivera card.

3. 1993 Finest Derek Jeter - Despite being in other Topps sets, he was not featured in Finest. This would have been a killer card, the refractor value would have been INSANE.

Claude Osteen had Topps cards from 1959-1976, minus 1961. He may not have played at the MLB level the year prior (after appearing in 59-60 already) or maybe it was some other reason why he was excluded.

Garvey only got a 1988 Score card when his career ended. He might otherwise have received Topps, Fleer and Donruss cards, but no loss there. Terrible year and all dull designs.

Brady Anderson with the Padres...or Rick Dempsey from his last year with the O's. There are a lot of players who didn't get a final card with all their stats. For example there is no 2002 Topps Cal Ripken, but he was in Donruss sets and Fleer Ultra. Just weird not to be in Topps. It must be a Topps contract thing. Here is one odd one....Bill Buckner. "Last" Topps Card was 1988 with the Angels. He did appear as a box bottom card in 1989 with the Royals. Then wasn't in 1990 at all for Topps but was in Score and Donruss that year.

In all of the so called heading to the hall sets that were put out during the 90s, Rickey only made it in one or two. 98 Topps Hallbound was one, though he never had a regular issue Topps card for that year.

DeliciousBacon said:

Harmon Killebrew on the Royals is a good one for the "Don't Blink" set. Or Jose Bautista with the Royals, Orioles, and Rays. I'm sure a few other late bloomers like Bautista will have a few teams they bounced around with before sticking.

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Unless I'm forgetting one, Jim Thome never had a card from his second stint with the Indians in 2011. Nor did Carlos Baerga in 1999

Greg