1991 Topps #530 Roger Clemens

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

I have been neglecting some of my ongoing series for a long time.  I am going to try to get back into them.  This is yet another example of a great photo from this set.  We have the Rocket standing in front of the Green Monster next to the words "Strike Out".  A great-looking picture.

Clemens was one of the best pitchers in the game at this time.  He should have won the Cy Young Award in 1990, which would have been his third award.  Bob Welch of the A's took it home though, almost exclusively due to his 27 wins.  Welch was 27-6 with a 2.95 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 238 innings.  Clemens, on the other hand, was 21-6 with a league-leading 1.93 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 228.1 innings.  Other than the victories, Clemens was pretty obviously the better pitcher.

He would go on to win his third Cy Young Award in 1991 though.  It would be his last with the Red Sox, though he would win four more in his career with three other teams.  The less said about those years, the better.