In 2003 Topps put out 10 Future Stars cards featuring 20 players. How did they do. Let's see.
I'm prejudiced being a Cubs fan but I'd have to say Marlon Byrd has been a success. He was 4th in ROY voting in 2003 and was an All-Star last year. In his 10th season he has a lifetime average of .282.
Jorge Padilla didn't make it to the majors until 2009. He went 3 for 25 for the Nationals. At age 32 he is still playing in the minors most recently with the Marlins AAA team in New Orleans where he hit .337. Credit him for staying in the game for 14 years but definitely not a star.
Chris Snelling played for 4 teams over 5 seasons and hit .244. He last played in the minors in 2009.
Shin-Soo Choo didn't make it to the majors until 2005 but has been successful since, hitting .300 or better for 3 straight seasons, 2008-10. This year he's currently at .259.
Hank Blalock played for 9 seasons ending in 2010. He was an All-Star in 2003 and 2004. A lifetime .269 hitter, Hank had 86 HR and 292 RBI (2003-2005).
Tex has averaged over 30 HR and 100 RBI for his 9 seasons and has four Gold Gloves as well.
After his well documented battle with addiction Josh Hamilton made his major league debut in 2007. He has been an All-Star the last four seasons and was the AL MVP in 2010.
Carl Crawford is a four time All-Star with a .293 average, 1599 hits and 427 stolen bases in his 10 seasons.
Orlando Hudson, in his tenth season, is a 2 time All-Star and 4 time Gold Glove winner with a .277 life time average.
Josh Phelps was a part-time player for six teams over 8 seasons hitting .273.
Jack Cust's career could be over after having been released this summer by the Phillies. A strikeout artist of the negative kind, Jack has a .242 lifetime BA. He hit 84 HR for the Athletics between 2007-2009.
Rene Reyes hit .220 in just two seasons. He's still a star in the Mexican league.
Angel Berroa was the AL ROY in 2003. He's gone down hill since. He did hit .320 for AAA Reno this year.
Alexis Gomez hit .270 in just 170 plate appearance over four seasons in the bigs.
Michael Cuddyer has a .271 lifetime average over 11 seasons, all with Minnesota. He was an All-Satr this summer.
Michael Restovich batted.239 in 297 plate appearances over 6 seasons in the majors. Though still kicking around the minors he career seems to be ending.
Juan Rivera, over 11 seasons has a .278 average with 121 HR and 480 RBI. He's hitting .283 with the Dodgers since coming over from the Jays in July.
Marcus Thames, mostly a part-time player has a .246 average over his ten seasons with 115 HR and 301 RBI. He has an outstanding HR to at bat ration of 1 to 15.4.
It would be funnier if not for Brandon's serious offense but this card does feature Puffer and Bong. Very funny, Topps guy.
Um, worst for last? Brandon Puffer had a 3-4 W-L record and a 5.09 ERA in 85 games over 4 seasons. Puffer is currently in a Texas prison serving a five year sentence for burglary with the intent to commit sexual assault.
Jung Bong went 7-4 with a 517 ERA in 48 games over 3 seasons in the majors. Since 2007 he has been playing back in Korea.
Cool post, I always like looking back at sets like this.
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