Yankees fans now have the opportunity to help make one of their new favorite players the face of baseball — or at least the face of Topps baseball cards, for 2017. (Strangely, no Mets made the cut…)
Gary Sanchez, who burst on the scene and made an immediate huge impact on the sport this summer, is one of 16 players nominated by the card company to be its iconic #1 card in Series One in 2017. Voting on the Topps Blog (click here to vote) began this week and continues through Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 11:59 p.m. Fans will be able to either “retweet” or “like” a tweet assigned to each of the sixteen nominees which will count as a vote. Thousands of online votes poured in last year, with Mike Trout the eventual Card No. 1 winner.
Previous players to achieve this prestigious honor in consecutive years include Ted Williams (1957-58), Hank Aaron (1973-76), Nolan Ryan (1990-92), Alex Rodriguez (2005-06 & 2008-09), and most recently Ryan Braun (2011-12).
Sanchez erased several rookie records during his 2016 campaign, slashing .299/.376/.657 and hitting 20 home runs in 201 at bats.
The list of 2017 Topps Baseball Card No. 1 nominees:
Adrian Beltre
Mookie Betts
Kris Bryant
Miguel Cabrera
Carlos Correa
Josh Donaldson
Bryce Harper
Clayton Kershaw
Francisco Lindor
Manny Machado
Yadier Molina
David Ortiz
Buster Posey
Gary Sanchez
Corey Seager
Mike Trout