The 2007 Topps Angels team set was released as part of Topps’ annual MLB team sets during the mid-2000s. This 36-card team set provided Angels fans with portraits of every player on the 2006 roster. Some key facts and highlights about the 2007 Topps Angels team set include:
The 2006 Angels finished with a record of 89-73, good enough for second place in the AL West division behind the Oakland A’s. The team was led by star players like Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins, Garret Anderson, and Kelvim Escobar. Topps’ team set captured each of these stars with individual photography cards.
Aside from the main roster, the set also included three manager/coach cards – one each for Mike Scioscia, Bud Black, and Ron Roenicke. Scioscia had been the Angels’ manager since 2000 and led the team to a World Series title in 2002. Black and Roenicke were both bench coaches under Scioscia in 2006.
Rookies on the 2006 roster like Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, and Ervin Santana each received their own rookie cards in the 2007 team set. This provided collectors the chance to obtain the first Topps cards featuring these up-and-coming young players as they began their MLB careers. Kendrick in particular went on to have a long, productive career primarily with the Angels.
Highlights of the photograph selection for the player cards included dramatic action shots for pitchers like John Lackey and Jered Weaver, close-up portrait images emphasizing the facial features of hitters like Figgins and Anderson, and full-body photos showcasing the batting or throwing motions of two-way talents like Guerrero and Mathis. The photography selection made each card portrait unique.
The design template for the 2007 Topps Angels set featured a simple white border around each photo with a blue and red colored team logo in the upper-left corner. Player names and statistics were printed in white text at the bottom of each card front. The back of each card contained a headshot, personal stats from 2006, and a brief career summary. No autographed or memorabilia cards were included.
To complete the set, collector’s needed to track down short printed cards like the rookie cards of Ervin Santana (#29) and Jeff Mathis (#31) which were inserted at lower rates. The #1 card was designated for Vladimir Guerrero as the team’s offensive star and franchise player of the era. Other chase cards included John Lackey (#8) and Chone Figgins (#13) as respected veterans on the roster.
While not worth as much in the secondary market as high-end flagship Topps sets from the same year today, the 2007 Angels team issue provided an affordable option for die-hard Angels collectors to build a complete, photographic set of their favorite 2006 roster. Prices for commons in the set currently range from under $1 to just a few dollars for the more scarce short prints. As a snapshot of that Angels team over 15 years ago, it remains a fun collection for fans of the Orange County ball club.
The 2007 Topps Angels team set was a 36-card issue focused entirely on providing photographs and stats for every active player on the 2006 Angels roster, including stars, rookies, and coaches. While a fairly basic and low-end product in Topps’ annual baseball offerings, it served as an attainable collectible for Angels fans looking to preserve images of that 2006 team in card form. Today it provides a fun retrospection on a mid-2000s Angels squad for collectors two decades later.
