Shawn Fagan on baseball cards

Shawn Fagan, a native of Levittown, NY, played five seasons in the Blue Jays organization, including two years at AAA. In 556 games he hit .281 with 39 HR and 276 RBI. Now Principal Academic Advisor in the athletic department at Temple University, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?

I was assigned to the Queens Kings (now the Brooklyn Cyclones) upon being drafted in 2000 and shortly thereafter Topps came to St Johns University (where we played our home games) for a photo shoot.  Since Topps wanted us outfitted in "Pro" uniforms I had to borrow my manager (Eddie Rodriguez's) jersey and in my Topps Fusion Card you can see the "R" on the back of the jersey in the photo since Rodriguez is a considerably longer last name than Fagan.  I always wondered if baseball card collectors/enthusiasts ever picked up on that.       

Another cool story is when my best friend introduced me to a friend of his who was a baseball card/memorabilia collector.  One night we were over his house and he gave me a box of unopened Stadium Club cards to see if I could open a pack with my card in it.  I think it took half the box or more but I finally opened a pack with my card in it and it was a pretty surreal feeling.    

 

Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?

My two favorite cards of myself are the 2001 Topps Stadium Club (this was my first card) and the 2001 Topps Gallery (because it was a portrait).  

Do you collect baseball cards?

I did collect baseball cards when I was younger and still have all my old cards but I haven't collected in a long time.  I believe the last year I collected was 1990 or so. 

Thanks!