2013 Chachi Preview #3 Carlos Ruiz

The voters have spoken and The Phillies Room Executive Committee has agreed with their choice.  The 2013 Chachi set will be based on the often overlooked, but always appreciated, 1973 Topps set.

I was out of town for a few days this past week, and when I checked the results of the Pick the 2013 Chachi Set Design poll on Thursday morning, the image you see to the right is what greeted me.  Stinkin' Blogger.  Fortunately, I had checked the poll on late Wednesday afternoon, and unless there was a crazy surge in the voting between 5pm and 8pm, I think these were the results I remember seeing:

1973 Topps - 19 votes
1988 Topps - 16 votes
1985 Topps - 8 votes
1971 Topps - 4 votes

(Plus or minus a few votes here and there.  Good thing this poll wasn't too important!)

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I'm a little surprised at the love shown to the 1973 Topps set.  But here were some of the favorable comments the set received:

"I voted for 1973 because that's a 1970's set that doesn't get enough love.  I also know that, unlike the 'throwback people' at Topps, we can trust you to use the right icon for left- and right-handed pitchers." - shlabotnikreport

"I vote for 1973.  I've always loved the photos in that set.  But you have to do one thing if you do it--have some ridiculously far away, but exciting, action shots (maybe with cars and a chain-link fence in the background) . . . " - Steve F.

"I went with the '73.  Just a classy look to it.  Big phan of the position silhouette which gives it something that most sets haven't done and has been overlooked." - Brian Conrad

For further reading on the 1973 Topps set, please see my post on the 1973 Topps Phillies cards as well as this critique of the various Mike Schmidt rookie card reprints attempted by Topps over the years.  There's also the wonderful 1973 Topps Photography blog, hosted by the late, great Chris Stufflestreet and the wonderfully designed 1973 Topps Baseball Set Builder blog.

So who won the 2012 Phillies Room Help Pick the 2013 Chachi Set Design and Maybe Get Free Stuff contest, you may be asking yourself?  If Hurricane Sandy allows it, that's coming tomorrow.  It's the off-season, and I need to pace myself with my posts.