2005 Topps Gallery, Khalil Greene

#43 Khalil Greene

Here is a card of the former Padre, Cardinal, and college standout, Khalil Greene. This card is another in the long line of Padrographs given to me by Rod.

Khalil was the man in college while playing for Clemson and, in 2002, he won the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award. Winning those two awards generally means that you are the best college player in the nation that year. Some recent winners of both include Buster Posey, Stephen Strasburg, and David Price.

Khalil was drafted that year by the Padres in the first round and in 2003, he got his first taste of big league action. When 2004 rolled around, he was on the Padres roster to stay and he stayed there through the 2008 season. His best year with the Padres came in 2007 when he clubbed 27 home runs while driving in 97. His numbers slipped the following year and the Padres traded him to the Cardinals.

2009 was a bad year for Khalil. He played in just 77 games and he spent some time on the disabled list battling social anxiety disorder. The Cardinals released him after the season was up and Khalil signed a contract with the Rangers for 2010. However, he was still battling his social anxiety disorder and he did not report to Spring Training.

I have no idea if Khalil is ever going to play again. It would be great if he could overcome his disorder and get back into the game. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.

I think that this is the only card that I have from the 2005 Topps Gallery set. I had bought a few packs of Gallery before, but this card is a little different from the ones I had bought. The packs I bought were all glossy. While this card has a little bit of gloss to it, the texture of the card is different. It reminds me of Upper Deck Masterpieces.