The Topps baseball card company salutes one player from each state in its 2008 Allen & Ginter collection.
The New Mexico honoree is Cody Ross, an outfielder with the Florida Marlins.
“Cody, who once pitched a perfect game for Carlsbad High School, is the first Portales-born player to reach the Major Leagues,” according to the back of the Topps baseball card.
“He already ranks third among New Mexico natives in career home runs. Though Ross has a long way to go if he hopes to catch all-time state baseball legend Ralph Kiner, the versatile Marlins outfielder got jump-started in 2007 with a .335 average and 12 homers in 66 games.”
Ross was born in 1980 in Portales, but his parents soon moved to Big Spring, Texas, and then to Carlsbad, where he played high school baseball.
Ross has 19 home runs and 63 runs batted in this season, going into Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta.
He has 45 career home runs.
Kiner, born in Santa Rita near Silver City, hit 369 home runs in his 10-year big-league career with the Pirates, Cubs and Indians.
