Thursday, May 2, 2013

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1989 Topps Traded #30T Alvaro Espinoza

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, May 2, 2013:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1989 Topps Traded #30T.
  • Player Name, position, team: Alvaro Espinoza, shortstop, New York Yankees.
  • Major League Debut: September 14, 1984.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1988 stats (Yankees): 3 G, 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .000 SLG, 0 BB, 0 SO, .000 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Astros as a Free Agent 10/30/1978. Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 11/17/1987. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 6. This is his second Topps card.
  • Blurb on the back: "Alvaro made his major league debut, 9-14-84. The appearance wasn't made official until the 1985 season."
  • Commentary: This is Alvaro's second trip to through the Randomizer as his 1994 card was picked last year. Let me see if I have this correct. If Espinoza appeared in three games in 1988, (one as a starter, the other two as a late-inning defensive replacement), and went 0-3 (in his lone start), how is it that in the 1988 Monthly Scoreboard that appears at the bottom of his trading card it shows that Alvaro had 3 hits and 3 rbi's in August??? Makes no sense and it's funny that I haven't seen anybody point this out...EVER! On an unrelated note, I think I still have a pair of those glasses similar to what Alvaro is wearing somewhere in the house. Too bad I can't see in them anymore. In 1989, Alvaro was the Yankees every day shortstop, appearing in 146 games, hitting a .282 average with 0 home runs and 41 rbi's. Defensively, he had a fielding percentage of .970 on the heels of 22 errors in 730 total chances, including 114 double plays. In his three plus years with in the Bronx, Espinoza provided a steady glove, a decent bat (.255, 7 HR, 94 RBI, .598 OPS), and even pitched in a game in 1991. Alvaro was released by the Yankees on March 17, 1992 and before the season started, found work with the Cleveland Indians.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 8.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2008 Topps #241. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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