Monday, October 14, 2013

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2003 Topps #670 Darrell Rasner Draft Pick

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, October 14, 2013:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2003 Topps #670.
  • Player Name, position, team: Darrell Rasner, pitcher, MontrĂ©al Expos.
  • Major League Debut: September 6, 2005.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 2002 stats (Vermont, A-New York-Pennsylvania): 10 G, 43.2 IP, 2-5, 27 R, 21 ER, 49 SO, 18 BB, 10 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.33 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Expos #2, June 2002. Bats: right. Throws: right.
  • Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 3. This is his first Topps card.
  • Blurb on the back: "Darrell re-wrote the pitching section of the record book at the U. of Nevada, setting career marks for wins (28) and strikeouts (302). His 14 wins as a Freshman All-American and All-Big West selection in 2000 is also a Wolfpack record. An avid outdoorsman from Carson City, Nevada, he was a four-year all-conference selection at Carson High, and twice was chosen as North Nevada's top pitcher."
  • Commentary: Apparently, Topps didn't make the transition over from airbrushing to "photoshopping" in 2003. Why? Take a look at the picture the company used for Darrell Wayne Rasner's card (and for another example...remember Jason Bay's card from 2002 Topps? Maybe it's an Expo thing...I'm not sure). It would take four minor league seasons before the Expo draft pick would make his MLB debut. But instead of pitching north of the border, he found himself in the Nation's capital, starting the game against the Florida Marlins. In his debut year, Rasner went 0-1 in five games (7.1 innings of work), an ERA of 3.68, 4 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.955. He was placed on waivers by the Nationals, and the New York Yankees promptly selected him off the wire. From 2006-2008, Rasner would go back and forth between the Yankees minor league teams and the big club in the Bronx. In three combined seasons with NY, in which he pitched as part of the starting rotation, Rasner would earn a cumulative record of 9-14, with a 5.06 ERA, 89 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.478 in 158.1 innings pitched. After the 2008 season, the Tohuko Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League purchased Rasner's contract. With the Golden Eagles, he earned a spot on the starting rotation, earning a record of 9-17, an ERA of 5.31, and 169 strikeouts in 40 games (38 starts) in his first two seasons at Sendai. In 2011, he became the team's closer, where he has found a lot more success (40 saves, 21 holds, a 3.05 ERA, and a 5-9 record) over the last three seasons.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 4 cards.


Tomorrow's card will be: 1990 Topps #611. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

No comments: