Random Topps Card of the Day: 2011 Topps #319 Atlanta Braves Team Card

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, January 4, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2011 Topps #319.
• Team: 2010 Atlanta Braves.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2010 stats: Manager Bobby Cox, 91-71, .561 PCT., 6 GB, Second Place NL East.
• Commentary: Topps brought back the team cards into their eponymous Topps sets in 2001, and since then, using the cards to review the team's previous season. And this practice continued through 2008, using team pictures that would include EVERYBODY (usually). In 2009, Topps didn't include them, which was both strange and wonderful as it meant there would be 30 more cards for players. In 2010, Topps made up for this "slight" by not only including a team card, but also a "Franchise History" card for every team. That meant 60 cards were used to feature teams. To me, that was a bit of overkill, even though the history lesson was great (although the statistics chosen were deliberate...some guy banned from baseball couldn't be listed back then either so the stats that he was the "franchise leader" of was not selected. And this spread to all 30 teams. But instead of using the traditional team picture, the regular team cards featured celebrations from all 30 teams. The team card concept returned in 2011 and continued the celebratory theme. In 2010, the Braves had much to celebrate. In what would be Bobby Cox' final year at the helm, a 91-71 record returned them to the postseason for the first time since 2005. Catcher Brian McCann was the team's offensive leader on the heels of a 21 home run, 77 rbi campaign. Omar Infante, the first NL All-Star utility player (yes, they made room for a player that was allowed to exit a ball game and then return...besides the catcher) led the team with a .321 batting average. Tim Hudson was the ace of the staff, with a team-leading 17 wins and 2.83 ERA. Tommy Hanson brought the heat with 173 strikeouts, best on the Braves' staff. Season highlights included Jason Heyward "hitting a homer on the first swing of his career" and Billy Wagner who "set a record for career strikeouts by a lefty reliever." Under new management in 2011 (former Marlins skipper Fredi Gonzalez), the 2011 Braves finished in second place with a 89-73 record.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1955 Topps #189. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama