Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2004 Topps Traded and Rookies #T65 Miguel Batista

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 31, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2004 Topps Traded and Rookies #T65.
  • Player Name, position, team: Miguel Batista, pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays.
  • Major League Debut: April 11, 1992.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 2003 stats (Diamondbacks): 36 G, 193.1 IP, 10-9, 85 R, 76 ER, 142 SO, 60 BB, 29 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 0 SV, 1.33 WHIP, 3.54 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Expos as Free Agent 02/29/1988. Signed with the Blue Jays as a Free Agent 12/12/2003. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Batista's sixth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Okay, it's rant time again. He pitched 56 games for the Expos in 1998, and Topps didn't even include the guy in the 1999 set??! Was it because he was a swingman (starter/reliever) for the Expos??! Is that why??! The man deserved a card. I'm surprised that they didn't make a card for him when he played for the Cubs the year before. Okay, rant over. After three productive years with the Diamondbacks (including a World Series ring in 2001), Batista signed on with the Blue Jays to get more work in as a starter. The blurb on the back below the stats reads in verbatim, "Hard-luck Miguel was winless in his first seven Blue Jays starts but, on June 9, he blanked the Dodgers, 4-0, on four hits." The sentence is very misleading. Why? Because it would appear that the man's eighth start was that 4-0 shutout in June. That's how I read it before I actually looked it up. He truly did not win his first seven starts, but he didn't wind up 0-7 (as I was initially led to believe). He was 0-3 when he beat the White Sox in May for his first win. After the game against the Dodgers, he was 4-4. Anyway, if I haven't said before, let me say it now that I absolutely love the 2004 Topps design. I don't know how they were able to pull of the silhouette on the bottom left of all the player cards to match the large picture. It's genius. Even down to the wrinkles on his uniform...that's fantastic. The team name in big bold silver letters makes for easy sorting. While the picture isn't as large as other designs in the decade, the silhouette below makes up for it.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 13 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #220. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The Monthly Comment Mailbag - March 2010 Edition

I was trying to find a video to lead into this segment, preferably a video of the Mailbag Day song from Space Ghost Coast to Coast. You know the one that goes:

MAILBAG DAY!!!
MAILBAG DAY!!!
HEY EVERYBODY
IT'S MAILBAG DAY!!!

That one. But I couldn't, oh well.

It's the end of the March, so I guess now is a good time to go through the comments and respond as best I can.

To friend of the blog The Drizz: The team sets from 2009 all had the plastic cases to protect the cards in the package. It looks like they're continuing that trend this year. But there are, as found in the pictures I used for the post, packages without the cases. If they boys from the Detroit Sports Collectors can verify that Fu-Ti Ne is card #14 on the Tigers Team set, then I believe that he's #14 in all the sets. Last year, the Mariners' team set had Jarrod Washburn as #SEA8. When I opened my set, #8 in the set was Ken Griffey, Jr.

To Stale Gum man Chris Harris: Hey, at least they got it fixed for the team set (he's talking about Halladay's number on the Phillies card. Halladay's Topps Opening Day card had him wearing the Phillies #32, but that number is retired. Based on the picture on my post, and by the looks of Chris' post, it has been since corrected in the team sets).

To reader Eddie Z: No, that Eddie Murray card is from the Card Your Mother Threw Out original backs set, not the eponymous set. It's numbered #490 because that's the card number of the original 1981 Topps card. I'd ask to see if you want to trade it to me, but I already have the card.

To friend of the blog Joe McAnally of The Baseball Card Cyber Museum: I know you have 1954 cards on your site, but they're the reprint cards (the ones with the four borders), and I wanted to use an image of the original card. Just to let you know that I think it's fantastic that you're getting around to scanning the rest of the 50's and 60's cards to complete those sets and I promise I'll use your site for my Retro Sundays cards scans first.

To Captain Canuck: So if Topps didn't win the license to make NHL hockey cards, can they still make Puck Attax next year? Wouldn't this mean that they could probably do the same kind of thing for the NBA and NFL??? I don't know how that would necessarily work for football, but basketball is something of a possibility, especially if they can market it as a game product.

To friends of the blog Mariner1 and cynicalbuddha: Thank you for nominating the blogroll for the UD awards. Although I knew there'd be no way in heck my blog would even be considered, I'm surprised that they didn't take the blogroll into consideration. I guess there really was no place to fit it in any of their categories. And for the record, I'm abstaining from voting in the blog category. The fact that one of the blog nominees literally started their blog THIS MONTH, and another isn't as relevant as it once was, plus many of the more notable blogs weren't even selected for the final ballot, I don't understand. I am pulling for the Junkie though.

To friend of the blog Tdlindgren: Eventually I'll get the scans up. Maybe if and when I complete both sets I'll display them all the SP cards at once. It's still a challenge to complete the sets from 2009 and this year, and I'm hoping not to be too far behind before 2010 Series 2 hits.

To The Angry Sports Card Guy: You know I'd love to go to one of these shows on a Sunday. I've heard that many of the dealers sell their cards at lower prices on Sundays because they want to get rid of as much stuff as they can so they don't carry back too much with them. That's just what I've heard, I don't know if that's true. I'm glad you had a good time.

To Anonymous (John): Thank you for seeing my point. The fact that nobody even noticed the Milton Bradley/Abe card until just this month, two months after the product went live, goes to show that we are ALL GUILTY of not really looking at the base cards when we open our packs.

To Dayf: The 2005 Topps Red Sox card was one I explained here, and I apologize for not linking this post to the "I Like Gimmicks" post. Basically, the checklist for 2005 Topps series 1 ended with card #367. However, people were finding a card #368, one of the Boston Red Sox World Series Highlights without the foil lettering in packs. There were not that many to go around (at the time). And with Series 2 checklists beginning with #369, one had to wonder where this card actually belonged, or for that matter if the card was really a rare card? However, all 2005 Topps factory sets (at least the ones I opened), also had #368. And with millions of these things printed (an exaggeration of course of the actual print run...although with 10 different factory sets, who knows?), that ended the speculation.

To reader Phil Melitta: Thanks for the tip. It was a lot of fun looking at all those older roto images. I'm surprised that they were all still up. You'd have thought that once the season started, they'd be gone. To bad about the 2006 site though. I would have loved to see the pictures used in the 1985 Topps design.

To Bo: I'd like to answer that, but this is a family blog. Good eye though. How can you tell though? I mean the people in the stands, with the exception of Abe, are all blurry on the picture.

And on that happy note, this ends the Mailbag segment. I'm going to try and do this at the end of every month. We'll see how far that goes. Thanks to all who left comments. Please continue to do so as it lets me know that people are still actually reading this blog.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #52 Otis Nixon

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 30, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #52.
  • Player Name, position, team: Otis Nixon, outfielder, Atlanta Braves.
  • Major League Debut: September 9, 1983.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Braves): 134 G, 461 AB, 77 R, 124 H, 12 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 47 SB, .315 SLG, 61 BB, 63 SO, .269 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Yankees #1st, June 1979 (Secondary Draft). Traded by the Expos to the Braves 04/01/1991. Bats: both, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Nixon's ninth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards). In an era where most action shots of players are either at the plate or on the mound, it is very fitting that the picture on Nixon's card shows him doing what he does best...running the bases. In his first year with the Braves, he stole 72 bases, which would have led the league had it not been for Marquis Grissom's 76 that same year. It's a great looking card, again with 1994's iconic home plate framed picture dominating the design. The blurb on the back indicates that Otis "is the only Brave of this century to steal 40+ bases in three straight seasons 72, 41, 47). This is also Nixon's last card as a Brave as he was granted Free Agency at the end of the 1993 season, and signed on with the Boston Red Sox before the year was out.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 22 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps Traded and Rookies #65. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2004 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Coming Soon to a Store Near You...2010 Topps 17-Card Team Sets.

Since 2006, as a way to bring kids back to the Hobby, Topps began issuing Team Sets for each of the 30 MLB teams. And they could be found EVERYWHERE!!! From big box stores like Target and WalMart, to your local Supermarket, these blister packed sets contained at least 14 cards of your local team's heroes. No leafing through pack after pack to get cards of the team you root for, it's all here in easy-to-carry-to-the-register-package.

Now, in 2006, there were 14 cards in each set. And while many cards had pictures similar to those found in the 2006 base set, there were a number of cards of players who were pictured in different uniforms, had different pictures entirely, or players who were left of the base set included, meaning that they were only found in these retail only sets. These must have sold very well because in 2007 and 2008, these 14-card packages returned to store shelves. In 2009, a bonus 15th card was added to each of the sets. These bonus cards could have been of the stadium, the manager, the team mascot, a bonus player, or even a President or two.

For the record, I have been insane enough to buy not just one set, or even two. I have bought ALL 30 TEAM SETS for the last FOUR YEARS!!! That's 120 team sets, roughly 1710 cards total, that I have added to my collection. What can I say, I wanted to collect them all...

In 2010, the team sets are back. But there aren't 14 cards, not even 15 cards...but an astounding 17 CARDS IN EVERY SET!!! Seventeen players in every set. Some teams don't get 17 players in the base set nowadays. But this year, each set will include 17 players from your favorite team. Meaning that a couple of bench guys and maybe one reliever OUTSIDE of the main set-up guy, might actually show up in these blister packs.

So who's in? Last year, I took the time to include all the players found in the initial checklist. After quick debate, I thought why not do it again? It makes for one of the longest posts on the blog, but it's well worth it. So here they are again, the checklists for all 30 teams. Please remember though that these checklists, like all other previews, are subject to change.



Arizona Diamondbacks
ARI1 Justin Upton
ARI2 Edwin Jackson
ARI3 Brandon Allen
ARI4 Kelly Johnson
ARI5 Eric Byrnes
ARI6 Stephen Drew
ARI7 Chris Young
ARI8 Chad Tracy
ARI9 Gerardo Parra
ARI10 Mark Reynolds
ARI11 Ryan Roberts
ARI12 Dan Haren
ARI13 Brandon Webb
ARI14 Miguel Montero
ARI15 Conor Jackson
ARI16 Augie Ojeda
ARI17 Chad Qualls

Atlanta Braves
ATL1 Chipper Jones
ATL2 Troy Glaus
ATL3 Takashi Saito
ATL4 Nate McLouth
ATL5 Kenshin Kawakami
ATL6 Jair Jurrjens
ATL7 Brian McCann
ATL8 Yunel Escobar
ATL9 Jordan Schafer
ATL10 Melky Cabrera
ATL11 Tommy Hanson
ATL12 Kris Medlen
ATL13 Matt Diaz
ATL14 Martin Prado
ATL15 Tim Hudson
ATL16 Derek Lowe
ATL17 Billy Wagner

Baltimore Orioles
BAL1 Adam Jones
BAL2 Luke Scott
BAL3 Nick Markakis
BAL4 Ty Wigginton
BAL5 David Hernandez
BAL6 Jeremy Guthrie
BAL7 Brian Roberts
BAL8 Cesar Izturis
BAL9 Felix Pie
BAL10 Nolan Reimold
BAL11 Koji Uehara
BAL12 Chris Tillman
BAL13 Mike Gonzalez
BAL14 Kevin Millwood
BAL15 Garrett Atkins
BAL16 Brad Bergesen
BAL17 Cla Meredith

Boston Red Sox
BOS1 Dustin Pedroia
BOS2 Victor Martinez
BOS3 Jonathan Papelbon
BOS4 Kevin Youkilis
BOS5 John Lackey
BOS6 Clay Buchholz
BOS7 Tim Wakefield
BOS8 Adrian Beltre
BOS9 Jason Varitek
BOS10 Josh Beckett
BOS11 J.D. Drew
BOS12 David Ortiz
BOS13 Jacoby Ellsbury
BOS14 Jon Lester
BOS15 Daisuke Matsuzaka
BOS16 Daniel Bard
BOS17 Marco Scutaro

Chicago Cubs
CHC1 Alfonso Soriano
CHC2 Ted Lilly
CHC3 Kevin Gregg
CHC4 Ryan Dempster
CHC5 Mike Fontenot
CHC6 Jeff Samardzija
CHC7 Jeff Baker
CHC8 Ryan Theriot
CHC9 Tyler Colvin
CHC10 Kosuke Fukudome
CHC11 Geovany Soto
CHC12 Carlos Marmol
CHC13 Derrek Lee
CHC14 Aramis Ramirez
CHC15 Carlos Zambrano
CHC16 Randy Wells
CHC17 Marlon Byrd

Chicago White Sox
CWS1 Gordon Beckham
CWS2 Alexei Ramirez
CWS3 Bobby Jenks
CWS4 Alex Rios
CWS5 Juan Pierre
CWS6 Tyler Flowers
CWS7 Mark Teahen
CWS8 Daniel Hudson
CWS9 Mark Buehrle
CWS10 Gavin Floyd
CWS11 Jake Peavy
CWS12 A.J. Pierzynski
CWS13 Paul Konerko
CWS14 John Danks
CWS15 Carlos Quentin
CWS16 Omar Vizquel
CWS17 Andruw Jones


Cincinnati Reds
CIN1 Joey Votto
CIN2 Johnny Cueto
CIN3 Brandon Phillips
CIN4 Homer Bailey
CIN5 Willy Taveras
CIN6 Drew Stubbs
CIN7 Francisco Cordero
CIN8 Micah Owings
CIN9 Chris Dickerson
CIN10 Scott Rolen
CIN11 Edinson Volquez
CIN12 Aaron Harang
CIN13 Bronson Arroyo
CIN14 Jay Bruce
CIN15 Wladimir Balentien
CIN16 Paul Janish
CIN17 Ramon Hernandez

Cleveland Indians
CLE1 Grady Sizemore
CLE2 Asdrubal Cabrera
CLE3 Michael Brantley
CLE4 Matt LaPorta
CLE5 Kerry Wood
CLE6 Chris Perez
CLE7 Carlos Carrasco
CLE8 Shin-Soo Choo
CLE9 Jhonny Peralta
CLE10 Fausto Carmona
CLE11 Travis Hafner
CLE12 Aaron Laffey
CLE13 Jake Westbrook
CLE14 Trevor Crowe
CLE15 Justin Masterson
CLE16 Luis Valbuena
CLE17 David Huff

Colorado Rockies
COL1 Troy Tulowitzki
COL2 Eric Young Jr.
COL3 Jhoulys Chacin
COL4 Ian Stewart
COL5 Dexter Fowler
COL6 Chris Iannetta
COL7 Hudson Street
COL8 Carlos Gonzalez
COL9 Todd Helton
COL10 Jorge De La Rosa
COL11 Jason Hammel
COL12 Brad Hawpe
COL13 Ubaldo Jimenez
COL14 Aaron Cook
COL15 Jeff Francis
COL16 Seth Smith
COL17 Clint Barmes

Detroit Tigers
DET1 Miguel Cabrera
DET2 Jarrod Washburn
DET3 Clete Thomas
DET4 Rick Porcello
DET5 Brandon Inge
DET6 Nate Robertson
DET7 Magglio Ordonez
DET8 Jeremy Bonderman
DET9 Marcus Thames
DET10 Wilkin Ramirez
DET11 Phil Coke
DET12 Justin Verlander
DET13 Joel Zumaya
DET14 Robinson Diaz
DET15 Carlos Guillen
DET16 Max Scherzer
DET17 Daniel Schiereth

Florida Marlins
FLA1 Hanley Ramirez
FLA2 Gaby Sanchez
FLA3 Josh Johnson
FLA4 Chris Coghlan
FLA5 Ricky Nolasco
FLA6 Leo Nunez
FLA7 John Baker
FLA8 Emilio Bonifacio
FLA9 Cameron Maybin
FLA10 Jorge Cantu
FLA11 Andrew Miller
FLA12 Anibal Sanchez
FLA13 Chris Volstad
FLA14 Cody Ross
FLA15 Dan Uggla
FLA16 Sean West
FLA17 Ronny Paulino

Houston Astros
HOU1 Lance Berkman
HOU2 Pedro Feliz
HOU3 Jeff Keppinger
HOU4 Tommy Manzella
HOU5 Brett Myers
HOU6 J.R. Towles
HOU7 Yorman Bazardo
HOU8 Michael Bourn
HOU9 Kazuo Matsui
HOU10 Roy Oswalt
HOU11 Wandy Rodriguez
HOU12 Bud Norris
HOU13 Carlos Lee
HOU14 Hunter Pence
HOU15 Jason Michaels
HOU16 Brandon Lyon
HOU17 Matt Lindstrom


Kansas City Royals
KCR1 Zack Greinke
KCR2 Billy Butler
KCR3 Chris Getz
KCR4 Jose Guillen
KCR5 David DeJesus
KCR6 Alberto Callaspo
KCR7 Gil Meche
KCR8 Brian Bannister
KCR9 Kyle Davies
KCR10 Luke Hochever
KCR11 Joakim Soria
KCR12 Scott Podsednik
KCR13 Yuniesky Betancourt
KCR14 Alex Gordon
KCR15 Robinson Tejeda
KCR16 Jason Kendall
KCR17 Slugger

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
LAA1 Torii Hunter
LAA2 Joe Saunders
LAA3 Howie Kendrick
LAA4 Bobby Abreu
LAA5 Kendry Morales
LAA6 Gary Matthews Jr.
LAA7 Brandon Wood
LAA8 Juan Rivera
LAA9 Scott Kazmir
LAA10 Erick Aybar
LAA11 Mike Napoli
LAA12 Ervin Santana
LAA13 Jered Weaver
LAA14 Brian Fuentes
LAA15 Hideki Matsui
LAA16 Matt Palmer
LAA17 Jeff Mathis

Los Angeles Dodgers
LAD1 Manny Ramirez
LAD2 James Loney
LAD3 Ronald Belisario
LAD4 Clayton Kershaw
LAD5 Jonathan Broxton
LAD6 Casey Blake
LAD7 Matt Kemp
LAD8 Andre Ethier
LAD9 Ronnie Belliard
LAD10 Chad Billingsley
LAD11 Russell Martin
LAD12 Rafael Furcal
LAD13 George Sherrill
LAD14 Hiroki Kuroda
LAD15 Mark Loretta
LAD16 Hong-Chih Kuo
LAD17 Blake DeWitt

Milwaukee Brewers
MIL1 Ryan Braun
MIL2 Jody Gerut
MIL3 Gregg Zaun
MIL4 Craig Counsell
MIL5 Rickie Weeks
MIL6 Mat Gamel
MIL7 Prince Fielder
MIL8 Felipe Lopez
MIL9 Jeff Suppan
MIL10 Yovani Gallardo
MIL11 Casey McGehee
MIL12 Corey Hart
MIL13 Trevor Hoffman
MIL14 Carlos Gomez
MIL15 Alcides Escobar
MIL16 Randy Wolf
MIL17 Manny Parra

Minnesota Twins
MIN1 Joe Mauer
MIN2 Pat Neshek
MIN3 Anthony Swarzak
MIN4 J.J. Hardy
MIN5 Scott Baker
MIN6 Denard Span
MIN7 Jason Kubel
MIN8 Carl Pavano
MIN9 Joe Nathan
MIN10 Nick Blackburn
MIN11 Michael Cuddyer
MIN12 Glen Perkins
MIN13 Delmon Young
MIN14 Nick Punto
MIN15 Francisco Liriano
MIN16 Alexi Casilla
MIN17 Justin Morneau

New York Mets
NYM1 David Wright
NYM2 Jon Niese
NYM3 Carlos Delgado
NYM4 Luis Castillo
NYM5 Jeff Francoeur
NYM6 Daniel Murphy
NYM7 John Maine
NYM8 Fernando Martinez
NYM9 Francisco Rodriguez
NYM10 Mike Pelfrey
NYM11 Angel Pagan
NYM12 Jose Reyes
NYM13 Johan Santana
NYM14 Omir Santos
NYM15 Carlos Beltran
NYM16 Josh Thole
NYM17 Jason Bay


New York Yankees
NYY1 Mark Teixeira
NYY2 Javier Vazquez
NYY3 C.C. Sabathia
NYY4 Phil Hughes
NYY5 Brett Gardner
NYY6 Andy Pettitte
NYY7 Mickey Mantle
NYY8 Nick Swisher
NYY9 Robinson Cano
NYY10 A.J. Burnett
NYY11 Joba Chamberlain
NYY12 Mariano Rivera
NYY13 Jorge Posada
NYY14 Derek Jeter
NYY15 Alex Rodriguez
NYY16 Curtis Granderson
NYY17 Nick Johnson

Oakland Athletics
OAK1 Kurt Suzuki
OAK2 Eric Chavez
OAK3 Gio Gonzalez
OAK4 Mark Ellis
OAK5 Ryan Sweeney
OAK6 Brett Anderson
OAK7 Kevin Kouzmanoff
OAK8 Andrew Bailey
OAK9 Justin Duchscherer
OAK10 Travis Buck
OAK11 Trevor Cahill
OAK12 Vin Mazzaro
OAK13 Josh Outman
OAK14 Rajai Davis
OAK15 Cliff Pennington
OAK16 Coco Crisp
OAK17 Jack Cust

Philadelphia Phillies
PHI1 Ryan Howard
PHI2 Joe Blanton
PHI3 Carlos Riuz
PHI4 Shane Victorino
PHI5 J.A. Happ
PHI6 Cole Hamels
PHI7 Roy Halladay
PHI8 Chase Utley
PHI9 John Mayberry
PHI10 Ben Francisco
PHI11 Jayson Werth
PHI12 Brad Lidge
PHI13 Jimmy Rollins
PHI14 Raul Ibanez
PHI15 Ryan Madson
PHI16 Placido Polanco
PHI17 J.C. Romero

Pittsburgh Pirates
PIT1 Andrew McCutchen
PIT2 Ryan Doumit
PIT3 Garrett Jones
PIT4 Neil Walker
PIT5 Ross Ohlendorf
PIT6 Bobby Crosby
PIT7 Zach Duke
PIT8 Kevin Hart
PIT9 Ronny Cedeno
PIT10 Daniel McCutchen
PIT11 Lastings Milledge
PIT12 Jason Jaramillo
PIT13 Andy LaRoche
PIT14 Delwyn Young
PIT15 Akinori Iwamura
PIT16 Steve Pearce
PIT17 Paul Maholm

St. Louis Cardinals
STL1 Albert Pujols
STL2 Ryan Franklin
STL3 Skip Schumaker
STL4 Kyle Lohse
STL5 Tyler Greene
STL6 Colby Rasmus
STL7 Jason LaRue
STL8 Adam Wainwright
STL9 Matt Holliday
STL10 Julio Lugo
STL11 Chris Carpenter
STL12 Ryan Ludwick
STL13 Jason Motte
STL14 Yadier Molina
STL15 Brendan Ryan
STL16 Todd Wellemeyer
STL17 David Freese

San Diego Padres
SDP1 Adrian Gonzalez
SDP2 Aaron Poreda
SDP3 Kyle Blanks
SDP4 Tony Gwynn Jr.
SDP5 Kevin Correia
SDP6 Mat Latos
SDP7 Will Venable
SDP8 David Eckstein
SDP9 Chase Headley
SDP10 Chris Young
SDP11 Everth Cabrera
SDP12 Luis Durango
SDP13 Scott Hairston
SDP14 Nick Hundley
SDP15 Heath Bell
SDP16 Clayton Richard
SDP17 Tim Stauffer


San Francisco Giants
SFG1 Tim Lincecum
SFG2 Jonathan Sanchez
SFG3 Pablo Sandoval
SFG4 Barry Zito
SFG5 Juan Uribe
SFG6 Bengie Molina
SFG7 Madison Bumgarner
SFG8 Edgar Renteria
SFG9 Aubrey Huff
SFG10 Mark DeRosa
SFG11 Freddy Sanchez
SFG12 Buster Posey
SFG13 Brian Wilson
SFG14 Fred Lewis
SFG15 Matt Cain
SFG16 Travis Ishikawa
SFG17 Nate Schierholtz

Seattle Mariners
SEA1 Ken Griffey Jr
SEA2 Michael Saunders
SEA3 Jack Wilson
SEA4 Milton Bradley
SEA5 Ryan Langerhans
SEA6 Josh Bard
SEA7 Ichiro Suzuki
SEA8 Casey Kotchman
SEA9 Ian Snell
SEA10 David Aardsma
SEA11 Felix Hernandez
SEA12 Jose Lopez
SEA13 Franklin Gutierrez
SEA14 Ryan Rowland-Smith
SEA15 Cliff Lee
SEA16 Chone Figgins
SEA17 Adam Moore

Tampa Bay Rays
TBR1 Evan Longoria
TBR2 Wade Davis
TBR3 James Shields
TBR4 Andy Sonnanstine
TBR5 Ben Zobrist
TBR6 Jeff Niemann
TBR7 Jason Bartlett
TBR8 David Price
TBR9 Gabe Gross
TBR10 J.P. Howell
TBR11 Carl Crawford
TBR12 Matt Garza
TBR13 B.J. Upton
TBR14 Dioner Navarro
TBR15 Carlos Pena
TBR16 Kelly Shoppach
TBR17 Rafael Soriano

Texas Rangers
TEX1 Ian Kinsler
TEX2 Elvis Andrus
TEX3 Brandon McCarthy
TEX4 Neftali Feliz
TEX5 Chris Davis
TEX6 Nelson Cruz
TEX7 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
TEX8 Josh Hamilton
TEX9 Rich Harden
TEX10 Vladimir Guerrero
TEX11 Frank Francisco
TEX12 Derek Holland
TEX13 Michael Young
TEX14 Scott Feldman
TEX15 Taylor Teagarden
TEX16 David Murphy
TEX17 Tommy Hunter

Toronto Blue Jays
TOR1 Aaron Hill
TOR2 Lyle Overbay
TOR3 John McDonald
TOR4 Ricky Romero
TOR5 Edwin Encarnacion
TOR6 Scott Downs
TOR7 Alex Gonzalez
TOR8 Vernon Wells
TOR9 Brett Cecil
TOR10 Brandon Morrow
TOR11 Dustin McGowan
TOR12 David Purcey
TOR13 Marc Rzepczynski
TOR14 Adam Lind
TOR15 Jose Bautista
TOR16 Travis Snider
TOR17 Scott Richmond

Washington Nationals
WAS1 Ryan Zimmerman
WAS2 Garrett Mock
WAS3 Jason Marquis
WAS4 Craig Stamman
WAS5 John Lannan
WAS6 Josh Willingham
WAS7 Nyjer Morgan
WAS8 Ivan Rodriguez
WAS9 Shairon Martis
WAS10 Adam Dunn
WAS11 Ian Desmond
WAS12 Cristian Guzman
WAS13 Matt Capps
WAS14 Jordan Zimmermann
WAS15 Elijah Dukes
WAS16 Jesus Flores
WAS17 Scott Olsen

Wow, that was a lot. Now, I have a source that can get me all 30 sets for under $100.00? Where? I'm not saying. That's my secret. But as soon as I get the funds together, I'm making a phone call to the place I bought the stuff last year. I'm looking forward to these cards. Can't wait to see what they look like. Some surprises along the way (Mickey Mantle...REALLY??? And what's the deal with the Royals??? They couldn't get 17 guys together that they had to use the MASCOT???)

I hope putting these checklists online helps you decide to go out and get a team set, or two, or thirty.

Happy Hunting!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, March 29, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1990 Topps #453 Jody Davis

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, March 29, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1990 Topps #453.
  • Player Name, position, team: Jody Davis, catcher, Atlanta Braves.
  • Major League Debut: April 21, 1981.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1989 stats (Braves): 78 G, 231 AB, 12 R, 39 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 0 SB, .242 SLG, 23 BB, 61 SO, .169 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Mets #3rd, January 1976. Traded by the Cubs to the Braves 09/29/1988. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Davis' tenth (and final) regular Topps card (total includes both regular and traded cards). It was a sad day in Cubdom when Jo-Dee was traded to the Braves...AT THE EXTREME TAIL END OF THE SEASON!!! What was the thinking there guys??? And for who...Kevins Blankenship and Coffman??? Yeah, that was a great deal!!! Granted, he was hurt most of the year (which led to the rise of Damon Berryhill), but you couldn't have waited until AFTER THE SEASON WAS OVER??! Okay, rant over. Printed with the dark blue/indigo borders, Davis' card actually matches the team colors (kinda...at least the shade of blue). It's a great looking card, with Jody swinging for the fences (against the Dodgers it looks like based on the player near the dugout). The blurb on the back recalls Jody's heroics in the 1984 NLCS against the Padres, his .389 (7-18) batting average pacing the Cubs and .833 slugging marks setting records for a 5-game series.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1994 Topps #52. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 2004 Edition

The year 2004 (wow, the years have gone by pretty quickly) saw our daughter going into preschool for the very first time (separation anxiety, more on the parents than the kid), the prospect of our son having major eye surgery (and he hadn't even turned two yet)...oh, did I mention our first ever big trip to Los Angeles, CA? It was for my dad's school reunion, and thanks to scheduling and travel arrangements convenient for us (us meaning my wife, my kids, and I), we wound up going to LA one night ahead of everybody else. What an adventure that turned out to be, just the four of us travelling around by ourselves. And then, after the 4th of July fireworks in Pasadena, was a day at Disneyland, a place that I thought I'd never visit in my lifetime. But that's another post for another time.

Just because the Cubs couldn't do it did not mean that another "cursed" team wouldn't have another shot at busting theirs. The Boston Red Sox, after years of agony and just rotten luck, finally won their World Series, their first since 1918 (against the Cubs, funny enough). Any shot of the Cubs repeating their success in 2003 went south, thanks to the reliance of hoping that certain starting pitchers would come back (they didn't...not the way we had hoped), and the White Sox weren't doing any better (little did we know what was going to happen the following year...AHEM!!!). For the 18th straight year, I was able to name my All-Star teams at the end of the year. This new fangled thing that we hooked up at home called the internet made poring over stats and choosing players a heck of a lot easier. And being able to work on this pet project when everyone else was asleep (just like me typing this post now) made the process convenient. I had yet to copy this year's roster onto my Excel spreadsheet, so bear with me as I try and figure out what I wrote on this loose sheet of paper.

This year's teams include 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and the usual 3 players per position (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, c, 9 of), and the middle reliever position used last year was put on the shelf once again and replaced with a DH because the 2005 ASG would be in Detroit (at Comerica Park), keeping the rosters at 35 players per team.

Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 2004 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(blank, blank, blankety blank)









American League

First Basemen

  • Ken Harvey, Royals*
  • Paul Konerko, White Sox*
  • Mark Teixeira, Rangers*

Second Basemen

  • Bret Boone, Mariners
  • Brian Roberts, Orioles*
  • Alfonso Soriano, Rangers

Third Basemen

  • Aubrey Huff, Devil Rays
  • Melvin Mora, Orioles*
  • Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

Shortstops

  • Derek Jeter, Yankees
  • Miguel Tejada, Orioles
  • Michael Young, Rangers

Outfielders

  • Carl Crawford, Devil Rays*
  • Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
  • Torii Hunter, Twins
  • Mark Kotsay, Athletics*
  • Carlos Lee, White Sox*
  • Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
  • Gary Sheffield, Yankees
  • Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
  • Vernon Wells, Blue Jays

Catchers

  • Javy Lopez, Orioles
  • Victor Martinez, Indians*
  • Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers

Designated Hitter:

  • David Ortiz, Red Sox*

Pitchers

  • Mark Buehrle, White Sox*
  • Francisco Cordero, Rangers*
  • Pedro Martinez, Red Sox
  • Mark Mulder, Athletics
  • Joe Nathan, Twins*
  • Troy Percival, Angels
  • Mariano Rivera, Yankees
  • Kenny Rogers, Rangers
  • Johan Santana, Twins*
  • Curt Schilling, Red Sox

Manager:

  • Ron Gardenhire, Twins

The Starters:

  • 1B: Teixeira
  • 2B: Soriano
  • 3B: ARodriguez
  • SS: Jeter
  • OF: Guerrero
  • OF: Ramirez
  • OF: Suzuki
  • C: IRodriguez
  • DH: Ortiz
  • P: Santana

*First-Time All-Star


National League

First Basemen

  • Todd Helton, Rockies
  • Derrek Lee, Cubs*
  • Albert Pujols, Cardinals

Second Basemen

  • Luis Castillo, Marlins
  • Jeff Kent, Astros
  • Mark Loretta, Padres

Third Basemen

  • Adrian Beltre, Dodgers*
  • Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
  • Scott Rolen, Cardinals

Shortstops

  • Cesar Izturis, Dodgers*
  • Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
  • Jack Wilson, Pirates*

Outfielders

  • Moises Alou, Cubs
  • Carlos Beltran, Astros
  • Lance Berkman, Astros
  • Miguel Cabrera, Marlins*
  • Adam Dunn, Reds
  • Jim Edmonds, Cardinals
  • Juan Pierre, Marlins*
  • Scott Podsednik, Brewers*
  • Craig Wilson, Pirates*

Catchers

  • Johnny Estrada, Braves*
  • Jason Kendall, Pirates
  • Mike Piazza, Mets

Designated Hitter:

  • Jim Thome, Phillies

Pitchers

  • Armando Benitez, Marlins
  • Roger Clemens, Astros
  • Eric Gagne, Dodgers
  • Livan Hernandez, Expos*
  • Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals*
  • Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks
  • Roy Oswalt, Astros
  • Carl Pavano, Marlins*
  • Jason Schmidt, Giants
  • John Smoltz, Braves

Manager:

  • Phil Garner, Astros

The Starters:

  • 1B: Pujols
  • 2B: Kent
  • 3B: Rolen
  • SS: Rollins
  • OF: Beltran
  • OF: Cabrera
  • OF: Pierre
  • C: Piazza
  • DH: Thome
  • P: Clemens



Twenty-six players are first-time all-stars (14 for the American League, 12 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 2002 rosters include the Blue Jays (Wells), Indians (Martinez), Royals (Harvey), Tigers (Rodriguez), Brewers (Podsednik), Diamondbacks (Johnson), Expos (Hernandez), Giants (Schmidt), Mets (Piazza), Padres (Loretta), Reds (Dunn), and Rockies (Helton). The Rangers, Astros, and Marlins each send five representatives to their respective rosters, leading both leagues. The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, and Cardinals each send four players to the squads.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. Game results coming next week. Here's hoping that I don't take too long with this...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1954 Topps #27 Ferris Fain

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 28, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1954 Topps #27.
  • Player Name, position, team: Ferris Fain, first baseman, Chicago White Sox.
  • Major League Debut: April 15, 1947.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1953 stats (White Sox): 128 G, 446 AB, 73 R, 114 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 52 RBI, .256 AVG, 1108 Putouts, 106 Assists, 13 Errors, .989 Fielding Average.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Athletics from San Francisco (PCL) in Rule 5 draft, 11/01/1946. Traded by the Athletics to the White Sox 01/27/153. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Fain's fourth regular Topps card. The 1954 Topps set is famous for having the first and last cards in the 250-card set with Ted Williams. But I digress. The set was unique in that it featured it was the first design that utilized three borders (the top of all the cards had the predominant colored field "break through the box"). The pictures of the player consisted of a really large headshot and a black & white colored "action shot", the player's name above (along with team affiliation and position) and a rather large team logo (even then, they knew...), and the facsimile autograph makes a return appearance in this set. Fain was already an established all-star, and batting champion, and the back of the card features a three cartoon paneled story about how a bat discarded by a bunch of kids helped him break out of his batting slump and helped him win the batting title in 1951. A great story...can somebody confirm the truth to it? The bio on the back mentions that although "Ferris hit over .300 only twice in his Major League career, he won the AL batting title both times..." and talks about his minor league exploits with the Pacific Coast League in 1947. He also led the AL in walks and was second in assists at first base in 1953 (which was another all-star season for Fain). The Number One Source in the Hobby's website indicates that there is a "GB" variation to the card. The story goes that a Canadian company printed the first 50 cards (which would include Fain's) in a gray card stock, compared to the regular cards in a white card stock.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $12.50-$25.00.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.
In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card. And this time I was not able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. However, thanks to Topps' new promotion, the Million Card Giveaway, and after figuring out how to find a card by it's numeric ID, I was able to snag the image you see above. For the record, the card in Topps' baseball card library is #886.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1990 Topps #453. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1987 Topps #260 Vida Blue

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 27, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1987 Topps #260.
  • Player Name, position, team: Vida Blue, pitcher, San Francisco Giants.
  • Major League Debut: July 20, 1969.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1986 stats (Giants): 28 G, 156.2 IP, 10-10, 65 R, 57 ER, 100 SO, 77 BB, 28 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 3.27 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by A's #2nd, June 1967. Signed with the Giants as a Free Agent 04/06/1985. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Blue's sixteenth (and final) Topps card (this total includes regular and traded cards only, not any all-star, team combo, league leader, or in action cards). The famous 1987 design makes an appearance once again on the Random Topps of the Day segment. It's the second wood bordered design (the other being 1962 Topps), and the wood looks like it went through a clear stain finish, leaving the wood lighter than the one used in 1962. As this was Blue's final Topps card as a player (he did end his long career in 1986), the statistics on the back are complete. He was a six-time all-star, won the Cy Young AND MVP award in the same season (1971), and was one of a number of players who won the World Series as members of that dominating A's team from 1972-1974. The back of the card indicates that "Vida threw 35 TD Passes as high school senior."
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 21 cards.
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: 1954 Topps #27. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, March 26, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1998 Topps #75 Jim Edmonds

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 26, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1998 Topps #75.
  • Player Name, position, team: Jim Edmonds, outfielder, Anaheim Angels.
  • Major League Debut: September 9, 1993.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1997 stats (Angels): 133 G, 502 AB, 82 R, 146 H, 27 2B, 0 3B, 26 HR, 80 RBI, 5 SB, .500 SLG, 60 BB, 80 SO, .291 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Angels #7th, June 1988. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Edmond's sixth regular Topps card (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards). Jim was, at this point in time, starting to bloom into the All-Star outfielder that the Angels expected he would be. He gained his reputation as a defensive daredevil with "The Catch," perfectly described on the back of this card. I highly doubt that the picture on this card is of said play, but it looks pretty close (back turned to the infield, running towards the wall, I think if he attempted the dive, he would have slammed head first into the wall). The 1998 looks great with it's gold borders. It's just too bad that for some reason Topps has a hard time replicating that color border when it comes to reprints of that design. I mean other than the A-Rod reprints cards (in both 2001 and 2010), the 2006 Mickey Mantle, the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup reprints, and others had borders that were just wrong, (a bright shade of orange). Ick. But still, one has to admire the fact that this design is hard to replicate, especially trying to add the little team logos in the background of the box with the player's name and team affiliation.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 53 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: Saturday: 1987 Topps #260. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash forward with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps #490 Joba Chamberlain

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 25, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps #490.
  • Player Name, position, team: Joba Chamberlain, pitcher, New York Yankees.
  • Major League Debut: August 7, 2007.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Yankees): 42 G, 100.1 IP, 4-3, 32 R, 29 ER, 118 SO, 39 BB, 12 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.26 WHIP, 2.60 ERA
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Yankees #1st, June 2006. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Chamberlain's third regular Topps card (total does not include highlights cards). Joba-mania came in earnest as soon as Chamberlain made his debut with the Yankees in 2007, and Topps took advantage of this new found "Yankee Legend-in-the-making," including him in gimmick cards and insert sets even though he only pitched in 19 games (with a 0.38 ERA to boot). The back of the card has a "Niche in History" segment, mentioning that prior to the 2009 season, Joba, among pitchers with 60 appearances, has the Yankee's second-lowest ERA (2.17 against Goose Gossage's 2.14) and the third highest rates of strikeouts per nine innings (11.00, behind Ryne Duren (Ryne Duran on the card...ERROR CARD!!! and Edwar Ramirez). The stats above the curve lists Joba's lowest career OPS against by count (1-2 .274, 2-2 .383, 0-2 .449, 1-0 .545, 0-0 .606, 0-1 .656, minimum 12 plate appearances).
    Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.50-$1.25.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 16 cards.
One final note. Now, as you know, Chamberlain's card is not the only #490 in the 2009 Topps set. And I would be nuts if I didn't note this little tidbit. As this card was found in 2009 Topps Series 2, Topps included "modern day" legend variation cards in their product, seventeen of them to be in fact. Many of the "legends" had something in common with the player he shares a card number with (whether it's a team affiliation or a position). And Topps paired the legends and the current players appropriately, especially in this case. Because Joba shares his card #490 with another power pitcher, HOF, and strikeout king: Nolan Ryan.

Tomorrow's card will be: Friday: 1998 Topps #75. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

So What Does This Mean for NHL Puck Attax???

Well, the news of the day is that Panini has now been granted a license by both the NHL and the NHLPA to produce NHL Hockey cards starting next season, currently sharing the market with UD (which, if the rumors are true could be losing something more damaging...further spiraling the company to the brink of oblivion...but let's wait and see shall we?).

It makes sense...again...that Panini enters the market. They are an internationally recognized brand name, and many of the players in the NHL are based in Europe, where Panini's name is as recognized there as Topps' is here in North America.

But Topps put out a product that was licensed by both the NHL and NHLPA this year...Topps Puck Attax. And although it is more of a trading card "GAME" product than it is a trading card product, the product used players' names, teams' names, logos, and all the bells and whistles. And from the few packs that I received (a prize from VOTC's contest a while back), the cards look fantastic (although hard to store).


Does this mean that Topps blew their shot at regaining a license? Will they even be allowed to make Puck Attax again?

With the recent troubles at that other card company, will the NHL reconsider?

Although I don't really collect hockey cards, I certainly would love it if Topps got back into the NHL card business again, something they've been away from since the strike cancelled the season. And I thought that with Puck Attax, the door was slowly opening for a shot (pun intended) at it.

Sadly, it doesn't appear that way (unless something happens).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1995 Topps #244 Frank Rodriguez Future Star

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 24, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1995 Topps #244.
  • Player Name, position, team: Frank Rodriguez, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
  • Major League Debut: April 26, 1995.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1994 stats (Pawtucket - AAA): 28 G, 186 IP, 8-13, 95 R, 81 ER, 160 SO, 60 BB, 28 GS, 8 CG, 1 SHO, 0 SV, ERA 3.92.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Red Sox #2nd, June 1990. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Rodriguez' second regular Topps card (his first card, incidentally was also a future star card in the 1994 Topps set). Is it just me, or does this card make it look like Rodriguez is pitching in front of some blinds??? Apparently there is a difference between the players in the Future Stars subset and Star Tracks subset. A converted shortstop, Rodriguez was "considered Boston's leading pitching prospect." They would have made him a closer (due to the Sox' belief that he had a lack of stamina), but he led the IL in complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts (so much for that thought). He did indeed become a reliever, and was actually traded to the Minnesota Twins in the middle of the 1995 season.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 4 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #490. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2003 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 2003 End of Year All-Star Teams. With two very evenly matched teams, who would prevail? Keep on reading below.

As previously stated, I simulated seven games (six series between starters, and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first six games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

  • Game 1: AL vs. NL, Roy Halladay vs. Mark Prior. The NL wins 6,276 games out of 10,000 simulations.
  • Game 2: AL vs. NL, Jamie Moyer vs. Russ Ortiz. The NL wins 5,260 games.
  • Game 3: NL vs. AL, Woody Williams vs. Andy Pettitte. The NL wins 5,503 games (using a DH).
  • Game 4: NL vs, AL, Kerry Wood vs. Esteban Loaiza. The AL wins 5,492 games (using a DH).
  • Game 5: NL vs. AL, Steve Trachsel vs. Tim Hudson. The AL wins 6,457 games (using a DH).
  • Game 6: AL vs. NL, C. C. Sabathia vs. Jason Schimidt. The NL wins 6,883 games.
  • Game 7: AL vs. NL, anything goes. The NL wins 5,468 games.
So the NL wins the seven game series 5-2, including the ever important "anything goes" series. We've seen how important this seventh series seems to be when predicting a winner in the one game ASG. Will this mean a win for the NL?

For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Halladay and Prior and I let them pitch two innings (unless they struggled badly). The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. Double switches were performed on both sides when the case allowed it.

The starting lineups, first for the American League (I'm using 2004 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams):


Now the National League starting lineup:


Here is the result:


The 2004 AL All-Stars beat the 2004 NL All-Stars by a final score of 8-3. It was a mix of timely hitting plus gutsy pitching performances that helped the AL to this surprising victory.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look).


The scoring plays were like this:

Top 4: Russ Ortiz pitching. Alfonso Soriano flies out to Luis Gonzalez (7). Carlos Delgado draws a walk. Manny Ramirez hits a single, Delgado advancing to third. Torii Hunter grounds out to Jim Thome (3UP), Delgado scores, Ramirez advancing to third.

Bottom 4: Esteban Loaiza pitching. Mike Lowell flies out to Magglio Ordoñez (9). Luis Gonzalez draws a walk. Sammy Sosa grounds out to Michael Young (4-3), Gonzalez advancing to second. Ivan Rodriguez hits a double, Gonzalez scoring.

Top 5: Woody Williams pitching. Hank Blalock singles. A. J. Pierzynski hits a double, Blalock scores. Nomar Garciaparra triples, Pierzynski scores. Magglio Ordoñez hits a sacrifice fly to Luis Gonzalez (7 SAC), Garciaparra scores. Kerry Wood pitching. Michael Young draws a walk. Frank Thomas singles. Garrett Anderson singles, Young scores, Thomas advancing to second.

Top 7: Tim Worrell pitching. Michael Young draws a walk. Frank Thomas strikes out. Garrett Anderson singles, Young advancing to second. Carlos Beltran hits a home run, Young scores, Anderson scores.

Bottom 7: Brendan Donnelly pitching. Richie Sexson hits a home run.

Bottom 9: Eddie Guardado pitching. Richie Sexson hits a double. Lance Berkman singles, Sexson scores.

The MVP for the 2003 All-Star Game is Carlos Beltran.

If this game actually existed, the MVP would have been Carlos Beltran (1-1, 1 homer run, 3 rbi's). Esteban Loaiza picks up the win, Woody Williams suffers the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were pitchers Keith Foulke, Jorge Julio, Mariano Rivera, and C. C. Sabathia from the AL and Eric Gagne and Steve Trachsel from the NL.

In seventeen All-Star Series, the AL has a 9-8 lead in series play, but the NL has a 9-8 record in the one-game All-Star Game.

If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the AL .DAT file, then the NL .DAT file:




Now that the 2003 All-Star Games are officially over, on Monday, I will introduce the 2004 End of Year All-Star teams. I swear I won't take so long this time to get the simulations for games ready for next week.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH12 Brett Tomko

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 23, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH12.
  • Player Name, position, team: Brett Tomko, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Major League Debut: May 27, 1997.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 2005 stats (Giants): 33 G, 190.2 IP, 8-15, 99 R, 95 ER, 114 SO, 57 BB, 30 GS, 3 CG, 0 SHO, 1 SV, 1.37 WHIP, 4.48 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Reds #2nd, June 1995. Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent 12/22/2005. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Tomko's tenth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards). As said previously, the 2006 Topps set was the first one to come out in the 4-year period that was to have both active licensees come up with more kid-friendly designs. And with the multi-colored borders, the cartoon on the back, and easy to read text (on both sides of the cards), Topps succeeded with this effort. After spending a couple of seasons in San Francisco, Tomko made his way to southern California, to join the Dodgers as a rotation regular. The blurb on the back states that he was moved to the "bullpen to capitalize on his upper-90's stuff." Which was a nicer way of saying that because he was struggling with a 6-6 record, along with being on the DL for the better part of July, he was sent to the bullpen upon his return to the team. The cartoon on the top left corner mentions that Chuck Finely "K'd 4 batters in one inning three times in his career." Below the team logo, there is a random stat of Brett's: 2005 Complete Games, 3. Regarding the rest of Tomko's Topps cards, he has not been part of the base set since 2006. He appeared as a bonus card in the 2007 Topps Dodgers factory set, and has been a staple in the last two Update and Highlights sets.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 13 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1995 Topps #244. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from just last year here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, March 22, 2010

Why I Don't Think I'll Be Winning An Upper Deck Award Anytime Soon...

...I mean, what's the name of this blog again???
 
It's been the talk of the blogosphere in the last couple of hours.  That other card company has decided to honor those who have promoted the Hobby online with, hold on while I try and word this properly...the Upper Deck Awards
 
The intentions are pretty clear.  As the major card companies have finally decided to get on the social media bandwagon (via twitter, facebook, and so forth), the boys and girls at UD have decided to open nominations to find the best Hobby bloggers, video box breakers, and online Hobby communities, and the best of each will be honored in their UD Community page (and possibly a boost to the winning site's readership/membership), as well as in other places. 
 
Well that's all fine and dandy.  But wouldn't it be funny if some one actually nominated THIS SITE to their awards program???
 
Granted, the nomination, and possibly the person doing the nominating (which I swear won't be me), will probably be tossed out faster than a Nolan Ryan fastball. But I think in the spirit of self promotion, this site would probably be the last site UD would want to consider for a blog-of-the-year type award.  Not only because there are better blogs out there than this humble little blog, but the name of this blog alone would send alarms blaring in Carlsbad, CA.
 
And while I'm not really suggesting that you start nominating this one-trick dog-and-pony-show for best blog ever (although that would be nice...really), I would recommend nominating the Sports Card Blogroll, if anything, for bringing the best of the Hobby Blogging Community together in one easy-to-find spot.  All the links are active (within the last six months or so anyway), so there are no abandoned blogs on it.  And with 283 blogs on the roster, and many more popping up almost on a weekly basis, there could be 300+ sites being linked to it by the end of the year.  You're not going to find that many ACTIVE sites on anybody's blog.  That's for sure.
 
I know that a couple of bloggers are already putting out their rĂ©sumĂ©s as to why they should be picked for best blog.  And good luck to them.  The results will be announced some time in April. 
 
But "friendship for life" on this blog will be duly noted for anybody who would actually admit to sending a nomination to UD for either the big blogroll or bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog for an Upper Deck Award.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama


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Random Topps Card of the Day: 1978 Topps #546 Ted Martinez

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, March 22, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1978 Topps #546.
  • Player Name, position, team: Ted Martinez, shortstop-third baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Major League Debut: July 18, 1970.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1977 stats (Dodgers): 67 G, 137 AB, 21 R, 41 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .299 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Mets as a Free Agent 10/06/1966. Drafted by Dodgers from the Reds in a Rule 5 draft 12/06/1976. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Martinez' seventh regular Topps card (total includes both regular and traded cards). What else can we say about the 1978 Topps set that hasn't already discussed in this blog or on others? Nice portrait of Martinez against the vbackdrop of a big blue sky, the trees, and what looks to be some guy trying to work with a yellow tarp way in the background. The blurb on the back talks about Ted's "versatility in both infield and outfield. He went 4-4 twice as a Met in 1973. He also saw action in two games of the 1973 WS." As you recall, you can play a baseball game using the players cards from 1978 Topps. Drawing Ted's card gave you a home run. How about that?
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 4 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH12. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Whirlwind Couple of Hours at the Chicago Sun-Times Show

Because we had other plans today, (all right, my wife had planned to do something else today), I only spent a couple of hours at the Chicago Sun-Times show being held in Rosemont. But let me tell you, they were probably the most productive couple of hours I've spent at a show in quite a while. Granted, if I had more money, or more cards worth trading, I'd have gotten more cards, but I was able to come away with 23 cards I needed to reduce my want lists.

First, I have to thank the fine people at Evolution Sports Marketing/Never Enough Cards. They were the first people I sought out once the show hit. And, quite frankly, where I spent the most time and money. They had many of the SP's I needed from the 2009 Topps and U&H sets. Including:


  • Nolan Ryan
  • Mike Schmidt
  • Juan Marichal
  • Bo Jackson
  • Paul Molitor
  • Rogers Hornsby
  • Tris Speaker
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Cy Young
  • Nolan Ryan CAL
  • Reggie Jackson CAL
  • Willie McCovey
  • Rickey Henderson
  • Frank Robinson
They also managed to have two of the Topps Red Backs that I needed: #13 Chipper Jones & #14 Cal Ripken.

But the big kicker was that I was able to save some money (lots of it) by trading a few cards that I didn't need that they thought they'd be able to use, including the Topps Silk Jimmy Rollins, the Washington & Lee University Stamp, and my 2006 Topps Mickey Mantle Gold /257, amongst others to net me 16 cards from the "Cards Your Mother Threw Out" Original backs.

I did get one 2010 SP card. And it was the one I would have given up all the others for just to get: The 2010 Ryne Sandberg SP card.

Along with stops at a couple of other dealers that also had these cards, I was able to acquire 22 cards total, bringing down the number of cards I need down to 24 (of 58), enough so that I can actually write a proper list (by decade, on the want list section of the blog).

The show itself was typical of other Sun-Times shows from the past. With many dealers selling vintage cards (StormSurge, I have to apologize, but with less than two hours before I had to leave the show, I wasn't able to spend time looking for your needs. Don't worry, I have other places where I can find what you need), and the usual junk wax sellers, new card sellers, lots of relics sellers. It wasn't as packed as in years past (who knew that there would be snow on the first day of spring???), but it's been like that with the economy and all. If I had more time, I'd have spent more time browsing some of the other booths for things that would have caught my eye. But alas, time was of the essence, and I had to hurry.

I didn't even buy the big Beckett book at the show. That's how much of a rush I was in. Oh well, I'll check the bookstore near the bakery next time around.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. I know I've been scanning the SP's to show them off, but we're in the midst of switching internet providers, so it's going to take a while before getting them on the blog. jba

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Spring Cleaning Time at the Sports Card Blogroll

Yesterday was the first day of spring. Too bad it was snowing. That's how bad it's been weather wise in Chicago.

As it is, we should start doing some spring cleaning around the big Sports Card Blogroll. You know how this works: I list the sites that have not been updated within six months here for posterity, and they are removed from the big blogroll. So without further ado, here are the sites going to be removed:
I don't think I've removed this many from the big Blogroll in a long time. This brings down the number of blogs to 283 (and we were so close to 300!!!!). If any of these sites are yours and you plan on making these active again, please send me an e-mail at bdj610@hotmail.com and let me know that you want to have your site added back. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1970 Topps #280 Donn Clendenon

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 21, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1970 Topps #280.
  • Player Name, position, team: Donn Clendenon, first baseman, New York Mets.
  • Major League Debut: September 22, 1961.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1969 stats (Expos-Mets): 110 G, 331 AB, 45 R, 82 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 51 RBI, .277 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed by Pirates as a Free Agent before 1957 season. Traded by the Expos to the Mets 06/15/1969. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Clendenon's ninth regular Topps card (total does not include any combo cards, or the 1969 Topps Expos variation). The famous gray bordered set from 1970. Very hard to find centered cards from this set (and the picture used here is no exception). The backs were bright (did they not use the normal gray stock for these cards????) with blue and yellow colors on the backs for easy reading. A few things about the back of Donn's card: there is no transaction information in the vital information (the one that includes height, weight, bats, throws, etc), which I didn't know wasn't included on here at the time. Also, his minor league stats are still on the card, even though he played more than seven seasons with the Pirates before taken in the expansion draft by the Expos. And instead of separating his stats with les Expos and the Mets, they combined the stats for a yearly total. Did you know that he was originally traded to the Astros in exchange for Rusty Staub, but refused to report? You mean this guy WANTED TO STAY in MontrĂ©al??? Maybe there was something that's not being reported (was he not going to get playing time with the Astros if he joined the club?) It is just as well. The Expos eventually traded him to the New York Mets in 1969, just in time by the way, as these Mets somehow overtook a certain NORTHSIDE TEAM FROM CHICAGO for first place in the NL East, and by some "miracle," beat the Braves in the first ever NLCS, and won the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles!!! Did you know who won the MVP for the World Series? That's right...Mr. Clendenon. Back to the card though. The font used for the player's name appears 24 years later in the 1994 Topps set. The gray borders do stand out on this design better than the gray borders in the 2000 set (probably a brighter shade of gray in 1970). The blurb on the back of the card, above the stats, mentions that as "MVP of 1969 Series, Donn set a mark with 3 Homers in 5 games." What mark that would be I'm not sure as it seems that if it was a record, it's been broken countless times since.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.
In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM. (You have to stop by and visit them now. They just announced that they are allowing more people to enter the museum at one time.)

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1978 Topps #546. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1979 Topps #291 Tom Griffin

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 20, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1979 Topps #291.
  • Player Name, position, team: Tom Griffin, pitcher, California Angels.
  • Major League Debut: April 10, 1969.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1978 stats (Angels): 24 G, 56 IP, 3-4, 39 R, 25 ER, 35 SO, 31 BB, 4.02 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Astros #1st, January 1966. Signed with the Angels as a Free Agent 01/27/1978. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Griffin's tenth Topps card (this total includes his shared rookie card in the 1969 Topps set). The design for 1979 includes the Topps logo for the very first time (with the classic long curve on the "t"). Looking at my 2001 Topps Through the Years set, even before I acquired my 1979 Topps set, it seemed that from 1977-1980, the designs were all simple at best. And by simple I mean "blah." I think that if I rifled through a bunch of cards from this era without thinking, they'd all look staggeringly similar. Yes, I know each design is unique, but the designs looked plain. I mean, think about it...1976 used wild colors (and the famous player drawing by position) and 1981 at least had a dominating colored frame (and team cap) that sets them apart and makes them easily recognizable. The four years in between...not so much. Yes, they all have different designs, but I guess maybe because the choices for the 2001 TTY set for 1977-1980 were Carlton, Seaver, Palmer, and Ryan respectively...four HOF pitchers...I don't know...maybe that was it. Anyway, Griffin, at this point in his career, was now a journeyman pitcher. And in this classic pitchers pose, one must ask if the ball is still hidden in his glove. The picture is large, and could have been better suited for an action shot. But this is 1979, and Topps was still getting the hang of using action photos in their cards. In fact, looking back at all of Griffin's pictures, there was only one that used an action photo (1973). All others are posed. The blurb on the back just mentions that the Padres granted Griffin free agency on 10/28/1977 and that he signed with the Angels a few months later (01/27/1978), There is a "Baseball Dates" section on the back, asking what happened on 05/30/1904? The answer: Cubs' Frank Chance was Hit by Pitches 5 times in a doubleheader. Ouch.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.
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: 1970 Topps #280. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, March 19, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1984 Topps #784 Leon Roberts

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 19, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1984 Topps #784.
  • Player Name, position, team: Leon Roberts, outfielder, Kansas City Royals.
  • Major League Debut: September 3, 1974.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1983 stats (Royals): 84 G, 213 AB, 24 R, 55 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB, .404 SLG, 17 BB, 27 SO, .258 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Tigers #10th, June 1972. Traded Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Roberts' twelfth and final regular Topps card (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards). Appropriately, Leon Kauffman Roberts (not to be confused with Leon Joseph Roberts) finished his playing career with the KC Royals. We're looking at 1984 again, the classic 80's set. The team name in big bold letters going down the left side of the card and the square picture with the headshot. The blurb on the back mentions that Leon's "drive hit left field foul pole for 2-run Homer in 4-1 verdict vs. Yankees, 05/02/1983."
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1979 Topps #291. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash forward with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1981 Topps Traded #753 Dick Davis

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 18, 2010:



  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1981 Topps Traded #753.
  • Player Name, position, team: Dick Davis, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies.
  • Major League Debut: July 12, 1977.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1980 stats (Brewers): 106 G, 365 AB, 50 R, 99 H, 26 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 5 SB, .386 SLG, 11 BB, 42 SO, .271 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed by the Brewers as a Free Agent 07/10/1972. Traded by the Brewers to the Phillies 03/01/1981. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Davis' fourth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). With the introduction of the 1981 Topps Traded set, Topps began to respond to its new found competition in the marketplace. Donruss and Fleer both won the rights to produce baseball cards and for the first time since 1956, Topps had company in the baseball card business. So in what way could they stand out against their new rivals? Create an update set. Not another series that adds to the eponymous set, but a whole new product entirely. Genius. Their first attempt at it came in the form of this 1981 Topps Traded product. At 132 cards, Topps realized that they didn't have to waste an entire row with double printed cards (something that they must have recognized as from 1982-1992, every set contained 792 cards instead of 726). The stock used was the same as the base set, and because the card numbers started at #727, the only way to tell where the regular set ends and the traded set begins is by checking to see when the players names start appearing in alphabetical order. The following year, Topps added a "T" to their traded sets, to further distinguish it as a separate product. Davis was traded to the Phillies in the middle of spring training, and saw limited action with his new team in 1981. He ended his career the following year, playing for the Phils, Blue Jays, and Pirates (in each instance, was traded for another player, lasting with the Jays for only one week). The back of the card notes that "Dick batted .391 against the Yankees in 1979." Two cartoons below the note state that Dick "earned 3 letters in basketball during his high school career" and that he "has been nicknamed 'Sweetness' by his teammates."
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1984 Topps #784. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama