Thursday, September 30, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1996 Topps #272 Tim Raines

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, September 30, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1996 Topps #272.
  • Player Name, position, team: Tim Raines, outfielder, Chicago White Sox.
  • Major League Debut: September 11, 1979.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1995 stats (White Sox): 133 G, 502 AB, 81 R, 143 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 67 RBI, 13 SB, .422 SLG, 70 BB, 52 SO, .285 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Expos #5th, June 1977. Traded by the Expos to the White Sox 12/24/1990. Bats: both, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Raines' eighteenth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). The 1996 set was one of the best designed sets of the 1990's. It would have been my set of the decade had it not been for the fact that there were only 440 cards TOTAL in the entire set, leaving out tons and tons of everyday players. Tim Raines was already an seven-time All-Star with the Expos, a seven-time MVP candidate, and the NL's answer to Rickey Henderson (before Vince Coleman showed up). So when the Expos said goodbye to its long-time superstar, Raines, who for a while had Topps cards calling him by his nickname "Rock," found himself with the White Sox, batting leadoff and playing left field. He spent five quality seasons with the Pale Hose, including that team of "what could have been...the 1993 AL West Champion White Sox." In five seasons, Raines hit 50 home runs, and drove in 277 rbi's. But more importantly, he walked 359 times and stole 143 bases...decent numbers for a leadoff hitter in the early 90's. This would be his final season with the White Sox as he traded to the Yankees at the end of the '95 season. If there was a 1996 Topps Traded set, he would have been depicted as a Bronx Bomber. Instead, Yankees fans would have to wait for the 1997 set to see him in his first regular Topps card as a Yankee. He was there just in time too...to be part of his first World Series winning team.
  • Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 50 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1994 Topps Traded #93T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

And the 2010 Topps Red Hot Rookie #10 Card Goes To...‏


Those holding those Red Hot Rookie Redemption cards better get them logged in to Topps quickly as it has just been announced that card #10, the final card in the 2010 Topps Red Hot Rookie Redemption set, belongs to none other than Brett Wallace of the Houston Astros.

Wallace, a first baseman for the Astros, made his major league debut on July 31 against the Milwaukee Brewers. In 48 games, he is hitting .226, with 2 home runs, 10 runs batted in, and an OPS of .612 (as of September 29, 2010).

And just like last year with Gordon Beckham's RHR card, one in every ten of Wallace's cards will be autographed card. That's right, for every ten redemptions, one lucky collector will get his card autographed by Wallace. Astros fans know that this is the future at first base and will want to add this card to their collections. Ladies and Gentlemen, START REDEEMING!!!


The final checklist for the 2010 Topps Red Hot Rookie Redemption set: Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH96 James Houser

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps card of the Day for Wednesday, September 29, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH96.
  • Player Name, position, team: James Houser, pitcher, Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
  • Major League Debut: June 24, 2010.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 2005 stats (Southwest Michigan-Midwest A): 22 G, 8-8, 115 IP, 100 H, 50 R, 48 ER, 31 BB, 109 SO, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 1.14 WHIP, 3.76 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Devil Rays #2nd June, 2003. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Houser's first and currently only regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). The name Traded and Rookies was replaced with Updates and Highlights in 2005. The theory as to why was because the following year, Topps and that other card company would be following new rules mandated by the MLB Properties, and so decided to load this set with as many rookies and first year draft picks as they possibly could. There were 21 players listed as prospects, and among them was Sarasota's own James Houser. Houser's last name is not in bold foil letters as regular cards, nor is his name on the side of the card. There is no black band at the bottom, just a larger picture of the Devil Rays prospect with the "Rays" logo below center and the Topps logo on the right. Houser was well on his way to the big club in Tampa when a shoulder injury knocked him out in 2004. He came back in 2005 with 109 strikeouts and an even 8-8 record with Southwest Michigan of the Midwest League. Thanks to the backlog of Devil Rays / Rays pitching prospects, Houser continued to toil in the Rays minor league system until 2009, when he was finally given his release. He quickly signed with the other Florida team, the Marlins, and played for the team's AAA team until he was finally called up to the majors in 2010. He pitched in only one game (June 24, 2010), and for only 1.1 innings. But that's 1.1 more innings than many of us will ever get to pitch in the majors. And because of those 1.1 innings of work, he becomes a major league pitcher...regardless of the number of games played. He at least has his one. Will he pitch for the Marlins next year? Will this be the only appearance Houser makes? It remains to be seen. But 2011 looks bright, and with the Marlins' staff in continual renovation, he may very well be on the staff in 2011.
  • Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow's card will be: Thursday: 1996 Topps #272. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T122 Jose Valentin

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, September 28, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T122.
  • Player Name, position, team: Jose Valentin, shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
  • Major League Debut: September 17, 1992.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Brewers): 89 G, 256 AB, 45 R, 58 H, 9 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 38 RBI, .418 SLG, 48 BB, 52 SO, .227 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Padres as a Free Agent 10/26/1986. Traded by the Brewers to the White Sox 01/12/2000. Bats: both, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Valentin's ninth regular Topps card (totals include regular and traded cards only). At 135 cards, the 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies contained three more cards than traded sets in the past (usually a full sheet of 132). The rookie to veteran breakdown was 90 to 45 (or at a ratio of 2:1). It was nice, though that the rookies appeared first in the set, then the traded/veterans followed. Maybe this set should have been called Rookies and Traded instead of the other way around. Sometimes, a change of scenery will do wonders on a player's career. That can certainly be said for Jose Antonio Valentin (just so we know which Jose Valentin we're talking about). After being the Brewers' primary shortstop throughout the 1990's, a trade between the Brewers and the White Sox sent Valentin down the I-94 to Chicago. His Topps card tells the story rather clearly. "The White Sox were in need of a steady veteran shortstop when they acquired Valentin from the Brewers in a four-player deal." Jose made the best of his new opportunity by helping the Sox win the Central division in 2000. For five seasons with the Pale Hose, Valetin found a power stroke that helped him hit 136 home runs and drive home 379 rbi's. He had a batting average of .247 but a very good OPS of .802. At the end of the 2004 season, Valetin signed with the Dodgers. Rather bad timing as the following year, the White Sox managed to win it all in 2005.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 19 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH96. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2005 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, September 27, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2001 Topps #379 Golden Moments Bobby Thomson

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, September 27, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2001 Topps #379.
  • Player Name, position, team: Bobby Thomson, outfielder, New York Giants.
  • Special: Golden Moments, NL Championship Game 3, October 3, 1951; New York 5, Brooklyn 4.
  • Any special information about this specific card: The back of this card tells the tale nicely. For those of us who were not around on that fateful day, but have read about it, listened to rebroadcasts, or just that one historic call, we all know it as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." It tells of the dramatic late season run that the New York Giants went on in 1951, behind 13½ games behind the mighty Brooklyn Dodgers as of August 12, 1951. By the time the dust settled, the Giants managed to end the season tied with the 'Bums and were force to play three games to determine the NL Champion. After both teams split the first two games, it was down to that fateful game at the old Polo Grounds. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, and the Dodgers up 4-1, the Giants staged a rally, scoring two runs. With two men on base, and Ralph Branca on the mound, Bobby Thomson hit an 0-1 pitch to left field, clinching the NL pennant for the Giants. We've all heard the call. "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!" As Topps was celebrating their Golden Anniversary in 2001, it was only fitting that the "shot" was included in its Topps Golden Moments subset.
    Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
Tomorrow's card will be: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T122. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2011 Topps Series 1 Sell Sheets are Live!!!



On Friday, the Number One Source in the Hobby had posted an article giving a bit more detail about what is to come next year during Topps' 60th anniversary. And I was going to do a write up giving my take on each of the little nuances that came with each of the sample photos.

Forget it.

I was out mowing the lawn (finally...it had been months...literally) when I received an e-mail from friend of the blog, all around good guy, and the guy that gives me the scoop on things, tdlindgren, that Magazine Exchange had just added the 2011 Topps Series One info on their site. Needless to say, that was more important to see.

The sell sheets for the now highly anticipated 2011 Topps Baseball Series 1 product is now live!!!

















There is just so much to talk about here. There will be more reprint insert sets, a new vintage theme, and even a chance to win a one of one card WITH A DIAMOND ACTUALLY EMBEDDED ONTO THE CARD!!!

The Million Dollar Card Giveaway becomes Topps 60th Anniversary Diamond Card Giveaway, with a new website to boot (http://www.toppsdiamond.com/). While the key prizes are going to be the 330 cards with the diamonds in them, there will also be diamond cut inserts, black parallels of said inserts, and also more vintage cards from 1952-2009.

The base set consists of 330 cards, which breaks down as:
  • 264 veterans
  • 30 rookie cards (with the now exclusive rookie card logo)
  • 10 league leader cards
  • 5 record breakers (they're finally bringing back this long-forgotten subset)
  • 2 Rookie of the Year cards
  • 2 Cy Young Award cards
  • 2 League MVP cards
  • 1 Mickey Mantle card (the lovefest continues)
  • 25 cards variation cards featuring legendary players (again)...

You have the usual suspects in the parallel world (golds #'d to 2011, blacks #'d to 60, platinums are 1 of 1), and then you have the diamond parallels (canary diamond- the Ichiro card in the sell sheet - are 1 of 1, the platinum diamond - the Jeter card used in the sell sheet - comes 1 in every four packs). Printing plates (1 of 1, four colors), and silk cards (100 subjects per series) return.

A new vintage insert, the Kimball Champions (Ryan Braun's sample card), takes the place of the Turkey Red inserts from the past couple of years, and they are all mini cards. And for those of you who like reprint insert sets, Topps "60 Years of Topps" will be up your alley. And just like the "Cards Your Mother Threw Out" in 2010, there will be a regular insert card (with info on the card or the set), and an original back card. There will also be a ten card insert set featuring the cards that "would have filled in the missing numbers" in previous Topps sets in regular and original backs to boot. For those who loved the Trading Card History set from a couple of years ago, Reproduction cards (30 in series 1), will feature cards from sets created long before Topps came onto the basebal card scene.

For those who like regular insert cards (like me), there will be tons of sets to chase, including Topps 60, Diamond Duos, The History of Topps, and more Tickets to Toppstown.

Relic card collectors and autograph collectors will find lots of cards to hunt for as the theme of the year centers on the number 60. Sixty, as in the "Top 60" players lifetime in a certain category will have autos, relics, and sometimes both, on cards. There are glove relic cards, and the usual letter patch cards, that can be found in packs.

Whichever of the eight playoff teams becomes World Series Champs will have autograph and relic cards as well.

Product information can be found here:

The initial checklist (subject to change...) can be found here:

Product goes live the week of February 14th, 2010, just in time for Valentine's Day, unless otherwise noted. I can't wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1960 Topps #119 Chico Cardenas

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, September 26, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1960 Topps #119.
  • Player Name, position, team: Chico Cardenas, shortstop, Cincinnati Reds.
  • Major League Debut: July 25, 1960.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1959 stats (Havana-AAA IL): 154 Games, 587 At Bat, 58 Runs, 149 Hits, 28 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 29 RBI, .254 Avg. (yes, that's how the stat headers read).
  • Any special information about player: Contract sold to the Redlegs before the 1957 season. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Cardenas' first regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). In Topps' tenth year, they decided to be a bit daring. The 1960 set was the first to feature the ten players who were named to its first ever All-Star Rookie team. But not only did they honor the rookies of the past year, but they also decided to showcase the future stars of baseball. Those who Topps believed to be baseball's brightest prospects. And with the help of Sport Magazine, Topps named 32 players as one of 1960's Rookie Stars. Leo Cardenas (nicknamed Chico), was one of those stars. While the most famous of these Rookie Stars had a name that was hard to pronounce, let alone spell (Carl Yastrzemski), Cardenas would indeed wind up with a pretty decent career. The cartoon on the back indicated Cardenas had spent (up to that point) four seasons as a professional baseball player. Sport Magazine acknowledged that Cardenas was "One of the finest fielding prospects to come along in a long time...won the name of 'Mr. Automatic'...figures to give great defensive strength to the Reds infield..." In his first year in the majors, he appeared in 48 games, hit .232 with one homer and 12 rbi's. His first full season with the Reds would not come until 1962. He would go on to be a five-time All-Star and did win the Gold Glove as a Red after the 1965 season.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.50-$6.00.
  • 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: 2001 Topps #379. 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

It's Late, but It's Time to Clean the Blogroll!

I normally do these posts on or around the 20th, 21st, or 22nd of the month. It's now the 26th!!! Where did the time go?

On to the business at hand. When we last updated the blogroll, there were 304 active blogs. This past month, we added 18 new sites onto the Sports Card Blogroll (or as it was affectionately called by some commenters the SCBR...I like that). So at present, we are at 322 blogs. Unfortunately, some of the blogs have reached that dreaded six months of inactivity, so it's time to put them to pasture (or at least in the little section on the sidebar mentioning what blogs are going to be removed). This time, the blogroll says goodbye to:

Nine blogs removed this month, that brings the total down to 313, which means we gained nine blogs (+9) as we start the next month. As always, if you blog about our Hobby, please make sure to e-mail me at bdj610@hotmail.com so I can add you to the roll. If you blog is no longer on the roll and you plan on bringing it back, please let me know so I can add you to the active roster.

To those who use the SCBR, thank you very much, and for the kind words. It is just as fun for me to maintain the Blogroll as it is knowing that people are using it.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1984 Topps Traded #91T Tony Perez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, September 25, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1984 Topps Traded #91T.
  • Player Name, position, team: Tony Perez, first baseman, Cincinnati Reds.
  • Major League Debut: July 26, 1964.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1983 stats (Phillies): 91 G, 253 AB, 18 R, 610 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 1 SB, .372 SLG, 28 BB, 57 SO, .241 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Reds as a Free Agent 03/12/1960. Traded by the Phillies to the Reds 12/05/1983. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Perez' twentieth regular Topps (total includes regular and traded cards only). The future Hall of Famer returned to the Reds via trade after the 1983 season. Seven years prior, he left for the bright lights of Montréal, spending three seasons with lés Expos. That was followed by a three year run with the Red Sox, and a one year stay in Philadelphia (which included a run to the World Series with the Phillies). By this time, he was already starting to wind down his career, and in his last three seasons with the Reds played no more than 77 games per year. He didn't have much left to prove to the world, he was already a two-time World Series champion, played in three more, was a seven-time All-Star, a perennial MVP candidate, and one of the main cogs that kept the Big Red Machine running in the 70's. After ten years on the ballot, he was finally voted for induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.40-$1.00.
  • How many cards of each player do I own?: 32 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: 1960 Topps #119. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, September 24, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1986 Topps #447 Jerry Don Gleaton

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, September 24, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1986 Topps #447
  • Name, position, team: Jerry Don Gleaton, pitcher, Chicago White Sox.
  • Major League Debut: July 11, 1979.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1985 stats (White Sox): 31 G, 29.2 IP, 1-0, 19 R, 19 ER, 22 SO, 13 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 1 SV, 5.76 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Rangers #1st June, 1979. Traded by the Mariners to the White Sox 06/27/1984. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Gleaton's fifth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Classic headshot, and combined with that "ice cream man" looking White Sox cap, one has to wonder what were those designers thinking. The White Sox, I've heard, have gone through the most uniform designs/changes of any Major League ballclub. And fortunately, the Sox haven't reverted to this design since turning to silver and black. Jerry Don Gleaton (don't call him Jerry Gleaton) was groomed to be a starting pitcher early in his career, but was converted to a relief pitcher in 1982 with the Mariners. He would bounce around the majors and Triple A throughout his career, being called up to the big club as needed. He spent three years with the White Sox organization, playing for both the Sox and their AAA teams in Denver, then Buffalo. He spent all of 1986 with the Bison and signed with the Royals after the season ended. The blurb on the back says that Gleaton earned his first MLB win on 04/10/1981, a 10-2 win over the Angels. Below the blurb is a "Talkin' Baseball segment, mentioning that the "youngest pitcher in White Sox history was Jim Derrington, who was 16 years old during the 1956 season." He is currently an Assistant Coach for the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets.
  • Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1984 Topps Traded #91T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week: 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter


So this week, I decided to go ahead and open one pack of cards that I bought last weekend at Target. On Monday, I opened my first ever pack of 2010 Topps National Chicle. Tuesday, a pack of 2010 Topps Series 1. Wednesday saw me open my first pack of 2010 Topps 206. Thursday's pack was from 2010 Topps Series 2. Today, let's see what came inside the pack of 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter:


The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):
  • #161 Luis Durango
  • #279 Curtis Granderson
  • #85 Yunel Escobar
  • #305 Kelly Johnson
  • #59 Ivory Crockettt Mini Card
  • Checklist Four of Four (bonus card!!!)
  • #TDH58 Dan Uggla This Day in History


My thoughts...When did they start putting checklist cards with sets like this??? I always thought they used a paper insert. I could be wrong. Then again, I've always bought complete sets of A & G, so seeing a checklist card is a surprise. Decent player selection. I think the Johnson card is a short print (wasn't it anything above #300 SP'd?) Didn't get my carabao card (will probably wait until the Sun-Times show in November for a crack at it). I'm just trying to figure out how many more designs they can come up with for the Allen & Ginter name before Topps runs out of ideas. I know the name is scheduled for next year as Topps has to reserve one card to Nick Jacoby. And maybe, Derek Jeter will get a base card...

So all the packs are opened. Tomorrow, I hunker down and finally open that WalMart value box. Hopefully there'll be something I need there.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1992 Topps #275 Todd Zeile

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, September 23, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1992 Topps #275.
  • Player Name, position, team: Todd Zeile, third baseman, St. Louis.
  • Major League Debut: August 18, 1989.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1991 stats (Cardinals): 155 G, 565 AB, 76 R, 158 H, 36 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 81 RBI, 17 SB, .412 SLG, 62 BB, 94 SO, .280 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #3rd, June 1986. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Zeile's third regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only, not counting his 1990 Topps '89 MLB Debut card). In 1990, Topps added Zeile to it's five-card Future Stars subset. They deemed him the Cardinals brightest prospect, and for a while, he looked like he would be. Originally a catcher, he was moved to third base (not something he wanted to do apparently), and became a defensive liability. His hitting was decent, but the power that he was expected to provide wasn't there. And after seven years with the Cardinals, he began his journeyman career. He would wind up playing for eleven teams in his sixteen year career. Some may call him a bust, but when a man plays for sixteen years in the bigs, it is an uncalled for label. At the back of his card, below the statistics is a blurb that mentions a 10th Inning home run that Zeile hit, giving the Cards a 6-5 win on 08/03/1991 against the Pirates. Below the blurb is a beautiful colored (yes, colored...the cards were printed on white card stock for the first time in decades), picture of what is now referred to as old Busch Stadium.
  • Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 24 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1986 Topps #447. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week: 2010 Topps Series 2


So this week, I decided to go ahead and open one pack of cards that I bought last weekend at Target. To review, on Monday, I opened my first ever pack of 2010 Topps National Chicle. Tuesday's pack was from 2010 Topps series 1. Wednesday, I tore into a pack of 2010 Topps 206. Today, it's a pack from 2010 Topps series 2. What was in the pack?:


The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):
  • #569 Jacoby Ellsbury
  • #495 Carlos Peña
  • #437 Luke Hochevar
  • #632 Daric Barton
  • #642 San Diego Padres Franchise History
  • #410 Oakland Athletics Team Card


  • #CMT84 Tom Seaver 1977 Regular Back (hoping for the original back, but oh well)
  • #TMC-20 Carl Yaztrzemski Million Card Giveaway (will let you know what I unlocked in a second)
  • #17 of 45 Honus Wagner 1951 Red Back mini card (yay!!!)
  • Justin Morneau Topps Attax Code Card
  • #354 Evan Longoria
  • #658 Tommy Hunter


My thoughts...Nice to have the mini card. I first thought that I didn't want to collect the cards, but then I thought it would be nice to get the whole set of both backs. Nice selection of players, so this wasn't a fully horrible pack. The Million Card Giveaway code card is awesome. Let's see who I got:

Code m3Q7Zn8Zx=

1967 Topps Dick Selma #386

That leaves the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter pack as the last to open for Pack Break Week. Will there be a Carabao card in my future? Tune in tomorrow at 9:00 am and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1990 Topps #133 Ricky Horton

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps ard of the Day for Wednesday, September 22, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1990 Topps #133.
  • Player Name, position, team: Ricky Horton, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals.
  • Major League Debut: April 7, 1984.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1989 stats (Cardinals): 11 G, 45.2 IP, 0-3, 24 R, 24 ER, 14 SP, 10 BB, 8 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.73 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #4th June, 1980. Signed with the Cardinals as a Free Agent 07/20/1989. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Horton's eighth and final regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Because of the randomness, there are some cards within the 1990 set that look great. Any green bordered cards of the Oakland Athletics, for example, works. A blue Cubs card? Absolutely. An orange bordered card of a St. Louis Cardinal? Really??? The red bordered cards would have worked better. But I digress. Horton's career started with the Cardinals, and after a two year run with the White Sox and Dodgers, returned to the Cards as a free agent. He pitched for one more year with the Redbirds before hanging up his spikes for good after the 1990 season. He finished his career with a record of 32-27, an ERA of 3.76, 319 K's, a WHIP of 1.363. Was a really good pitcher regardless of how he was used.
  • Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 8 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: Thursday: 1992 Topps #275. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week: 2010 Topps 206


So this week, I decided to go ahead and open one pack of cards that I bought last weekend at Target. On Monday, I opened my first ever pack of 2010 Topps National Chicle, and yesterday, 2010 Topps series 1. Today, Let's see what came inside the pack of 2010 Topps 206:


The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):
  • #20 Mark DeRosa
  • #222 Tom Seaver Mini (American Caramel on the back)
  • #277 Johnny Evers Gold Parallel
  • #10 Conor Jackson
  • #177 Gavin Floyd
  • #119 Matt Garza


My thoughts...your average pack. I've always said, there are some cards that while they look good in mini form (like the real cards), they just don't translate well in regular size. The five cards here are no exception. The backgrounds used on these cards are fantastic, and at least pay homage to the originals (see the background used on Conor Jackson's card, and you can tell that the background was used for Evers' original card.

Three down, two more to go. Tomorrow, I'll open the Series 2. Here's hoping for something I can use.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1991 Topps #467 Dennis Cook

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, September 21, 2010:

  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1991 Topps #467.
  • Player Name, position, team: Dennis Cook, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Major League Debut: September 12, 1988.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1990 stats (Dodgers): 5 G, 14.1 IP, 1-1, 13 R, 12 ER, 6 SO, 2 BB, 3 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 7.53 ERA.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Giants #18th, June 1985). Traded by the Phillies to the Dodgers 09/13/1990. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Cook's second regular Topps card (totals include regular and traded cards only). You just have to wonder when Topps gets the pictures ready for the following year's cards. Here is Dennis Cook, in his maroon Phillies uniform, classic headshot, all is ready for production. Then he is traded to the Dodgers, after September, in hopes of making it to the postseason. What does Topps do? Instead of getting a picture of the Dodgers' newest acquisition, they airbrush out the uniform and logos of the Phillies, giving him a white uniform (without the words Dodgers on it), and a blue cap with the words LA painted and printed on his head. As the spot starter/reliever for the Phillies, Cook went 8-3 in 42 appearances, 13 of them were starts, two were complete games. The blurb below the stats reads that Dennis "was named to all-Southwest Conference Team as an outfielder at the University of Texas," during the 1984 AND 1985 campaigns. Although cook definitely played throughout the nineties, Cook doesn't get a card in the regular series set until 2001, and then two straight appearances before calling it quits for good in 2003 season. His stay in LA was brief as he was traded to Cleveland in time for the 1992 season.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 6 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1990 Topps #133. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1990 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week: 2010 Topps Series 1


So this week, I decided to go ahead and open one pack of cards that I bought last weekend at Target. Yesterday, I opened my first ever pack of 2010 Topps National Chicle. Here is what was waiting for me when I opened my pack of 2010 Topps series 1:


The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):
  • #267 Toronto Blue Jays Franchise History (Cito Gaston)
  • #35 Rick Porcello (funny, this was also the second card in the Chicle pack that I opened yesterday)
  • #128 Garrett Mock
  • #159 Vernon Wells
  • #315 Scott Kazmir
  • #1 Prince Fielder (and the infamous bowling pin strike...the one where a certain defending Cy Young winner decided to go for a bit retribution...in a Spring Training game).


  • #CMT56 Dustin Pedroia 2007 Original Back (the big hit...too bad I already have this card!!!)
  • #TTT25 Manny Ramirez Ticket to ToppsTown
  • #275 Kurt Suzuki
  • #239 Juan Uribe (Yahoo!!!...that's the sign on the outfield wall...not my response for getting the card)
  • #320 Brian McCann (your 2010 MLB All-Star Game MVP!!!)
  • #224 Rod Barajas


My thoughts...hey, I got me an Original Back...that I don't need!!! Does anybody want to trade? I still need the 2005 card from series 1 (and a bunch of other cards from series 2). Otherwise, I was hoping for a Target card or at least one of the legends SP. Or at least a Million Card Giveaway code card. Oh well.

Here's hoping that the series 2 pack has something worth writing home about. Don't get me wrong, the base cards are great. But I still need a few inserts. Tomorrow, it's the pack of Topps 206.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, September 20, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1984 Topps #187 Luis Aponte

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, September 20, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1984 Topps #187.
  • Player Name, position, team: Luis Aponte, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
  • Major League Debut: September 4, 1980.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1983 stats (Red Sox): 34 G, 62 IP, 5-4, 28 R, 25 ER, 37 SO, 23 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 3 SV, 3.63 ERA.
  • Any special information about players: Signed with the Red Sox as a Free Agent 01/12/1973. Bats: right, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Aponte's second regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Because I've been behind on these Random Cards of the Day segments, I'm going to try and do three a day until I'm caught up. If I'm lucky, this will mean I will have all three weeks worth of RCotD posts done by Sunday. Luis Aponte was one of the Red Sox' primary set-up men in the early 80's. He was, by all accounts, one of their better pitchers in the bullpen. There really wasn't much to say about the Venezuelan native, but Topps did find a way of filling in the spaces underneath his statistics. In fact, Topps recounted four games from the 1983 season on Aponte's card, all good things mind you. The blurb on the back mentions two games in particular: a scoreless relief appearance "for Victory" on 04/08/1983; and earning the win in a game against the Mariners on 07/11/1983 in extra innings. Below the blurb is a dateline segment featuring two more games that Aponte played during the '83 campaign where he: hurled 3 scoreless innings for a save 05/19/1983 and tossed 3 innings for a win on 08/03/1983. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians in time for the 1984 season, and after 25 games in a relatively short season for Aponte, called it quits for good at the end of the year.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
  • How many cards of each player do I own?: 3 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1991 Topps #467. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week: 2010 Topps National Chicle


I went to Target last night, and bought a random pack of each of the following products:
  • 2010 Topps Series 1
  • 2010 Topps Series 2
  • 2010 Topps 206
  • 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter
  • 2010 Topps National Chicle
I never did get around to buying any Chicle cards, so this is my first pack ever. I think I'll buy a full master set on the Bay if and when prices crash. The same thing goes for Allen & Ginter (and yes, I have seen full master sets - the 350 cards plus 100 regular sized inserts - for under $60.00). The Topps 206 set is too brand new, and with all the Strasburg hype, prices are still high. I still don't have last year's set, so I probably will start there when the time is right.

Back to the point.

So this week (Monday through Friday), I will go ahead and open one of these packs and show them off to the world. All five are retail (from Target...duh), so I'm not expecting much in terms of the "big break." But I need something to do around here, and thought this would be a good start. And on Saturday, I will finally...finally...open the value box bought from WalMart a couple of weeks ago.

So let's get right to it. The first pack to open will be 2010 Topps National Chicle.


The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):


My thoughts...your average pack. Five pitchers, and one hitter. No inserts, no SP's. The art is very interesting indeed (you can click on the artist's name for a link to their website). If I ever acquire the complete set of National Chicle, one of the things I'd want to do is to sort the players by artist, and (if it's possible) run simulated games to see which artist had the best team (ie. in this case, team Kupka would have both Porcello and Rivera on its pitching staff while team Branch has youngsters Sanchez and Rodriguez available).

That's one pack down, four more to go. Tomorrow, I'll open the Series 1 pack. Here's hoping for a short print.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1965 Topps #133 1964 World Series Game #2

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, September 19, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1965 Topps #133.
  • Player Name, position, team: Mel Stottlemyre, pitcher, New York Yankees.
  • Special: World Series Game 2, New York 8, St. Louis 3.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Simply put, this is the card that highlights Game 2 of the 1964 World Series between the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. Stottlemyre, just a rookie during the 1964 season, was tasked to face the intimidating Bob Gibson in Game 2 of the Series. The Cards won the first game handily 9-5, and having Gibson on the mound certainly gave the Redbirds confidence heading into that Thursday tilt. But Stottlemyre outpitched Gibson that day, allowing only three runs in a complete game effort. It would be Mel's only World Series win. He started games 5 and 7, losing both decisions as the Cardinals won the whole thing. 
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.50-$6.00.
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: 1984 Topps #187 . 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, September 18, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps Traded #231T Tom House

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, September 18, 2010:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps Traded #231T.
  • Player Name, position, team: Tom House, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
  • Major League Debut: June 23, 1971.
  • Last Line of Statistics: n/a
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Braves #3rd June (Secondary), 1967. Traded by the Braves to the Red Sox 12/12/1975. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  • Any special information about this specific card: House's sixth regular Topps (total includes regular and traded cards only). Topps second attempt at making an end of the year traded set (it's really their third try, the 1972 Traded cards were part of the actual set). Instead of repeating the stats of the players "Traded", the fronts of the cards features a headshot of the highlighted player with an airbrushed cap of his new team. It also utilizes a newspaper header with the date of the transaction above the headline. The back of the card goes into more detail about the transaction that sent the player to his new team. Tom House, the Braves' lefthanded relief specialist, was traded to Boston in exchange for Rogelio Moret. The card number for house coincides with the Topps card number assigned to him in the regular set (#231). These traded cards did present a quandary for young collectors new to the concept of "traded" cards. Should one replace the regular card in the set with its traded doppelgänger? Or would the cards be kept separated, creating its own set? Tom House was a very good reliever in the 70's, but he will be remembered for a catch he made in a game that he had not yet appeared in. He was the pitcher who caught Hank Aaron's 715th home run in the Braves' bullpen.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
  • How many cards of each player do I own?: 5 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: 1965 Topps #133. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

It's been a long season for Chicago baseball fans. Whether one roots for the Northsiders or the Southsiders, we just can't wait for this season to end. And as usual, both teams found ways to break our hearts. At least the Cubs knew to disappoint us early enough not to be a factor, but those darn White Sox are letting us down at the wrong time.

Well with the season almost mercifully over, it's just about the right time to think about which ten players will make Topps' Annual All-Star Rookie Team and thus have that rookie cup appear on their cards. I'm curious as to why the new silver cup logo (seen here below), didn't make it onto cards of the players in series 2? Will they bring back the gold standard???


Kind of creepy looking, isn't it???


Well, just like last year, MLB.com is keeping tabs of how well this year's rookie crop is doing with their Top Rookie Tracker. But this time, it looks like there are a lot more players that MLB is keeping tabs on this time around (when I last looked, even Tyler Flowers of the White Sox, who only appeared in three games at the time I first did my research, was on the list). So while there are many, I will condense the list of players by position to those who have played for most of the year.

Many on the list are strong contenders for his league's Rookie of the Year award. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp). With that said, unless somebody comes up with a strong finish in September, here is what should be the list of contenders for the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team:

First Basemen:
Ike Davis, NYM
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Justin Smoak, SEA

Second Basemen:
Scott Sizemore, DET
Neil Walker, PIT

Third Basemen:
Pedro Alvarez, PIT
David Freese, STL
Chris Johnson, HOU
Danny Valencia, MIN

Shortstop:
Reid Brignac, TBR
Starlin Castro, CHC
Jason Donald, CLE
Alcides Escobar, MIL

Outfield:
Roger Bernadina, WSH
Brennan Boesch, DET
Chris Carter, NYM
Tyler Colvin, CHC
Jason Heyward, ATL
Austin Jackson, DET
Jon Jay, STL
Michael Saunders, SEA
Mike Stanton, FLA
Jose Tabata, PIT

Catchers:
Alex Avila, DET
John Jaso, TBR
Lou Marson, CLE
Buster Posey, SFG

Right Handed Pitchers:
John Axford, MIL
Jhoulys Chacin, COL
Wade Davis, TB
John Ely, LAD
Neftali Feliz, TEX
Daniel Hudson, CWS
Mike Leake, CIN
Carlos Monasterios, LAD
Alfredo Simon, BAL
Drew Storen, WAS
Stephen Strasburg, WAS
Mitch Talbot, CLE

Left Handed Pitchers:
Madison Bumgarner, SFG
Jaime Garcia, STL
Brian Matusz, BAL
Jon Niese, NYM
Hisanori Takahashi, NYM
Jonny Venters, ATL

Am I missing anybody? Please let me know so they can be added to the lists above. Start drafting your picks for the All-Star Rookie team now folks. A contest will be in the offering here soon (I promise...)

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, September 17, 2010

Pretty Pretty Shiny Shiny...or What Else is in Store for 2011 Topps!!!

Commentary coming soon, but the number one source in the hobby posted more pictures of cards that will be making their appearance during Topps' Diamond Anniversary:


































Expect a big diamond theme to be used in the insert sets. The die cut set (Halladay) and the duo theme is back (Diamond Duos). There looks to be mini cards and possibly two sets of retro products one looks like a reprint set like 2001's Topps Through the Years set (see Jackie Robinson card), the other looks like another History of Cards set (see Babe Ruth). Shinier parallel cards (the ones that look like they're encrusted in Diamonds: Jeter and Ichiro).

More analysis later. Got to run.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama