Random Topps Card of the Day: 2007 Topps #343 Shin-Soo Choo

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, November 8, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2007 Topps #343.
• Player Name, position, team: Shin-Soo Choo, outfielder, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: April 21, 2005.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2006 stats (Indians): 45 G, 146 AB, 23 R, 43 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB, 18 BB, 46 SO, .473 SLG, .846 OPS, .295 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Mariners as a Free Agent, 08/14/2000. Traded by the Mariners to the Indians, 07/26/2006. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his third Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "On July 28, 2006, just two days after he was acquired from Seattle, Shin-Soo hit a dramatic home run that provided a 1-0 win over his former team".
• Commentary: Topps first all-black border set since 1971, thanks to the glossy finish on the cards, chipping wasn't as bad with cards from this set as it was with its predecessor.  Keep an eye on the back of the cards as there was an unannounced parallel with all the cards in this set.  The way to tell if you have the base card instead of the parallel?  On the back of the card, if the name and card number is white, you have the base card.  If the name and card number are printed in red, then you have the parallel.  My daughter lately has taken to saying if she sees a person who looks to be from south, east, or southeast Asia doing something great, that it's "the Asian Invasion."  Since Chan-Ho Park became the first player from the Orient since Masanori Murakami to play in the majors (in 1994...Hideo Nomo made his debut the following year), a number of talents from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, have been dotting the rosters of our 30 Major League teams.  Choo is one of twelve native Koreans (not counting Tommy Phelps who was also born in South Korea) to play in the majors since Park's debut.  A crowded outfield situation (with Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore, Trot Nixon, and Travis Hafner) kept him in the minors in 2007, but in the six games he did get into, he went 5-17 (.294) with 5 rbi's.  Injuries to Sizemore and Hafner gave Choo the opportunity he needed to show he can be a feared hitter in the Tribe's lineup.  He has also become a reliable rightfielder, with a .984 fielding average in 652 games (22 errors in 1371 chances).
• Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 31 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1991 Topps Traded #103T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama