Random Topps Card of the Day: 2012 Topps #476 Ramon Hernandez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, November 17, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2012 Topps #476.
• Player Name, position, team: Ramon Hernandez, catcher, Colorado Rockies.
• Major League Debut: June 29, 1999.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2011 stats (Reds): 91 G, 298 AB, 28 R, 84 H, 13 2B, 0 3B, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB, 23 BB, 41 SO, .446 SLG, .788 OPS, .282 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Athletics as a Free Agent 02/18/1994. Signed with the Rockies as a Free Agent 11/30/2011. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his fifteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: With the addition of 2012 Topps cards into the Topps Randomzier, I am not surprised that it would pick a second card from this set to be part of the RotC segment.  I love the fact that Topps has begun to incorporate the proper team colors in their designs for each team.  It would have been awkward, in my opinion, to feature the Rockies in any other color besides purple, black, and gray.  Not to be confused with Ramon Hernandez, the pitcher whose MLB career spanned from 1967 through 1977 (of which only he appears in seven total Topps cards), this Ramon Hernandez has been a backstop mainstay since 1999.  As the catcher for a young A's staff that included Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson, he should have been given just as much credit for the teams' success during the "Moneyball" era (he was not mentioned in the book).  An All-Star with the Athletics in 2003, he has since traveled across the country to be either a primary catcher (for the Padres and Orioles) or as a formidable backup (Reds and Rockies).  He signed with the Rockies after the 2011 campaign to be the mentor to the Rox' catching prospect Wilin Rosario.  Injuries knocked Hernandez out for all of June, but in the games he did start, he produced.  In 52 games, Ramon hit 5 home runs and drove in 28 in 196 plate appearances (a low .217, but decent OPS of .601).  As a catcher, he only had 2 errors in 355 total chances (.994 fielding average) which included 17 assists and four double plays.  As the Rockies look to 2013, they expect a healthy Hernandez to help Wilin Rosario become a better defensive catcher.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 28.

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: 1966 Topps #338. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama