Random Topps Card of the Day: 2007 Topps #510 Alex Rodriguez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, January 29, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2007 Topps #510.
• Player Name, position, team: Alex Rodriguez, shortstop, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: July 8, 1994.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2006 stats (Yankees): 154 G, 572 AB, 113 R, 166 H, 26 2B, 1 3B, 35 HR, 121 RBI, 15 SB, 90 BB, 139 SO, .523 SLG, .915 OPS, .290 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Mariners #1st, June 1993. Traded by the Rangers to the Yankees 02/16/2004. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 18. This is his twelfth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: I'll bypass the comment about the design of the 2007 Topps product and talk about how I'm so glad that I am not a player collector or team collector. Nothing against you guys and gals, but I feel really bad for you. Why? Because while I know that half of the fun is in the thrill of the chase (see what I did there), when there is so much to go after, it has to be just impossible to keep up. Case in point? Alex Rodriguez. Before running these posts, I look up online thanks to the Number One Source in the Hobby, the number of total Topps cards a player has. Ideally, I have no problem sorting out the cards on their list to the cards I have. Not so much with ARod. Beckett says that including 2013 Topps, Alex Rodriguez has a total of 10,984 Topps branded products (this does not take into consideration any Bowman branded cards). Of which, 5,554 were from that behemoth Moments and Milestones sets from a few years back. There are 9,064 serial numbered cards, 1,569 relic cards, 1,006 autographed cards, 843 autographed stickers, and if looking up the eponymous Topps products, including all the parallels, inserts, relic/autos, and so forth, Alex Rodriguez has 1,675 cards. Beckett wouldn't even let me see the list of all 10,984 cards, cutting it off after the first 10,000. And this is only from Topps. I don't even want to know how many cards this guy has total (okay, I do...19,489 total, which includes other things besides cards!!!) There are players who only have one card to their name. Many superstars of the past reach double digits in card totals during their playing days. This guy has almost 20,000, and he's still playing. I worry the day randomizer picks a Jeter card. In 2007, ARod won his third MVP award, leading the AL with 143 hits, 54 home runs, 156 rbi's, a .645 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.067. He hit .314, and also won his ninth Silver Slugger award and was named to his eleventh All-Star team.  Heading into the 2013 season, he will be out for half of the year due to surgery done in the off-season.  Now, there have been calls for him to call it quits now.  Yes, his production has been down in the last couple of years.  Make no doubt about it though.  Alex Rodriguez is still one of the most feared hitters in the game today.  All controversy aside, he may go down as one of the best ever.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 244.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1985 Topps Traded #59T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1985 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama