Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH37 Adam Kennedy

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, February 16, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH37.
• Player Name, position, team: Adam Kennedy, second baseman, Oakland Athletics.
• Major League Debut: August 21, 1999.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Cardinals): 115 G, 339 AB, 42 R, 95 H, 17 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 7 SB, 21 BB, 43 SO, .372 SLG, .693 OPS, .280 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #1st, June 1997. Traded by the Rays to the Athletics 05/08/2009. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his thirteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Adam opened 2009 in the Tampa Bay farm system, but after being shipped to Oakland,he hit better than at any point in his career. In his first 18 games for the Athletics, he swatted .408."
• Commentary: If there is one thing you've noticed about these commentaries, it's that I normally start off with how much I like (or might not like) the design of the card. It's what makes Topps baseball cards unique among its competitors. The designs become classics, even the bad ones. Everyone can recognize the year of the card based on the design. And after a couple of blah designs, including one that featured circus circles and a small picture, the design Topps came up with in 2009 was a nice change of pace. I have said before that I really like the 2009 Topps design, even if the placement of the base with the logo now reminds me of the third-year effort of that other card company. After ten years that included two postseason trips, including one World Series Championship with the Angels (both Anaheim and Los Angeles of Anaheim versions), and two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, Adam Kennedy latched on with the Tampa Bay Rays in the hopes of getting a big league job. When the Rays traded him to Oakland, Kennedy seemed to come alive. In 129 games back in the California sun, Kennedy hit .289 with 11 home runs and 63 runs batted in, his highest total since 2000. Although primarily a second baseman, Adam found himself playing at third base for most of the year (82 games), and even took in games at first and in right field. The stay in Oakland was brief as he began his journeyman career with the Nationals in 2010. He has since played for both the Mariners (2011) and Dodgers (2012) and is presently looking for a team to join for the 2013 season.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• 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: 1952 Topps #345. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama