Random Topps Card of the Day: 1956 Topps #41 Hank Sauer

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 31, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1956 Topps #41.
• Player Name, position, team: Hank Sauer, outfielder, Chicago Cubs.
• Major League Debut: September 9, 1941.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1955 stats (Cubs): 79 Games, 261 At Bat, 29 Runs, 55 Hits, 8 2b, 1 3b, 12 H.R., 28 R.B.I., .211 B. Avg. 122 P.O., 4 Assists, 2 Errors, .984 F. Avg.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent before the 1937 season. Traded by the Reds to the Cubs 06/15/1949. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: What an awesome action shot that was included on Sauer's picture. If Sauer had a card in today's baseball card world, we would have seen the picture of Sauer making that kind of leap. If the card was included in the 2013 set, it would have been short printed. But I digress. Hank Sauer was a very popular player for the Cubs in the early 50's, especially on some really horrible teams. Teaming with Ralph Kiner and Frank Baumholtz, they comprised an outfield that was supposedly so slow that Mike Royko called them the "Quicksand Kids." But Sauer was the one that packed the power in the Cubs lineup, and in 1952, thanks to leading the NL in 37 home runs and 121 rbi's, he was named the NL MVP. In fact, in his seven seasons with the Cubs, Sauer hit for a .269 average, 198 home runs, drove in 587 rbi's, had an OPS of .860, and was a part of two All-Star Teams (in 1950 and 1952). Now Sauer didn't play for the Cubs in 1956. Why? It is said that he was holding out for more money, and instead of signing the slugger for more pay, the Cubs traded him off to the Cardinals for Pete Whisenant. In his lone season with the Cards, Sauer appeared in 75 games, hit 5 homers, drove in 24 rbi's, and hit for a good .298 average. However, he was released by the team after the season ended. Ten days later, he signed on with the NY Giants, just in time to be one of the few that can claim to be Giants on both coasts (the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958). The back of his Topps card features three large cartoons, the first mentioning his 1952 MVP campaign, the second says that Sauer uses "the heaviest bat in the majors" at 40 ounces. The third says that "Hank hit 41 home runs in '54. His 18 against the Pirates is a Major record. Now as with many of the older players, the SABR BioProject has an article about Hank Sauer. Hank Sauer passed away on August 24, 2001, of a heart attack while golfing. He was 84 years old.
• Beckett value: $7.50-$15.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5.

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.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2001 Topps #108. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #146 George Medich

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 30, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #146.
• Player Name, position, team: George Medich, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: September 5, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Yankees): 35 G, 272 IP, 16-16, 115 R, 106 ER, 132 SO, 72 BB, 3.50 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Yankees #29th, June 1970. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his fourth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: If there was ever a really appropriate nickname bestowed upon a player, it was given to George Francis Medich. Living up to his last name, he really was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, so upon making it to professional baseball, there was only one nicknamte to give him, "Doc." And the good doctor delivered for four years as a New York Yankee, going a combined49-40 in 111 games (108 starts) with a cumulative 3.40 ERA, 431 strikeouts, and 1.276 WHIP. On December 11, 1975, Doc was traded to the Pirates for three players: Willie Randolph, Ken Brett, and Dock Ellis (Doc for a Dock). With the Bucs in 1976, when he wasn't continuing his studies at his alma mater, Ellis went 8-11 in 29 games (26 starts), with an ERA of 3.52 and 86 k's. He even saved the life of a 73-year old who was having a heart attack in the stands, providing CPRHis stay in the Steel City was brief as he was traded in 1977 to the Athletics in a nine-player deal. After 25 starts in which Doc went 10-6, Medich had an interesting couple of weeks in September. First, his contract was purchased by the Mariners on September 13. He started three games for the M's, won both decisions for Seattle. Only thirteen days later, he was placed on waivers, and the New York Mets picked him up. He signed on with the Rangers, spending four plus seasons in Texas before his contract was purchased by the Brewers in 1982. He retired as a player after the season soon afterwards. So back to his 1976 campaign. Because he was traded off before Topps could get to airbrush a Pirates cap on his picture, he was included in Topps' second "Traded" product. The back of his regular card features a cartoon sketch depicting one of baseball's famous plays: "On September 23, 1908, Fred Merkle's failure to touch 2nd base cost the NY Giants the National League Pennant."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9.

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: 1956 Topps #41. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1984 Topps Traded #21T Enos Cabell

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 29, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1984 Topps Traded #21T.
• Player Name, position, team: Enos Cabell, third baseman-first baseman, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: September 17, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1983 stats (Tigers): 121 G, 392 AB, 62 R, 122 H, 23 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 46 RBI, 4 SB, .434 SLG, 16 BB, 41 SO, .311 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Orioles as a Free Agent 09/22/1968. Signed with the Astros as a Free Agent 02/14/1984. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his fourteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Went 4-for-5 with Homer in 11-6 win, 6-6-83."
• Commentary: After three years away from the franchise, Enos Milton Cabell returned to the Astros as a free agent in time for the 1984 season. It would be his second stint with the team, after spending six seasons (1975-80) in Houston before playing with San Francisco and Detroit. During his first run with Houston, Cabell was the team's regular third baseman. In 1978, he was considered for the MVP of the NL on the strength of a .295 average with 7 homers, 71 rbi's, and an OPS of .720 on his league leading 660 at bats (694 plate appearances). Upon his return to the Astros, Cabell would appear in 127 games, hit .310 with 8 home runs 44 rbi's , and 8 stolen bases. Cabell's second stint with the Astros would end in July, 1985, when he was sent to the Dodgers in a three player trade. After playing for a season-and-a-half with the Dodgers, along with his involvement with the "Pittsburgh Drug Trials," Cabell retired as a player after the 1986 season. He has since been inducted into the Astros' Hall of Fame (1993) and has served as a special assistant to the general manager with the team since 2004.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 15.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #146. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH3 Michael Saunders

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 28, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH3.
• Player Name, position, team: Michael Saunders, outfielder, Seattle Mariners.
• Major League Debut: July 25, 2009.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (West Tenn, AA-Southern - Tacoma, AAA-Pacific Coast): 91 G, 343 AB, 58 R, 95 H, 22 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 12 SB, 39 BB, 96 SO, .461 SLG, .817 OPS, .277 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Mariners #11th, June 2004. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 5. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Michael registered four bunt singles in his first 10 games with teh Mariners in 2009 - not bad for a potential slugger who had 13 home runs at Triple-A Tacoma before his July call-up. He honed his small-ball skills at High Desert in '07, heeding an organizational rule that required all speedy players to lay one down at least once every 10 at-bats."
• Commentary: If there is one thing Topps had to have learned since the 2009 design, it's that silver foil on a black background does not mix. They haven't used this combination as a design element since. Going into the 2013 season, Michael Edward Brett Saunders now finds himself third in line for the title of "Dean of the Mariners," just behind Jason Vargas (Mariners debut May 3, 2009) and Felix Hernandez (August 4, 2005). After hitting a fantastic .310 with 13 home runs and 32 rbi's with Tacoma in 2009, Saunders was called up to the Mariners' roster. He appeared in 46 games, hit for a .221 average and drove in 4 rbi's. In 2010, Saunders displayed a bit of power, hitting 10 home runs and driving in 33, but his average was a low .211. His hitting struggles continued in 2011 as by June 1, he was hitting .168 with two home runs and 7 rbi's. So he was sent to Tacoma to find his swing. After hitting .288, 7 home runs, driving in 38 rbi's and stealing 10 bases in 64 games with the Rainiers, he was back in a Mariners jersey in September. He finally stayed in the majors for a full year in 2012, showing both power and speed on the bases. Just one home run shy of a 20-20 season, Saunders hit .247 with 19 home runs, 57 rbi's, and stole 21 bases while playing all three outfield positions. He is expected to hold down the center field position in 2013.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.50-$1.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 8.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1984 Topps Traded #21T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2009 Topps St. Louis Cardinals

(My family and I are back from our trip to St. Louis. The timing of the Randomizer to pick this team set was coincidental. However, my computer was down due to the power supply box finally dying. It is now replaced, so it is now time to get back at it on this humble, little blog. Here we go.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Team Set of the Week:

• Team: 2009 St. Louis Cardinals
• Record: 91-71, first place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Tony LaRussa
• Card on the Top: Albert Pujols

The checklist consists of the following players:

• STL1 Albert Pujols
• STL2 Chris Carpenter
• STL3 Ryan Ludwick
• STL4 Adam Wainwright
• STL5 Yadier Molina
• STL6 Chris Duncan
• STL7 Rick Ankiel
• STL8 Joel Pineiro
• STL9 Troy Glaus
• STL10 Chris Perez
• STL11 Brendan Ryan
• STL12 Todd Wellemeyer
• STL13 Skip Schumaker
• STL14 Khalil Greene
• STL15 Fredbird

The cards in order from the set (the checklist at the end was cut from the back of the package. What, you don't do that?):

Key differences between the team set and 2009 Topps eponymous set:

• I don't know, but I think Albert Pujols' retail card looks a bit more "family friendly" than the regular card:
  
  

• Chris Carpenter, a bit more up close with a different picture used in the eponymous set:
  
  

• Ryan Ludwick's regular card shows him in the outfield:
  
  

• Unlike his retail card that shows him batting, pitcher Adam Wainwright is depicted on his base card doing what he does best...mowing down the opposition:
  
  

• Former pitching sensation Rick Ankiel now makes his living playing in the outfield. Just like Ludwick, his regular card shows him in the outfield:
  
  

• Here is Joel Piniero's base card. Up close action shot:
  
  

• The regular card of Troy Glaus shows him making a routine throw across the infield:
  
  

• Even Chris Perez gets a different card in the retail set:
  
  

• Here is Brendan Ryan taking a big cut on his regular Topps card:
  
  

• Somebody pointed out last week that this set includes a "jacked up card" of Skip Schumaker. Now I know why. The picture is the same on the regular card, just a bit further back, but the retail set misspells his name (no "c" in Schumaker):
  
  

• Khalil Greene takes a unique swing in his base card:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, there are ten use cards that feature different pictures in the retail set that was used in 2009 Topps set, and one uses a close up of the picture from the base set, but there is an uncorrected error thanks to the misspelling of Skip's last name. This is one of the sets that justifies having to buy the retail products. When most of the cards in the retail set use different pictures than in the base set (only Molina, Duncan, and Wellemeyer's cards use the same pictures).

Next week's featured set will be the 2006 Oakland Athletics. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Updates and Highlights.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #546 Rick Langford

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 27, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #546.
• Player Name, position, team: Rick Langford, pitcher, Oakland A's.
• Major League Debut: June 13, 1976.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (A's): 34 G, 219 IP, 12-16, 114 R, 104 ER, 101 SO, 57 BB, 4.27 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent 06/17/1973. Traded by the Pirates to the A's 03/15/1977. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his third Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Threw 2 Shutouts at Charleston in Pirates' chain during 1976. Pitched no-hitter for Charleston against Memphis, 5-30-76.".
• Commentary: You have to love the poses that the photographers would have these players do that would end up becoming cardboard immortality. Only the player and the photographer will know when this picture was taken and the circumstances behind it. Who knows if this was the Langford's idea or the guy snapping the picture? James Rick Langford was moving up the organizational ladder for the Pittsburgh Pirates and finally made it to the big leagues in 1976 for a 10-game cup of coffee in the middle of June through early July. He was looking to make it onto the team the following season out of spring training, but on March 17, 1977, he was traded to the Athletics in a nine-player deal. Determined to make it onto the A's roster, he was inserted into the starting rotation and went on to have a pretty good rookie campaign, going 8-19 with a 4.02 ERA and 141 strikeouts. He would have his breakout season in 1980, with a record of 19-12, 28 games (led the AL; 2 shutouts), 290 innings (also led the AL), an ERA of 3.26, and 102 strikeouts. He would go on to have two more productive seasons, completing 34 of the 55 games he would start and going 23-26 before injuries would take their toll. He would bounce back and forth on the DL for most of the 1983-84 seasons, and even though he mounted a brave comeback in 1985, he was no longer the dominating pitcher that he once was. After a disastrous 1-10 record in 1986, the Athletics released Langford. Rick would go on to become the pitching coach for the Blue Jays for a time, and also worked as the pitching coach for the minor league affiliate in Syracuse. He returned in 2010 as the Jays' bullpen coach. According to one website, he "invented and patented the Press-Grip Exercise System. This device is a weight system that focuses upon strengthening the small muscles in the hand, wrist, and shoulder."
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH3. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1978 Topps #705 1978 Rookie Outfielders Bergman, Dilone, Hurdle, Norwood

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 26, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1978 Topps #705.
• Player Name, position, team: 1978 Rookie Outfielders: Dave Bergman, Houston Astros; Miguel Dilone, Pittsburgh Pirates; Clint Hurdle, Kansas City Royals; Willie Norwood, Minnesota Twins.
• Major League Debut: Bergman: August 26, 1975; Dilone: September 2, 1974; Hurdle: September 18, 1977; Norwood: April 21, 1977.
• Any special information about player: Bergman: Bats: left. Throws: left.; Dilone: Bats: both. Throws: right.; Hurdle: Bats: left, Throws: right.; Norwood: Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): Bergman: 16 (first Topps card); Dilone: 7 (first); Hurdle: 14 (first); Norwood: 3 (first).
• Commentary: It's been a while since the Topps Card Randomizer picked a four-player card for the Random Card of the Day. So instead of waxing poetic about the careers of each of these players, I'll just stick to a couple of sentences about each one. At least each played longer than a season. Bergman would go on to have the longest playing career of the four featured on this card. In 1978, he played in 104 games, mostly at first base (although he did get to play in left field...so yeah, he was an outfielder) and went on to hit at a .231 clip with 0 home runs and 12 rbi's. He would continue to play for the Astros until 1981, when he was traded off to the Giants. He would continue his career with the Tigers in 1984, in time to help them win a World Series, and finished his career with the team six years later. Dilone spent parts of 12 seasons with seven different franchises over the course of his career. Although listed as a Pirate, he was traded by the Bucs all the way to Oakland just before the 1978 season. With the A's, Dilone appeared in 135 games, hit .229 with 1 home run and 14 rbi's. He would also steal 50 bases and lead the league in being caught 23 times, which shows he was daring on the base paths. His time in Oakland ended in 1979 when his contract was purchased by the Cubs. He would go on to play for the Indians, White Sox, return to the Pirates, Expos, and finish with the Padres in 1985. Clint Hurdle is known now as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and prior to that, the Colorado Rockies. But in 1978, as a rookie with the Royals, he would hit .264 with 7 home runs and 56 rbi's playing the outfield and first base. He left KC after the 1981 season in a trade to the Reds. Hurdle would log time with the Mets and Cardinals (spending more time in the minors than the bigs) before retiring as a player in 1987. Norwood's logged in 125 games for the Twins in 1978, hitting .255 with 8 home runs and 46 rbi's. He would only see 130 games of big league action with the Twins the following two seasons, but no more afterwards. He spent two seasons with the Reynosa Broncos of the Mexican League before ending his playing career after the 1982 season.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.50-$1.25.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: Bergman: 17 cards; Dilone: 7 cards; Hurdle: 14 cards; Norwood: 3 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1980 Topps #546. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1980 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Live from St. Louis, Missouri...Baseball Cards

For those who don't follow me on Facebook (and why not? Friend me!!!), my family and I have escaped the cold and snow of Chicago and travelled to...the cold and snow of St. Louis. Yes, we planned our trip just as the snowstorm went through the Midwest plains, covering everywhere from Denver to Springfield, IL, in more than two feet of snow. The roads just getting down here from home was an experience in patience and endurance. There were some stretches that we were cruising at 65-75 mph, other times because the roads were literally covered in ice, 5 mph.

But we made it. And after taking pictures at Kiener Plaza (the best place to take pictures if you want a shot of the Arch and the Courthouse at the exact same time), we headed on down to the Imo's Pizza located at the Hilton just across the street. And what did my kids find that they had to run and tell me about as soon as they got out of the bathroom?

Wait, what?

Yes, the Hilton has hanging on their walls, framed and all, a collection of baseball cards of nothing but St. Louis Cardinals. At 35 cards across and 15 cards down, that would be 525 cards.

There are Topps cards of course, as well as cards from those other card companies.

My wife says that I should one day take some of my Cubs cards and do something similar. That could be possible. But I think a guy like the gentleman over at Wrigley Wax, or the Orioles Card O' the Day, or Nachos Grande, or White Sox Cards, or any other team collector/blogger would have the cards to do the job. Of course, I could take a complete set of Topps and do the same thing, but it would look like one large sheet.

From our hotel room comes this beautiful night time shot of the Arch. We're actually leaving now to go see it up close. And after running around downtown, we are going to see the Blues take on the Edmonton Oilers at Scottrade Center. I know it's hockey, but MLB doesn't start until next week, and this will be my first NHL game (I've seen tons of IHL/AHL Wolves games).

Lots to do, and only one-and-a-half more days to do it all. See you later.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #T47 Glendon Rusch

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, March 25, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #T47.
• Player Name, position, team: Glendon Rusch, pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: April 6, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2001 stats (Mets): 33 G, 179 IP, 8-12, 101 R, 92 ER, 156 SO, 43 BB, 33 GS, 1 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.63 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Royals #17th, June 1993. Traded by the Mets to the Brewers 01/21/2002. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "It's easy to see why the Brewers pursued Glendon. In 2000 and '01, he won 19 games for the Mets. Over those two seasons, Milwaukee was able to coax only nine wins from all their left-handed starters combined."
• Commentary: Here is another SP card found in the 2002 Topps Traded and Rookie set. Now I just received the actual sell sheets for this product. It is clear as day on the sheet what the original plans were. In the heading for base cards, here is what was described for prospects: "These 110 first-year big leaguers have never been seen on a Topps card. ONE IN EVERY PACK!" At 110 players, this meant that in every regular and jumbo pack of Topps, you'd only find ONE prospect card. Topps would have you buy at least three regular boxes of their product in the HOPES of getting all 110 cards without duplicates. Well, we all know what happened upon production and distribution, right? Because instead of the 110 prospects getting the "one-per-pack" treatment (which would also include the "35 prospects"...didn't all 145 players wind up with the word "Prospect" down the side of the card?"), the 105 veterans and 5 managers wound up being inserted "one-per-pack." I even bought a box of jumbos back in 2002 and got ten veteran cards and a ton of prospects and Who Would Have Thought cards (which in the sell sheet was supposed to be 20 cards wound up being 10). Okay, history lesson over, time for today's subject. Glendon James Rusch was a good pitcher, but played for some really bad Royals teams in the late 1990's. With a record of 12-25 and an ERA of 5.80, including a disastrous 6-15 campaign in 1998, it was no surprise that KC would jump at the chance to trade him out of town. And what better team to send him to than one in New York City. The Mets took a chance on the hard luck pitcher, and were immediately rewarded. In 2000, Rusch went 11-11 with a 4.01 ERA and struck out 157 batters. The Mets went on to win the NL Pennant that year, and in the playoffs, Glendon went a combined 1-0 with an ERA of 1.08 in six relief appearances. After a subpar 2001 campaign, Rusch was involved in a three-team, eleven-player trade that would send him to the Brewers. With Milwaukee in 2002, Rusch went 10-16 (leading the NL in losses), had an ERA of 4.70, 140 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.438 in 34 games, all starts. He wasn't much better the following year, as he only won 1 game against 12 losses in 32 games (19 starts). He signed with the Rangers as a free agent in the offseason, only to be released by the team before the end of spring training. The Cubs took a chance on signing him in the hopes of using him out of the bullpen four days later. He wound end up with a career low ERA of 3.57 for the Cubs that year, to go with his first real winning record (6-2) in a year that would see him join the starting rotation as injuries would take a toll on the team's two young starters. All was great for him until September, 2006, when he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung that was considered life threatening. He was released by the team with one year left in his contract and took 2007 off to recover. He mounted a comeback in 2008, first with the Padres, and then the Rockies. He retired from the game for good after the 2009 season.
• Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1978 Topps #705. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #82 Cam Bedrosian

It's Minor League Monday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #82.
• Player Name, position, team: Cam Bedrosian, pitcher, Arizona League Angels.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: Rookie-Arizona League, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 5 G, 12.0 IP, 0-2, 11 R, 6 ER, 10 SO, 7 BB, 4 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.667 WHIP, 4.50 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels #1st, June 2010. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim #10 prospect after the 2010 season.
• Blurb on the back: "The Angels sent Bedrosian to Tempe for some brief work in the ARizona League after drafting him 29th in 2010. He was shut down with an injured elbow after five outings, but is expeted to be 100 percent this year, when he'll likely start in Low Single-A."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: The Pro Debut logo on the top right corner of the card is akin to the RC logo that is found on major league rookie cards. The Pro Debut logo signifies that this is a player's first "official" minor league card. It might not have the swagger of a rookie card logo, or even the pull of a "Bowman 1st Prospect Card," but it still means of all the "official" minor league cards a player may have, ones with this logo would be a player's first. Topps was half right about Cameron Rock Bedrosian. He was injured after five games in Rookie Ball, but was out for the 2011 campaign after Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2012, pitching for the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League. But after what was a described as a "brilliant debut" in Cedar Rapids, the bottom fell out on him soon afterwards. For the Kernels, Bedrosian started 21 games, went 3-11, had an ERA of 6.31, a WHIP of 1.730, and struck out 48 batters in 82.2 innings of work. While he is no longer on the ranked list of prospects for the LA Angels, Cam is slated to begin the 2013 campaign with the Burlington Bees, the Angels new minor league team in the MWL. He's only 21 years old heading into the 2013 season, so the Angels are hoping that he can improve as he matures.

Next week's featured card will be: 2010 Topps Pro Debut #143. Post will arrive at 9:00 AM CST. Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Minor League Monday.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1953 Topps #239 Jim Delsing

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer (actually, I threw an audible today, will explain below), introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 24, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1953 Topps #239.
• Player Name, position, team: Jim Delsing, outfielder, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: September 30, 1960.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1952 stats (Browns & Tigers): 126 Games, 411 At Bat, 48 Runs, 107 Hits, 15 Doubles, 7 Triples, 4 Homers, 49 R. B. I., .260 Bat. Avg. 273 Putouts, 5 Assists, 6 Errors, .979 Field Avg.
• Any special information about player: Obtained from Milwaukee (American Association) by the White sox as part of a minor league working agreement. Traded by the Browns to the Tigers 08/14/1952. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 6. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Jim came to the Tigers from the Browns in August of '52. He head previously played for the White Sox and Yankees in the A.L. Jim's career started with Green Bay in '42. After hitting .316 and .333 for Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League in '47 and '48, he received a trial with the White Sox. He hit .317 for Kansas City in '50 before coming up to the Yankees. In June of '50, Jim was traded from the Yanks to the Browns."
• Commentary: Funny story. The card that the Topps Card Randomizer actually picked for today's segment was 1953 Topps #271. One problem though: card #271 does not exist in the '53 set. So by chance, I went to the big Beckett book, and for some reason I thought I was looking at the checklist for 1953 Topps, but I "saw" that there was a card #271, and it was for Jim Delsing. It took me a minute to realize (after re-checking the heading on the list) that Delsing was card #271 for the 1952 Topps set. So I decided (over-riding the decision of the Randomizer) to use Delsing's 1953 card as the subject for today. So while the Randomizer had a hand in picking today's card, I threw in an audible because it would make no sense to say, "Hey, today's card does not exist. Have a good week!" Up until his time in Detroit, James Henry Delsing was the answer to this trivia question: "Who pinch ran for Eddie Gaedel when he drew a four-pitch walk in his only plate appearance?" But regardless of the notoriety, Delsing was a pretty good ballplayer for the Browns in 1951, hitting a good .249 with 8 home runs and 45 rbi's for St. Louis' AL franchise. He was traded to the Tigers in the middle of August, appearing in 33 games. In his first full season in Detroit, Delsing hit for a good .288 average with 11 home runs and 62 rbi's. He would play for the Tigers for two more seasons playing primarily in left field. But in 1956, Delsing struggled at the plate. After ten games, Delsing was traded off to the White Sox. But the team already had three regular outfielders (Larry Doby, Minnie Minoso, and Jim Rivera), so Delsing was relegated to pinch hitting/defensive replacement duty. After the end of the season, Delsing's contract was sold to the Indianapolis of the American Association. For three years, Delsing toiled in the minors, not knowing if he would ever play in the majors again. In 1960, he would get his final chance. The Kansas City Athletics purchased Jim's contract from Dallas-Fort Worth (Triple A, American Association) and called him up to cover as an injury replacement. In the 16 games he appeared for the Athletics, he ht .250 with five runs batted in. They would be the last games he would play as a professional ball player. Upon retiring from the game, Jim Delsing worked as an advertising salesperson for the St. Louis Review for 30 years. Jim Delsing passed away on May 4, 2006. He was 80 years old. The SABR BioProject has an article about Delsing that you can go to here. A Dugout Quiz box was inserted into the backs of the cards. For Delsing, the question was: What NL pitcher threw the most Home Run balls in '52? The answer: Murry Dickson, Pirates - with 26.
• Beckett value: $50.00-$100.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

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.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1988 Topps #247. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1992 Topps #138 Monty Fariss

(Before I begin, I'd like to with my sister, Patricia, a Happy Birthday!!!)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 23, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1992 Topps #138.
• Player Name, position, team: Monty Fariss, shortstop, Texas Rangers.
• Major League Debut: September 6, 1991.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1991 stats (Rangers): 19 G, 31 AB, 6 R, 8 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, .387 SLG, 7 BB, 11 SO, .258 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Rangers #1st, June 1988. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Monty was signed for Rangers by Scout Doug Gassaway."
• Commentary: Monty Fariss and Robin Ventura have a lot in common. Both were on the Oklahoma State University baseball team, Fariss at shortstop, Ventura at third base. Both were selected in the first round of the 1988 free agent draft in June, Fariss (6th) to the Texas Rangers and Ventura (10th) to the Chicago White Sox. But while Ventura went on to a long and productive career in the majors, and is now a major league manager, Fariss' career lasted parts of three seasons from 1991 through 1993 with the Rangers and the expansion Florida Marlins. Monty Ted Fariss racked up the frequent flyer miles between Arlington and Oklahoma City. While with Texas, Fariss appeared in 67 games, hit .217 with 3 home runs and 21 rbi's. Monty was selected by the Marlins in the 1992 expansion draft (69th pick overall, 35th pick by Florida). He appeared for the Marlins in 18 games, mostly as a pinch hitter. In 34 plate appearances, Fariss went 3 for 29 (.172 average) with 2 rbi's before being sent "down" to Edmonton in June. It would be the last he appeared in the big leagues. Monty stayed on with the Marlins organization for another year, the signed on with the Cubs as a minor league free agent. But after 10 games at Iowa, he left for the Mexican League. When the 1995 season ended, so did Fariss' career. On the back of Fariss' card is a panoramic shot of Arlington Stadium. It would be Topps' first attempt at using a colored picture on the back of their baseball cards.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 6.

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: 1953 Topps #239. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Live Blogging from the Chicago Sun-Times Show in Rosemont, Illinois

The Chicago Sun-Times and other sponsors organize at least two to three card shows (rather large card shows) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center here in the heart of Rosemont. The place is literally down the street from my house. So when there is a show happening down here, I try to attend at least one day of it to see if I can find cards for my collection. Today just happens to be that day.

So why am I now just sitting here at a table with fellow collectors eating a somewhat dry burger (really, should have gone for the hot dogs) and typing to get this post online? Well, just like in November, I am finally taking a break. I've been walking up and down the aisles looking for dealers who cater to guys like me. And to be honest, there aren't that many. These shows normally attract vendors who specialize in cards pre-1970. There is a whole section of booths with binders and boxes full of cards from the 40's through 60's and guys and gals just plugging away at them, looking to fill want lists with bargain priced cards. What is a guy who normally scours the Bay for cards from 1976 and beyond to do? Well, he hopes and prays that the dealers he has bought from before are at the show today.

And they are. Yay!!!

With a menial budget, after about two-and-a-half hours of walking, I have purchased the following cards to add to my collection:

• When I bought my 2013 Topps Series 1 Master Set, the seller didn't really sort out the different cards from the Chasing History insert set. So there was a mix of regular, retail exclusive, and jumbo pack exclusive insert cards. Well, that doesn't work for me. After sorting through the cards I had, I was able to whittle down the "variants" to nine cards. My first stop was a dealer that had full boxes of inserts. Found all 9 that I need. Total price? $7.00.

• Do you remember that the 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites product featured autograph cards of players that were not part of the base set? I have 20 of the 21 cards of those players (Tug McGraw...didn't happen). So I wondered if Topps decided to do the same thing when they re-introduced 2012 Topps Archives with All-Time Fan Favorite autographs. There were 40 of these SP cards in the base set. Sure enough, all 40 have autograph cards. But there were 33 players who have autos in this set that were not a part of the "base set" and that doesn't include the 8 other Jose Oquendo auto cards that honor his 1988 season of playing at least one game at every position, including pitcher and catcher. Now, the bad news is that one of these cards is a short print (Hank Aaron...go figure). So unless I want to shell out more than $200.00 for it, I am never owning that card. That leaves 32 other players to find. I found five of them. Total price? $45.00.

• My favorite sellers at the show are here all the way from New York City. Now, she (yes, that's right...SHE) didn't bring any of the Original Back cards from 2010 and 2011 (I'm now down to FOUR...will explain later), but she did have Lego Minifigures on sale. My son sent me a text to find some Lego minifigs from series 7 and 9. The bad news? Nothing from S9. The good news? Three packs from S7. Now she didn't allow me to try and figure out which ones she had by the usual method (of feeling for the prop). No problem there. In my haste, I found one that I "thought" we needed (the Aztec) from 7. Bought it for $4.00. The bad news. Not the Aztec. The good news? It was the space guy and we needed that one. Dodged a bullet.

• Now she also sells tons...and I mean TONS of insert cards from current releases. I have always managed to rely on her to find the cards I need on those rare occasions that I try to build an insert set from scratch (which I still do for sets that are either massively expensive or are of cards that are really hard to find). As you all know, I am still looking for the legend SP's found in 2010 and 2011 Topps. I finished the 2009 set, have all five cards from 2012 Topps Series 2, and all 25 cards from 2011 Topps Update Series (will show those off at another time).  After going through the cards, I found 11 from various series from 2010 and 10 cards from 2011 Series 2. I'm not going to say how much I spent, but after what she was going to initially charge for some, she cut me a deal since I am a "regular" customer of hers when she comes to Chicago.

Add one Beckett 2012 book (finally bought one) for $10.00, one admission ticket for $10.00, and another $8.75 for food, I am now down to just about $100, with another 2 hours before I leave for the day (I asked to be picked up at 2:30 pm, we'll see if that really happens).

I'm going to go run around a bit since I have a bit more time to kill. I don't plan on spending much now, but unless something catches my eye...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #T27 Kenny Kelly

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 22, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #T27.
• Player Name, position, team: Kenny Kelly, outfielder, Seattle Mariners.
• Major League Debut: September 7, 2000.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2001 stats (San Antonio, AA-Texas): 121 G, 478 AB, 72 R, 125 H, 20 2B, 5 3B, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 18 SB, .393 SLG, 45 BB, 111 SO, .262 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Devil Rays #2nd, June 1997. Contract purchased from the Devil Rays by the Mariners 04/04/2001. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 2. This is his second and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Kenny, signed as a minor league free agent, could be a diamond in the rough for the Mariners. After hitting .351 and making the all-prospect team in fall ball, he was elevated to Triple-A for 2002."
• Commentary: Of the 110 "Veterans and Managers" that were inadvertently short printed by Topps in their "brilliant" idea of short printing cards back in 2002, the one player that just didn't seem to belong in all of this was Kenny Kelly. Why? Because up until the card was produced, he had only two games of major league experience. And believe it or not, Kelly didn't even spend the 2002 season with the Mariners. Even though the picture was taken during spring training, Kelly spent the 2002 season with the M's Triple-A team in Tacoma. If anything, Kelly should have been lumped with the rookie...I mean "Prospects"...section of the set. But then again, as his first card was in the 2001 Topps set, that may be why he was "promoted" to veteran status. With the Rainiers, Kelly hit for a .248 average with 11 home runs and 53 rbi's. Kelly would not return to the majors until 2005, as he made a combined 24 appearances for the Reds and Nationals. He ended that season in the bigs with a .308 average with 2 rbi's. The 2005 season would be his last in the majors. He remained in the Nationals' organization through 2006, and signed with the White Sox as a minor league free agent in 2007. It would be his last professional season as a professional baseball player.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1992 Topps #138. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1995 Topps #218 Dave Hansen

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1995 Topps #218.
• Player Name, position, team: Dave Hansen, third baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Major League Debut: September 16, 1990.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1994 stats (Dodgers): 40 G, 44 AB, 3 R, 15 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, .409 SLG, 5 BB, 5 SO, .341 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Dodgers #2nd, June 1986. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his third Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "A chronic back problem traced to a 1988 auto accident has limited his ability to play on a regular basis, but Dave has wielded an extraordinary bat off the bench. He has hit .356 overall and .302 pinch-hitting the past two years. Dave plays the guitar."
• Commentary: In researching what kind of player Dave Hansen was like during his time in the majors, I came upon an article written by a person who played against him as a kid and grew up getting to know him. It seems that Hansen (and the writer) grew up in a hotbed of youth baseball in the cities of Long Beach and Lakewood, California. You can read all about it here. David Andrew Hansen upon arriving in the majors played an important role on those Dodgers teams in the early to mid 90's. In 1992, although he did lead NL third basemen with a .968 fielding percentage that year, Hansen hit a not too great .214 with 6 home runs and 22 rbi's. So the following year, the Dodgers used him primarily as a pinch hitter. And it is as a pinch hitter that Hansen excelled. In 1993, he appeared at third base 17 times, (15 starts). In those games, he hit .400 with 2 home runs, 12 rbi's and a 1.052 OPS. In 66 games as a pinch hitter, where he only got one shot to make an impact, he went 18 for 55 (.327 average) with 11 walks, 2 home runs, 18 rbi's, and an OPS of .894. That means in 29 of those 66 games, Hansen kept the game going by either getting on base or driving in runs. In 1995, as a pinch hitter, he hit .314 with 5 rbi's and 7 walks in 42 games. His grand totals for 1995 were .287 with 1 home run, 14 rbi's, and .743 OPS in 100 games. After the 1996 season, Dave signed with the Chicago Cubs and after one season with the Cubs, he became a gaijin, playing the 1998 season with the Hanshin Tigers. He re-signed with the Dodgers for the 1999 season, returning to his role as a pinch hitter. In 2000, Hansen set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs. In 2003, Hansen signed on with the Padres and after a season was traded up north to Seattle. But after 57 games with the Mariners, he was traded BACK to the San Diego. He re-signed with the Cubs for the 2005 campaign, but then was released. The Mariners then re-signed him and after 60 games with the M's, he retired at the end of the season. At the time he retired, he ranked sixth in career pinch hits with 138. Post playing baseball, Hansen has found work as a hitting coach, first with the Diamondbacks organization, working his way up to minor league hitting coordinator the following year. He returned to the Dodgers organization after the 2010 season first as a hitting instructor, then as a hitting coach. After two seasons in Hollywood, the Mariners hired him to be their hitting coach heading into the 2013 campaign.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies #27T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2006 Topps Minnesota Twins

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Team Set of the Week:

• Team: 2006 Minnesota Twins
• Record: 96-66, first place, AL Central Division.
• Manager: Ron Gardenhire
• Card on the Top: Torii Hunter

The checklist consists of the following players:

• MIN1 Torii Hunter
• MIN2 Michael Cuddyer
• MIN3 Joe Mauer
• MIN4 Lew Ford
• MIN5 Shannon Stewart
• MIN6 Justin Morneau
• MIN7 Jesse Crain
• MIN8 Juan Rincon
• MIN9 Brad Radke
• MIN10 Joe Nathan
• MIN11 Johan Santana
• MIN12 Jason Bartlett
• MIN13 Rondell White
• MIN14 Luis Castillo

The cards in order from the set (the checklist at the end was cut from the back of the package. What, you don't do that?):

Key differences between the team set and 2006 Topps eponymous set:

• Rondell White's regular card has him taking fielding practice:
  
  

• And here is Luis Castillo's regular card in the regular 2006 Topps set, also taking fielding practice:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, there are two cards that feature different pictures in the retail set that was used in 2006 Topps set. The other 12 cards use the same pictures.

Next week's featured set will be the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Updates and Highlights.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1991 Topps #541 Domingo Ramos

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 20, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1991 Topps #541.
• Player Name, position, team: Domingo Ramos, shortstop-second baseman, Chicago Cubs.
• Major League Debut: September 8, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1990 stats (Cubs): 98 G, 226 AB, 22 R, 60 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, .314 SLG, 27 BB, 29 SO, .265 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 05/27/1975. Signed with the Cubs as a Free Agent 12/13/1988. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his seventh and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "His first inside-the-park Home Run: 6-15-87.
• Commentary: The NL East Champion 1989 Chicago Cubs team might not have fans in Chicago waxing nostalgic as the team that took the nation by storm in 1984, but that team was the reason I became hooked on the baseball for good. I can probably name all of the players on that team now, down to the six guys that manned the bullpen. Even now, even though I might lapse when it comes to recognizing the names of the guys that are on the team in 2013, even if I forget what their contributions were to that magical '89 season, I will always remember the names. Today's subject is one of them. He did not have the name recognition as the regular infielders that year (Law at third, Dunston and short, Sandberg at second, and Grace at first), but Domingo Antonio Ramos filled in nicely as a defensive replacement, and occasional starter at third and short (funny looking at this card saying that he was the SS-2B, even though he played second for 2/3rds of an inning the entire season. Before joining the Cubs, he was a just a callup/fill in for the Yankees (1 game in 1978), and Blue Jays (5 games in 1980) before being selected by the Mariners in the 1982 Rule V draft. If you aren't sure of the rules of the Rule V draft, the basic premise is this: If you select a player in this draft, that player must stay on the 25-man roster for the entire year. If not, he returns to his original organization. He can be traded, but then the team that takes him now have to hold him or give him back as well to his prior franchise. As Domingo was selected in the minor league section of the draft (as a AA player), he had to remain on the roster of the AAA team (in this case Salt Lake City) for the 1982 campaign. He did make it to Seattle for an 8-game stint, hitting a paltry .154 with an rbi, just before the All-Star Break. With the SLC Gulls, he had a banner year, hitting .314 with 6 home runs, 56 rbi's, 5 stolen bases, and an OPS of .810. The following year, Ramos made it into the major league roster as a back up infielder, a position he would wind up holding for his entire big league career. In 6 seasons and 286 games with the M's, he would hit for a .228 average with 5 home runs and 44 rbi's. Ramos was good defensively, committing only 36 errors in 808 chances (for a fielding percentage of .955). By the end of the 1987 season, Domingo was released by Seattle, and signed on with the Indians. But after 22 games, he was released by Cleveland. He signed with the Angels two weeks later and finished the season with the Halos (which probably explains why he was skipped over for the 1989 Topps set). On December 14, 1988, he signed with the Cubs (I knew there was significance...that's was my youngest sister's first birthday), and the rest is history. In his two seasons with the Cubs (and 183 games, more than half of the number of games he appeared during his six years in Seattle), Domingo would hit for a .264 clip with 3 home runs and 36 rbi's. He even made an appearance as a pinch hitter in the NLCS in 1989 (his lone at bat in the playoffs). It turns out that 1990 was his final season in the majors, so the final line of Major League totals is complete.
• Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 1995 Topps #218. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps #339 Jim Leyland

(I can't believe this didn't show up at the right time. Had this typed in and ready to send when the computer crashed. Fortunately, my computer works again, but the article did not post like I had thought. Sorry about that.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 19, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps #339.
• Name, position, team: Jim Leyland, manager, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: n/a. Managerial Debut: April 8, 1986.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Tigers): 74-88 5th (AL Central).
• Any special information about manager: Hired as Manager 10/04/2005.
• Any special information about this specific card: Leyland's ninth regular Topps card as a manager (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards).
• Commentary: I grew up watching Jim Leyland lead the Pittsburgh Pirates as they would beat my Cubs on numerous occasions. Even then, he looked like he had been around the game for a very long time. Little did I know that when I started watching the game, he had only been on the helm of the Bucs for about three years. But he was a winner, and led the Pirates to three straight NL East Division titles in the early 90's. But after a certain slugger left for San Francisco, there hasn't been a winning team in Pittsburgh since. And after finishing in fifth place during three of his last four years in the Steel City, Leyland was let go. He left Pittsburgh for Miami, and led the wild card Marlins to their first World Series title. After the Marlins organization went on a fire sale that saw most of the championship roster dismantled the following season, the team crash landed back to fifth place, and Leyland was once again on the move. This time, to Denver, where he led the Rockies to a 72-90 record, and another last place finish. Figuring that he should call it a career, he left Colorado even though he had two years left on his contract. For six seasons, Leyland was away from baseball. But when the Detroit Tigers, who had spent the last few years as a doormat in the AL Central, was looking for a manager, Leyland interviewed for the job...and was hired. He did not disappoint. In his first year back in the game, he led the Tigers to a 95-67 record, a 24 game improvement over the year before. The Tigers won the AL pennant that year and the team's first World Series appearance since 1984. In 2009, Leyland managed the team to a 86-77 record, good for second place again in the ever competitive AL Central. As of the end of the 2012 season, he has led the team to a 607-528 record, two first place finishes, three playoff appearances, and two AL Pennants. He is a three-time Manager of the Year winner. The Tigers have been one of the best teams in baseball during the last couple of years, and are heading into the 2013 season as the defending American League Champions.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this person do I own?: 18 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1991 Topps #541. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1991 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Topps to Keep MLB Properties Exclusive Until 2020!!! Card Collectors Rejoice!!!

Forget the other news of the day (like the fact that the MLB Players Association has decided to allow that other card company to make baseball cards again). The biggest news to come out of the Las Vegas Industry Summit today was that MLB Properties announced that the Topps Company will remain the EXCLUSIVE LICENSEE for Major League Baseball until 2020!!!

That means, ladies and gentlemen, that the powers that run MLB Properties saw that Topps has done a fantastic job flying solo in the Baseball Card market that they extended the deal all the way through to the end of the decade (or 2020, whichever comes first). And I'm happy. (Meanwhile, at the headquarters of a certain card curmudgeon?  Not so much.)

Now, I'll be honest.  I have nothing against the other companies. Having a blog with the word Topps Baseball Cards on it may make it look like I have some kind of bias against them. I really don't.  Congrats to Upper Deck for getting your house in order again so that you can get back into the game with a license from the MLB Players' Association.  Competition is a good thing.  I'm certainly not naïve to think that just because Topps has the exclusive license doesn't mean that they're the only game in town.  Of course not.  For two years, Panini has held its own when it comes to producing quality cards.  Yes, they were able to find ways to work around the "no logos" thing.  And because they are not held to the restrictions placed by MLB Properties the way Topps is, Panini can include players like the All-Time Hits King (if they wanted to), and some guy who conspired to "fix a World Series" back in 1919.  They can even recognize them by name too. Bringing UD back into the fold will just give Topps a bit more motivation to come up with better ways to occupy our time in the Hobby.

Yes, it would be nice if we went back to the time when there were five companies vying for our attention and our pocketbooks.  When each company made ONE SET and if they chose an UPDATE SET.  But by 2001, there were more than 86 different products produced by four companies.  And even then, people complained that there was too much product.  When the economy wasn't all that bad. Now, apparently, one company making 17 "approved" products is too much???  Throw in Panini and (now) Upper Deck with their handful of goods (they really can't do too much without the logos...and THEY KNOW IT), and then you have companies like Leaf putting their two cents worth, and we can crank out cards just the good old days again.

Regardless of whoever has the exclusive, having the actual team logos prominently displayed on the cards and on the uniforms of the players just gives a hint of legitimacy to the 2½ x 3½ piece of cardboard in the packs.  I'm just glad that MLB decided to continue working with the company that has the history to continue to produce Major League Baseball cards.

Thanks MLB Properties.  Good choice in letting Topps keep the exclusive.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1988 Topps #247 Thad Bosley

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, March 18, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1988 Topps #247.
• Player Name, position, team: Thad Bosley, designated hitter-outfielder, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: June 29, 1977.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1987 stats (Royals): 80 G, 140 AB, 13 R, 39 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .357 SLG, 9 BB, 26 SO, .279 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels #4th, June 1974. Traded by the Cubs to the Royals 03/30/1987. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his tenth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Thad led California League with .324 Average and led league's outfielders with .977 Percentage in 1976."
• Commentary: For a few years, Topps also kept track of a statistic called GW-RBI (Game Winning Run Batted In). Basically, you take a game, and whoever drove in the run that would eventually be the one that would count as the game winning run would be credited with this statistic. However, a game winning rbi could occur in the late innings of a game, or in the first inning of a 12-0 shutout. So while it is no longer a closely tabulated statistic (although there are people within baseball who do), teams do keep track of players who provided the winning hit. In Thaddis Bosley's case, he had three of them in 1987, and 13 during his career. Bosley was widely considered one of the best pinch-hitters of his era. For a majority of his career, he was travelling back and forth with the major league team and the minor league affiliate because he needed to get some playing time. His stays in the minors would be brief, mostly because he would tear the cover off the ball against AAA pitching (.303 with 24 home runs, 188 rbi's, and a .792 OPS in 405 games with AAA teams). When he was up in the majors, he would be primarily used off the bench as the first pinch hitter. That's not to say that he didn't get any playing time on the field, he most certainly did, especially in 1985 as he broke the 100 game appearances mark for the first and only time in his 14-year big league career. After stints with the Angels, White Sox, Brewers, and Mariners, Thad Bosley's contract was purchased by the Cubs from the Athletics, a team that Bosley had signed with as a free agent just the month prior. In his four years with the Cubs, Bosley appeared in 293 games, had 536 plate appearances, hit for a nice .302 clip with 12 home runs, 62 rbi's, and a nice OPS of .822. Even though he appeared in 55 games for the 1984 team, as part of that division winning team, his name and time spent with the Cubs is remembered fondly in the Windy City. But by 1987, the Cubs, looking to both retool and somehow compete (isn't that almost always the case), traded him off to Kansas City in exchange for veteran catcher Jim Sundberg. In 1987, Bosley appeared in 80 games for the Royals primarily as a pinch hitter or defensive right fielder (he did start 24 games that year, mostly as the DH). In 49 games off the bench as a pinch hitter, he went 12-44 (.273 average) with 5 walks, 3 rbi's, and an OPS of .649. Overall, he hit .279 with 1 home run and 16 rbi's. Even though the above card is his final Topps card, Bosley's career continued for another three years. He was released by the Royals towards the end of May after 15 games, and signed on with Angels. After an 18-game warm up in Edmonton (because nothing says "warmup" like Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), he joined the Angels after the All-Star Break and spent time as the Halos' regular left fielder. He finished his career with a two-season run with the Rangers, ending his career with Texas after the 1990 season. He has since served as a coach for both the Athletics, and recently with the Rangers. He also was part of a funk group called "Ballplayers" which featured another baseball lifer, Lenny Randle.
• Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 10 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #339. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2010 Topps Pro Debut #37 Stephen Fife

It's Minor League Monday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2010 Topps Pro Debut #37.
• Player Name, position, team: Stephen Fife, pitcher, Salem Red Sox.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: A-Carolina League, Boston Red Sox.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 10 G, 50.2 IP, 3-2, 28 R, 25 ER, 51 SO, 10 BB, 10 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.342 WHIP, 4.44 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #3rd, June 2008. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: July 17, 2012.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Boston Red Sox #17 prospect after the 2009 season.
• Blurb on the back: "Stephen, a former Little League World Series participant and a latecomer to pitching, moved into the third round of the 2008 draft after blossoming at the U. of Utah. His pro career began at Low Class-A Lowell, where he held batters to a .198 AVG out of the bullpen. In '09, Fife went back to starting."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the third round (compensation pick) of the 2008 draft, Stephen Fife was climbing the organizational ladder as a starting pitcher. He had spent the 2010 season with the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs, finishing the year with an 8-6 record, a 4.75 ERA, and 82 strikeouts in 26 starts. He returned to Portland in 2011, and was having a banner year thanks to an 11-4 record, a 3.66 ERA, 70 k's, and a 1.394 WHIP. On July 11, 2011, Fife was involved in a three-team, seven-player trade, with the Dodgers and Mariners. By the time the dust settled, Fife became part of the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, being assigned to the AA-Southern League Chattanooga Lookouts. In 2012, after going 11-7 for the Dodgers' AAA team in Albuquerque, Fife was called up to the big league roster and made his major league debut on July 17. Heading into the 2013 campaign, he is looking to break camp with the Dodgers as part of their starting rotation.
  

Next week's featured card will be: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #82. Post will arrive at 9:00 AM CST. Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Minor League Monday.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama