Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #123 Ryan McGuire

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 15, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #123.
• Player Name, position, team: Ryan McGuire, first baseman, Montréal Expos.
• Major League Debut: July 5, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Expos): 88 G, 140 AB, 17 R, 31 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB, .343 SLG, 27 BB, 33 SO, .221 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #3rd, June 1993. Traded by the Red Sox to the Expos 01/10/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his fourth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "He plays the same position as that other McGwire, but spells his name with a "u" and earns his living with a fancy glove and a lot of line drives. The Expos have been enamored of Ryan ever since seeing him hit safely in his first 12 games as a big-leaguer in 1997, provoking a 10-game winning streak."
• Commentary: Topps 2000 featured silver borders (compared to two years of gold-ish) that made the pictures really stand out. However, because of the use of a vertically-oriented reverse (or back of card), the statistics were sometimes hard to read, especially if there were a lot of lines on them. Maybe it's my vision, maybe it's the lighting in my office, but man I had a hard time reading the stats on the back of this one. With Brad Fullmer holding down the first base position for the Expos, if Ryan Bryon McGuire was not on the bench, he was covering the outfield for the regular starters, giving them a much needed day off or two. However, McGuire struggled badly at the plate, hitting .186 with 1 home run and 10 rbi's. In 1999, McGuire would begin the season in Ottawa, but would be called up by the Expos in May, remaining with the team in the same role as he had the year before. In 2000, McGuire signed on with the Mets as a Free Agent. He spent most of the year with the Mets' minor league affiliate in Norfolk, and did appear in one game in June for the Mets, going 0-2 with a walk. In 2001, he signed on with the Marlins and was placed onto the opening day roster. But after 63 games, most of which was off the bench as a pinch hitter, McGuire was sent to the Calgary to finish out the season (and get more playing time than he would have in Miami). The Orioles signed McGuire for the 2002 season, and he joined the major league roster from May to July again in a pinch-hitter/bench role. Ryan was designated for assignment after 17 appearances, hitting .077 (2-26), and was sent back to Rochester to finish the season. It would be the last time he would play in the majors. The following year, he split time with both the Yankees' and Twins' minor league systems, and called it a career soon afterwards.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1995 Topps #438. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama