Random Topps Card of the Day: 2007 Topps #567 Chris Stewart

(Before I begin, I'd like to wish my dad, Leslie, a very Happy Birthday. And many more.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, April 30, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2007 Topps #567.
• Player Name, position, team: Chris Stewart, catcher, Texas Rangers.
• Major League Debut: September 6, 2006.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2006 stats (Charlotte, AAA-International League): 89 G, 272 AB, 40 R, 72 H, 17 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 3 SB, 15 BB, 35 SO, .393 SLG, .707 OPS, .265 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the White Sox #12th, June 2001. Traded by the White Sox to the Rangers 01/12/2007. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 1. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "In his first Major League start, Chris showed that all the talk about his defensive prowess was well-earned; he threw out Grady Sizemore on two attempted steals in a September 27, 2006 game at Cleveland. Before he was traded to Texas in '07, Stewart was named Best Defensive Catcher in the White Sox system in back-to-back years by Baseball America."
• Commentary: There are a few disadvantages that I have when scanning cards from the 2007 set. Because the cards utilize black borders, any chips or dings are easily noticeable. Also, because I use plastic holders whenever I scan cards I own and have done so since I started this humble little blog, the scanner picks up on all the scratches and other smudges that are on the holders. Maybe I need to buy new ones, I don't know. What were the White Sox thinking??! That A. J. Pierzynski was going to stay in the south side forever??! They traded their best catching prospect for a guy that hasn't even scratched the major leagues (for the record, pitcher John Lujan pitched for three seasons in the Sox' system before being traded to the Mets. He was last seen playing for los Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2012). Christopher David Stewart made the Opening Day roster for the Rangers in 2007 as the team's backup catcher. In 17 games, Stewart hit a decent .243 (9-37) with 3 rbi's and an OPS of .597. But because the Rangers thought they could do better at catcher, they brought in Adam Milhaus in a trade from the A's, and demoted Stewart to Oklahoma City. He finished the season with the RedHawks, hitting for a .242 average, with 2 home runs and 21 rbi's in 45 games. He was released by the Rangers and signed on with the Yankees as a minor league free agent in 2008. He did appear in one game for the Yankees, filling in for an injured Jorge Posada, going 0-3 with a strikeout in his lone MLB appearance. Stewart re-signed to the White Sox as a minor league free agent, only to be traded back to the Yankees. After playing a full season with the Yankees' Triple A team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2009, he signed with the Padres. He joined the team as a September call-up, but was DFA'd after the season ended. Refusing to return to the minors, he became a free agent. In 2011, he signed with the Giants, and remained on the team as Buster Posey's lower leg injury ended his season. He returned to the Yankees (his third run with the team) where he has remained as the second-string catcher ever since.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2012 Topps #389. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2012 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps #77 Jed Lowrie

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, April 29, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps #77.
• Player Name, position, team: Jed Lowrie, shortstop, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: April 15, 2008.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Red Sox): 81 G, 260 AB, 34 R, 67 H, 25 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 46 RBI, 1 SB, 35 BB, 68 SO, .400 SLG, .739 OPS, .258 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #1st, June 2005. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 5. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Jed's two-out, ninth inning single in Game 4 of the 2008 ALDS against the Angels made him just the fourth rookie to collect a postseason series-ending RBI."
• Commentary: If that other company wanted a picture to use for their 2010 set, thus avoiding the long arm of MLB Properties, as long as they photoshopped the "B" seen on the cap in this picture, they could have used this shot for Jed Lowrie's card. Thanks to his arms covering his chest, if you didn't tell me what team he played for, I wouldn't have known it was Boston. But I digress (and now that they are back in the game for 2013 with the Players' Association, one can only hope that they have figured this out). Jed Carlson Lowrie's 2009 season was marred by a wrist sprain which resulted in an ulnar styloid excision and arthroscopic ligament repair on his left wrist that placed him on the team's 60-day DL. Despite the injuries, Lowrie appeared in 32 games for the Red Sox that year, going 10-68 (.147 batting average) with 2 home runs and 11 rbi's. In his four seasons in Boston, Jed appeared in 256 games, hit a cumulative .252 with 19 home runs and 117 rbi's (and one memorable triple play). To avoid having to deal with arbitration after the 2011 season, the Red Sox traded him off to Houston, where he became the regular starting shortstop for the franchises' final season in the NL. He was among the teams hitting leaders, with 16 home runs and 42 rbi's, along with a team leading .769 OPS. But after the season concluded, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. In 2013, while he was penciled in to play second for the A's, he has seen more action at short. In 26 games (as of 04/30/2013), he his hitting .333 with 3 home runs, 15 rbi's, and an OPS of .938. If he stays healthy, he is bound to have a very good year for the defending AL West champs.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.25-$0.60.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2007 Topps #567. 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 #30 Brett Lawrie

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 #30.
• Player Name, position, team: Brett Lawrie, second baseman, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: A-Midwest League, Milwaukee Brewers.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 105 G, 372 AB, 48 R, 102 H, 18 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 65 RBI, 19 SB, 41 BB, 70 SO, .454 SLG, .802 OPS, .274 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Brewers #1st, June 2008. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: August 5, 2011.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Milwaukee Brewers #2 prospect after the 2009 season.
• Blurb on the back: "The highest-drafted position player ever out of Canada, Brett signed late in 2008, and didn't debut professionally until the following spring. The attacking, quick-wristed slugger smashed 13 home runs in 105 contests for Wisconsin, earning a brief promotion to Double-A Huntsville as a 19-year-old."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: 2012 Topps #462.
• Commentary: After crushing the competition in the Midwest League, Brett Russell Lawrie arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, joining the AA-Southern League Stars for 13 games at the end of the 2009 campaign. He hit .269 with the team, with 1 triple among his 14 hits. He spent a full season with the Stars in 2010, hitting .285 with 8 home runs and 63 rbi's in 135 games. In need of starting pitching and because the Brewers already had an established veteran second baseman in Rickie Weeks, Lawrie was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum on December 6, 2010. After hitting for a combined .353 average with 18 home runs, 61 rbi's, 13 stolen bases, an OPS of 1.060, and a slugging percentage of .647 in 73 combined games with the Dunedin Blue Jays and the Las Vegas Stars, the Jays had no choice BUT to bring him up to the big club. Now the native of Langley, British Columbia, plays for his home country's big league team, manning the hot corner since his debut in 2011.

Next week's featured card will be: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #144. 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: 1956 Topps #145 Gil Hodges

(Before I begin, I'd like to wish my daughter Lynn a Happy 13th Birthday. Geez, I'm getting old. It seems like it was yesterday that she was born.)

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, April 28, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1956 Topps #145.
• Player Name, position, team: Gil Hodges, first baseman, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: October 3, 1943.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1955 stats (Dodgers): 150 Games, 546 At Bat, 75 Runs, 158 Hits, 24 2b, 5 3b, 27 H.R., 102 R.B.I., .289 B.Avg, 1291 P.O., 106 Assists, 14 Errors, .990 F.Avg.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent before the 1943 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 21. This is his twelfth and final Topps card as a player.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The Topps Card Randomizer never ceases to amaze me. This is the first time ever in its history that it picked the same subject for two consecutive Retro Sunday segments. Last week, it chose Gil Hodges' 1963 Topps card, his final card as a player. For today, it's his card from 1956, from seven years earlier. Since I wrote a lot about Hodges in last week's segment, I'll just review his 1956 season today. The Brooklyn Dodgers had just won their first (and only) World Series title the year before and were the toast of the baseball world. Hodges was a bona fide All-Star (in 1955, he had made his seventh consecutive All-Star Team). The first baseman had hit 27 homers and drove in 102 rbi's, finishing the year with a .289 average and an OPS of .877 for the champions. In 1956, some of his hitting numbers may have been down, but on the heels of 29 doubles and 32 home runs, his slugging percentage went up seven points. He finished the season with a .265 average as the Dodgers had him playing not only at first and in the outfield, but he even took in a game at catcher, his first action behind the plate since 1948. This may have been an off year for Hodges because the following year (1957), not only did his batting average improve (back to .299), but he was named to his eighth (and final All-Star Team), and was awarded the first of his three Gold Gloves. The back of Hodges' card includes three large cartoons sketches. The first indicates that in 1955 "Gil Drove in over 100 runs for the 7th straight year." That streak would end in 1956, as he drove in 87 rbi's. The second says that "He's averaged 30 homers per year in 8 full seasons at Brooklyn." The third says that in 1950, "Gil hit 4 homers in one game." In an August 31st game against the Boston Braves, not only did he hit the four homers, but he went 5-6 that day, drove in 9 rbi's (three 2-run homers and a 3-run blast in the sixth), with the Dodgers winning in a 19-3 romp over Warren Spahn and company. Incidentally, the only Braves pitcher to have any success over Hodges that day (meaning did not allow a HR) was Mickey Haefner, who induced Hodges into hitting a ground out to the third baseman. 
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $35.00-$60.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7.

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: 2009 Topps #77. 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: 1987 Topps #137 Jerry Willard

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, April 27, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1987 Topps #137.
• Player Name, position, team: Jerry Willard, catcher, Oakland Athletics.
• Major League Debut: April 11, 1984.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1986 stats (Athletics): 75 G, 161 AB, 17 R, 43 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 0 SB, .385 SLG, 22 BB, 28 SO, .267 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Phillies as a Free Agent 12/20/1979. Signed with the Athletics as a Free Agent 04/04/1986. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 3. This is his third and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Jerry graduated from Hueneme (Cal.) High School in 1978. He attended Oxnard (Cal.) College."
• Commentary: For many of today's collectors, the 1987 Topps set is as iconic a set as the 1952 Topps set. While I'm not saying that the 1987 set is even remotely close in popularity and value to the famous '52's, for collectors like myself, it was the starting point to our cardboard lives. Yes, there are probably enough cards from this set out there that could be literally engulfed in flames and still retain its lack of monetary value, but it still holds a place in our hearts. I mean, even Topps recognized this because they used it as their "mini" insert set in 2012. Anyhow, up until 1985, Jerry Willard was known as one of the five players who were infamously traded by the Phillies to the Indians in exchange for Von Hayes. To this day, I still wonder who got the better of this deal. In 1984, the then 24-year-old catcher became part of the Tribe's catching platoon, sharing the job with veterans Chris Bando and Ron Hassey. However, with 68 starts behind the plate (and 85 games played overall), he saw the most action of the three. The starting job was his going into the 1985 season, whose numbers were pretty good (.270 with 7 home runs and 36 rbi's) on a young starting lineup that included Brett Butler, Joe Carter, Pat Tabler, Tony Bernazard, and Brook Jacoby. He signed with the A's as a free agent, platooning with Mickey Tettleton as the team's primary catcher. But with Terry Steinbach winning the catcher's job in 1987, Willard was demoted to the minors. He did appear in 7 games (2 in May, the rest in September), hitting .167 with two walks. In Tacoma, Willard hit .298 with 6 home runs, drove in 38 rbi's, and finished with an OPS of .889. Now, Topps stopped including Willard in their sets, but his career was still ongoing. He was released by the Athletics after the 1987 season, and was nowhere to be found in 1988. The White Sox signed Willard to a minor league contract, so he spent the next two seasons in Vancouver, the Sox' Triple-A affiliate. He did return to the majors as a September call up in 1990, appearing in three games. The Braves signed him in 1991, and did make the squad out of spring training. Used primarily as a pinch hitter (and unsuccessful at that, going 0-7 in 9 games (he was sent up and ordered to come back to the dugout twice), he was sent to the team's Triple A affiliate in Richmond, where he hit over .300 8 home runs and 38 rbi's. He made his return for good in September, and finished the month with 3 hits in 6 at bats. He was added to the team's postseason roster, where his walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 gave the Braves a 3-2 win. He stayed with the Braves organization for two more years, spending most of 1992 with the team before being DFA's (designated for assignment, and signing with the Expos for the rest of the season) and all of 1993 with Richmond. On May 10, 1994, as a member of the Mariners, he was behind the plate when a foul tip off the bat of Julio Franco (who ironically was also in that five-player deal for Von Hayes), struck his right shoulder, causing a fracture and damaged cartilage. Unable to throw a ball, he was placed on the DL, and when he was activated, played the rest of the year in Calgary. After one final season in Tacoma (the team changed affiliates), he called it a career.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 3.

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

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH187 Ryan Franklin NL All-Star Pitcher

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, April 26, 2013:

• LOfficial Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH187.
• Player Name, position, team: Ryan Franklin, pitcher, National League All-Star Team.
• Blurb on the back: If Franklin felt a little strange pitching as early as the third inning of the 2009 MLB All-Star Game, he certainly didn't show it. The Cardinals closer - who piled up 21 saves before the break - tossed a perfect inning in front of his home fans as the first reliever to come out of the National League pen."
• Commentary: Since 2006, the Topps Updates and Highlights (then the Update Series) sets would include players who were selected to the All-Star Game. Topps would reserve 60 spots in their end-of-the-year sets for the selected All-Stars. There is one problem though. There are 34 spots on each team, and 68 official spots on the roster. There have been as many as 80 All-Stars thanks to injuries or the now inactive rule that starting pitchers who made the team who have to pitch on the Sunday before the ASG would have to be replaced. That would mean that a handful of players would not even get an All-Star card, or worse, an injured player who didn't even go to the game would get a card. Now Topps did it right in 2011 as only 59 of the 68 players who actually got into the game were included in the All-Star subset (the lone player who didn't but got a card anyway? Tim Lincecum). In 2009, with the ASG being held at the new Busch Stadium, NL Manager Charlie Manuel's first move was to call in the Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin into the game. Now Franklin, once a Mariners prospect that just didn't pan out, signed with the Cardinals in 2007 after a 6-7 run as a started with both the Phillies and Reds. Manager Tony LaRussa inserted Franklin to the bullpen, and thrived. He inherited the closer role in 2008, saving 17 of the 39 games he finished. On the strength of a 2-0 record, 0.79 ERA (3 runs in 34 innings of work), and 21 saves, Ryan Franklin was selected by Manuel to the 2009 NL ALl-Star Team. In his one inning of work, Franklin pitched a 1-2-3 inning, where no balls made it out of the infield. He got Derek Jeter to ground out to Chase Utley (4-3), Joe Mauer to line out to Albert Pujols (3), and Mark Teixeira to ground out to Pujols (3UP). All to the delight of the hometown crowd.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1987 Topps #137. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #519 Steve Nicosia

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, April 25, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #519.
• Player Name, position, team: Steve Nicosia, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: July 8, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Pirates): 70 G, 191 AB, 22 R, 55 H, 16 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .288 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #1st, June 1973. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Was International League's 2nd-leading hitter during 1978 season. Went 7-19 for .368 Average as Designated Hitter in IL, 1978.
• Commentary: This card was actually picked by the Randomizer all the way back on August 3, 2010. On that day, I had just returned from my first ever business trip to Portland (actually Tualatin), Oregon. It was the first time I had ever traveled without my family in tow. It was such a beautiful environment. You could see the mountains everywhere you went, and needless to say, I fell in love with the city. I would love to visit there again one day and bring my family. Anyway, I wrote briefly about Nicosia on that first post, that his minor league stops on his way to the bigs were in Charleston, SC; Sherbrooke, Quebec; Salem, VA; Shreveport, LA; Charleston, WV; and Columbus, OH. The team names of each? Pirates (Charleston SC, Sherbrooke, and Salem), Captains (Shreveport), Charlies (Charleston WV), and Clippers. You can figure that with the exception of Charlies (probably similarly named to the Phillies), that the monikers of the minor league affiliates are appropriate to the big league club. I also wrote that the cartoon included on the back of the card mentions that "Steve was named to the Texas League All-Star Team at Shreveport in 1975." In 1980, as the Bucs' backup catcher, Nicosia appeared in 60 games, hit .216 with 1 home run and 22 rbi's. He would spend most of his career, with the Pirates, Giants, Expos, and Blue Jays, in this role. He finished his career in 1985 with a .248 batting average, 11 home runs, 88 runs driven in, 5 stolen bases, and seven Topps baseball cards.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH187. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2012 Topps Milwaukee Brewers

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

• Team: 2012 Milwaukee Brewers
• Record: 83-79, third place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Ron Roenicke
• Card on the Top: Ryan Braun

The checklist consists of the following players:

• MIL1 Ryan Braun
• MIL2 Carlos Gomez
• MIL3 Zack Greinke
• MIL4 Aramis Ramirez
• MIL5 Mat Gamel
• MIL6 Shaun Marcum
• MIL7 Nyjer Morgan
• MIL8 Rickie Weeks
• MIL9 Alex Gonzalez
• MIL10 Yovani Gallardo
• MIL11 Randy Wolf
• MIL12 Corey Hart
• MIL13 Jonathan Lucroy
• MIL14 John Axford
• MIL15 Francisco Rodriguez
• MIL16 Chris Narveson
• MIL17 Miller Park

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 2012 Topps eponymous set:

• Alex Gonzalez is shown sliding on the basepaths on his 2012 base card:
  
  

• You get to see more of Randy Wolf on his regular card (it's the same picture):
  
  

• Jonathan Lucroy in catcher gear on his base card:
  
  

So of the 16 players included in this set, there are two cards that features a different picture in the retail set that was used in 2012 Topps set, and one that used the same picture, but cropped closer. Not much to write about, but again, if you collect Brewers cards, it might be worth noting the differences the next time you come across the retail sets.

Next week's featured set will be the 2007 Texas Rangers. 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: 2009 Topps #497 Clint Hurdle

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, April 24, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps #497.
• Name, position, team: Clint Hurdle, manager, Colorado Rockies.
• Major League Debut: September 18, 1977. Managerial Debut: April 26, 2002.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Rockies): 74-88 3rd (NL West).
• Any special information about manager: Promoted to Manager 04/26/2002.
• Any special information about this specific card: Hurdle's fourteenth regular Topps card, seventh as a manager (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards).
• Commentary: Pretty soon, the Topps Card Randomizer will just focus on Clint Hurdle. This is the fourth time that it has picked Hurdle, and his third manager card (you want to see the others? Go here and here.) Did you notice that manager Hurdle is doing his best Kurt Bevacqua impression on his 2009 card? You might not notice it initially thanks to the FSN camera cover in the background, but he is indeed blowing a bubble with gum. What else is there to say about the guy? Well, let's just focus on his 2009 season. It would be his final one with the Rockies as he let go after the team started the season with a 18-28, just two seasons removed from their improbable run to the World Series. In his eight seasons in Colorado, Hurdle managed 1159 games, leading the franchise to a 534-625 record, and their lone NL pennant. He is now working on his third season at the helm of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this person do I own?: 14 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 1980 Topps #516. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps Traded #70T Chan Ho Park

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, April 23, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps Traded #70T.
• Player Name, position, team: Chan Ho Park, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Major League Debut: April 8, 1994.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Han Yang University): Not Available.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent 01/14/1994. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Chan made his ML debut on 4-8-94 as the first Korean-born player ever to make "the bigs." he (SIC!) signed with L.A. because, he says, when pitching in a 1991 amateur tournament in Dodger Stadium, "The Dodgers touched my heart.'"
• Commentary: My daughter has this phrase that she liked to say, whenever she sees Asians doing awesome things, whether its on the latest TV Dance program, or just out in public. "Asian Invasion." (Please keep in mind that I am Filipino, my wife is Chinese, making both my kids, well, half of each (would that make them Chinapino-American, Filipinese-American, both of which are portmanteaus). Regardless. The "Asian Invasion" as my daughter would call it, did not begin with Hideo Nomo (although Nomo-mania did open the floodgates), but with the Korean-born Chan Ho Park. Does anybody remember the controversy (if you could call it that) about what the heck were managers going to do if they had to talk to him on the field? Would there be a need for an interpreter to go out there? While it is now allowed, it was a hot-button topic in 1994. And can you imagine the fun manager Tommy Lasorda and eventually Bill Russell had when both Park (Korea) AND Nomo (Japan) were in the starting rotation? Throw in Ismael Valdez from Mexico, Ramon Martinez & Pedro Astacio of the Dominican Republic, and Tom Candiotti from the US and the Dodgers had a virtual United Nations on his hands. It's a good thing that all shared a common language...baseball. Park made the Opening Day squad of the Dodgers in 1994, but after two relief appearances in which he allowed five hits, five runs (all earned), and five walks in four innings of work (six strikeouts), he spent the rest of the year with the Double-A farm team in San Antonio, where in 20 starts, Park went 5-7 with an ERA of 3.55 and 100 strikeouts in 101.1 innings of work. He didn't return to Hollywood until September call up time the following year, having spent the season in Albuquerque. This probably explains while the other card companies still included him in their products, Park was not seen on a Topps card until 1997. In his first full season with the Dodgers, Chan Ho went 5-5 in 48 games (10 starts, with a 3.64 ERA and 119 strikeouts. He would be part of the starting rotation from 1997 through 2001, even earning his lone All-Star berth in 2001 (in which he was charged with the loss after giving up the home run to Cal Ripken). After going 75-49 with a 3.79 ERA, 966 strikeouts, and 1.306 WHIP, Park signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers in 2002. He would go on to spend three-and-a-half seasons in Texas, with a cumulative 22-23 record and 5.79 ERA. He was traded to San Diego before the 2005 trading deadline for Phil Nevin. It was during his time in San Diego that it was discovered that Park, who went on the DL due to intestinal bleeding, was suffering from a congenital defect called Meckel's diverticulum. He had successful surgery to correct this, and six days later, his wife gave birth to the couple's first child in the same hospital. After a season plus with the Padres, he would spend time with the Mets & Astros (2007), Dodgers (a homecoming of sorts in 2008, in which he joined an exclusive club of pitchers to have made starts against all 30 teams), Phillies (2009), and Yankees & Pirates (2010). While his stint with the Padres was his last in the US, Chan Ho Park continued pitching with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan in 2011 and the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2012. He retired as an active player on November 30, 2012. Thanks in part to Chan Ho Park, the number of Asians playing professionally in the United States, and in the Majors, continues to grow. In the process, it is helping to make baseball a truly global game.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 20.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #497. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1986 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2001 Topps #262 Scott Hatteberg

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, April 22, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2001 Topps #262.
• Player Name, position, team: Scott Hatteberg, catcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 8, 1995.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2000 stats (Red Sox): 92 G, 230 AB, 21 R, 61 H, 15 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 0 SB, .435 SLG, 38 BB, 39 SO, .265 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #1st, June 1991. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 13. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Elbow surgery wiped out most of his 1999 season, but Scott returned in 2000 to re-establish himself as a valuable presence in the clubhouse. Neither his hitting, nor his throwing seemed to suffer as Hatteberg gave the Red Sox that rare treat of a left-handed hitting catcher. He also gives a manager flexibility in the lineup, with enough patience at the plate and pop in his bat to fill in at designated hitter or in a key pinch-hitting role."
• Commentary: I've always wondered...if the 2001 Topps set was the Golden Anniversary set, why did they go with green borders for the design? Was it because next to white, the green really accentuates the gold foil that Topps used for the cards? I don't know the reasons for sure, but I do know that gold and green go well together. Just look at that swing Hatteberg's taking. I don't know if it's the because the card is horizontally oriented, but it looks like he's about to fall over after swinging for the fences. In what was to be Scott Hatteberg's final season with the Red Sox, he would go on and hit .245 with 3 home runs and 25 rbi's in 94 games played. It was a good seven year run with the Red Sox, including a couple of cups of coffee in 1995 and 1996. In 1997, Hatteberg became the Sox' starting catcher, and in the two seasons following he would hit over .276 with 22 home runs and 87 rbi's (if you look at his stats from both 1997 and 1998, they are nearly identical...I said nearly, not exactly). But as the blurb on the back pointed out, he suffered an elbow injury that took him out for most of the 1999 season, and by that time, Jason Varitek took over the starting catcher duties. When he signed with the Athletics in January, 2002, he became the team's first baseman thanks in part to the elbow injuries that prevented him from throwing a baseball. With Hatteberg now entrenched at first, he would fill the void left by Jason Giambi who had signed on with the Yankees. He would man first for the A's for four very productive seasons (.269 average, with 49 home runs and 263 rbi's), before signing with the Reds in 2006. After two + seasons with Cincinnati, the Reds released Hatteberg after 34 games in which he was hitting .173 (9-52) in June. It would be his last action as a major league ballplayer. Since retiring, he is back with the Oakland Athletics, serving as a "Special Assistant to Baseball Operations" and even took in a few games as the A's TV color commentator in 2012.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 21 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1994 Topps Traded #70T. 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: 2012 Topps Pro Debut #196 Chad Bettis

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: 2012 Topps Pro Debut #196.
• Player Name, position, team: Chad Bettis, pitcher, Modesto Nuts.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: A-California League, Colorado Rockies.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 27 G, 169.2 IP, 12-5, 72 R, 63 ER, 184 SO, 45 BB, 27 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.102 WHIP, 3.34 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Rockies #41st, June 2010. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: n/a.
• Blurb on the back: "As Modesto's ace, Bettis was the 2011 California League leader in strikeouts (184), WHIP (1.10), and opponents batting average (.225). In March, he was the first member of the Colorado Rockies 2010 draft class to be invited to Major League Spring Training."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: Chad Bettis was originally drafted in the 8th round by the Astros, but did not sign with the organization, opting to continue his education at Texas Tech. When he was drafted by the Rockies three years later, he signed and was then sent to the teams' Low-A affiliate in Pasco, WA, the Tri-City Dust Devils. Thirteen games, twelve starts, and a 6-1 record later, Bettis finished the year with the Ashville Tourists of the Southern League. His path to the majors hit a snag as a shoulder injury knocked him out of playing during the 2012 season. Even without playing a game in 2012, Bettis is ranked by Baseball America as the Rockies' #5 prospect heading into the 2013 season. So far, he hasn't missed a beat. As of this posting, Bettis was assigned to the Tulsa Drillers, the Rockies AA-Southern League affiliate. In 15 innings of work, he is 0-1 in three starts, has an ERA of 3.60, a WHIP of 1.20, 15 strikeouts, and one walk. The sky is the limit for the Rockies' prized hurler as some scouts believe he will be called up before the 2013 season is over.

Next week's featured card will be: 2010 Topps Pro Debut #30. 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: 1963 Topps #245 Gil Hodges

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, April 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #245.
• Player Name, position, team: Gil Hodges, first baseman, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: October 3, 1943.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Mets): 54 G, 127 AB, 15 R, 32 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 17 RBI, .252 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent before the 1943 season. Drafted by the New York Mets in the Expansion Draft 10/10/1961. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 21. This is his twelfth and final Topps card as a player.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The first card I owned of Gil Hodges came from the 1989 Topps set, and it was from the Turn Back the Clock subset. I learned then (he was the "Twenty Years Ago" subject) that Hodges led the Mets, who had lost 120 games in their first year in MLB existence, to their first World Series title in 1969 (thanks in part to an epic Cubs collapse...but that's another subject for another day). But what I didn't know back then (and it is now 24 years later, making that card now a "Forty-Four Years Ago" card) that Gil Hodges had a long career that spanned all the way to 1943 with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (with two years off for serving in the Marines in World War II). He was considered the best first baseman in the NL during the 1950's, and one of the NL's best hitters (with only teammate Duke Snider ahead of him in home runs and rbi's during the decade). He was an eight-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and by the time he was selected by the expansion New York Mets after the 1961 season, had played 2006 games for the Dodgers, hit .274 with 361 home runs, 1254 rbi's, 63 stolen bases, scored 1088 runs, and had an OPS of .847. So why did the Mets select Hodges at the age of 38 years of age? Probably to get a player that was widely revered in New York (hello...Brooklyn), and probably because they had other plans for him. In the two years he actually played for the Mets, he appeared in only 65 games, hit for a .248 average, hit 9 home runs (all in 1962), and drove in 20 rbi's. After 11 games in 1963, in which he was also plagued with injuries, he was traded to the Washington Senators, not so he could play for them, but to manage them. After managing the Senators through the 1967 season, the Mets, who by now had been the perennial doormats in the National League, hired Hodges to manage their team. The rest, as we all know, is history. Tragically, on April 2, 1972, Gil Hodges died of a heart attack after a round of golf with his Mets coaching staff. He was only 47 years old. His death reverberated around the baseball community as they now lost a man who was beloved by teammates and rivals alike. The Mets retired his jersey number 14 during the 1973 season, the second year the Mets would make it to the World Series.
• Beckett value: $8.00-$20.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7.

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 #262. 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: 1977 Topps #495 Al Hrabosky

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, April 20, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1977 Topps #495.
• Player Name, position, team: Al Hrabosky, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals.
• Major League Debut: June 16, 1970.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1976 stats (Cardinals): 68 G, 95 IP, 8-6, 42 R, 35 ER, 73 SO, 39 BB, 3.32 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #1st, February 1969. Bats: right. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Al was N.L. Fireman of Year in 1975 & led loop with .813 Pct. Had distinction of defeating Dodgers 3 times."
• Commentary: Okay Cardinals fans, I have a question for you. Have the Cardinals brought back the cap that "The Mad Hungarian" is wearing on this card for any promotions or throwback days? I was in St. Louis last month and passed by the Cardinals Team Shop at Union Station and don't think I saw this cap on the shelf? Is this an actual baseball cap or was this in the pillbox style that the Pirates wore for many years? I can't tell here, can someone enlighten me? Anyway, Al earned the nickname "Mad Hungarian" thanks to a combination of his heritage, his demeanor on the mound, and the way he intimidated batters who had no choice but to face him towards the end of ball games throughout the 70's. His best season came in 1975 when he went 13-3, with 22 saves, an ERA of 1.66, and 82 strikeouts in 65 games. In 1977, his final season with the Cardinals, he pitched in 65 games, finishing 39 of them, claimed an 6-5 record with 10 saves, 68 k's, and an ERA of 4.38 in 86.1 innings of work. Why the decline in numbers? Could it have been because new Cards skipper Vern Rapp demanded that Al cut his hair and shave the moustache? With the source of his intimidation gone, the Cardinals thought it would best if they cut ties (see what I did there???) with the Samson-like closer. He was traded across the state to the Royals for Mark Littell and Buck Martinez at the end of the season. The change of scenery did him a world of good because in two seasons with KC, the closer saved 31 games of the 84 games he finished, earned a 17-11 record, struck out 99, had a cumulative ERA of 3.28. He signed with the Braves as a free agent in 1979, and spent three seasons in the Braves' bullpen, although not as the de facto closer. After one season with the White Sox' minor league team in Denver, the Mad Hungarian called it a career. He did return to the Cardinals organization in 1985, providing color commentary for Cardinals games ever since.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 11.

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: 1963 Topps #245. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1983 Topps #193 Harry Spilman

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, April 19, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1983 Topps #193.
• Player Name, position, team: Harry Spilman, first baseman, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: September 11, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1982 stats (Astros): 38 G, 61 AB, 7 R, 17 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, .459 SLG, 5 BB, 10 SO, .279 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Reds as a Free Agent 06/25/1974. Traded by the Reds to the Astros 06/08/1981. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Cracked pinch-Single and scored Run at LA, 7-3-82."
• Commentary: Notice how the Topps logo is incorporated into the border of the top half of the card? It connects the "t" and the "s" by going the long way around. Here is another guy who wouldn't get any Hobby love in today's cardboard world. But in 1983, even the bench guys got cards. William Harry Spilman earned a reputation as one of the games best pinch hitters. Even after being traded to the Astros in the middle of the season, Spilman hit an incredible .310 (9-29) with four walks in 33 games that he was called to pinch hit. After tearing it up in Tucson for the first couple of months in the 1982 season, Spilman was called up to the Astros in June and from June 15 through September 5, made 25 straight appearances exclusively as a pinch hitter, going 6-24 with a homer and 2 rbi's. In 1983, the first season that saw him not go back to the minors, not only did Spilman see time as the team's exclusive pinch hitter and back up first baseman, but he also took a few games in at catcher. He did not do so well that year in the pinch hitting department, (1-21 , but that one hit was a three-run homer), which contributed to a .167 average and nine rbi's. He spent seven seasons with Houston (1981-1985, and a return to the team towards the end of the 1988 season through 1989), hitting a cumulative .222 with 7 home runs, and 43 rbi's. He signed with the Tigers before the 1986 season, but after 24 games, was released. He signed with the Giants the following day, and spent parts of three seasons with the team before returning to the Astros in August of 1988. He would travel back and forth from Houston and Tucson in his second run with the Astros before calling it quits after the 1990 season. One thing of note about Harry Spilman: he would warm up future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan during the off-season, and Ryan even credited Spilman for helping him stay in shape, enough shape to see him through his seventh no-hitter. He served as a hitting coach for the Nashville Sounds from 2007 to 2008.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 11.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1977 Topps #495. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH325 Jason Kendall

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, April 18, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH325.
• Player Name, position, team: Jason Kendall, catcher, Chicago Cubs.
• Major League Debut: April 1, 1996.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2006 stats (Athletics): 143 G, 552 AB, 76 R, 163 H, 23 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 11 SB, 53 BB, 54 SO, .342 SLG, .709 OPS, .295 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #1st, June 1992. Traded by the Athletics to the Cubs 07/16/2007. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 20. This is his sixteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The long time All-Star catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jason Daniel Kendall stopped being known as "Fred's son" after besting his father, who was a veteran catcher for 12 MLB seasons, in many hitting categories. He batted leadoff, which was highly unusual for a catcher, except he stole 140 bases in his nine seasons in the Steel City. With the Pirates, Jason hit a three-time All-Star, hit .306 with 67 home runs and 471 rbi's in 1252 games (he is the team's all time leader in games caught with 1205.. But after another losing season in Pittsburgh, with Jason looking towards free agency, the Pirates traded him to the Athletics where he spent more than two seasons. In 2006, the Athletics won the AL West Division title, and Jason would finally be playing in the postseason for the first time in his career. In seven postseason games, Kendall would hit a combined 8 for 31 (.258) with an rbi and a double. But in 2007, with the Athletics looking to retool and the Cubs looking for bats as they were in contention in the NL Central, both teams struck a deal that would send the veteran catcher to Chicago. Back in the NL Central, Kendall appeared in 57 games, hitting .270 with 1 home run and 19 rbi's as the northsiders won the division. After the season, with the Cubs planning on using rookie Geovany Soto in 2008, Kendall signed with the rival Brewers in November, ensuring that he would be the starting catcher for two solid seasons. After one final stint with the young Royals, and an injury riddled, 2011, Kendall retired from baseball after two minor league games. Overall, the catcher hit a productive .288 with 75 home runs, 744 rbi's, stole 189 bases (for a catcher), 254 times being hit by pitch, and a cumulative OPS of .805.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 45.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1983 Topps #193. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2007 Topps Cincinnati Reds

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

• Team: 2007 Cincinnati Reds
• Record: 72-90, fifth place, NL Central Division.
• Managers: Jerry Narron and Pete Mackinin
• Card on the Top: Ken Griffey, Jr.

The checklist consists of the following players:

• CIN1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• CIN2 Scott Hatteberg
• CIN3 David Ross
• CIN4 Jeff Conine
• CIN5 Bronson Arroyo
• CIN6 Edwin Encarnacion
• CIN7 Alex Gonzalez
• CIN8 Todd Coffey
• CIN9 Ryan Freel
• CIN10 Kyle Lohse
• CIN11 Eric Milton
• CIN12 Aaron Harang
• CIN13 Brandon Phillips
• CIN14 Adam Dunn

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 2007 Topps eponymous set:

• Scott Hatteberg's base card is horizontally oriented and uses a different picture than in the base set:
  
  

• Here is Aaron Harang's Topps base card. Different picture used here:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, there are two cards that features a different picture in the retail set that was used in 2007 Topps set. Not much to write about, but again, if you collect Reds cards, it might be worth noting the differences the next time you come across the retail sets.

Next week's featured set will be the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers. 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: 1986 Topps #418 Alan Knicely

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, April 17, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1986 Topps #418.
• Player Name, position, team: Alan Knicely, catcher, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: August 12, 1979.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1985 stats (Phillies): 7 G, 7 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .000 SLG, 0 BB, 4 SO, .000 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Astros #3rd, June 1974. 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: "He collected 1st major league Hit: 9-17-81. First major league Home Run: 10-3-81. His first 3-RBI major league game: 6-18-82. His first 3-Hit major league game: 7-29-82."
• Commentary: You know how I clamor for Topps to raise the number of cards in their eponymous set to include the players who are the third-string catcher and mop-up relievers on every team? A guy like Alan Lee Knicely wouldn't get a card in today's Hobby. But when there were 4 less teams and 792 cards in the big set like in 1986, almost EVERY position on a team was filled, and there was still room for team leader cards, all-star cards, and six checklists. A guy like Knicely, who upon joining the Phils in a late season trade for Bo Diaz, went 0-7 with four strikeouts, was included in the 1986 set. Why? Probably on the merits of his time with the Reds (48 games, .253 average, 5 home runs, and 26 rbi's). Now Knicely was converted from pitcher to a fielder in the Astros farm system because as a pitcher, he was a very good hitter. When not on the mound, the Covington Astros (Rookie-Appalachian) and Dubuque Packers (A-Midwest) used him at the corner positions to keep him in the lineup. It wasn't until his third year with Columbus (AA-Southern) that he was placed behind the plate. After three brief cups of coffee with the Astros (1979-1981), he broke camp with the Astros in 1982 as a bench player. As a pinch hitter, went 1-17 with 5 walks and three runs scored. The rest of the time, whether as catcher, or in right field (and a shot at third and left field), Knicely went 24-116 (.207) with two home runs and 12 rbi's. Just before camps broke out in 1983, the Astros traded Knicely for Bill Dawley and Tony Walker. With future Hall of Famer Johnny Bench winding down his incredible career, the Reds auditioned three catchers to take over once Bench was done. Knicely was named the third string catcher but would be sent down to the minors to get more playing time. In 1984, became the American Association's MVP on the strength of a .333 average, 33 home runs and 126 rbi's while playing for Wichita. With Knicely tearing up the minors, and one of their own catchers struggling at the plate, the Reds, recalled Knicely for the 1985 season. In 117 games split within three seasons, Knicely finished with a cumulative .232 average with 7 home runs, 41 rbi's and a .660 OPS. His stay in Philadelphia was brief as he was released by the Phils in Spring Training during 1986 and signed on with the Cardinals. After 67 games in Louisville, where he was hitting .283 with 9 home runs and 52 rbi's, he was called up to the big club as a first baseman. Once again, he couldn't figure out major league hitting, and when the season ended, Alan hit .195 with 1 home run and 6 rbi's in 34 games. He was released by the Cardinals, and after spending the 1987 season with the Rangers' AAA-team, Knicely retired as an active player.
• Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH325. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2013 Topps Factory Set Sell Sheets are Live!!!

The sell sheets for this year's Topps Baseball Factory Sets have been live for some time now. But if you have not yet seen them (or it as the case may be), please take a look and see what is in store for 2013:

My comments:

There was no checklist included again, so we don't know who shows up in series 2.

And instead of rookie variations, adding to the never-ending boatload of parallels that are the latest craze in the Hobby (or at least that is what Topps is going with anyway), each box will include a five card pack of ORANGE BASE PARALLEL CARDS!!!  For the insane set collector or player collector who just HAS TO HAVE every color of the rainbow imaginable (remember, there are red parallel cards exclusive to Target, blue ones exclusive to Walmart, and purple cards found at Toys R Us), not to mention the green sparkled cards, the gold bordered cards, the black bordered cards, the pink bordered cards, the camouflaged bordered cards...and who knows what will show up in other factory sets later on in the year.

Thought I'd share. How is your chase going?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2011 Topps #256 Tyler Colvin

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, April 9, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2011 Topps #256.
• Player Name, position, team: Tyler Colvin, outfielder, Colorado Rockies.
• Major League Debut: September 21, 2009.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2010 stats (Cubs): 135 G, 358 AB, 60 R, 91 H, 18 2B, 5 3B, 20 HR, 56 RBI, 6 SB, 30 BB, 100 SO, .500 SLG, .816 OPS, .254 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cubs #1st, June 2006. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 3. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "He stopped a few short of Billy Williams' record of 25 in 1961, but in 2010, Tyler was just the fourth Cubs rookie ever to post a 20-homer season. In July, he led off consecutive games with a bomb."
• Commentary: The Diamond Anniversary edition of Topps' eponymous set featured a beautiful design, with the name banner going across the bottom of the card meeting the team logo in a baseball. It makes sense because Topps was able to incorporate diamonds...REAL DIAMONDS...into their cards, and what better place to set the diamond than a baseball card, huh? I don't own one, but I have seen one up close. Wow, I wish I could have pulled one, although I don't know if it would have been worth it to take the diamond out and have it re-set on a ring. Anyway, Tyler Eugene Colvin was another one of the Cubs' many highly touted prospects. After a cup of coffee in 2009, he found his way onto the lineup by playing all three outfield positions in 111 of the 135 games he appeared. In 2011 however, he was hit hard by the sophomore slump, and after hitting .113 with 2 home runs and 8 rbi's in 28 games, Colvin was sent to Triple-A Iowa to find his hitting stroke. His stay in Iowa was brief not because he found his stroke, but because the Cubs needed bodies. But upon returning for a 10 game run, he was 3-33 (.091) with two walks. The Cubs were 1-9 during his ten games and once again, he was sent to Iowa. He returned on July 28, and although he was struggling at the plate (.189 with 4 home runs and 12 driven in), he patrolled right field for the woebegone Cubs. He finished the season with a .150 average with 6 home runs and 20 rbi's. Needing a third baseman after slugger Aramis Ramirez bolted north to Milwaukee, and hoping that Colvin just needed a change of scenery, the Cubs traded Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for third baseman Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. While Stewart spent most of the 2012 season on the DL, Colvin had a good year, hitting .290 with a career high 122 hits in 420 at bats. He hit 18 home runs, drove in 72 rbi's, and had an OPS of .858. Something must have happened heading into the 2013 campaign because Colvin struggled in Spring Training. After hitting .167 in 18 games, and because the Rockies believed they had three versatile players for their bench, Colvin was demoted to Colorado Springs to begin the 2013 season.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 8.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1986 Topps #418. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1986 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH100 Bobby Abreu

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, April 15, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH100.
• Player Name, position, team: Bobby Abreu, outfielder, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: September 1, 1996.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2005 stats (Phillies): 162 G, 588 AB, 104 R, 168 H, 37 2B, 1 3B, 24 HR, 102 RBI, 31 SB, 117 BB, 134 SO, .474 SLG, .879 OPS, .286 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Astros as a Free Agent 08/21/1990. Traded by the Phillies to the Yankees 07/30/2006. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 19. This is his twelfth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Bobby's ninth walk in a Yankees uniform, on 08/16/06, gave him 100 for an MLB record-tying eighth straight season. He matched Max Bishop and Frank Thomas."
• Commentary: The record that the blurb on the back talks about remains tied as Abreu saw ball four only 84 times in 2007. Back to the point. Bob Kelly Abreu finally established himself as one of the games superstars during the 2004 and 2005 campaigns. With two All-Star Game appearances, a Silver Slugger (in 2004), and a Gold Glove (in 2005), not to mention winning the 2005 ASG Home Run Derby, he was on top of the baseball world. But because he was going to be a free agent heading into the 2007 campaign, the Phillies knew that he was going to command a lot of money if he was to be signed. So when the Yankees went looking for help for their annual push to the postseason, the Phillies were more than happy to send him and Cory Lidle to the Bronx for four minor league prospects. In his 58 games with the Yankees, Abreu went 69-209 (.330) with 7 home runs and 42 rbi's to go with an outstanding OPS of .926. In the postseason, he hit .333 with four runs driven in and two runs scored. But the Yankees lost to the eventual AL Champion Tigers in four games. Playing a full season with the Bombers the next year, Abreu hit .283 with 16 home runs and 101 rbi's while playing spectacularly in right field (.988 fielding percentage with 4 errors in 323 chances). With the Yankees returning to the postseason, Abreu went 4-15 (.267) with a home run and two runs driven in. But that wasn't enough as the Yankees were swept by the Indians in the ALDS. After one final season with the Yankees in 2008, he signed on with the Angels for the 2009 campaign.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 66 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2011 Topps #256. 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 #258 Bryan Altman

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 #258.
• Player Name, position, team: Bryan Altman, third baseman, Arizona League Padres.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: Rookie-Arizona League, San Diego Padres.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 27 G, 78 AB, 9 R, 15 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB, 6 BB, 20 SO, .308 SLG, .567 OPS, .192 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Padres #41st, June 2010. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: n/a.
• Blurb on the back: "Altman was drafted in 2010 out of The Citadel, where he won the team triple crown with a .343 batting average, 17 home runs and 70 RBI. Primarily a catcher in college, he manned third base, second base, and shortstop in his Arizona League pro debut."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: While he is only 26 years old heading into the 2013 season, Bryan Patrick Altman's aspirations of playing baseball professionally have hit a bit of a snag. After being drafted from The Citadel, Altman struggled to hit minor league pitching. In 2011, he hit for a .189 average with 0 home runs and 9 rbi's in 44 games between the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Single A Midwest League and the San Antonio Missions of the AA Texas League. He did a bit better the following year, hitting a home run and driving in 7 for the Missions before being called up to the Tucson Padres. But in three games, he went hitless in five at bats (drew a walk), and on June 28, Altman was released by the Padres. He is now a free agent and will be looking for a new organization to take him in as the 2013 season gets underway.

Next week's featured card will be: 2012 Topps Pro Debut #196. 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: 1957 Topps #121 Cletis Boyer

(And once again, I'm late with the Retro Sunday post because of computer issues...that's the excuse I'm giving and I'll stick to it.)

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, April 14, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1957 Topps #121.
• Player Name, position, team: Cletis Boyer, second baseman, Kansas City Athletics.
• Major League Debut: June 5, 1955.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1956 stats (Athletics): 67 G, 129 AB, 15 R, 28 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .217 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Athletics as a Free Agent 05/31/1955. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Cletis is the third member of the Boyer family to make the Big Leagues. His brother Cloyd hurled for the A's in 1955 and another brother Ken is the star third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. Cletis never played any Minor League ball and is being used for part-time duty while learning his way around Major League Baseball. He is a sure handed fielder who can cover plenty of infield ground and has a fine arm.".
• Commentary: The Boyer Brothers. Sounds like a group that should be running circuses all over the world. But baseball players they were. Cloyd was the eldest, a pitcher who both the Cardinals from 1949 through 1952 though played with both of the Cards' AAA teams in Rochester (the Red Wings) and Columbus (the Red Birds) in '53 and '54 before joining the A's for the 1955 season. He continued playing in the minors, compiling a 117-97 record, until 1961. Ken was the All-Star slugger for the St. Louis Cardinals from the mid 50's through the mid 60's before hanging on with Mets, White Sox, and Dodgers in a reserve role. Cletis (or Clete later on) was the youngest of the three, and while he did not match brother Ken in the hitting department, he held his own when he became a part of the Kansas City A's-New York Yankees express, in which the Yankees essentially used the A's as their major league farm team. In 1957, Clete was primarily used as a pinch runner, did not make any plate appearances, and went into the field twice as a defensive replacement. Was that really the way to show a youngster the ropes? But when the Yankees came calling to get their "player to be named later" from an earlier deal in February, Boyer was sent to the bright lights of...Binghamton, the Yankees' A team where he could finally get into some games (a whopping 93 in fact). After spending a season-and-a-half with the AAA team in Richmond, the Yankees felt that Boyer was ready to go at third base. For eight seasons, Boyer patrolled the left side of the infield (he did take in games at shortstop), hitting .241 with 95 home runs, 393 rbi's and 27 stolen bases. He didn't have to hit for power like Ken did in St. Louis. Why should he? The Yanks already had sluggers Mantle and Maris doing the heavy lifting. As long as Clete did his job defensively (and he was a pretty good glove at third), he held his own. During the 1964 World Series, Clete's Yankees lost to Ken's Cardinals in a memorable seven-game series. Clete went 5-24 with a home run for the Yankees then. After the 1966 season, Clete was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He won his first and only Gold Glove with the team in 1969 thanks to a .965 fielding percentage (15 errors in 429 chances). After playing in 30 games for the Braves in the 1971 season, the Braves released Boyer on June 2, ending the Boyers' legacy as players in American baseball. Why so specific (with the "American" baseball)? Because he left the US to play in Japan, playing for the Taiyō Whales from 1972 to 1975 (even rooming with Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh). Upon finally retiring as an active ball player in 1975, he returned to third base, this time as a coach with former teammate Billy Martin's staffs with the Yankees, and...the Oakland Athletics. In 2000, he opened "Clete Boyer's Hamburger Hall of Fame" in Cooperstown. Clete Boyer passed away on June 4, 2007, from complications from a brain hemorrhage. He was 70 years old. The cartoon on the back of Clete's card asks which pitcher "pitched for the most teams in a season?" The answer: Ted Gray. After 8 years in Detroit, Gray became the ultimate journeyman in 1955, playing for the White Sox (two games), Indians (two games), Yankees, (one game), and Orioles (9 games) before calling it quits for good at the end of the season.
• Beckett value: $15.00-$30.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

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: 2006 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH100. 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: 1994 Topps #482 Hipolito Pichardo

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, April 13, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #482.
• Player Name, position, team: Hipolito Pichardo, pitcher, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: April 21, 1992.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Royals): 30 G, 165 IP, 7-8, 85 R, 74 ER, 70 SO, 53 BB, 25 GS, 2 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.04 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Royals as a Free Agent 12/16/1987. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his third Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Hipolito's Latin friends nicknamed him "Debajo Dinero" (down money), because if he keeps the ball down, he makes money."
• Commentary: Hipolito Antonio (Balbina) Pichardo was a mainstay on the Royals' pitching staff from 1992 through 1998 (he was with the team in 1999, but was out for the year due to injury) whether in the bullpen (which is how he spent his 1994 season) or as a starter (from 1992-1993). In 1994, Pichardo appeared in 45 games, finished 19 of them, saved 3 more, all the while compiling a 5-3 record with 36 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.92 in 67.2 innings of work. During his seven seasons in KC, Hipolito went a combined 42-39 with a 4.48 ERA, saving 19 games, and struck out 340 batters. He signed with the Red Sox in 2000 and found success in the Sox' bullpen, going a combined 8-4, 3.97 ERA, and 54 K's. After being granted free agency once again, he signed with the Astros for the 2002 season. But in his only appearance for the Astros that season, a May 7 game at Philadelphia, Pichardo lasted just .1 of an inning, giving up three hits, three runs (an ERA of 81.00), two walks on 24 pitches against six batters faced. He would subsequently take the loss as both teams were tied at 4 before he came in, and the Astros did not recover. That would also be the last time Hipolito would take the field in the majors. He spent the 2003 season as the closer for the Saltillo Sarapeos of the Mexican League, saving 13 games out of 24 appearances in 25.2 innings of work. But soon retired from the game after the season ended. How odd it is that although Pichardo's career ran well into the 21st century (2002), that his last Topps card appeared in 1995. Even with the number of cards Topps had in 2001, you think they could have put him on a card for the 2001 campaign as he was with Boston by that time. Oh well...
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

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: 1957 Topps #121. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama