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