Random Topps Card of the Day: 1998 Topps #468 Rich Butler

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 29, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1998 Topps #468.
• Player Name, position, team: Rich Butler, outfielder, Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• Major League Debut: September 6, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1997 stats (Blue Jays): 7 G, 14 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, .357 SLG, 2 BB, 3 SO, .286 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Blue Jays as a Free Agent 09/24/1990. Drafted by the Devil Rays #5th, 1997 Expansion Draft. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 1. This is his first and only Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "The clue was in the hands. Butler showed little power, but astute scouts could see his bat speed through the zone would soon produce HRs. Last year, it did, and a prospect was born."
• Commentary: The second series of 1998 Topps series 2 not only featured Topps' first card of Topps-holdout Alex Rodriguez, but also in somewhat of an order, the draft picks and free agents of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. A life-long Blue Jays minor leaguer (signed with the team when he was seventeen), the Canadian born Richard Dwight Butler finally made it to the big club after a long tour of duty within the Jays' minor league system. But his career with his hometown team was short lived as the expansion Devil Rays made him their fifth pick (tenth player overall chosen). Butler would appear in 98 games for the D-Rays, hitting .226 with 7 home runs, 20 rbi's, and percentages of .278/.364/.643 in 72 games. With the Rays signing big-name free agents for the 1999 season, Butler spent most of the year in Durham, only appearing in seven games that year. Those would also be the last games Butler would play in the majors. He signed with the Mariners as a minor league free agent in 2000, and after spending time in both the Mariners and Rangers' farm systems, Butler ended his playing career, save for a 25-game comeback in the independents.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

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: 1972 Topps #94. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama