Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2011 St. Louis Cardinals

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

• Team: 2011 St. Louis Cardinals
• Record: 90-72, MLB World Series Champions.
• Managers: Tony LaRussa
• Card on the Top: Albert Pujols

The checklist consists of the following players:

• STL1 Albert Pujols
• STL2 Chris Carpenter
• STL3 Allen Craig
• STL4 Ryan Franklin
• STL5 David Freese
• STL6 Jaime Garcia
• STL7 Matt Holliday
• STL8 Jon Jay
• STL9 Yadier Molina
• STL10 Colby Rasmus
• STL11 Skip Schumaker
• STL12 Adam Wainwright
• STL13 Jake Westbrook
• STL14 Pedro Feliz
• STL15 Lance Berkman
• STL16 Ryan Theriot
• STL17 Busch Stadium

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 2011 Topps eponymous set:

• Allen Craig earned a cup-of-coffee in 2010, but did not make it onto the base set in 2011. He did, however, show up in Update Series:
  
  

• Ryan Franklin was the closer for the team that year. His regular Topps card used a different picture:
  
  

• It's almost the same picture of David Freese, but his regular Topps card looks to show what happened a second or so later in the same at bat:
  
  

• As with all of the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team selections, Jamie Garcia had two cards in the Topps set. One with, and one without the trophy. Now the card in the retail set used the same picture of the regular card that did NOT have the trophy on it. Here are both examples of Garcia's Topps' cards:
  
  

• Skip Schumaker's card showed him on the field after making a great defensive play:
  
  

• Lance Berkman was a rent-a-player for the Yankees in 2010, but found himself out of the Bronx and west of the Mississippi in 2011. While his base card shows him in the Yankees' gray uniform, his traded card depicts him in Cardinal red:
  
  

• Ryan Theriot's base card does NOT depict him on the mound...although it does look like it though, doesn't it?:
  
  

Of the 17 players included in this set, 6 players have different pictures on the retail set compared to the base set, and then there is the Garcia situation (I don't know if you can call it a different picture issue or not).

Next week's featured set will be the 2006 Toronto Blue Jays. 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 sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1989 Topps #774 Ron Oester

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, June 21, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1989 Topps #774.
• Player Name, position, team: Ron Oester, second baseman, Cincinnati Reds.
• Major League Debut: September 10, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1982 stats (Reds): 151 G, 549 AB, 63 R, 143 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 5 SB, .359 SLG, 35 BB, 82 SO, .260 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Reds #9th, June 1974. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his tenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Ron enjoyed a 21-game hitting streak in 1984."
• Commentary: It's hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since the 1989 season of baseball card collecting was turned upside-down by the introduction of a fifth card company. From 1981 through 1987, Topps, Donruss, and Fleer were vying for people's Hobby dollars. In 1988, Score, with it's colored card backs, joined the fray. And then, 1989 happened. Upper Deck launched their first card product, and the Hobby, for better or worse, has never been the same since. Now it's 2014, all of the other companies are either gone entirely or are still making baseball cards, but on a lesser scale. In he meantime, Topps is using the 1989 design as one of the four featured "sets" for it's Topps Archives product, and then of course, the eponymous set has die-cut, mini card versions of the 1989 design (imagine if you took your 1989 Topps cards and then cut them along the colored borders, and voila!) as inserts. Too bad Topps couldn't figure out how to center the player's names within the colored team name in Archives. It looks goofy to see the names beginning all the way on the left and then have so much empty space on the right. Ronald John Oester's 1983 Topps card was previously featured as Random Card back on May 10, 2013, and I remember blabbing on about imagining if teams consisted of players who actually lived in the city? It seemed like every native Cincinnatian wound up playing for the Reds at one point in their lives or another. And second baseman Oester was no exception. He wound up playing his entire career for his home-town team, and in 1989, Oester hit for a .246 average with 1 home run, drove in 14 runs, and played nearly flawless defense at both second and short. In his last season in the majors, Oester and the Reds shocked the world by beating the heavily favored Athletics in the World Series.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14.

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: 1959 Topps #490. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2011 Topps Update Series #US265 Willie Harris

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, June 21, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2011 Topps Update Series #US265.
• Player Name, position, team: Willie Harris, outfielder, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: September 2, 2001.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2010 stats (Nationals): 132 G, 224 AB, 25 R, 41 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB, 33 BB, 60 SO, .362 SLG, .653 OPS, .183 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Orioles #24th, June 1999. Signed with the Nationals as a Free Agent 01/14/2011. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his seventh and final card.
• Blurb on the back: "Willie, who signed as a free agent for 2011, hit safely n his first five games with the Mets. His two-run double in the second of those gave his new club an extra-inning victory over Florida.
• Commentary: It figures. On all 660 cards in the base set, the color banner on the right hand side of the cards mentions a certain card that shares the same number. One of these years, someone, maybe me, will try and put all 660 highlighted cards in a gallery. Shouldn't be too hard, right (well if it wasn't someone would have done it by now). But it made me wonder if Topps would repeat the tidbit in its Update Series. And if so, how would they do it? I mean, excluding 1974, 1976, and even 1981, Topps' Traded sets were numbered 1-132T. Then since 2005, the Traded sets consisted of 330 cards. Would they do the same thing? Well, apparently they did not. Oh well, many of those #132T were checklists anyway. By the time William Charles Harris signed with the Mets for the 2011 season, he had already accomplished a lot, including a World Series ring in 2005. After three seasons with the Washington Nationals, Harris headed off to the Big Apple. In 126 games with New York, Harris hit for a .246 average with 2 home runs, 23 rbi's, and percentages of .351/.317/.668. After one season, he signed on with the Reds organization. While he did appear in 25 games for Cincinnati at the beginning of the season, he spent most of the year with their Triple-A club in Louisville. It would be his last season in professional baseball as a player.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 9 cards.

>

Tomorrow's card will be: 1989 Topps #772. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1992 Topps Traded #126T B. J. Wallace

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, June 19, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1992 Topps Traded #126T.
• Player Name, position, team: B. J. Wallace, pitcher, Team USA.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1991 stats (Mississippi State University): 19 G, 127.1 IP, 9-3, 43 R, 38 ER, 145 SO, 35 BB, 14 GS, 7 CG, 4 SHO, 2 SV, 2.69 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 2. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "In 1992, B.J. set a Mississippi State University record for Strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher in history of the school to achieve two consecutive 100-Strikeout seasons. He tied a school standard with 4 Shutouts and was co-MVP of the NCAA Midwest Regional. B.J. established a career-best with 11 Strikeouts vs. Vanderbilt in 1991."
• Commentary: With Topps as one of the sponsors for the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team, they had the rights to produce cards of each of the members of the team that would head to Barcelona. Unfortunately, the team would not win a medal in these games, finishing fourth out of the eight teams participating. But they did finish with a 5-2 record (the two losses being in the playoffs against Cuba and Japan in the Bronze medal game). But William J. Wallace performed well in the games, earning a W against Italy, striking out 14 batters in 8 innings of work in a 10-0 blowout. He was drafted by the Expos as the #3rd pick overall in the 1992 June draft. However, injuries kept him from performing to his potential, and after being on the DL for the entire 1995 season, and a short-lived comeback did not pan out the following season, Wallace did call it quits, never making it to the major leagues. He would take up coaching at the high school level. One interesting tidbit finds that in 2011, Wallace and his wife were arrested and charged "on suspicion of building a methamphetamine lab in their home." I think we'll stop there.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2011 Topps Update Series #US265. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1995 Topps #499 John Olerud

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, June 18, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1995 Topps #499.
• Player Name, position, team: John Olerud, first baseman, Toronto Blue Jays.
• Major League Debut: September 3, 1989.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1994 stats (Blue Jays): 108 G, 384 AB, 47 R, 114 H, 29 2B, 2 3B, 12HR, 67 RBI, 1 SB, .477 SLG, 61 BB, 53 SO, .297 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Blue Jays #3rd, June 1989. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "So fundamentally flawless is John's swing that none other than Don Mattingly once watched a videotape of it to break out of a slump. A scout tells the story of watching Olerud for 10 games at Washington State before seeing him swing at a pitch and miss."
• Commentary: Rare is the player that makes it to the majors straight from the draft without touching the minor leagues. Even rarer is that he plays above and beyond the expectations once he arrives to his major league destination when just a couple of months prior he was facing college competition. Yes, he only appeared in six games, but that was the start of John Garrett Olerud's major league journey. He suffered a brain aneurysm during his college days, but it never affected his play on the field or on the mound (he was a pitcher as well). But he would play with a helmet when on defense, which made him easy to spot on the field. Two years removed from his second World Series title and his first batting title (AL leading .363 average), John provided a steady bat on a potent Blue Jays lineup and a nearly flawless glove at first (.997 fielding percentage). He hit .291 with 8 home runs and 54 runs driven in. Patient at the plate, he drew 84 walks while striking out only 54 times. A trade to the Mets after the 1996 season ended his stint with Toronto. His 17-year career would see him spending time with the Mets, Mariners, Yankees, and Red Sox (including his first and only games in the minors) before retiring. He was a two-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 32.

Tomorrow's card will be 1992 Topps Traded #126T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1977 Topps #640 Carlton Fisk

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, June 17, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1977 Topps #640.
• Player Name, position, team: Carlton Fisk, catcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 18, 1969.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1976 stats (Red Sox): 134 G, 487 AB, 76 R, 124 H, 17 2B, 5 3B, 17 HR, 58 RBI, .255 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 07/22/1972. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 22. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Carlton hit .417 in 1975 A.L. Playoffs and belted 2 Homers in World Series. One came in 12th inning to win Game #6, 7-6."
• Commentary: Yes, I know that Carlton Ernest Fisk played for eleven seasons with the Boston Red Sox. Yes, I know he was a World Series hero and his dramatic twelfth inning homer will go down in baseball lore as one of the greatest moments of all time (depicted on 2001 Topps #791, the last card in the set)., Yes, I know that after a long but incredible career that he went into the Hall of Fame, wearing the bold "B" on his cap instead of the scripted "C". But for as long as I've been following baseball, Carlton Fisk will always be a member of the Chicago White Sox. In 1977, Fisk hit for a career high .315, had career high percentages of .402/.521/.922, hit 26 home runs, drove in 102 rbi's, became an All-Star for the fifth time in his career, and finished 8th in the MVP voting. When Topps came out with it's 2002 Topps Archives: The Best Years product, Fisk was included as a subject, and his 1977 season was selected as his best year (a close second would have been his 1985 season...37 homers, 107 rbi's, but a .238 average did him in). Yes, he played more seasons in the Second City, and the way the Sox ended his career wasn't the best way to go about it (letting him break the record for career games caught and then letting him go the next day). But there is no doubt in my mind that Pudge will always be one of baseball's best, and most durable, catcher. 
• Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 77 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1995 Topps #499. 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

RIP Tony Gwynn 1960-2014

I..I can't stand it.

It really doesn't seem that long ago that the man was on the field, hitting the ball with precision rarely seen in the game.

I actually did a double take when I saw this and now, I can't think straight.

I know that players come and go, and that eventually all will go to that baseball diamond in the sky.

But this man has left us so soon.

I just found out that Tony Gwynn passed away.

In 1996, along with celebrating the life of Mickey Mantle, Topps used both Gwynn and Kirby Puckett, two of the game's best hitters of the time, as spokesmen for their baseball cards. Both men did "scouting reports" on their respective league's best players of the time and Topps included insert cards featuring these reports.

Ironically, that means that both of Topps' eventual Hall of Fame spokesmen have now died.

Since retirement, Gwynn became the coach of the San Diego State Aztecs baseball team. He apparently was on leave since March due to the effects of oral cancer (due to years of chewing smokeless tobacco). And he even had to endure two operations for cancer in his right cheek.

During his 20-year, Hall-of-Fame career, all with his hometown San Diego Padres, the man who would become known as "Mr. Padre" appeared in 2,440 games, made 10,232 plate appearances. He hit for a .338 career average, had 3,141 career hits, walked 790 times while striking out only 434 times (in 20 years!!!). His percentages were .388/.459/.847. He was a fifteen-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger winner, four-time Gold Glover, and considered for the NL MVP twelve times.

In 2007, Gwynn was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame with a high 97.6% of the vote (only 13 writers denied him a vote) in his first year of eligibility.

And now, he's gone.

My condolences go out to the Gwynn family, the Padres organization, Major League Baseball, and fans everywhere.

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T31 Tony Torcato

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, June 16, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2003 Topps Traded and Rookies #T71.
• Player Name, position, team: Tony Torcato, third baseman, San Francisco Giants.
• Major League Debut: July 26, 2002.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1998 stats (Salem-Keizer, Low A-Northwest): 59 G, 220 AB, 31 R, 64 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 4 SB, .418 SLG, 14 BB, 38 SO, .291 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Giants #1st, June 1998. Bats: left. 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: "Te Giants were so enamored with Torcato's offensive potential and his sweet left-handed swing, they gambled a first round pick in the 1998 draft on the 6-1, 195-pound prep star. There were concerns about Tony's surgically repaired right shoulder and move from shortstop to third base, but results to date suggest San Francisco got a bargain."
• Commentary: The 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies set was the first "Update" set Topps had produced since 1995. When I first found out that there was a card shop near where I had worked, I had asked the man who ran the store when 2000 Topps was coming, he casually mentioned that he had 1999 Topps Traded in stock. What??! That was enough for me to make a beeline to his store. Anthony Dale Torcato is far from a bust as a major leaguer. There just wasn't room for him in the big club. In parts of four seasons in the majors, he appeared in a grand total of 43 games, hit for a combined .298 average, and drove in 3 rbi's. In the minors, however, Torcato was an everyday player, and a very good hitter. With the Bakersfield Blaze (A-California) in 1999, Torcato hit .291 with 4 home runs and 58 rbi's. He spent most of his minor league career in AAA-Fresno, waiting to be called up when necessary. Although his MLB career would end in 2005, his minor league career continued with the Chicago White Sox organization, and then with the Colonie Della Maremma Grosseto of the Italian Baseball League. He did return stateside in to play independent ball in 2008 with two teams from the Golden Baseball League. If you believe Wikipedia, Torcato is still an active player. Presently, Tony is an outfielder for the Pittsburg Mettle of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1977 Topps #640. 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 #142 Eddie Rosario

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 #142.
• Player Name, position, team: Eddie Rosario, outfielder, GCL Twins.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: Rookie-Gulf Coast League, Minnesota Twins.
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 51 G, 194 AB, 34 R, 57 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 22 SB, 16 BB, 28 SO, .438 SLG, .781 OPS, .294 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Twins #4th, June 2010. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Minnesota Twins #21 prospect after the 2010 season.
• Blurb on the back: "Rosario had his supporters as Puerto Rico's top pure hitter in the 2010 draft, and his performance in his pro debut reinforced that assessment. Eddie put up a .294-5-26 line in 51 Gulf Coast League games while stealing a circuit-high 22 bases in 27 tries."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: Eddie M. Rosario, at 22-years-old, still has a lot of opportunity to progress up the Twins' organizational ladder. An outfielder when he first made his pro debut, he also has had opportunities at second base. Rosario spent the 2011 campaign in the Appalachian League, playing for the Twins' affiliate in Elizabethton, Tennessee. With the E-Twins, Rosario hit for a .337 average, with 21 home runs, 60 rbi's, and an OPS of 1.068. In 2012, he spent his season with the Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League, and 2013 with both the Fort Myers Miracle (A-Florida) and New Britain Rock Cats (AA-Eastern). In both years his home run totals decreased, but his batting average remained above near .300. In 2014, Rosario is back with the Rock Cats after serving a 50-game suspension for his second violation of baseball's drug policy.

Next week's featured card will be: 2010 Topps Pro Debut #340. 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: 1966 Topps #187 Chuck Dressen

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, June 15, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1966 Topps #187.
• Name, position, team: Chuck Dressen, manager, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: September 18, 1977. Managerial Debut: July 29, 1934.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1965 stats (Tigers): 65-55 4th (American League).
• Any special information about manager: Hired by the Detroit Tigers 06/18/1953.
• Any special information about this specific card: Dressen's seventh and final regular Topps card, all as a manager (includes regular and traded cards only).
• Blurb on the back: "Meet one of baseball's senior members. After spending 15 seasons as an active player, Chuck joined the managerial wars in 1932. As a big league skipper, he held the reins of the Cincinnati Reds, the old Brooklyn Dodgers, the Washington Senators and the Milwaukee Braves, before joining the Tigers in 1963. Breaking into organized ball in 1919 as a second baseman, Chuck switched to the hot corner and became one of the game's top third sackers. In 1924, the infielder batted .346 at St. Paul and he was brought up to the majors the following year. Among the highlights of his managerial career were the two consecutive National League pennants he captured for the Dodgers in 1952 and 1953. Baseball experts feel that Chuck's '66 Tigers will be in the thick of the A.L. pennant fight."
• Commentary: So before Tommy Lasorda and before Walter Alston, it was Charles Walter Dreesen at the helm of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 'Bum's battles with the Yankees for baseball supremacy. And although his Dodgers fell short of the championship both years, he set the foundation for the team's success in 1955. He was actually the Dodgers, this time in LA, when he was hired to helm the Tigers. He did manage the team to a winning record and finish in the first division. But his health started to deteriorate. In 1965, he suffered a heart attack and was not able to join the club until the end of May. In 1966, he suffered a second heart attack and while recovering from that, would become stricken with a kidney infection. Chuck Dreesen died of cardiac arrest due to the complications from both. He was 71 years old. He finished with a career 1,037-993 record as a manager.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $1.50-$4.00.
• 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: 1999 Topps Traded #T31. 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 Team Set of the Week: 2010 Florida Marlins

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

• Team: 2010 Florida Marlins
• Record: 80-82, third place, NL East Division.
• Managers: Fredi Gonzalez & Edwin Rodriguez
• Card on the Top: Hanley Ramirez

The checklist consists of the following players:

• FLA1 Hanley Ramirez
• FLA2 Gaby Sanchez
• FLA3 Josh Johnson
• FLA4 Chris Coghlan
• FLA5 Ricky Nolasco
• FLA6 Leo Nunez (now known as Juan Carlos Oviedo)
• FLA7 John Baker
• FLA8 Emilio Bonifacio
• FLA9 Cameron Maybin
• FLA10 Jorge Cantu
• FLA11 Andrew Miller
• FLA12 Anibal Sanchez
• FLA13 Chris Volstad
• FLA14 Cody Ross
• FLA15 Dan Uggla
• FLA16 Sean West
• FLA17 Ronny Paulino

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 2010 Topps eponymous set:

• Hanley Ramirez was the Marlins' star at the plate and on the field, as displayed here:
  
  

• Gaby Sanchez did not make it onto the base set, but he does make an appearance in the traded set:
  
  

• Catcher John Baker also did not make it onto the base set, so here is his Update Series card:
  
  

• It's the same picture, but you can see more of Cameron Maybin on his retail card than you can on his 2010 Topps card:
  
  

• Ditto for Jorge Cantu:
  
  

• And Andrew Miller:
  
  

• Anibal Sanchez warms up in the bullpen on his regular card:
  
  

• Now where did Chris Volstad's hand go?:
  
  

• Dan Uggla's 2010 Topps card shows him swinging for the fences:
  
  

• Is it just me, or was Sean West pitching in the same game as Chris Volstad?:
  
  

• On his 2010 Topps card, Ronny Paulino and the Fish took on the Rays at Tampa:
  
  

Of the 17 players included in this set, 7 players have different pictures on the retail set compared to the base set, four more shows a different cropping of the same picture, and none are a retail exclusive. Fans of the Reds should have loved all of the variations that can only be found in the retail set.

Next week's featured set will be the 2011 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 Update Series sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2001 Topps #384 Golden Moments Cal Ripken

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, July 14, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2001 Topps #384.
• Player Name, position, team: Cal Ripken, third baseman, Baltimore Orioles.
• Special: Golden Moments, Cal Ripken Breaks Consecutive Games Streak, September 5, 1995; Baltimore 4, California 2.
  
• Blurb on the back: "The record had endured for a half-century without threat it would take someone very special to approach Lou Gehrig's standard for consecutive games played. That someone was named Cal Ripken. On September 4, 1995, Ripken played in his 2,131st consecutive game before a packed house at Camden Yards. When the game became official in the fifth inning, the fans stood to give him a 22-minute ovation. Showing his flair for the dramatic, Cal also brought Orioles fans to their feet with a home run."
• Any special information about this specific card: To celebrate Topps' 50 Years in the baseball card market, Topps looked for what they called "Golden Moments." It was definitely a no-brainer to pick this special moment, one we will probably never see again in our lifetimes, for inclusion in this subset towards the end of Series 1. Many fans can tell you where they were that night. Me? I was in the parking lot of an Ulta3, listening to the game while my mom was inside the store. And when Ripken, with a popout to second which ended that fifth inning ended, it became official, and the celebration began. It seemed longer than 22 minutes and the station never left for commercial break.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.

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: 1966 Topps #187. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2007 Topps #500 Pedro Martinez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, June 13, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2007 Topps #13.
• Player Name, position, team: :Pedro Martinez, pitcher, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: September 24, 1992.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2006 stats (Mets): 23 G, 132.2 IP, 9-8, 72 R, 66 ER, 137 SO, 39 BB, 23 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.11 WHIP, 4.48 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent 06/18/1988. Signed with the Mets as a Free Agent 12/16/2004. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 18. This is his sixteenth card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a
• Commentary: I have finally figured out a way to scan these black-bordered 2007 Topps cards. Instead of putting them in the holders and then onto the scanner, I will put the card directly on the scanner with the holder "framing" the card. As you can probably see with this card, the images came out rather well. Previously, the 2007 Topps cards would expose how scratched up the plastic holders really were. After seven extraordinary seasons in Boston, including one World Series title, Pedro Martinez decided to sign as a free agent with New York. Not to his long-time rival the Yankees, but to the Mets. He left Boston with an incredible 117-37 record, a dominating 2.52 ERA and 1683 strikeouts. With the Sox, he also won two Cy Young awards and was on the AL All-Star Team four times (including the starting job in 1999...in Boston). But now with the Mets during what should have been the twilight of his career, he was still one of baseball's most dominant pitchers. But in 2007, injuries began taking its toll and limited Martinez to only 5 games. But those five games showed that he still had it. He was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA, and struck out 32 batters in 28 innings of work. He would work sparingly in 2008, and then after a hiatus in 2009, returned during the end of the campaign with to help the Phillies back to the World Series.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 91 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2001 Topps #384. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Short Prints in 2014 Topps? Of Course There Are...But...

Okay, I've read the backs of Topps Cards for years. What the heck are these stats??!

Topps did not include a list of the SP variations when the checklist for 2014 Topps Series 2 went live. Some people would complain to the high heavens that there isn't more transparency. But seriously, that kills the fun of discovering new and, quite frankly, weird themes for their short-printed cards.

Gone are the legends from the early part of the 20th century (I think the CMG license is long gone, but they still have some legends in their stable for later use). Now we get player celebrations, playoff celebrations, players off the field, and even some Boston Strong variations.

But the ones that Topps came out with for this series are probably the most unique they've come out with in a long time.

Because instead of using a second picture for the front of the cards, you now have to look on the back to see if you have a short print.

When the sell sheets for S2 went live, one of the insert sets they were going to include was something called "Saber Stars." Saber, meaning Sabermetrics, the statistics that the Society of Baseball Research (SABR...SABeR...get it?) use to compare players from the past to those in the present day. They say that these stats are more valuable in determining a player's worth on the field than the stats we've all been accustomed to. They say that batting average, home runs, rbi's...not good enough. Win-Loss records and ERA? Are they even necessary??? Now it's all about WAR (Wins above Replacement), OPS+ (which is on base percentage plus slugging percentage...kicked up a notch), FIP (right now, I have absolutely no idea what this means...we'll learn all of that shortly though), and other bizarre acronyms.

Now, I've always believed that every player leads the league in some category. It can be the most obscure category (like home run leader for those who has six letters in their last name or something). But the stats that Topps has included on the backs of these cards would scare collectors from the 1950's.

Now we all know the statistics that make up the regular batter's line for 2014 Topps added the WAR stat to the line up (removing strikeouts...a key stat for batters ). The rest of the stats we know:

• G - Games
• AB - At Bats
• R - Runs
• H - Hits
• 2B - Doubles
• 3B - Triples
• HR - Home Runs
• RBI - Runs Batted In
• SB - Stolen Bases
• BB - Bases on Ball/Walks
• SLG - Slugging Percentage (which takes the number of bases per hit divided by the number of at bats)
• OPS - On Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage (which first appeared in 2004 to appease rotisserie players)
• AVG-Batting Average (Total Hits/At-Bats)
• WAR-Wins above Replacement (formulas are complicated to explain)

But these SP's include the following statistics on the header. For the uninitiated, I'll try to explain what each of the letters mean (note that I am no expert, and as I was researching this, I was getting just as confused):

• PA - Plate Appearances, every time a player makes an appearance at the plate (AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH)
• OPS+ - On Base Percentage Plus (100*[OBP/lg OBP + SLG/lg SLG - 1]) Adjusted to the player’s ballpark(s). Confused yet?
• BB% - Percentage of the time player draws a walk (walks/plate appearance)
• K% - Percentage of the time a player strikes out (strikeout/plate appearance)
• BABIP - Batting Average when Ball is In Play, which is (hits - home runs/at bats - strikeouts + sacrifice flies)
• ISO - Isolated Power, which measures the average number of extra bases per at bat
• wOBA - Weighted On Base Average, a stat that is designed to measure a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance((0.72*Non intentional walks) + (0.75*Hit by Pitch) + (.90*singles) + (.92*reached base on error) + (1.24*doubles) + (1.56*triples) + (1.95*home runs))/plate appearances
• WRC+ - Weighted Runs Created, a players worth of runs for his team
• WPA - Win Probability Added, which is defined as the difference in win expectancy (WE) between the start of the play and the end of the play
• TB - Total Bases
• SB% - Stolen base percentage (stolen bases/stolen base attempts)
• TZR - Total Zone Runs, a defensive stat that measures the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made
• WAR - Wins Above Replacement, which they already included on the base cards. Topps should have included the missing strikeout totals from the regular line and added them here instead of putting the WAR stat.

My head is spinning from all of that.

Don't think the pitchers were left out from all of the Saber-madness. They have their own set of stats too. Now as we all know, the regular pitcher's stat line this year excluded complete games (which is just as well as the number of these have decreased as bullpen dependency has increased). But the rest of the stats collectors recognize:

• G - Games
• W - Wins
• L - Losses
• IP - Innings Pitched
• H - Hits
• R - Runs
• ER - Earned Runs
• BB - Bases on Balls/Walks
• SO - Strikeouts
• SHO - Shutouts
• SV - Saves
• WHIP - Walks + Hits / Innings pitched (the added pitcher's stat for Roto players)
• ERA - Earned Run Average (Earned Runs / Innings pitched * 9)
• WAR - Wins Above Replacement (pitchers get this too)

For the pitchers, the following stats were included on the header:

• IP - Innings pitched
• QS% - Quality Start Percentage, which is the ratio of quality starts to total starts
• RS/GS - Run Support per Games Started (which now relies on the pitcher's offense)
• HR/9 - Number of Home Runs allowed per nine innings (think of an ERA for homers)
• SO/BB - Strikeouts to Walks ratio (or how many strikeouts per number of walks)
• LOB% - Percentage of runners left on base
• GB% - Ground ball percentage, or the number of balls that are put in play on the ground, whether it's a hit or an out
• WHIP - Walks + Hits / Innings Pitched (should have put complete games here instead)
• ERA+ - Adjusted ERA (100*[lgERA/ERA]) according to the player’s ballpark(s).
• FIP - Fielding Independent Pitching, which measures a pitcher's effectiveness at preventing HR, BB, HBP and causing SO ((13*HR + 3*(BB+HBP) - 2*SO)/IP + Constant). The constant is set so that each season MLB average FIP is the same as the MLB avg ERA
• WPA - Win Probability Added, which is defined as the difference in win expectancy (WE) between the start of the play and the end of the play
• WAR - Wins Above Replacement

Yes, I took some aspirin after all of this. I love baseball, and I love numbers, but the saber numbers just takes everything to the extreme. I like simple. But if this is what they say will determine how baseball players would have done in other eras, so be it. It's not as if we can put Mike Trout in a time machine to see how he'd fare during the time of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, can we?

Oh well, along with the saber SP's, there are the sparkles SP's, there are also more Future Star SP's (you thought Yasiel would be the only player in series 1 to get the SP FS treatment?) The players chosen for this subset are pictured during their respective "Futures Game" during the All-Star Festivities. So there are going to be a lot of US and World players, except for Tanaka...of course.

One final SP I would say would make a certain blogger go insane, but I think he's too far gone now to care.

Snoopy??!

Yes, that's Snoopy peering in from the Twins' dugout. Recently, it was announced that as the All-Star Game will be held in the Twin Cities this year, MLB and Peanuts have partnered up and the statues that have traditionally popped up around the host city will be of Charles Schulz' beloved comic strip characters. Schulz is a native of St. Paul, and almost everyone (if you're the exception, there is something horribly wrong with you) knows that there are many Peanuts' strips that involve baseball. So it's a natural fit.

I'm going to bed. The stats are still flying in my head. Oh yeah, one quick way to tell if you have a saber stat SP? Check the code on the back of the card. Sabermetric variants end in 75. Series 2 base cards and other variations all end in 34.

Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama