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