Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #13 Magglio Ordóñez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 28, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #13.
• Player Name, position, team: Magglio Ordóñez, outfielder, Chicago White Sox
• Major League Debut: August 29, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (White Sox): 157 G, 624 AB, 100 R, 188 H, 34 2B, 3 3B, 30 HR, 117 RBI, 13 SB, .510 SLG, 47 BB, 64 SO, .301 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the White Sox as a Free Agent 05/18/1991. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his second and card.
• Blurb on the back: "Two years into his professional career, Magglio was a .206 hitter. And six years into it, he still hadn't appeared on one of those top-10 team prospects lists in Baseball America. In 1999, however, Ordóñez was an All-Star. Combining contact and power, he has become a White Sox building block"
• Commentary: I purchased and received the sell sheets for 2000 Topps. This was the set that featured Mark McGwire and Hank Aaron during Topps' "compare-a-legend-to-a-current superstar" stage. The sell sheets actually came in a folder, looks really nice, and the sell sheet discusses what Topps plans were for the coming year, including the incorporation of a "Topps 2000" logo on every player card. Magglio Ordóñez was such a great young ball player that the fans started chanting his name during every plate appearance. I don't think I can spell it, but it sounded like "O-E-O...Maaaaaaag-lio." And with the Sox, he was one of the key figures in bringing the White Sox their first divisional championship since 1993. Maggs hit .315 with 32 home runs, drove in 126 rbi's, stole 18 bases, and had percentages of .371/.546/.917. He was named to his second All-Star team, and won his first Silver Slugger Award. He was among the Sox' offensive leaders every season through 2003. In 2004, injuries took a toll and he missed most of the season. Willing to prove that he still had it, he signed with the divisional rival Tigers. And while he missed out on being part of that World Series team, he found his offensive stroke in Detroit, and led the Tigers, who had wallowed in inferiority for most of the decade, back to relevance and by 2006, back to the World Series.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 68 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1998 Topps #468. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #344 Todd Ritchie

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, December 7, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #344.
• Player Name, position, team: Todd Ritchie, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: April 3, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Pirates): 20 G, 172.2 IP, 15-9, 79 R, 67 ER, 107 SO, 54 BB, 26 GS, 3 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 3.49 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Twins #1st, June 1990. Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent 11/08/1998. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 5. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Todd began the 1999 season as a non-roster reliever and concluded it in the rotation as the Pirates' leading winner."
• Commentary: What I like about the 2000 Topps set was that not only was it the first to return to the vertical reverses (for the first time since 1993), but it was a nice change of pace from the gold borders that were prevalent the last two seasons (albeit different shades). And unlike its grey-bordered predecessor from 1970, the silver borders were not as prone to chipping (or at least not as evident at first glance). The Pirates may not have been winning much from the time Barry Bonds left the team until just last year, but from 1999-2001, Todd Everett Ritchie made every effort to give the team a shot at winning when he pitched. Signing with the Pirates after being released by the Twins, Ritchie had something to prove. And he did so in a big way with his performance in 1999. In 2000, firmly established in the Pirates rotation, Ritchie started 31 games, earned a 9-8 record, had an ERA of 4.81, struck out a career high 124 batters (he would hit that same mark in 2001), and one shutout in 187 innings of work. He would spend three seasons in Pittsburgh, one of the few to compile a winning record during his stay with a 35-32 record, 4.29 ERA, 1.314 WHIP, and 355 strikeouts in 92 games, 90 of which he started. He was traded at the end of the 2001 season to the White Sox, and after one-year stints with the Pale Hose, Brewers (missing most of the year due to injury), and Devil Rays (where he spent most of the season in the minors trying to overcome the injury from the previous year), he re-signed with the Pirates, only to retire during spring training. He did try to come back, with the Rockies organization four years later, but after a promotion to Tulsa, retired after his lone start.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5 cards.

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: 1960 Topps #19. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #227 Bernie Williams 1999 League Championship Highlight

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, October 19, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #227.
• Player Name, position, team: Bernie Williams, outfielder, Florida Marlins.
• Special: American League Championship Series Game 1, New York 4, Boston 3 (10 innings).
• Blurb on the back: "Quietly, consistently, Bernie Williams has always en there when the Yankees have needed him most. Such was the case in the opening game of the 1999 ALCS, when his lead off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning dispatched the Red Sox 4-3. The decisive bomb, which traveled over the 408' marker in Yankee Stadium's center field, was reminiscent of another clutch blow by Williams: an 11th-inning homer that beat the Orioles in the 1996 ALCS opener. New York would dispose of Boston in five games."
  
• Any special information about this specific card: Topps must have really loved the all foil look for their cards because it was used for a number of years in a row. As nice as shiny as they are in person, they make for really bad scans. I'm trying to figure out if that line that's coming down the front of the card is from the card itself, the holder I use when I scan, or the scanner itself. From 1996 through 2001 (with the exception of 1997), it became pretty repetitive. The Yankees would storm into the World Series, and manage to win it. But this card isn't highlighting anything from the World Series. This card, one of seven in the subset, was the only card that discusses the 1999 AL Championship series. You'd like to think that the back would review the entire series. But instead, it quietly summarizes Bernie Williams' game-one, extra-inning, walk-off home run. And then Topps' writers mention that it is "reminiscent" to his 1996 Game 1 home run, also in extras. The only mention of a series recap was in the final sentence. For the record, Williams went 5-20 with one home run an two runs driven in during the five game tilt.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.

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: 1951 Topps Blue Back #24. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #377 Travis Lee

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, May 24, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #377.
• Player Name, position, team: Travis Lee, first baseman, Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Major League Debut: March 31, 1998.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Diamondbacks): 120 G, 375 AB, 57 R, 89 H, 16 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 17 SB, .363 SLG, 58 BB, 50 SO, .237 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Twins #1st, June 1996. Signed with the Diamondbacks as a Free Agent 10/15/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "A slow start and a disabling injury last season left Travis shy of the high standard he set as a 1998 rookie, but he is still considered one of the most promising young stars in the game. Not long after erasing his .233 start with a 24-game stretch of batting .341, he severely sprained his left ankle and endured a difficult second half. Two of Lee's nine home runs, however, were the first grand slams of his career."
• Commentary: The 2000 set featured the first vertically-oriented reverse for its regular cards since 1993. The only drawback for utilizing the portrait backs is that the statistics become hard to read, even with the alternating white and gray stripes. Even with the injuries he sustained in 1999, many in the Diamondbacks organization believed that Travis Lee could regain the form that made him the talk of Phoenix in 1998. Two years removed from winning the Golden Spikes Award, he was named the D-backs first ever Opening Day starter at first base. He finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting thanks to a 22 home run, 72 rbi campaign. In 2000, however, after hitting a low .232 with 8 homers and 40 rbi's in 72 games, he was traded along with pitchers Omar Daal, Nelson Figeroua, and Vicente Padilla to the Phillies for a pitcher who would become one of the key components to Arizona's first World Series winning team, Curt Schilling. Lee appeared in 56 games with the Phils, hitting .239 along with a homer and 14 rbi's. Lee would go on to be the Phillies' regular first baseman for the next two seasons, hitting for a cumulative .261 with a combined 33 home runs and 160 rbi's along with a stellar glove (combined 12 errors in 2756 total chances for a .995 fielding percentage). He signed with the Devil Rays after the 2002 season, and had a productive first season for them (.275, 19 HR, 70 rbi, career high .807 OPS). He signed a one year deal with the Yankees, with the hopes of taking over first for Jason Giambi. But Lee injured himself early in the season and appeared in only seven games. He returned to the Devil Rays in 2005, but seeing his averages decline, Lee was released before the end of the 2006 season. He signed with the Nationals to compete for the first base job, but after losing the starting nod to Dmitri Young, he requested an unconditional release from the team, citing that he "no longer had the passion to play the game."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 16.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1978 Topps #63. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #324 Mike Stanton

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, May 8, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #324.
• Player Name, position, team: Mike Stanton, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: August 24, 1989.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Yankees): 73 G, 62.1 IP, 2-2, 30 R, 30 ER, 59 SO, 18 BB, 1 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.33 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Braves #13th, June 1987. Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 12/11/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Mike made 552 relief appearances before his first MLB start."
• Commentary: That one start that the Topps card was referring to would also be his only big league starting assignment (a May 9 game that the Yankees won 6-1 over the Mariners, and Stanton left after the fourth inning ended). Maybe it's a good thing that the young Marlins slugger with the same name with today's featured player decided to go with his real first name Giancarlo instead of Mike. There are three players who shared the name Mike Stanton in the annals of baseball: Michael Thomas Stanton, who pitched in the early 80's, most notably with the Mariners; Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton, the aforementioned young hope for the Marlins; and William Michael Stanton, the relief pitcher whose career began with the Braves all the way back in 1989. From the day he was called up through the day he called it a career, Mike Stanton was reliable relief pitcher called upon to take over games from the likes of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine of the Braves, to Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and David Cone of the Yankees. After seven fantastic years with the Braves (in which he went 18-21 in his decisions, saved 55 games and struck out 223 batters in 289.2 innings of work), Stanton was traded during the Braves' run to their eventual World Series to the Red Sox in exchange for two minor leaguers to be named later. A year later, he was sent off to Texas in another midseason trade. He signed with the Yankees after they won the 1996 World Series, and from there, he found the dominance that eluded him from his early days with the Braves. From 1997 through 2002, Stanton appeared in 428 games, went 30-12 in his decisions, had an ERA of 3.65, saved 15 games, struck out 395 batters, and had a WHIP of 1.316. He also made his first and only All-Star Team in 2001. As for his 2000 campaign, his numbers included a 2-3 record, a 2.58 ERA, and 75 K's. He signed with the cross-city Mets for the 2003 season, but did not find as much success as he did on the other side of town. After two lackluster seasons, he was traded back to the Bronx in December of 2004. Unable to find the magic from his first run with the Yankees, the team released him on July 1, and Stanton took off on a journeyman career that saw him playing for Washington, Red Sox (second run), San Francisco, and Cincinnati before deciding after being cut by the Cubs during spring training in 2009 that it was time to hang it up. He retired as baseball's all-time leader in holds (266), and was recently on the ballot for the Hall of Fame.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 16 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 2003 Topps Traded and Rookies #137T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #123 Ryan McGuire

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 15, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #123.
• Player Name, position, team: Ryan McGuire, first baseman, Montréal Expos.
• Major League Debut: July 5, 1997.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Expos): 88 G, 140 AB, 17 R, 31 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB, .343 SLG, 27 BB, 33 SO, .221 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #3rd, June 1993. Traded by the Red Sox to the Expos 01/10/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his fourth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "He plays the same position as that other McGwire, but spells his name with a "u" and earns his living with a fancy glove and a lot of line drives. The Expos have been enamored of Ryan ever since seeing him hit safely in his first 12 games as a big-leaguer in 1997, provoking a 10-game winning streak."
• Commentary: Topps 2000 featured silver borders (compared to two years of gold-ish) that made the pictures really stand out. However, because of the use of a vertically-oriented reverse (or back of card), the statistics were sometimes hard to read, especially if there were a lot of lines on them. Maybe it's my vision, maybe it's the lighting in my office, but man I had a hard time reading the stats on the back of this one. With Brad Fullmer holding down the first base position for the Expos, if Ryan Bryon McGuire was not on the bench, he was covering the outfield for the regular starters, giving them a much needed day off or two. However, McGuire struggled badly at the plate, hitting .186 with 1 home run and 10 rbi's. In 1999, McGuire would begin the season in Ottawa, but would be called up by the Expos in May, remaining with the team in the same role as he had the year before. In 2000, McGuire signed on with the Mets as a Free Agent. He spent most of the year with the Mets' minor league affiliate in Norfolk, and did appear in one game in June for the Mets, going 0-2 with a walk. In 2001, he signed on with the Marlins and was placed onto the opening day roster. But after 63 games, most of which was off the bench as a pinch hitter, McGuire was sent to the Calgary to finish out the season (and get more playing time than he would have in Miami). The Orioles signed McGuire for the 2002 season, and he joined the major league roster from May to July again in a pinch-hitter/bench role. Ryan was designated for assignment after 17 appearances, hitting .077 (2-26), and was sent back to Rochester to finish the season. It would be the last time he would play in the majors. The following year, he split time with both the Yankees' and Twins' minor league systems, and called it a career soon afterwards.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1995 Topps #438. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #295 Johnny Damon

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, February 13, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #295.
• Player Name, position, team: Johnny Damon, outfielder, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: August 12, 1995.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Royals): 145 G, 583 AB, 101 R, 179 H, 39 2B, 9 3B, 14 HR, 77 RBI, 36 SB, .477 SLG, 67 BB 50 SO, .307 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Royals #2nd, June 1992. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 20. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Johnny is one of the game's great character players - and he's developing into one of its best players, period. Last season, he set personal bests for AVG and RBI, ranked among the AL's top 10 in doubles and triples and stole 24 straight bases. "I play every game like it's going to be my last," he says, "I never take this game for granted. I hope others take as much pride in the sport as I do. It's a precious game.'"
• Commentary: Before the long hair and the beard. Before the World Championships, Johnny Damon was a star with the Kansas City Royals. Even though the Royals were perennial doormats in the AL Central Division, Damon gave Royals fans hope for better things to come. Damon's final year with the Royals in 2000 was also his best in KC. He hit a career high .327 with 16 home runs, 88 rbi's (also a career high), and an OPS of .877. He also led the American League in runs scored with 136 and stolen bases with 46. But alas, Damon contract was about a year before free agency. So in January of 2001, he was involved in a 3-team trade that saw seven players moved to new franchises. When the dust settled, Damon and Mark Ellis were sent to Oakland in exchange for Angel Berroa and A. J. Hinch. The change of scenery brought Damon's numbers down, but the Red Sox saw enough to sign him to a four year deal. The rest, at this point, is history. He won World Series with the Red Sox (2005) and Yankees (2009), became an All-Star (twice with the Red Sox), and did live up to the "great character" part that Topps had described on the blurb on the back. After three seasons of bouncing between Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland, it looks like Damon is going to call it a career. Last I saw him, he was playing for the Taiwan team in 2012 qualifying rounds of the World Baseball Classic against the Philippines.
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 67 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 1980 Topps #208. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T64 Brian Sanches

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, December 24, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T64.
• Player Name, position, team: Brian Sanches, pitcher, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: June 01, 2006.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Spokane, A-Northwest): 9 G, 34 IP, 1-1, 19 R, 18 ER, 51 SO, 12 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.76 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Royals, #2nd, June 1999. Bats: right, 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: "'A second round selection by Kansas City in the 1999 draft out of Lamar University, Sanches recorded a short-season high 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings in '99 at Class-A Spokane, and was named the sixth-best prospect in the Northwest League.  He throws a fastball in the low-90's, and has shown good command of a change-up.  It is, however, his devastating curveball that has the potential to become the best breaking pitch in the Royals' organization.  Brian is expected to add even more velocity to his fastball as his frame fills out."
• Commentary: The second Traded set since it returned from its three-year hiatus, the 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies set was again split between rookies (T1-T90) and veterans (T91-T135).  Brian Sanches' major league career started six years after the Royals drafted him. He was traded to the Padres on August 26, 2003 for Rondell White, and then traded off to the Phillies on the first of April, 2004.  After making his big league debut, he would spend the next three seasons bouncing back and forth between the majors and the AAA affiliates of both the Phils and Nationals (with whom he signed for the 2008 season).  It wasn't until he landed with the Florida Marlins that he found success.  In three seasons with the Marlins as a middle reliever, he went 10-5 with an ERA of 2.92.  He struck out 158 batters and had a WHIP of 1.288.  He re-signed with the Phillies to a minor league deal after the 2011 season, and did see some action with the big league club at the end of June, 2012.  But after 10 games, he was sent back tot he minors and on July 31, he was released.  He signed with the Astros a few days later, and spent the rest of the season with the 'Stros' affiliate in Oklahoma City.  Brian signed with the Royals as a Free Agent on 11/16/2012, his career finally coming full circle, as he is now back with the team that drafted him more than 12 years ago.  Even with the success he achieved with the Marlins, he was never included in any of Topps' eponymous sets.  He did appear in the Topps '52 Rookies set as a Phillie (thanks to the MLB Properties mandate, he was Rookie Card Logo eligible in 2006), and appeared as a SP in the 2007 Heritage set (which used the same picture of Sanches from the '52 set).  But that's it.  There are no Topps cards of him with the Marlins.  Why? I think we all know the answer.  And it's another reason why I wish Topps would expand from the usual 660 and go back to 792+ cards for their base set.  Or at least include him with the Update Series.  Is that too much to ask???
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1977 Topps #130. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #42 Chili Davis

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, November 26, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #42.
• Player Name, position, team: Chili Davis, outfielder, San Francisco Giants.
• Major League Debut: April 10, 1981.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Yankees): 146 G, 476 AB, 59 R, 128 H, 25 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 78 RBI, 4 SB, .445 SLG, 73 BB, 100 SO, .269 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Giants, #11th, June 1977. Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 12/10/1997. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 21. This is his twenty-first and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: Yesterday, the RotC featured a card from the gray-bordered 1970 Topps set. For an encore, it picked the gray(some may call it silver)-bordered 2000 Topps set. You know, I've made a habit of pointing out on this humble little blog that Topps utilized a similar design for their 1963, 1983, and 2003 Topps sets: a large picture of the subject above with a smaller headshot below next to the player's name (okay, they used it in 1984 and in a sense 1996). Maybe in 2030, Topps will bring back the silver borders. It could happen. You never know. Chili Davis was the first subject of the Random Card of the Day program in 2010. The card featured then, his 1982 Topps Traded #23T card, was his first solo Topps card (like with Cal Ripken, he appeared in the 1982 set with two other prospects). Flash forward 18 years and Chili Davis is one of MLB's elder statesmen. In fact, with 1999 being Davis' final season in the majors, the statistics on the back of his Topps cards are complete and final. What a career it was though for the first player born in Jamaica to play in the majors. Charles Theordore Davis' final numbers include a batting average of .274, 350 home runs, 1372 rbi's, .451 slugging percentage, 142 stolen bases, and thanks to his two years with the Yankees plus a magical 1991 season with the Twins, three World Series titles (thanks to Dean for pointing this out...#facepalm!!!). After spending time in Australia as the hitting coach for the National Baseball Team, he returned to the US to take on a hitting instructor's role with the Dodgers. In 2012, Davis was named the hitting coach of the Oakland Athletics. With him helping out the teams' young stars, the A's wrestled away the AL Western Division title over the 2-time defending AL Champion Texas Rangers.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 28 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2003 Topps #333. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #91

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, January 2, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #91.
• Player Name, position, team: Paul Sorrento, outfielder, Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• Major League Debut: September 08, 1989.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Devil Rays): 99 G, 294 AB, 40 R, 69 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 1 SB, .401 SLG, 49 B, 101 K, .35 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels, #4th, June 1986. Signed with the Devil Rays as a Free Agent 12/08/199. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his twelfth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "On May 9, 1999, Paul whacked the longest home run to date at The Ballpark at Arlington. It cleared a 400' fence in dead center, hitting a brick wall beyond an 80' patch of grass."
• Commentary: The 2000 Topps set featured gray borders darker than what was used in 1970, but also featured large pictures above a team-colored nameplate.  Paul Sorrento was one of the Devil Rays' free agent signings, and with the slugger on a team with Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco, and Vinny Castilla, the hope was that the offense would score enough runs to give the young pitching staff a cushion in their first few seasons (he was even the starting DH for the Devil Rays first game in 1998).  Alas, while individual players on offense did well, as a team, not so much.  The pitchers weren't all that good (it did not help that they also played in the Yankee dominated AL East), and the 1999 team finished with a record of 69-93.  Sorrento, who earlier in is career made Keith Olbermann fear for his well being, was an outstanding player who showed how good he could be when he was traded by the Twins to the Indians.  In four seasons with the Tribe, plus two with the Mariners, Sorrento hit 129 home runs and did not hit below .230 (high water mark was .289 with the M's).  He ended his MLB career in 1999, which means the stats on the back are his complete final statistics. 
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 13 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1985 Topps Traded #45T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T134 Bruce Chen

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, January 13, 2011:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T134.
• Player Name, position, team: Bruce Chen, pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: September 7, 1998.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Braves): 16 G, 51 IP, 2-2, 32 R, 31 ER, 45 SO, 27 BB, 7 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 5.47 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Braves as a Free Agent 07/01/1993. Traded to the Phillies by the Braves 07/12/2000. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "One of Atlanta's most promising prospects, Chen had struggled to find a home in the Braves' vaunted rotation. Philadelphia acquired him...in exchange for Andy Ashby. Chen is expected to be a cornerstone of the Phil's rebuilding process in 2001."
• Commentary: Because of the vertical orientation of the back of the 2000 Topps cards (and the traded set), the numbers are a bit hard to read, but it leaves a bit more room for a bio. His stay with the Phil's was brief, as he was traded before the August deadline to the Mets. From there, Chen began his journeyman career, from the Mets to the Expos, then with the Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Orioles, Rangers, and Royals. With the Phil's, he was 7-9, with a 4.28 ERA, 159 K's, and a WHIP of 1.268. And because of my ignorance, I didn't know this. As I always thought he was Korean or Chinese, Chen hails from Panama City, Panama.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  How many cards of this player do I own?: 4 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps Traded and Rookies #T123. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #114 Neifi Perez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, October 16, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #114.
• Player Name, position, team: Neifi Perez, shortstop, Colorado Rockies.
• Major League Debut: August 31, 1996.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Rockies): 157 G, 690 AB, 108 R, 193 H, 27 2B, 11 3B, 12 HR, 70 RBI, 13 SB, .403 SLG, 28 BB, 54 SO, .280 AVG.
• Any special information about players: Signed with the Rockies as a Free Agent 11/09/1992. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Perez' fifth regular Topps (total includes regular and traded cards only). Okay. I will be the first to admit that Topps isn't perfect, especially when it comes to predicting who will be a star in the game. Of course, they've had success, but sometimes you read the backs of the cards of some of these players, and think, "Really???" If you read the first sentence on the bio on the back of his card now (vertically oriented for the first time since 1993) you have to ask yourself, "Really?" Topps writes, "Although overshadowed by that Rodriguez-Jeter-Garciaparra trio of young shortstops, Neifi may soon approach their class." What??! But back then, before you begin to question the sanity of the writer who had to come up with a bio for Neifi, there were reasons behind the high accolades. In his time with Colorado, he was a defensive star, even won the Gold Glove in 2000 at short. Even the year before, he was starting to show that he could become a star. But how big? He had the speed (13 stolen bases in 1999), he could hit for power (12 home runs), and he could definitely throw ("a strong arm and he likes to use it," says former teammate Quinton McCracken), But he was never the same player once he left the high air of Colorado, having been traded to the Kansas City Royals for Jermaine Dye in 2001. While he was still one of the better defensive shortstop in baseball, his hitting took a dive. He continued on with the Giants, Cubs, and Tigers, even playing in the World Series for Detroit in 2006. But injuries wore him down, and by 2007, he retired from baseball. But for a while, he was compared to some of baseball's brightest young stars. And for a while, the comparison was well deserved.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 11 cards.

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

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T122 Jose Valentin

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, September 28, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T122.
• Player Name, position, team: Jose Valentin, shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 17, 1992.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Brewers): 89 G, 256 AB, 45 R, 58 H, 9 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 38 RBI, .418 SLG, 48 BB, 52 SO, .227 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Padres as a Free Agent 10/26/1986. Traded by the Brewers to the White Sox 01/12/2000. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Valentin's ninth regular Topps card (totals include regular and traded cards only). At 135 cards, the 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies contained three more cards than traded sets in the past (usually a full sheet of 132). The rookie to veteran breakdown was 90 to 45 (or at a ratio of 2:1). It was nice, though that the rookies appeared first in the set, then the traded/veterans followed. Maybe this set should have been called Rookies and Traded instead of the other way around. Sometimes, a change of scenery will do wonders on a player's career. That can certainly be said for Jose Antonio Valentin (just so we know which Jose Valentin we're talking about). After being the Brewers' primary shortstop throughout the 1990's, a trade between the Brewers and the White Sox sent Valentin down the I-94 to Chicago. His Topps card tells the story rather clearly. "The White Sox were in need of a steady veteran shortstop when they acquired Valentin from the Brewers in a four-player deal." Jose made the best of his new opportunity by helping the Sox win the Central division in 2000. For five seasons with the Pale Hose, Valetin found a power stroke that helped him hit 136 home runs and drive home 379 rbi's. He had a batting average of .247 but a very good OPS of .802. At the end of the 2004 season, Valetin signed with the Dodgers. Rather bad timing as the following year, the White Sox managed to win it all in 2005.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 19 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH96. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2005 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #391 Bill Mueller

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, September 13, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #391.
• Player Name, position, team: Bill Mueller, third baseman, San Francisco Giants.
• Major League Debut: April 18, 1996.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Giants): 116 G, 414 AB, 61 R, 120 AB, 24 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 4 SB, .362 SLG, 65 BB, 52 SO, .290 AVG.
• Any special information about players: Drafted by the Giants #15th, June 1993. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Mueller's fourth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). It was in this third year of Topps "colored borders" period (which ran from 1998 to 2003) that I really started to miss white bordered cards. Sure the colors were a nice change of pace, but three years in a row? I guess it could have been worse...like the 1977-1980 period of classic but boring designs. At least collectors who were active at this time can look at the card and know what year it's from (even if it says Topps 2000) at the bottom. Bill Mueller became the Giants' regular third baseman in 1997, and at this point, his season batting averages never dipped below .290 (that's the big highlight Topps mentions in the bio below the stats). It also says that his 1999 season started off with a big toe fracture that occurred in his first at bat of the year. He missed 37 games because of it. The card also says that Mueller has a career batting average of .355 in the month of August (and he had a .376 average that month in 1999). He would go on to play for the Cubs, and the World Series winning Red Sox in 2004 (winning a batting title and his only appearance as an All-Star the year before). He ended his career in 2006 with the Dodgers, first working in the front office of the Dodgers' organization, then as the hitting coach of the team. In 2009, he returned to the Dodgers' front office, named as a Special Assistant to General Manager Ned Colletti.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 19 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #655. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T36 Jeff Bailey

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, August 26, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1995 Topps #116.
• Player Name, position, team: Jeff Bailey, catcher, Florida Marlins.
• Major League Debut: July 6, 2007.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Kane County-Midwest A): 76 G, 277 AB, 49 R, 77 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 53 RBI, 1 SB, .462 SLG, 34 BB, 77 SO, ..278 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Marlins #2nd June, 1997. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Bailey's first regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Although Bailey finally made his MLB debut in 2007, and thus making his 2007 cards eligible to have that rookie card logo on them, his first true rookie cards could be found in 2000 Topps products. Classic headshot pose for the card, with the bat firmly planted on Bailey's right shoulder. The back of his card shows that he's minor league stats from both years in the Marlins' Gulf Coast League team (why did he spend two years there, and where did he go in between seasons if the GCL is a short-season league???) and then on to the Kane County Cougars, Chicago's closest non-independent minor league team. (Trivia for those who didn't know, the team is based in Geneva, IL. Not a long drive, especially if you happen to live in the Chicago suburbs). The back of the card mentions Bailey's minor league accomplishments, including being named GCL hitter of the week in July, 1998. The scouting report reads that Jeff is "a sure handed receiver with emerging power..." In 2002, he was traded to the Montreal Expos, and played in their minor league system for two seasons, before his long tenure in the Red Sox' minor league system at the end of the 2003 season. As a sign of perseverance, he never gave up his dreams, and after ten long years in the minors, ten years of bus rides and nights in places like Portland, Harrisburg, and Edmonton, and after a number of years as a regular in Pawtucket, he finaly got the call in 2007. Mind you that since his debut, he went back and forth between Sox (Pawtucket and Boston), but at least he got there, finally. In 2010, he signed on as a free agent with the Diamondbacks, and spent the 2010 season with the Reno Aces, the D-Back's AAA team.
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #476. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T19 Marcos Castillo

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, July 1, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T19
• Player Name, position, team: Marcos Castillo, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (San Bernardino-A): 27 G, 167 IP, 14-9, 90 R, 76 ER, 130 SO, 48 BB, 27 GS, 1 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 4.10 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed by the Dodgers as a Free Agent 08/26/1995. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Castillo's first (and only) regular Topps card (as you can see, Topps even labeled it his Rookie Card). On the front page of the Baseball-Reference.com website, they calculate that 17,387 baseball players made their debut in what is considered to be Major League Baseball since it's inception in the late 1800's (as of 06/30/2010). And in the last 60 years, Topps has featured many players who they believed were destined for great things in the Major Leagues, but unfortunately, never get there. Here is an example of one of those players. Marcos Castillo was a player with a lot of potential, and had the numbers to back it up. In 1999, he went 14-9 and struck out 130 batters in 167 innings pitched (that's roughly 7 K's/9 innings of work). He even pitched a perfect game in the High-A California League on June 14. But for one reason or another, Castillo never made it above AA in the Dodgers' minor league system and was subsequently released after the 2004 season. He spent the rest of the decade pitching in the independent leagues. He finally called it quits after the 2008 season.
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1992 Topps Traded #65T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded & Rookies #T26 Maicer Izturis

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, June 22, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded & Rookies #T26.
• Player Name, position, team: Maicer Izturis, shortstop, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: August 27, 2004.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Columbus-A): 57 G, 220 AB, 46 R, 66 H, 5 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 14 SB, .405 SLG, 20 BB, 28SO, .300 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Indians as a Free Agent 04/01/1998. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Izturis' first Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). What I love about the 2000 Topps set design is that the gray borders and the nameplate that goes along the bottom of the card do not distract the observer away from the picture. Many great action shots in both the regular and traded cards. The 2000 Topps Traded & Rookies set was Topps' second since brining back the end-of-the-year update set from the year before and the last year that these cards were sold exclusively in complete set form. The rookies were featured first in this set. At this time, Maicer (I've been spelling his name Macier all this time...) was just a 20-year-old prospect with the Indians. He made his debut with the Montréal Expos in 2004 (during their final year in Canada), and would have been apart of the Nationals had he not been traded to the Angels before the end of the year. He is now the Angels full-time shortstop, but also plays any position manager Mike Scioscia puts him (2b, 3b, lf, cf, dh). The back of his card, as with many of the players' cards in this set, is vertically-oriented, something not seen since 1993. The statistics are a bit harder to read, but there is a lot of bio space in Izturis' case. He is described as a "flashy defensive shortstop...showing a quick bat to complement his good speed on the bases"
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1997 Topps #133. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1997 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T72 Ryan Knox

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, May 20, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps Traded and Rookies #T72.
• Player Name, position, team: Ryan Knox, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Helena-Rk): 72 G, 275 AB, 58 R, 96 H, 17 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 44 SB, .440 SLG, 25 BB, 27 SO, .349 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Brewers #24th, June 1999. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Knox' first and only regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Traditionally, Topps' Traded sets are numbered in alphabetical order by player. That stopped in 1993. When the "traded set" made it's return in 1999, Topps renamed the product "Traded and Rookies," to make note that the set included more than just veteran players who switched teams during the off-season. The 2000 set was sold in factory box form only, and consisted of 135 cards, the first 90 of which, were reserved for the "rookies." Although Knox was drafted in the #24th round of the 1999 June draft, he was highly regarded for his speed and base stealing skills. He was expected to advance quickly through the Brewers minor league system. Topps was half right writing that sentence. Knox did advance throughout the Brewers minor league system, making stops at all levels during the course of his career, but he never did make it to the majors. He finished his minor league career in the Devil Rays system before finally calling it quits in 2006.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1991 Topps #337. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #136 Brad Ausmus

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, May 14, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #136.
• Player Name, position, team: Brad Aumsus, catcher, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: July 28, 1993.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Tigers): 217 G, 458 AB, 62 R, 126 H, 25 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 12 SB, .415 SLG, 51 BB, 71 SO, .275 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Yankees #47th, June 1987. Traded by the Astros to the Tigers 01/14/1999. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Ausmus' eighth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only, not including his 1992 Topps MLB '91 card). To follow up with the gold colored borders from 1999, Topps' 2000 design starts with gray/silver borders, unobtrusive name/position area, team color inspired graphics, and nice large picture. The backs of the cards are vertically oriented, something not seen since 1993. There is a decent sized picture on the back of each card that takes up more than a third of the card. Of course, there is a space taken on the picture itself for use of the basic information. And notice that you can actually see the face inside the mask (thanks to Charlie O'Brien and the goalie-style catcher's mask). Ausmus' career year was in 1999, where he was named one of three Tigers' captains, and was selected to the AL All-Star team.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 28 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1996 Topps #253. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2000 Topps #425 Greg Maddux

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, April 26, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2000 Topps #425.
• Player Name, position, team: Greg Maddux, pitcher, Atlanta Braves.
• Major League Debut: September 2, 1986.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1999 stats (Braves): 33 G, 219.1 IP, 19-9, 103 R, 87 ER, 136 SO, 37 BB, 33 GS, 4 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 3.57 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Cubs #2nd, June 1984. Signed with the Braves as a Free Agent 12/09/1992. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Maddux' sixteenth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only; doesn't include any all-star, combo, league leader cards). The gray-bordered 2000 set made sure that the picture was the most important element in the design. And what better way to remember the best pitcher of our generation by picturing him at bat, ready to bunt? Now, before you think I don't like the picture, not true. I love it. I will confess that my favorite card from that other card company was the 1991 Upper Deck Jim Abbott baseball card. Why? Because it showed Abbott at the plate. How many cards show the pitcher at bat? Not too many. Now Maddux, a lifelong National Leaguer, had the luxury of having to bat for himself. And for a pitcher, he didn't do badly. His batting stats show that in the 23 years he's been baffling hitters, he has a decent .171 batting average, along with 5 home runs and 84 runs batted in (it's true, chicks do dig the long ball...remember that commercial in the mid 90's???). I remember one time, and I might have mentioned htis on the blog before, that Jeff Foxworthy was in Chicago one year and spent the day as a guest conductor for the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley. After being greeted by Pat Hughes and Ron Santo, the first thing Foxworthy says (and I will never forget this), "Thank you very much for having me, and thank you very much for Greg Maddux." Way to stick it to us, Jeff!!! Topps must have figured out the exact moment when Greg turned his career around. The back of the card reads, "Since the '91 All-Star break, Greg is 118-43 with a 2.99 ERA." That's eight-and-a-half seasons of brilliance.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 93 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1983 Topps Traded #6T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama