The Philippines...in Topps A & G Mini Cards

Long time readers of the blog know that I am from The Philippines. I've written about the Philippines trying to get to the World Baseball Classic back in 2012. As of 2026, they still haven't done it, but it doesn't mean the country can't represent on the diamond. While they haven't competed in the WBC, the baseball team has won the Southeast Asian Games three years straight, and five titles overall. 

So, let's crank out some celebratory music...

Okay, back to the point...

One of the goals of this blog is to show off my collection. Today, I thought I'd show off my collection of mini Allen & Ginter cards that feature the The Pearl of the Orient Seas. 

Starting with my favorite A&G Mini Card of All-Time, from the 2007 Flag of All Nations set...

2007 Topps A&G Philippines Flag #39

The card isn't actually numbered per se, but the card is #39 alphabetically (Algeria-United States). Love this design. The sun in the background, the volcano (there's smoke coming from the top), coconut trees along the coast. It really is reminiscent of the original 1887 N9 Allen & Ginter's Flag of All Nations set. I just love the colors of this card, and how the flag is presented.

2008 Topps A&G Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo #WL35

The following year, Topps included a mini insert set featuring 50 of the (at the time) current world leaders. The Philippines was represented with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who became the 14th President of the country. Sworn to the post after the previous president was impeached, she was the leader of the country from 2001 through 2010. She did get into her own issues, but I'm not going to get into that...I am no expert in the story. She is currently a member of the House of Representatives, serving the constituents of the 2nd district of Pampanga. The card itself features a headshot of GMA and an outline of the islands. At least Topps used the right photo for her card, compared to the little mistake done for the card representing Ireland.

2009 Topps A&G Jose Rizal #NH26

The year after that saw Topps honoring National Heroes. This time, Topps selected our national hero, Jose Rizal, as a subject for it's 2009 insert set. The reverse of his card gives a really brief summary of who he was and what he did while the Philippines was under Spanish rule in the late 1800's. He was a writer and member of the Philippine Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms while the Philippines was a colony of Spain. He was executed during the Philippine Revolution, and the day of his death (December 30) is a National Holiday. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Filipino history. The card features Rizal along with the Philippines Coat of Arms.

On to lighter fare...

2010 Topps A&G Carabao #NA42

National Animals was one of the mini insert sets that appeared in the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter product. And our national animal, the Carabao, was among the 50 subjects. The carabao is a water buffalo species that is commonly used by farmers for plowing. There were also used to pull carts, whether those contained people or valuable supplies. (There's a picture somewhere of yours truly on one...can't remember where it is. I think the name of the one I was on was Gigolo...or was it Macho...) 

2011 Topps A&G Philippine Eagle #AP15

Carrying the animal theme over into 2011, Topps featured endangered species in a set called Animals in Peril. The Philippine Eagle, or what is more commonly known as the Monkey Eating Eagle, was among the 30 subjects in this set. It has a six-foot wingspan, and is the largest of all eagles. It's the national bird of the country, with logging taking much of it's territory away. Current estimates say that there are maybe 400 pairs left in the wild.

2012 Topps A&G Balut #CC9

And then...there's the Culinary Curiosities set from 2012. This set featured 10 local delicacies that...let's say are unique. Between the Rocky Mountain Oysters and Haggis is this Filipino delight...Balut!!! Yes, balut. You may have seen the videos of people trying to eat it. And what is it exactly? Fertilized duck embryos boiled or steamed, and eaten in the shell. It's a street food that's sold in many countries in Southeast Asia, but it's more commonly connected to the Philippines. Now, I am more of a Penoy person myself (incubated duck egg that didn't fully develop an embryo), but I've eaten this once. And for a Filipino, once was enough.

It would be a few years before an exclusively-Filipino related card would appear in Allen & Ginter. Sure, the 2021 Mini World Leaders didn't include the President of the time, and the 2022 Mini Bearing Fruit cards had a handful of fruits that are found throughout the region, but there was nothing specifically tying the Philippines to any of them. 

2024 Topps A&G The Philippines #FOTW-16

While the 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter set featured a Manila/Dubai Sister Cities full-sized card (and I have that one), the Flags of the World mini set returned after 17 years. This time, as a horizontally-oriented set, with a picture of Manila to the right of the flag. The card is nice, and again, as an extremely amateur vexillologist (definitely not Sheldon Cooper level), I like the set, I like the card. 

But nothing compares to the 2007 version. 

On a related note, my mom is flying to Manila to visit friends and family back home this week. I wish her safe travels. Maybe bring back the Philippines baseball team cap if you can find one. A jersey would be nice too, but that may be asking for too much. It looks like this...I think...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Almost Got 'Im: 2003 Topps Record Breakers Nolan Ryan No-Hitter #4

I've been pretty fortunate over the last few years, not only because my financial situation has improved leaps-and-bounds (still a lot of work to do, but after so many years, I can breathe a bit easier), but also because cards that I've had on my wantlists since the 2010's started showing up on the Bay, and I've been fortunate to get them.

To wit, after many years of searching in vain, both 2011 Topps Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawfod SP cards showed up on eBay. Both BIN's, prices were reasonable, and both were purchased.

2011 Topps Carl Crawford #25B and Adrian Gonzalez #350B

Another card that was haunting me whenever I'd open to the page was the 2010 Topps 1951 Blue Back Reggie Jackson #36, which could only be found opening packs of Update and Highlights cards purchased at Wal-Mart.. Just about a year ago, after years of seeing the more common Red Back and Blue Back cards, this specific card appeared. It is now mine!!!

2010 Topps Update Series 1951 Blue Back Reggie Jackson #36

Last night, as I was scrolling the World's Largest Marketplace, a group of 2003 Topps Series 2 Record Breakers cards appeared in my feed. Among the cards listed were 3 of the 7 the Nolan Ryan No-Hitters cards that rarely, if EVER, show up. Of the four Nolan Ryan cards, one I've been looking for FOREVER!!!

2003 Topps Record Breakers Nolan Ryan #RB-NR4 

When I clicked on the auction to check the details, the highest bid was $6.50. Which was reasonable for this card, or so I thought. I bid $15.00, and found that I was still outbid. The shipping charge on the auction was $1.32, so I increased my bid to $18.68, which brought the high bid to $15.50. 

Earlier this evening, I received the notification that I was now being outbid for the card. I couldn't do anything about it until I came home from the pharmacy. When I finally arrived home, after eating a quick dinner, I went on the Bay and increased my bid to $23.68 only to find that my new bid not high enough, as the winning bid was now at $24.18. I then increased my bid to $28.68, and still I was out bid, with the new high price at $29.68. It was at this point, I decided to pass. According to the 2024 Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide (yes, I still carry one with me everywhere), these Nolan Ryan cards sell for $10.00 each. I was not about to pay 3x the book price, regardless of how rare these appear online.

After one sniper tried and failed to secure the highest bid, the auction ended about 30 minutes ago, with a final price of $32.53.

I congratulate the person who won the auction. I'm sure the seller is in shock to see that this particular card sold for $32+. The other two cards wound up selling for $6.50 each. Then I noticed that this same seller had the other four cards from this set listed the week before, with the auctions ending on January 10. One of those cards was the OTHER No-Hitter I needed, card #RB-NR7. That one sold, with one bid, at $5.99.

I'm going to go cry now.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Topps' Logo for the Semisesquicentennial

75 Years of Topps Baseball...The Logo!

Semisesquicentennial: 75th Anniversary, or half-way to 150 years! The Diamond Anniversary.

Posted today on social media platforms is an image of a graphic that Topps will most likely be incorporating into the design of it's eponymous baseball set, its packaging, marketing, pretty much everything baseball card related for the 2026 campaign.

It's now one in a long line of anniversary logos Topps has used throughout the years. As this is a baseball card blog, only the baseball card logos will be presented. You want to see the logos Topps made to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of Topps Football and Basketball? Maybe at another time.

Let's start with the 40th Anniversary Logo from 1991 Topps. Whata classic. Brings back great childhood memories.

Here is the 50th Anniversary Logo from 2001 Topps (not the best image I could find). It wasn't really featured in the card's design (which looking back, was a good thing) as it would have just overtaken the images on the front of the cards:

Next up, the 60th Anniversary Logo from 2011 Topps. Also not used in the design, but prominent in all other aspects of marketing. And yes, the traditional anniversary present for 60th and 75th anniversaries are diamonds (with the 75th, gold is involved somehow):

And now the 70th Anniversary Logo from 2021 Topps. Simple, understated, now if the design of the cards themselves were just as good as the logo (not really one of my favorites...story maybe for another day).

I am so looking forward to what 2026 brings. 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

RIP Stan Lee 1922-2018

I swear, I am not going to turn this blog into an obituary column, although by my recent posts, it sure seems that way. I guess that's because I am getting older, and the people I looked up to and followed when I was younger are starting to leave us in the physical plane, and their legacies go on to immortality in our hearts and minds.

Today, many who collect comics, watch movies, or are even remotely familiar with his name, mourn his passing. Stan Lee, the creator of many of the comic book characters that graced the pages of Marvel Comics, passed away today, at the age of 95. Many of the heroes he created at Marvel Comics were a total contrast to those from DC. All of them had their personal flaws, demons, angst, and readers really related to them. Maybe that's why Spider Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and the rest, struck a chord with America, and the rest of the world.

I'm not sure which of my parents was the comic book geek. They had quite a collection of both Marvel and DC comics when I was growing up. While my brother was a fan of DC, I was a fan of Marvel. In the Philippines, I remember playing the Marvel Super-Heroes card game, which was basically Old Maid with Marvel heroes and Doctor Doom as the "Old Maid."

Courtesy of Greg Turner of Back to the Past. I do have these cards. 

I also remember collecting bottlecaps that featured both Marvel heroes AND villains, that you could collect and play, of all things, checkers. I had a complete set of these bottle caps, but I can't remember if there were 24 or 36 caps for the set. No, most likely, you won't find them on eBay. But I remember opening a lot of bottles of pop (can't remember if it was a Pepsi, Coke, or other bottle company that had these either).

His bio is well known, and I am not going to copy what has already been said about the man on many other websites. My kids mostly recognize him as the guy who shows up in every Marvel movie, although he has been known to show up in a couple of DC properties (Teen Titans Go! to the Movies comes to mind). But for me, Stan will always, be THE MAN!

Thank you for entertaining us, comic book fans, for decades. Your legacy will forever live on screen, whether it be in the cartoons, on TV, or in the movies. But more importantly, they will forever live in the pages of Marvel Comics.

Excelsior!!!

Now, Mr. Lee was also a veteran, serving with the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II from 1942 to 1945. (something that I didn't know about the man until today). And although Veteran's Day was yesterday, today, it is observed.

I post this every year (or almost every year). And although I missed doing it yesterday, I think I will post it again tonight.

This was written eight years ago, but the sentiments remain the same.


November 11, 1919: President Wilson proclaims the first Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." The original concept for the celebration was for the suspension of business for a two minute period beginning at 11 A.M., with the day also marked by parades and public meetings.

On June 1, 1954, President Eisenhower signs legislation changing the name of the legal holiday from Armistice Day to Veteran's Day. (from The History of Veterans Day)

To the Men and Women who serve in the US Armed Forces:

I will not pretend I know the infinite different reasons why you made the decision to join the US Military.

I can only imagine what your basic training was like (I'm not even sure the movies do any justice).

I will not pretend to know the feeling of being away from family, friends and all of the comforts of home, having been assigned to a foreign land, serving the interests of our country.

I will not say that I necessarily agree with ALL of the reasons why our country has gone to war.

I will not pretend to know what it is like out in the battlefields, not knowing if I was going to live to see another day.

But I will say this.

Thank you.

Thank you all for your service to our country.

Thank you for the sacrifices you made so that we can continue to live with the freedoms that we enjoy.

Your courage is nothing if not inspiring. Your stories become tales of legend that deserve to be told again and again.

For these, and countless other reasons, I give you my respect.

And I give you thanks.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thank You Toys "R" Us! I Could Not Have Grown My Collection Without You!

Growing up, there was no place I loved going to more than Toys "R" Us! (No, I can't do the reverse R, so I'm not going to even try). For a kid, it was every theme park, museum, and wonderland rolled into one. I loved seeing toys, action figures, games and just wishing that one day I could buy them for me or any possible children I thought I'd have when I was older.

Fast forward about 14 years. My wife and I had spent hours at a Babies "R" Us! looking for items that we were going to need for our soon-to-arrive-child. We did not know what our baby was going to be (it wound up being a girl), so we asked for bottles, utensils, diapers, all of the fixings.

Fast forward about 5 years later. When I had time, I'd take my kids to the Toys "R" Us! They had their own interests in what kinds of toys they wanted, and when I had the money to do it, I was so happy because I fulfilled the wish I made for myself when I was much younger.

But that did not mean that there wasn't stuff I wanted to buy at TRU. Why? Because TRU sold baseball cards. And I think you know where this is going. But hold on.

The first real baseball card purchase I made at the world's greatest toy store was a wholly new baseball card product that happened to be called Topps Hot Button Baseball.

Remember this?

It was an electronic game, with lights on both sides that would flash in random order on both sides. The cards in this set were transparent, and the idea was that you would put a batter card on one side, and a pitcher card on the other, and depending on where the lights stop (you press the Hot Button to start the lights, and press it again to stop the lights from flashing) determines what the play was going to be in the game between the two "players."

I loved this game. You could play a game with the 20 cards that came with the device.

But it said that there were booster packs with more players.

And the hunt was on.

I eventually wiped out the local Target of booster packs. I went to other TRU's. I wound up with a complete 140 card set and played the game with my then 5-year-old daughter, and a lot on my own, playing both teams. I even created scorecards, and spreadsheets, and even slips of papers that had card numbers so that I could pick random teams. I was insane.

The original website is long gone, but thanks to the Wayback Machine, if you want to go on a nostalgia trip, click here.

For a number of years, player or team collectors seriously looking for colored parallel cards for their player rainbows (yes, it's a thing) had many places and packs to find whatever it is they were looking for. Target sold packs that had red parallel cards. Walmart had packs with blue parallel cards. Collectors could find orange parallel cards in factory sets. Yellow and green parallel cards could be found in retail packs or blister packs (depending on the year). Of course, you could find gold, pink, powder blue, camouflage, and other parallel cards in regular packs sold anywhere. But to get purple-bordered Topps parallel cards for their collections, one could only find them at TRU. That's right, you could only get the color at the end of the rainbow, purple at Toys "R" Us.

Now, I don't collect parallels, but I do collect retail-exclusive inserts. And while TRU was never given exclusive insert sets, blister packs of 2011 Topps included purple Diamond Anniversary cards.

Remember these?

There are ten cards in the Purple Diamond set that could only be found in two-pack blisters that were sold at TRU. I remember taking the kids to TRU one night in 2011. I let them run loose while I sat on the ground near the display, trying to peek through the back of the packs, just to see if I can figure out which card was included. I wound up being able to find all ten cards, buying 20 packs of 2011 Topps Series 1, all just to find these inserts. My then 11-year-old thought I was crazy, until I told her she could buy whatever she and her then 9-year-old brother wanted (within reason, of course). Two video games later, we left happy with our purchases.

Now that the kids are mid-to-late teenagers, we really haven't made many trips back since that night. Sure, when I was unemployed, to make myself feel better, I'd go to the store, just to see what was there. But to be a middle-aged guy by himself at a store like this, I'm sure employees were just watching me to make sure I'm not some kind of stalker/potential kidnapper.

When I heard that TRU was going into bankruptcy, I was sad. Sure, thanks to websites (cough...Amazon...cough) (cough...eBay...cough), brick and mortar stores were losing customers. Even places like Walmart and Target were taking a large bite out of TRU's market. Now, Toys "R" Us will be gone, and all that are left are memories. Memories of when I was younger. Memories of when the kids were little. Memories of the day I discovered Hot Button Baseball.

Thank you very much Toys "R" Us. My family and I will miss you dearly.

At least until KB Toys comes back later this year...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Do You Remember the Topps 300 (and then some...)?

Back in 2011, Topps had this brilliant idea. They would hold a contest to determine the Top 60 Topps cards in its 50 year history. Now Topps picked 100 cards from its wide collection of cards and asked fans and collectors to pick their top ten cards from the 100. While the list contained many rookies and other classic cards (which you can find here), there were some cards that I really didn't think belonged here.

After picking my ten, I didn't feel so good. My choices were fine, but in my mind, the Hobby Blogging Community could do better.

That's when I decided to create "The Topps 300 (and then some...)" I picked 5 cards from each year of Topps' history (from 1951 through 2010) that I thought were the best from that particular year and asked readers to respond with what they thought of my picks and if they believed another card could be better than what I picked (that's the "and then some..." part of the site).

My efforts did gain a bit of publicity, thanks to Rich Mueller and the Sports Collectors Daily. I had hoped that by the end of the year, I could do a countdown of the best card of each year and then from that, pick the top 60 cards overall. While the final countdown never came to fruition, the comments left by readers with their picks were great and I thank all of those who took time out of their days to comment.

It's now five years later. The site is still up, and although there haven't been any new comments since 2014, people still do come across that blog.

For the first series of its eponymous set for 2016, Topps has decided to include a 65-card insert set called "Berger's Best." In honor of the "Father of the Modern Day Baseball Card," Topps has decided that they would include a reprint of one card from each year (1952-2015). I like the concept, but I really hope that they skip the "bio in the back" as they did with their reprint sets from 2010 and 2011 - only to include SP's of full reprint cards as well. I know I'll be going after this set, I just am nervous about how they'll present it.

That made me think. What if I presented my Topps 5 (get it...) cards from each of the past five seasons and presented them the same way I did back then? Make it an update, an addendum, to the original 60 years that I created five years prior. To that, I said, "Why not?"

So I present for your review tonight, my Top 25 cards, 5 for each year, from 2011 through 2015. Tell me if you agree with my picks or if I'm nuts and I could have picked another card.

To paraphrase the intro on the Topps 300 blog:

"Below are scans of the best five (in my opinion) cards from each year from the last 5 years of Topps Baseball Cards. I picked the 25 based on a few qualifiers, including: Key Rookie, Unique Photo, Action Shot, Card caused a buzz in the Hobby, Noteworthy Errors, Player had an impact on the game that particular year."

Let me know what you think.

• #110 Aroldis Chapman
• #200 Ichiro Suzuki
• #210 Brian Wilson
• #421 Domonic Brown
• #US175 Mike Trout

• #58 Tim Hudson
• #136 Casey McGehee
• #396 Yoenis Cespedes
• #660 Yu Darvish
• #661 Bryce Harper

• #253 Adam Greenberg
• #589 Jose Fernandez
• #617 Fernando Rodney
• #660 Miguel Cabrera
• #US250 Yasiel Puig

• #8 Coco Crisp
• #228 Jayson Werth
• #496 Jose Abreu
• #625 Albert Pujols
• #661 Masahiro Tanaka

• #1 Derek Jeter
• #177 Paul Konerko
• #300 Mike Trout
• #616 Kris Bryant
• #US174 Carlos Correa

Feel free to leave comments on here. Let me know if you can think of a better card than one that I selected. I'm pretty sure that some of these cards will be included in that Berger's Best set (which is also confirmed for Series 2...I'll get around to sell sheets later).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

RIP Ernie Banks 1931-2015

Just saw the news tonight. Ernie Banks passed away today at the age of 83 years old (he would have turned 84 at the end of January).

No, I never saw him play. I don't own an actual card of his during his playing days (from 1953-1971). But for as long as I've been alive, he was a Cub legend. He was "Mr. Cub."

His statistics were more than enough to get him into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1977: 2528 Games, .274 average, 512 home runs, 1636 rbi's, .500 slugging percentage, .830 OPS. He appeared in 14 All-Star Games in 11 seasons (remember, they played two ASG's for a time).

His number 14 was the first to be retired by the Cubs.

Between he, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Ferguson Jenkins, they were so close to the promised land of the World Series, but then...you know.

But after his playing days, he became one of baseball's great ambassadors. "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!" a quote that's been attributed to him because of his love of the game. He served in the Army and played in the Negro Leagues before signing with the Cubs, becoming the team's first African-American player.

He was one of baseball's great ambassadors. He was truly, one of baseball's greatest players.

My condolences go out to the Banks family, the Cubs organization, Major League Baseball, and the fans. Not just Cubs fans, but all baseball fans. We have lost a legend.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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: 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 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

Yazter...Yaster...Yastrzemski!!! Bless You!!!

I have made mention many times on this humble, little blog, that I have tons of cards that I have on boxes that I would be more than happy to trade or sell, with the hope of whittling down my want list. Charlie Mowry, the man who runs the Lifetime Topps project blog, sent an email offering a 2010 Topps Blue Back Ty Cobb card if I could help with his want lists. Last week I mailed out a decent package of cards, a number of 2014 inserts, the last card he needed for his 2013 Topps Update Series set, a few 2013 inserts that I could find immediately. On Friday, I received an email saying that the Cobb card he had was the wrong number (the one I didn't need), but he would send something better as a thank you for the package.

This is what he sent:

2011 Topps #25B Carl Yastrzemski SP

Jim Murray, a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times, said of Red Sox Hall of Famer, "You don't pronounce the name Yastrzemski, you sneeze it." And for a generation of Boston Red Sox fans, left field will always be Yaz' spot.

I have made no secret that I've been actively searching for the retired SP cards variation from 2009 through 2012 Topps. While I have all of the SP cards from 2009 cards and the five legend variations from 2012, I'm still on the hunt for 2010 and 2011 cards.

Ebay has been a great place to bring the number of cards I need from these sets down, but after going after (and succeeding in purchasing) whatever cards I needed that were under $10.00, I find that the supply has dried up, and now the lowest any of these cards I need start at $12.99.

I still have Mr. Mowry's want lists, and if and when I can get to the boxes, I will try and find more cards to send over to help him. If you want to send me your want lists, drop me a line at bdj610@hotmail.com and I will see what I can find in my boxes of cards and send them your way.

Thanks Charlie for Yaz.

Now if I could get my hands on the Carl Crawford Red Sox variation...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #325 Dixon Machado

After being two full schedules behind for the Random Cards of the Day (I run them in five-week segments), I have decided that instead of creating a list of all new cards to discuss, I thought that I'd use the cards that were on schedule beginning in January 13, 2013 and just begin from there. It was either that, or try and do two cards per day, one flashback and one for right now. So let's do this all over again. What would have been the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week for January 13 is now this week's subject. 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 #325.
• Player Name, position, team: Dixon Machado, shortstop, GCL Tigers.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: Rookie-Gulf Coast League, Detroit Tigers.
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 43 G, 165 AB, 22 R, 43 H, 4 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 12 SB, 14 BB, 27 SO, .321 SLG, .636 OPS, .261 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent before the 2008 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: n/a.
• Blurb on the back: "Machado's silky defense in the Venezuelan Summer League earned him a trip to the U.S. as an 18-year-old in 2010. The shortstop made his stateside debut with 43 games in the Gulf Coast League, stealing 12 bags in 15 attempts. He joined Connecticut in August."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: Dixon Javier Machado's is going on 22 this year. He is still very young and the Tigers are taking their time to make sure he progresses and becomes their shortstop of the near future. He did move up to the Tigers' NYPL team (Short Season-A) Connecticut Tigers at the end of August, 2010, and appeared in 7 games (.292, 1 rbi, 1 stolen base). He spent his 2011 season with the Tiger's Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps (Midwest), and 2012 with Lakeland Flying Tigers (Florida State). So he was climbing the ladders as all good prospects should. But a hamstring injury kept him off the field for most of 2013. And when he did play, it was to rehab with the GCL Tigers and then back with Lakeland. In 2014, Machado was assigned to the Toledo Mud Hens (International), the Tigers' Triple-A team, beginning the season one step closer to the majors. With Jose Iglesias out for the year, he might be in Detroit sooner than later.

Next week's featured card will be: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #57. 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: 2011 Topps #319 Atlanta Braves Team Card

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, January 4, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2011 Topps #319.
• Team: 2010 Atlanta Braves.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2010 stats: Manager Bobby Cox, 91-71, .561 PCT., 6 GB, Second Place NL East.
• Commentary: Topps brought back the team cards into their eponymous Topps sets in 2001, and since then, using the cards to review the team's previous season. And this practice continued through 2008, using team pictures that would include EVERYBODY (usually). In 2009, Topps didn't include them, which was both strange and wonderful as it meant there would be 30 more cards for players. In 2010, Topps made up for this "slight" by not only including a team card, but also a "Franchise History" card for every team. That meant 60 cards were used to feature teams. To me, that was a bit of overkill, even though the history lesson was great (although the statistics chosen were deliberate...some guy banned from baseball couldn't be listed back then either so the stats that he was the "franchise leader" of was not selected. And this spread to all 30 teams. But instead of using the traditional team picture, the regular team cards featured celebrations from all 30 teams. The team card concept returned in 2011 and continued the celebratory theme. In 2010, the Braves had much to celebrate. In what would be Bobby Cox' final year at the helm, a 91-71 record returned them to the postseason for the first time since 2005. Catcher Brian McCann was the team's offensive leader on the heels of a 21 home run, 77 rbi campaign. Omar Infante, the first NL All-Star utility player (yes, they made room for a player that was allowed to exit a ball game and then return...besides the catcher) led the team with a .321 batting average. Tim Hudson was the ace of the staff, with a team-leading 17 wins and 2.83 ERA. Tommy Hanson brought the heat with 173 strikeouts, best on the Braves' staff. Season highlights included Jason Heyward "hitting a homer on the first swing of his career" and Billy Wagner who "set a record for career strikeouts by a lefty reliever." Under new management in 2011 (former Marlins skipper Fredi Gonzalez), the 2011 Braves finished in second place with a 89-73 record.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.

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: 1955 Topps #189. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama