bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog: contest

Showing posts with label contest. Show all posts

Friday, December 1, 2017

A New Beginning

For those of you who still happen to read this humble, little blog, you know that the reason for my recent activity was because I was no longer employed. Realistically, I have been working, but not making enough money to pay major bills. I was able to get back to blogging on a semi-regular basis, and I've enjoyed re-connecting with the Hobby, the blogs, and most importantly, the cards in my collection.

Starting Monday, December 4, I return to the specialty foods industry, but with a food broker instead of a distributor. And I'll be returning to an office environment instead of working from home. Meaning no more Maury...no more MLB Network...no more playing games on the tablet during the day. It's going to be a new experience, and I am grateful to those of you who have reached out to me and given me encouragement, moral support, prayers, and, most importantly, job leads. I will be forever grateful for your kindness and taking time out of your busy days to check in on me.

Now, the blog...

still goes on.

Well, let me explain.

I have a tablet. It helps because I can get online and do get onto the blog and catch up on other sites. The only trouble I have is that it's hard to write using it. Yes, the touchscreen is great, and I could certainly use the voice-to-text thing, but it's an inconvenience at best, and time consuming at worst. I certainly can't go back and forth with my research on a tablet (try copying and pasting spreadsheet data on a tablet...having fun yet??!)

So, until I get a computer that I can use at home (and I vowed not to use my kids' laptops from school), the only time I'll get to sit down in front of a computer will be at the local library.

Onto the baseball card portion of the program.

I am working on my 2017 Topps Update Series set. I have the base set done, but now am working on inserts. Money is obviously at a premium, so trades would be welcome for any cards you're willing to part with. You can email me at bdj610@hotmail.com with what cards you have and what cards you need (your want lists don't necessarily have to be from this set...)

I am definitely looking forward to 2018 Topps. I wish I could see cards in hand, but I'm not that well connected with The Company to have that kind of access.

Regarding, the Sports Card Blogroll, 8 blogs will be removed for reaching past six months of inactivity. They are:

That brings us down to 217 active blogs on the big Blogroll. As always, if you, or someone you know, writes a blog about the Hobby of Sports Card Collecting, and it's not on my list, please drop me a line at bdj610@hotmail.com. If you've recently decided to bring your inactive blog back to relevance, let me know as well.

One thing I will definitely have time for is the return of Pack Break Week. Starting next week, using the magic of the tablet, I'm going to open the packs that I bought back during National Baseball Trading Card Day and see what each holds. And after a lot of agony over making this decision, I will also reveal what was inside that 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter's Noah Syndergaard Rip Card that I found in the one pack of A&G that I did open a few months back. That should be entertaining.

Finally, after going over the entries that I received for the Guess the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team contest that was held last month, nobody out-predicted me in the contest. I had seven, as you recall, and of all the entries, the only person who matched the number of names was Jason Carter of The Writer's Journey.

Just like me, he had the names, but the positions ran all over the place. He had Paul DeJong at 2B (Ian Happ was this year's second baseman), Cody Bellinger (the 1B), Andrew Benintendi, and Aaron Judge in the outfield (the third outfielder was Trey Mancini), Manny Pina was the only rookie catcher it seemed, and both German Marquez and Jordan Montgomery as the pitchers. The rest of his squad included Josh Bell at 1B (the aforementioned Bellinger), Yuli Gurriel at third (Rafael Devers was the winner), Pat Valaika at shortstop (DeJong won this one), and Robert Stephenson as the relief pitcher (which went to Josh Hader). For coming the closest, Jason, I think I still have your address (unless it's changed), a Hobby pack of 2017 Topps Update Series is on its way to you. The 2005 Topps Rookie Cup base set remains with me.

Thank you all for sticking around. Once I get that home computer, the posts should increase a bit more.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Introducing the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

The 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Image from MLB Network.

The 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team was announced this morning on MLB Network's Hot Stove program. And there are number of surprises, at least for me.

Congratulations are in order for the 11 players who make up Topps' 58th ASRT. If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team yesterday).

1B: Cody Bellinger, LAD (132 G, 0.267, 39 HR, 97 RBI, 0.933 OPS, 10 SB)
2B: Ian Happ, CHC (115 G, 0.253, 24 HR, 68 RBI, 0.842 OPS, 8 SB)
3B: Rafael Devers, BOS (58 G, 0.284, 10 HR, 30 RBI, 0.819 OPS, 3 SB)
SS: Paul DeJong, STL (108 G, 0.285, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 0.857 OPS, 1 SB)
OF: Andrew Benintendi, BOS (151 G, 0.271, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 0.776 OPS, 20 SB)
OF: Aaron Judge, NYY (155 G, 0.284, 52 HR, 114 RBI, 1.049 OPS, 9 SB)
OF: Trey Mancini, BAL (147 G, 0.293, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 0.826 OPS, 1 SB)
C: Manny Pina, MIL (107 G, 0.279, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 2 SB)
RHSP: German Marquez, COL (29 GS, 11-7, 4.39 ERA, 147 SO, 1.376 WHIP)
LHSP: Jordan Montgomery, NYY (29 GS, 9-7, 3.88 ERA, 144 SO, 1.229 WHIP)
RP: Josh Hader, MIL (35 G, 2-3, 2.08 ERA, 68 SO, 0.986 WHIP, 0 SV)

So I guessed 7 out of now 11 spots correctly, even if I had Bellinger in the outfield and DeJong at second. I had Josh Bell at first, Matt Davidson at third, Dansby Swanson at short, and Wandy Peralta as the reliever. This was a poor showing on my end.

Now my comments.

Three teams have 2 representatives on the team (Brewers, Red Sox, and Yankees).
I am happy (pun intended) that the Cubs have some representation this time around with Happ. I had DeJong as my 2B, but Happ could have taken this spot had I thought I could use DeJong at short.
Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever).
Even though I'm not a White Sox fan, I'm really disappointed that Devers was picked over Davidson. Granted Davidson had a low .222 batting average, but he played a full season. It just shows once again the White Sox don't get much Hobby love.
Had I thought of putting Bellinger in as my 1B, I would have put Mancini in as the third outfielder.

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2018 Topps cards. I will be going over the results shortly and will announce the winners, if any, soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

The regular season ends this weekend, and it looks like the 10 teams who will head into the post season have already been determined. It's been a couple of years since I last did this, so now that I have a bit more free-time on my hands, why not bring this up again.

After the regular season ends, I'm going to do my annual comparing MLB Debut classes from 20 years ago and this year. I didn't do one last year, and I'm working on it as part of my new "Project: Catching Up to What I Should Have Posted Last Year." But before I start writing last year's comparison post, and preparing for this year's entry, let's talk about who could be getting that illustrious Topps All-Star Rookie Cup added to their eponymous 2018 Topps Card.

Why?

Because...this is a Topps Blog and I want to do it (Ego...)

Because it's the end of the year, and it's worth talking about the players who burst onto the scene this year and will be making an impact in the MLB going into 2018 and beyond. And there are so many possible candidates. Some who should be slam dunks (cough...Judge...cough), others can and will stir debates long after the final out is played in the World Series.

So who are the contenders. Let's review.

Perusing the MLB website, there is a tab that brings up a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for will represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher...ahem...will explain this in a minute).

I used to say that the 30 MLB managers will be the ones voting for the team. I was told a while back that it is no longer the case. And while the person I talked to about this wasn't sure when the practice of asking the managers to vote stopped, based on the past few years' worth of rosters, I can only speculate when the change occurred.

The stats are as the end of the games on Wednesday, September 27, 2017:

First Basemen:

Jesus Aguilar, MIL (130 G, 0.263, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 0.827 OPS, 0 SB)
Josh Bell, PIT (155 G, 0.256, 25 HR, 87 RBI, 0.801 OPS, 2 SB)
Trey Mancini, BAL (144 G, 0.294, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 0.830 OPS, 1 SB)
Matt Olson, OAK (59 G, 0.259, 24 HR, 45 RBI, 1.003 OPS, 0 SB)
T.J. Rivera, NYM (73 G, 0.29, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 0.760 OPS, 1 SB)

Second Basemen:
Ozzie Albies, ATL (53 G, 0.281, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 0.803 OPS, 7 SB)
Carlos Asuaje, SD (86 G, 0.268, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.695 OPS, 0 SB)
Paul DeJong, STL (104 G, 0.282, 24 HR, 62 RBI, 0.846 OPS, 1 SB)
Yoan Moncada, CWS (50 G, 0.232, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 0.761 OPS, 3 SB)
Chad Pinder, OAK (87 G, 0.238, 15 HR, 42 RBI, 0.750 OPS, 2 SB)

Third Basemen:
Matt Chapman, OAK (80 G, 0.229, 13 HR, 36 RBI, 0.769 OPS, 0 SB)
Johan Camargo, ATL (80 G, 0.297, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 0.781 OPS, 0 SB)
Matt Davidson, CWS (115 G, 0.221, 26 HR, 68 RBI, 0.721 OPS, 0 SB)
Rafael Devers, BOS (54 G, 0.291, 10 HR, 26 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 3 SB)
Yuli Gurriel, HOU (135 G, 0.297, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 0.816 OPS, 3 SB)

Shortstops:
Amed Rosario, NYM (43 G, 0.263, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 0.701 OPS, 7 SB)
Dansby Swanson, ATL (140 G, 0.231, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 0.642 OPS, 3 SB)
Pat Valaika, COL (108 G, 0.261, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 0.833 OPS, 0 SB)

Outfielders:
Cody Bellinger, LAD (129 G, 0.269, 39 HR, 96 RBI, 0.942 OPS, 10 SB)
Andrew Benintendi, BOS (148 G, 0.275, 20 HR, 89 RBI, 0.788 OPS, 19 SB)
Jorge Bonifacio, KC (111 G, 0.252, 16 HR, 37 RBI, 0.742 OPS, 1 SB)
Nick Delmonico, CWS (41 G, 0.267, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 0.874 OPS, 2 SB)
Clint Frazier, NYY (38 G, 0.237, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 0.731 OPS, 1 SB)
Ben Gamel, SEA (131 G, 0.28, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 0.747 OPS, 4 SB)
Brian Goodwin, WSH (74 G, 0.251, 13 HR, 30 RBI, 0.811 OPS, 6 SB)
Mitch Haniger, SEA (93 G, 0.276, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
Ian Happ, CHC (111 G, 0.253, 22 HR, 63 RBI, 0.832 OPS, 8 SB)
Guillermo Heredia, SEA (123 G, 0.249, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 0.652 OPS, 1 SB)
Rhys Hoskins, PHI (47 G, 0.266, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 1.056 OPS, 1 SB)
Aaron Judge, NYY (152 G, 0.284, 50 HR, 111 RBI, 1.043 OPS, 9 SB)
Manuel Margot, SD (124 G, 0.267, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 0.733 OPS, 17 SB)
Jose Martinez, STL (102 G, 0.308, 13 HR, 42 RBI, 0.888 OPS, 4 SB)
Brandon Nimmo, NYM (66 G, 0.273, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 0.820 OPS, 2 SB)
Jose Osuna, PIT (102 G, 0.235, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 0.703 OPS, 0 SB)
Hunter Renfroe, SD (119 G, 0.231, 25 HR, 57 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 3 SB)
Nick Williams, PHI (80 G, 0.283, 11 HR, 52 RBI, 0.801 OPS, 1 SB)
Jesse Winker, CIN (44 G, 0.292, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 0.901 OPS, 1 SB)
Bradley Zimmer, CLE (101 G, 0.241, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 0.692 OPS, 18 SB)

Catchers:
Manny Pina, MIL (107 G, 0.279, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 2 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Parker Bridwell, LAA (19 GS, 9-3, 3.87 ERA, 70 SO, 1.237 WHIP)
Luis Castillo, CIN (15 GS, 3-7, 3.12 ERA, 98 SO, 1.075 WHIP)
Jharel Cotton, OAK (24 GS, 9-10, 5.58 ERA, 105 SO, 1.442 WHIP)
Jake Faria, TB (13 GS, 5-4, 3.33 ERA, 82 SO, 1.147 WHIP)
Carson Fulmer, CWS (4 GS, 2-1, 4.42 ERA, 17 SO, 1.309 WHIP)
Sam Gaviglio, KC (13 GS, 4-5, 4.30 ERA, 49 SO, 1.350 WHIP)
Lucas Giolito, CWS (7 GS, 3-3, 2.38 ERA, 34 SO, 0.949 WHIP)
Robert Gsellman, NYM (22 GS, 8-7, 5.19 ERA, 82 SO, 1.504 WHIP)
Jeff Hoffman, COL (16 GS, 6-5, 5.71 ERA, 81 SO, 1.423 WHIP)
Jakob Junis, KC (15 GS, 8-3, 4.39 ERA, 75 SO, 1.289 WHIP)
Dinelson Lamet, SD (21 GS, 7-8, 4.57 ERA, 139 SO, 1.242 WHIP)
Mark Leiter, PHI (11 GS, 3-6, 4.96 ERA, 84 SO, 1.335 WHIP)
German Marquez, COL (28 GS, 11-7, 4.38 ERA, 145 SO, 1.385 WHIP)
Alex Meyer, LAA (13 GS, 4-5, 3.74 ERA, 75 SO, 1.337 WHIP)
Nick Pivetta, PHI (25 GS, 7-10, 6.26 ERA, 133 SO, 1.516 WHIP)
Antonio Senzatela, COL (20 GS, 10-5, 4.65 ERA, 101 SO, 1.287 WHIP)
Trevor Williams, PIT (25 GS, 7-9, 4.07 ERA, 117 SO, 1.310 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Ty Blach, SF (24 GS, 8-12, 4.84 ERA, 72 SO, 1.367 WHIP)
Kyle Freeland, COL (27 GS, 11-10, 4.06 ERA, 107 SO, 1.477 WHIP)
Adalberto Mejia, MIN (21 GS, 4-7, 4.50 ERA, 85 SO, 1.571 WHIP)
Jordan Montgomery, NYY (28 GS, 9-7, 3.96 ERA, 141 SO, 1.253 WHIP)
Sean Newcomb, ATL (19 GS, 4-9, 4.32 ERA, 108 SO, 1.57 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
John Brebbia, STL (47 G, 0-0, 2.59 ERA, 48 SO, 0.945 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jonathan Holder, NYY (36 G, 1-1, 3.43 ERA, 40 SO, 1.297 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jose Leclerc, TEX (47 G, 2-3, 3.94 ERA, 60 SO, 1.38 WHIP, 2 SV)
Austin Pruitt, TB (30 G, 7-5, 5.31 ERA, 66 SO, 1.506 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jarlin Garcia, MIA (66 G, 1-2, 4.85 ERA, 41 SO, 1.173 WHIP, 0 SV)
James Pazos, SEA (57 G, 4-5, 3.54 ERA, 64 SO, 1.350 WHIP, 0 SV)
Wandy Peralta, CIN (67 G, 3-4, 3.88 ERA, 54 SO, 1.197 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jose Torres, SD (61 G, 7-4, 4.28 ERA, 63 SO, 1.144 WHIP, 1 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks...get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so was Neftali Feliz, who at the time was the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. This was done again in 2013, and has been the "norm" ever since.

In past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, why not bring that back as well??! It's the only contest/giveaway attempt I really do around here, and I still have the now eleven year old set in my possession.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by Sunday, October 29, 2017. You can pick the following (11 players total):

One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
Three players for OF,
One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP.

On Monday, October 30, 2017, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2017 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy. While there are certainly going to be some slam dunks (cough...Bellinger...cough), the field for other players are definitely wide open, so anything goes.

So here's to hopefully many entries by October 29 . Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team Contest Winners!!!

Now that the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team has been announced, I have spent the good part of the morning going over all the e-mails I received, seeing who outguessed me in the All-Star Rookie Team contest.

Even with the unanimous picks of Jose Abreu, and Billy Hamilton, nobody correctly predicted all eleven players who would make the team this year. The fact that Topps named Danny Santana as the third outfielder and not as the shortstop, even though MLB.com had him listed as one (in Topps' defense he played 69 games in CF compared to 34 games at short) pretty much ruined everyone's chances for a perfect score. But once again, nobody wins the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set grand prize.

More entries were sent to me this year than in last year's contest (which is a testament to the fact that last year at this time, I was down to almost nothing in terms of posts...hence almost no readers), so needless to say I was a bit nervous that the results would be expensive on my part. But out of all the entries I did receive, only one person beat my score of nine. The congratulatory e-mail has already been sent, so it's okay for me to announce the winner:

Congratulations to Anthony Zarriello!!!

Many of the people who participated in the contest did get the same number of players right that I did...a big fat nine. The Santana screw-up aside, Mr. Zarriello once again came close to perfection with 10 correct picks (his third outfielder was Oscar Taveras). Regardless, a Jumbo pack of 2014 Update Series for outguessing me.

Thank you very much to all who participated in the contest. Although nobody got all eleven to win the grand prize, I promise to run this contest again next year. Hopefully somebody will win it.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Introducing the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 55th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

1B: Jose Abreu, CWS (145 G, 0.317, 36 HR, 107 RBI, 0.964 OPS, 3 SB)
2B: Kolten Wong, STL (113 G, 0.249, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 20 SB)
3B: Nick Castellanos, DET (148 G, 0.259, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 0.7 OPS, 2 SB)
SS: Xander Bogaerts, BOS (144 G, 0.240, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0.66 OPS, 2 SB)
OF: Billy Hamilton, CIN (152 G, 0.250, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 0.648 OPS, 56 SB)
OF: Danny Santana, MIN (101 G, 0.319, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 0.824 OPS, 20 SB)
OF: George Springer, HOU (78 G, 0.231, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 0.804 OPS, 5 SB)
C: Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (108 G, 0.242, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 0.718 OPS, 1 SB)
RHSP: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (20 GS, 13-5, 2.77 ERA, 141 SO, 1.056 WHIP)
LHSP: Roenis Elias, SEA (29 GS, 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 143 SO, 1.314 WHIP)
RP: Dellin Betances, NYY (70 G, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 135 SO, 0.778 WHIP, 1 SV)

So I guessed 9 out of now 11 spots correctly. I guessed Kevin Kiermaier as one of my outfielders and Matt Shoemaker as my right-handed starting pitcher. Last year, I was almost close to perfect (getting 10 of the 11 spots correct).

Now my comments. At least now Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever). Good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

Figures that Tanaka gets the RHSP spot, and many have taken to social media to make their displeasure known (Matt Shoemaker and Jacob deGrom were two of the names more people thought should have been named instead of the Yankees' hurler (figures...should have known).

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2015 Topps cards. I will be going over the results shortly and will announce the winners if any soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Sunday, October 19, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENT: Contest Involving 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

It is time once again start the one contest that I hold on this humble, little blog every year. It is a contest of a very high magnitude (for me anyway).

Last night, my annual post on "Meeting the Possible Candidates for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team" will appear on the blog. With that post, the contest begins.

What do you have to do to enter???

To enter the contest, e-mail me your eleven picks for the team at bdj610@hotmail.com with "All-Star Rookie Team Contest" in the subject line (do not leave your picks in the comments section). Your job is to select the players who you think Topps will bestow their Rookie Cup for their eponymous 2015 Topps set. There are eleven spots open for this team, one for each of these positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C, three outfielders (regardless of where they play), one left-handed starting pitcher, one right-handed starting pitcher, and one relief pitcher.

If you get more players correct than I do when Topps officially announces the 2014 All-Star Rookie Team (normally announced late in November), you will automatically win a hobby pack of 2014 Topps Updates and Highlights (the regular packs, not the jumbos). So let's say I get seven of the eleven spots right, and you get eight of the eleven correct, you win a free pack of cards!!! (This means if I totally bomb and get all eleven players wrong, then EVERYBODY wins!!!)

Anybody who correctly predicts all the players on the team will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win the grand prize:

A complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (suggested Beckett Value $20.00-$40.00).

The drawing (if needed) will be held after the official announcement is made and all winners will be notified via e-mail. Their names will be announced on the blog soon afterwards.

Only one entry per person. Entries must be received by Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 11:59 PM CST.

Good luck to all.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Okay, the season is more than two weeks over, and the World Series will begin next Tuesday (if you had the Royals and Giants in your World Series pool, you were right...AND YOU'RE LYING!!!). What better time than now to discuss the Top Rookies of 2014?

Why?

Because these are the guys that are going to be strong contenders for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, that's why.

Anyway, perusing the MLB website, they have added a set of statistics in a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher…ahem...will explain this in a minute). So below is a list of potential nominees that the 30 MLB managers will see when they cast their votes for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The stats are as of the end of the 2014 regular season:

First Basemen:
Jose Abreu, CWS (145 G, 0.317, 36 HR, 107 RBI, 0.964 OPS, 3 SB)
Eric Campbell, NYM (85 G, 0.263, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 3 SB)
C. J. Cron, LAA (79 G, 0.256, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 0.739 OPS, 0 SB)
Tommy Medica, SD (102 G, 0.233, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 0.694 OPS, 6 SB)
Jon Singleton, HOU (95 G, 0.168, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 0.62 OPS, 2 SB)
Kennys Vargas, MIN (53 G, 0.274, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 0.772 OPS, 0 SB)

Second Basemen:
Tommy La Stella, ATL (93 G, 0.251, 1 HR, 31 RBI, 0.644 OPS, 2 SB)
Kristopher Negron, CIN (49 G, 0.271, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 0.81 OPS, 5 SB)
Rougned Odor, TEX (114 G, 0.259, 9 HR, 48 RBI, 0.698 OPS, 4 SB)
Joe Panik, SF (73 G, 0.305, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 0.711 OPS, 0 SB)
Jonathan Schoop, BAL (137 G, 0.209, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 0.598 OPS, 2 SB)
Kolten Wong, STL (113 G, 0.249, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 20 SB)

Third Basemen:
Nick Castellanos, DET (148 G, 0.259, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 0.7 OPS, 2 SB)
Brock Holt, BOS (106 G, 0.281, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 0.711 OPS, 12 SB)
Mike Olt, CHC (89 G, 0.160, 12 HR, 33 RBI, 0.604 OPS, 0 SB)
Marcus Semien, CWS (64 G, 0.234, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 0.673 OPS, 3 SB)
Yangervis Solarte, SD (131 G, 0.260, 10 HR, 48 RBI, 0.705 OPS, 0 SB)

Shortstops:
Javier Baez, CHC (52 G, 0.169, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 0.551 OPS, 5 SB)
Xander Bogaerts, BOS (144 G, 0.240, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0.66 OPS, 2 SB)
Wilmer Flores, NYM (78 G, 0.251, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 0.664 OPS, 1 SB)
Chris Owings, ARI (91 G, 0.261, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 8 SB)
Danny Santana, MIN (101 G, 0.319, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 0.824 OPS, 20 SB)
Eugenio Suarez, DET (85 G, 0.242, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 0.652 OPS, 3 SB)
Chris Taylor, SEA (47 G, 0.287, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0.692 OPS, 5 SB)

Outfielders:
Jackie Bradley, Jr., BOS (127 G, 0.198, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 0.531 OPS, 8 SB)
Michael Choice, TEX (86 G, 0.182, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0.57 OPS, 1 SB)
Billy Hamilton, CIN (152 G, 0.250, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 0.648 OPS, 56 SB)
Ender Inciarte, ARI (118 G, 0.278, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 0.677 OPS, 19 SB)
James Jones, SEA (108 G, 0.250, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0.589 OPS, 27 SB)
Kevin Kiermaier, TB (108 G, 0.263, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 0.765 OPS, 5 SB)
Jake Marisnick, HOU (65 G, 0.249, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 0.607 OPS, 11 SB)
David Peralta, ARI (88 G, 0.286, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 0.77 OPS, 6 SB)
Gregory Polanco, PIT (89 G, 0.235, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 0.65 OPS, 14 SB)
Jorge Soler, CHC (24 G, 0.292, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 0.903 OPS, 1 SB)
George Springer, HOU (78 G, 0.231, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 0.804 OPS, 5 SB)
Oscar Taveras, STL (80 G, 0.239, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.59 OPS, 0 SB)

Catchers:
Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (108 G, 0.242, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 0.718 OPS, 1 SB)
Josmil Pinto, MIN (57 G, 0.219, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 0.705 OPS, 0 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Chase Anderson, ARI (21 GS, 9-7, 4.01 ERA, 105 SO, 1.373 WHIP)
Trevor Bauer, CLE (26 GS, 5-8, 4.18 ERA, 143 SO, 1.379 WHIP)
David Buchanan, PHI (20 GS, 6-8, 3.75 ERA, 71 SO, 1.292 WHIP)
Jacob deGrom, NYM (22 GS, 9-6, 2.69 ERA, 144 SO, 1.140 WHIP)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (20 GS, 7-7, 3.57 ERA, 88 SO, 1.315 WHIP)
Collin McHugh, HOU (25 GS, 11-9, 2.73 ERA, 157 SO, 1.022 WHIP)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (31 GS, 11-13, 4.13 ERA, 174 SO, 1.280 WHIP)
Matt Shoemaker, LAA (20 GS, 16-4, 3.04 ERA, 124 SO, 1.074 WHIP)
Marcus Stroman, TOR (20 GS, 11-6, 3.65 ERA, 111 SO, 1.171 WHIP)
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (20 GS, 13-5, 2.77 ERA, 141 SO, 1.056 WHIP)
Yordano Ventura, KC (30 GS, 14-10, 3.20 ERA, 159 SO, 1.295 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Roenis Elias, SEA (29 GS, 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 143 SO, 1.314 WHIP)
Tyler Matzek, COL (19 GS, 6-11, 4.05 ERA, 91 SO, 1.394 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Dellin Betances, NYY (70 G, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 135 SO, 0.778 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jeurys Familia, NYM (76 G, 2-5, 2.21 ERA, 73 SO, 1.177 WHIP, 5 SV)
Ken Giles, PHI (44 G, 3-1, 1.18 ERA, 64 SO, 0.788 WHIP, 1 SV)
David Hale, ATL (45 G, 4-5, 3.30 ERA, 44 SO, 1.466 WHIP, 0 SV)
Tommy Kahnle, COL (54 G, 2-1, 4.19 ERA, 63 SO, 1.194 WHIP, 0 SV)
Carlos Martinez, STL (57 G, 2-4, 4.03 ERA, 84 SO, 1.41 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jake Petricka, CWS (67 G, 1-6, 2.96 ERA, 55 SO, 1.370 WHIP, 14 SV)
Donn Roach, SD (16 G, 1-0, 4.75 ERA, 17 SO, 1.681 WHIP, 0 SV)
Daniel Webb, CWS (57 G, 6-5, 3.99 ERA, 58 SO, 1.493 WHIP, 0 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks…get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so is Neftali Feliz, at the time, the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. This was done again in 2013.

Back to the point. As in past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, we're doing it again.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by November 2, 2014. You can pick the following (11 players total):

One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
Three players for OF,
One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP.

After November 2, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2013 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy. This year, the field is wide open in certain positions (second base, shortstop, outfield, pitcher), so anything goes.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 2. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, November 15, 2013

Introducing the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 54th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

1B Matt Adams, St. Louis Cardinals (.284 batting average, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 2013 stats)
2B Jedd Gyorko, San Diego Padres (.249, 23, 63)
3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (.267, 10, 52)
SS Jose Iglesias, Detroit Tigers (.303, 3, 29)
OF Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays (.293, 13, 53)
OF Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers (.319, 19, 42)
OF Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins (.288, 4, 16)
C Evan Gattis, Atlanta Braves (.243, 21, 65)
RHP Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins (12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 K's)
LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers (14-8, 3.00, 154)
RP Jim Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers (60 IP, 2.70, 75, 28 Saves)

So I guessed 10 out of now 11 spots correctly. I guessed Darin Ruf for the third outfielder's spot and Paco Rodriguez as my left handed reliever. I did a lot better than last year (when I got 9 of 11 correct).

Now my comments. At least now Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever). Good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2014 Topps cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, October 18, 2013

ANNOUNCEMENT: Contest Involving 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

It is time once again start the one contest that I hold on this humble, little blog every year. It is a contest of a very high magnitude (for me anyway).

Last night, my annual post on "Meeting the Possible Candidates for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team" will appear on the blog. With that post, the contest begins.

What do you have to do to enter???

To enter the contest, e-mail me your twelve picks for the team at bdj610@hotmail.com with "All-Star Rookie Team Contest" in the subject line (do not leave your picks in the comments section). Your job is to select the players who you think Topps will bestow their Rookie Cup for their eponymous 2013 Topps set. There are twelve spots open for this team, one for each of these positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C, three outfielders (regardless of where they play), one left-handed starting pitcher, one right-handed starting pitcher, one left-handed relief pitcher, and one right-handed relief pitcher. I have already explained why the need for four pitchers on my post later today.

If you get more players correct than I do when Topps officially announces the 2013 All-Star Rookie Team (normally announced late in November), you will automatically win a hobby pack of 2013 Topps Updates and Highlights (the regular packs, not the jumbos). So let's say I get seven of the ten spots right, and you get eight to all ten correct, you win a free pack of cards!!! (This means if I totally bomb and get all ten players wrong, then EVERYBODY wins!!!)

Anybody who correctly predicts all the players on the team will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win the grand prize:

A complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (suggested Beckett Value $20.00-$40.00).

The drawing (if needed) will be held after the official announcement is made and all winners will be notified via e-mail. Their names will be announced on the blog soon afterwards.

Only one entry per person. Entries must be received by Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 11:59 PM CST.

Good luck to all.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Okay, the season is more than two weeks over, and the Championship Series on both sides are getting extremely interesting. But before the World Series begins, I'd like to go over the Top Rookies of 2013.

Why?

Because these are the guys that are going to be strong contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, that's why.

Anyway, perusing the MLB website, they have added a set of statistics in a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher…ahem...will explain this in a minute). So below is a list of potential nominees that the 30 MLB managers will see when they cast their votes for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The stats are as of the end of the 2013 regular season:

First basemen:
Matt Adams, STL (108 G, .284, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 0 SB)
Nate Freiman, OAK (80 G, .274, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 0.716 OPS, 0 SB)

Second basemen:
Derek Dietrich, MIA (57 G, .214, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 0.679 OPS, 1 SB)
Nick Franklin, SEA (102 G, .225, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 0.686 OPS, 6 SB)
Scooter Gennett, MIL (69 G, .324, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 0.834 OPS, 2 SB)
Jedd Gyorko, SD (125 G, .249, 23 HR, 63 RBI, 0.745 OPS, 1 SB)
Brock Holt, BOS (26 G, .203, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 0.513 OPS, 1 SB)
Jurickson Profar, TEX (85 G, .234, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0.644 OPS, 2 SB)
Chris Valaika, MIA (22 G, .219, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0.605 OPS, 0 SB)

Third basemen:
Nolan Arenado, COL (133 G, .267, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 2 SB)
Conor Gillaspie, CWS (134 G, .245, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 0.695 OPS, 0 SB)
Luis Jimenez, LAA (34 G, .260, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0.608 OPS, 0 SB)
Anthony Rendon, WSH (98 G, .265, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 0.725 OPS, 1 SB)
Josh Satin, NYM (75 G, .279, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0.781 OPS, 1 SB)
Ryan Wheeler, COL (28 G, .220, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0.506 OPS, 0 SB)

Shortstops:
Didi Gregorius, ARI (103 G, .252, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 0.704 OPS, 0 SB)
Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA (148 G, .227, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 0.565 OPS, 11 SB)
Jose Iglesias, DET (109 G, .303, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 0.735 OPS, 5 SB)
Pete Kozma, STL (143 G, .217, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 3 SB)
Brad Miller, SEA (76 G, .265, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 0.737 OPS, 5 SB)
Jonathan Villar, HOU (58 G, .243, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0.64 OPS, 18 SB)

Outfielders:
Oswaldo Arcia, MIN (97 G, .251, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 0.734 OPS, 1 SB)
Brandon Barnes, HOU (136 G, .240, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 0.635 OPS, 11 SB)
Jackie Bradley Jr., BOS (37 G, .189, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0.617 OPS, 2 SB)
Nick Castellanos, DET (11 G, .278, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0.556 OPS, 0 SB)
Khris Davis, MIL (56 G, .279, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 0.949 OPS, 3 SB)
Adam Eaton, ARI (66 G, .252, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.674 OPS, 5 SB)
Avisail Garcia, CWS (72 G, .283, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 0.731 OPS, 3 SB)
Robbie Grossman, HOU (63 G, .268, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.702 OPS, 6 SB)
Billy Hamilton, CIN (13 G, .368, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0.902 OPS, 13 SB)
Aaron Hicks, MIN (81 G, .192, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 0.597 OPS, 9 SB)
Juan Lagares, NYM (121 G, .242, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 0.633 OPS, 6 SB)
David Lough, KC (96 G, .286, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 0.724 OPS, 5 SB)
Alfredo Marte, ARI (22 G, .186, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0.527 OPS, 0 SB)
Wil Myers, TB (88 G, .293, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
Marcell Ozuna, MIA (70 G, .265, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 0.693 OPS, 5 SB)
A.J. Pollock, ARI (137 G, .269, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 0.73 OPS, 12 SB)
Yasiel Puig, LAD (104 G, .319, 19 HR, 42 RBI, 0.925 OPS, 11 SB)
Darin Ruf, PHI (73 G, .247, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 0.806 OPS, 0 SB)
Logan Schafer, MIL (134 G, .211, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 0.601 OPS, 7 SB)
J.B. Shuck, LAA (129 G, .293, 2 HR, 39 RBI, 0.697 OPS, 8 SB)
Scott Van Slyke, LAD (53 G, .240, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 0.807 OPS, 1 SB)
Christian Yelich, MIA (62 G, .288, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0.766 OPS, 10 SB)

Catchers
Rob Brantly, MIA (67 G, .211, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 0.528 OPS, 0 SB)
Evan Gattis, ATL (105 G, .243, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 0.771 OPS, 0 SB)
Tony Sanchez, PIT (22 G, .233, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0.688 OPS, 0 SB)
Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (31 G, .202, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 0 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Wily Peralta, MIL (32 GS, 11-15, 4.37 ERA, 129 SO, 1.418 WHIP)
Shelby Miller, STL (31 GS, 15-9, 3.06 ERA, 169 SO, 1.205 WHIP)
Julio Teheran, ATL (30 GS, 14-8, 3.2 ERA, 170 SO, 1.174 WHIP)
Jose Fernandez, MIA (28 GS, 12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 SO, 0.978 WHIP)
Dan Straily, OAK (27 GS, 10-8, 3.96 ERA, 124 SO, 1.240 WHIP)
Chris Archer, TB (23 GS, 9-7, 3.22 ERA, 101 SO, 1.1269 WHIP)
Tom Koehler, MIA (23 GS, 5-10, 4.41 ERA, 92 SO, 1.356 WHIP)
Gerrit Cole, PIT (19 GS, 10-7, 3.22 ERA, 100 SO, 1.1676 WHIP)
Jonathan Pettibone, PHI (18 GS, 5-4, 4.04 ERA, 66 SO, 1.465 WHIP)
Justin Grimm, TEX (17 GS, 7-9, 5.97 ERA, 76 SO, 1.571 WHIP)
Nick Tepesch, TEX (17 GS, 4-6, 4.84 ERA, 76 SO, 1.365 WHIP)
Zack Wheeler, NYM (17 GS, 7-5, 3.42 ERA, 84 SO, 1.360 WHIP)
Brandon Maurer, SEA (14 GS, 5-8, 6.3 ERA, 70 SO, 1.566 WHIP)
Brad Peacock, HOU (14 GS, 5-6, 5.18 ERA, 77 SO, 1.380 WHIP)
Todd Redmond, TOR (14 GS, 4-3, 4.32 ERA, 76 SO, 1.207 WHIP)
Allen Webster, BOS (7 GS, 1-2, 8.6 ERA, 23 SO, 1.813 WHIP)
Hiram Burgos, MIL (6 GS, 1-2, 6.44 ERA, 18 SO, 1.670 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Hyun-jin Ryu, LAD (30 GS, 14-8, 3 ERA, 154 SO, 1.203 WHIP)
Martin Perez, TEX (20 GS, 10-6, 3.62 ERA, 84 SO, 1.335 WHIP)
Tony Cingrani, CIN (18 GS, 7-4, 2.92 ERA, 120 SO, 1.098 WHIP)
Pedro Hernandez, MIN (12 GS, 3-3, 6.83 ERA, 29 SO, 1.817 WHIP)
Tyler Skaggs, ARI (7 GS, 2-3, 5.12 ERA, 36 SO, 1.370 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Jim Henderson, MIL (61 G, 5-5, 2.7 ERA, 75 SO, 1.133 WHIP, 28 SV)
Danny Farquhar, SEA (46 G, 0-3, 4.2 ERA, 79 SO, 1.185 WHIP, 16 SV)
Josh Fields, HOU (41 G, 1-3, 4.97 ERA, 40 SO, 1.289 WHIP, 5 SV)
Trevor Rosenthal, STL (74 G, 2-4, 2.63 ERA, 108 SO, 1.101 WHIP, 3 SV)
Cody Allen, CLE (77 G, 6-1, 2.43 ERA, 88 SO, 1.251 WHIP, 2 SV)
Dane De La Rosa, LAA (75 G, 6-1, 2.86 ERA, 65 SO, 1.161 WHIP, 2 SV)
Kyuji Fujikawa, CHC (12 G, 1-1, 5.25 ERA, 14 SO, 1.083 WHIP, 2 SV)
Chia-Jen Lo, HOU (19 G, 0-3, 4.19 ERA, 16 SO, 1.396 WHIP, 2 SV)
Alfredo Figaro, MIL (33 G, 3-3, 4.14 ERA, 54 SO, 1.243 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (7 G, 0-1, 3.94 ERA, 22 SO, 1.213 WHIP, 1 SV)
Adam Warren, NYY (34 G, 3-2, 3.39 ERA, 64 SO, 1.428 WHIP, 1 SV)
Robert Coello, LAA (16 G, 2-2, 3.71 ERA, 23 SO, 1.294 WHIP, 1 SV)
Seth Maness, STL (66 G, 5-2, 2.32 ERA, 35 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 1 SV)
Yoervis Medina, SEA (63 G, 4-6, 2.91 ERA, 71 SO, 1.3086 WHIP, 1 SV)
Bruce Rondon, DET (30 G, 1-2, 3.45 ERA, 30 SO, 1.360 WHIP, 1 SV)
Paul Clemens, HOU (35 G, 4-7, 5.4 ERA, 49 SO, 1.472 WHIP, 0 SV)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (20 G, 3-5, 5.66 ERA, 49 SO, 1.342 WHIP, 0 SV)
Tanner Roark, WSH (14 G, 7-1, 1.51 ERA, 40 SO, 0.913 WHIP, 0 SV)
Trevor Bauer, CLE (4 G, 1-2, 5.29 ERA, 11 SO, 1.823 WHIP, 0 SV)
Steve Johnson, BAL (9 G, 1-1, 7.47 ERA, 20 SO, 1.723 WHIP, 0 SV)
Carter Capps, SEA (53 G, 3-3, 5.49 ERA, 66 SO, 1.627 WHIP, 0 SV)
Preston Claiborne, NYY (44 G, 0-2, 4.11 ERA, 42 SO, 1.291 WHIP, 0 SV)
Will Harris, ARI (61 G, 4-1, 2.91 ERA, 53 SO, 1.234 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jeremy Jeffress, TOR (10 G, 1-0, 0.87 ERA, 12 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 0 SV)
Brandon Kintzler, MIL (71 G, 3-3, 2.69 ERA, 58 SO, 1.064 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jean Machi, SF (51 G, 3-1, 2.38 ERA, 51 SO, 1.094 WHIP, 0 SV)
Bryan Morris, PIT (55 G, 5-7, 3.46 ERA, 37 SO, 1.307 WHIP, 0 SV)
Ryan Pressly, MIN (49 G, 3-3, 3.87 ERA, 49 SO, 1.278 WHIP, 0 SV)
Stephen Pryor, SEA (7 G, 0-0, 0 ERA, 7 SO, 0.545 WHIP, 0 SV)
A.J. Ramos, MIA (68 G, 3-4, 3.15 ERA, 86 SO, 1.262 WHIP, 0 SV)
Hector Rondon, CHC (45 G, 2-1, 4.77 ERA, 44 SO, 1.408 WHIP, 0 SV)
Alex Wilson, BOS (26 G, 1-1, 4.88 ERA, 22 SO, 1.734 WHIP, 0 SV)

Left-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Paco Rodriguez, LAD (76 G, 3-4, 2.32 ERA, 63 SO, 0.901 WHIP, 2 SV)
T.J. McFarland, BAL (38 G, 4-1, 4.22 ERA, 58 SO, 1.486 WHIP, 0 SV)
Joe Ortiz, TEX (32 G, 2-2, 4.23 ERA, 27 SO, 1.253 WHIP, 0 SV)
Scott Rice, NYM (73 G, 4-5, 3.71 ERA, 41 SO, 1.352 WHIP, 0 SV)
Caleb Thielbar, MIN (49 G, 3-2, 1.76 ERA, 39 SO, 0.826 WHIP, 0 SV)
Justin Wilson, PIT (58 G, 6-1, 2.08 ERA, 59 SO, 1.058 WHIP, 0 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks…get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so is Neftali Feliz, at the time, the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. So for four straight years, Topps had four differe

Back to the point. As in past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, we're doing it again.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by November 2, 2013. You can pick the following (12 players total):

One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
Three players for OF,
One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP, Relief LHP.

The reason why I'm asking for four pitchers is because who knows how Topps is going to designate the pitchers for the 2013 ASRT. Picking four pitchers will cover all bases. That way, however Topps announces the final selections, your choices will count.

After November 2, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2013 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 2. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, November 26, 2012

2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team Contest Winners!!!‏

Now that the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team has been announced, I have spent the good part of the afternoon going over all the e-mails I received, seeing who outguessed me in the All-Star Rookie Team contest.

Even with all the unanimous picks of Cespedes, Harper, Trout and Darvish, nobody correctly predicted all eleven players who would make the team this year. The fact that Topps named returned to eleven players for this year's team (unlike last year when the team consisted of ten players) makes me glad that I covered all bases and asked those participating to name four pitchers (a right-handed and left-handed starter, and a right-handed and left-handed reliever). But once again, nobody wins the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set grand prize.

More entries were sent to me this year than in last year's contest, so needless to say I was a bit nervous that the results would be expensive on my part. But out of all the entries I did receive, only five people beat my score of nine. Congratulatory e-mails have already been sent, so it's okay for me to announce the winners:

Congratulations to Jason Carter, Reilly Cotter, Tyler Geivett, Don Sherman, and Anthony Zarriello!!!

Many of the people who participated in the contest did get the same number of players right that I did...a big fat nine. If Steve Lombardozzi was a unanimous pick by all of our participants in the contest, two of the men above would have had perfect scores and would have been in the drawing to win the grand prize. Regardless, all five gentlemen will receive a Hobby pack of 2012 Update Series for outguessing me.

Thank you very much to all who participated in the contest. Although nobody got all ten to win the grand prize, I promise to run this contest again next year. Hopefully somebody will win it.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

1B: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (0.285 batting average, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 2012 stats)
2B: Steve Lombardozzi, Washington Nationals (.273, 3, 27)
3B: Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds (.273, 19, 67)
SS: Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds (.246, 15, 35)
OF: Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics (.292, 23, 82)
OF: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (.270, 22, 59)
OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (.326, 30, 83)
C: Wilin Rosario, Colorado Rockies (.270, 28, 71)
RHP: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers (16-9, 3.90 ERA, 221 K's)
LHP: Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks (16-11, 3.33, 144)
RP: Addison Reed, Chicago White Sox (3-2, 4.75, 54, 29 saves)

So I guessed 9 out of now 11 spots correctly. I guessed Jesus Montero for the catcher spot (I guess if he had stayed with the Yankees he would have won this outright), and Ryan Cook & Rex Brothers as my relief pitchers. I did a lot better than last year (when I got 6 of 10 correct).

Now my comments. Hey, Topps brought back the Strasburg rule for 2012. Instead of having just one starting pitcher and one relief pitcher, they have returned to the right-handed and left-handed starting pitchers to go with one relief pitcher. Maybe it was a good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

While I have not yet seen if there were any unanimous votes, there was little doubt that Cespedes, Harper, Trout, and Darvish would be selected. It could have gone either way with Rizzo and the Padres' Yonder Alonso. But Rizzo had considerably comparable numbers while playing in less games. Personally, I'm totally surprised that Ryan Cook was not selected as the relief pitcher for the team. He definitely had the numbers to warrant him getting the nod, but Reed was a closer for the entire year, while Cook was a middle reliever who took the closer role in the middle of the season (and later returned to set-up when closer late in the year).

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2013 Topps cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Monday, November 5, 2012

If the Readers of This Blog Decided the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

A comment from the gentleman who pens The Writers Journey blog, Jason T. Carter, got me wondering this myself. On my post announcing my picks for the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, he wrote:

"I would be interested in seeing a list of the top vote-getters from the readers."

To which I thought I should respond, seeing that nobody else has ever asked this before.

Twenty people took me up on the challenge to out-guess me in the ASRT contest. Three people picked the same 12 players on their ballots, and none matched my picks completely player by player. Four players were unanimous picks.

So without further ado, here are the final tallies. If the readers of this blog decided the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, the players to be honored with a rookie cup on one of their cards would be:

First Baseman: Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (11 votes)
Second Baseman: Steve Lombardozzi, Nationals (19)
Third Baseman: Todd Frazier, Reds (16)
Shortstop: Zack Cozart, Reds (20)
Outfielder: Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics (21, unanimous pick)
Outfielder: Bryce Harper, Nationals (21, unanimous pick)
Outfielder: Mike Trout, Angels (21, unanimous pick)
Catcher: Wilin Rosario, Rockies (19)
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher: Yu Darvish, Rangers (21, unanimous pick)
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley, Diamondbacks (14)
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Ryan Cook, Athletics (13)
Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Rex Brothers, Rockies (9)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
Three players for OF,
One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP, Relief LHP.

The reason why I'm asking for four pitchers is because who knows how Topps is going to designate the pitchers for the 2012 ASRT. Picking four pitchers will cover all bases. That way, however Topps announces the final selections, your choices will count.

After November 1, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2012 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 1. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

ANNOUNCEMENT: Contest Involving 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

It is time once again start the one contest that I hold on this humble, little blog every year. It is a contest of a very high magnitude (for me anyway).

Later today, my annual post on "Meeting the Possible Candidates for the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team" will appear on the blog. When the post appears, the contest begins.

What do you have to do to enter???

To enter the contest, e-mail me your twelve picks for the team at bdj610@hotmail.com with "All-Star Rookie Team Contest" in the subject line (do not leave your picks in the comments section). Your job is to select the players who you think Topps will bestow their Rookie Cup for their eponymous 2013 Topps set. There are twelve spots open for this team, one for each of these positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C, three outfielders (regardless of where they play), one left-handed starting pitcher, one right-handed starting pitcher, one left-handed relief pitcher, and one right-handed relief pitcher. I will explain why the need for four pitchers on my post later today.

If you get more players correct than I do when Topps officially announces the 2012 All-Star Rookie Team (normally announced late in November), you will automatically win a hobby pack of 2012 Topps Updates and Highlights (the regular packs, not the jumbos). So let's say I get seven of the ten spots right, and you get eight to all ten correct, you win a free pack of cards!!! (This means if I totally bomb and get all ten players wrong, then EVERYBODY wins!!!)

Anybody who correctly predicts all the players on the team will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win the grand prize:

A complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (suggested Beckett Value $20.00-$40.00).

The drawing (if needed) will be held after the official announcement is made and all winners will be notified via e-mail. Their names will be announced on the blog soon afterwards.

Only one entry per person. Entries must be received by Monday, November 1, 2012 at 11:59 PM CST.

Again, please wait until after "Meet the Candidates" post to leave your picks via e-mail. Good luck to all.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

My Only Contribution to Those Figuring out the 2012 Ginter Code

So, 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter has been out for a couple of weeks now, and I had a chance to take a look at a couple of sites trying to get people together to crack the code.

As you probably all know, this year's Ginter Code takes the form of a murder mystery in the fictional town of Willow Cove. Lennie Guttman, the owner of Guttman's Gutters, a bowling alley in Willow Cove, was found murdered on July 18, 2012. The race is on now to find out who did it? To help in the chase, our good friend @thegintercode is following 25 people who live in town.

It gets even better folks.

If you go onto the website murderinwillowcove.com, you will get a message that reads:

"Welcome to Willow Cove
Pop. 12,756"

Now if you keep on adding to the website on your address bar (the thing on top that has the website you're looking at), you will either get:

"You are off track. There is nothing to see here. Turn back now."

Or something else. There are twelve locations you can enter (found amongst the clues and people cards). Type any in after a "/" and you will get more information. For example, I started continuing the web address using Tom's Place "murderinwillowcove.com/tomsplace" and I got:

"Tom's Place is the best kind of dive bar. Friendly and welcoming to all, but with no affectations whatsoever."
"There's usually a pretty good crowd here, so there'll never be a good time to search unobserved. Best to just be subtle."
"Of course there's the bar and some tables to sit at, as well as an area to play darts, pool tables, and a jukebox. A hallway leads towards the back of the bar."

Now, from here, you can start entering key words and either you'll get:

"You are off track. There is nothing to see here. Turn back now."

Or something else.

I kept going. Starting with tables:

"The tables are mostly occupied with couples and groups of friends having a good time."

Then darts:

"There's a group of people playing darts, having a good time."

Then pool tables:

"The pool tables are stained and scuffed, but they get the job done."

Then jukebox:

"The jukebox has all the standards of a small-town bar."

Finally hallway:

"You head for the hallway leading to the back of the bar. Three doors let off of it: the men's room, the women's room, and one specifying employees only."

That sounds interesting...let's continue with the hallway line "http://murderinwillowcove.com/tomsplace/hallway/"

Starting with men's room:

"You knock and peek your head in. Nothing worth investigating in here."

Then women's room:

"You knock, but then decide against even looking in. What could possibly be helpful in there anyway?"

Finally, employees only:

"It's an office."
"There's a ratty old couch, a desk with a calendar hanging above it on the wall, a filing cabinet, a small table, and three lockers that look like they were once part of a larger set."

Now, we're getting somewhere. Continuing the website now http://murderinwillowcove.com/tomsplace/hallway/employeesonly/"

Starting with couch:

"This couch isn't worth sitting on, much less examining."

Then desk:

"The last time you sae a desk this messy you were helping clean up after an earthquake." (sic = spelling is correct).

Curious, typing the word "examine" after "desk/" brings us:

"You move some papers around, but if there's anything useful here, you have no chance of finding it before someone finds you."

Then calendar:

Typing the word "examine" after "calendar/" brings:

"Taking a closer look, you realize this calendar is for 2006."
"Someone did draw a sad face on July 18th, though."

Moving on. Filing cabinet:

"This thing is more stuffed than hot-dog-eating champion."

Typing the word "examine" after "filingcabinet/" brings:

"A quick perusal turns up nothing but the receipts and invoices essential to running a bar."

Next is table:

"You've seen chopping blocks less chipped and scarred than this table."

Typing the word "examine" after "table/" leads us to:

"Come to think of it, someone may actually be using this table as a chopping block."

Now we're at lockers:

"Three dented lockers stand side by side. They look as if they came from Willow Cove High School during the renovations."

Typing the word "examine" after "lockers/" brings us:

"You make your way toward the one with a piece of masking tape with "J-Pritch" scrawled on it slapped to its front. It's not locked."

Plot thickens folks. The address bar now reads "http://www.murderinwillowcove.com/tomsplace/hallway/employeesonly/lockers/examine/open/" and the words below appear on screen:

"You quickly look through the locker and find a letter on the top shelf. This could be something."

It's getting interesting. Type the word "letter" after "open/" and you get:

EVIDENCE!

You've found evidence!
Lennie's letter to Jackie
It's a letter from Lennie to Jackie. Actually, it's more like a note. It reads, in its entirety:
J,
Our worst fears have come true. We can't wait for it to work itself out any longer. She knows and she doesn't care. If you don't put an end to it, I will.-L

Lennie is Lennie Guttman, the man found murdered in his bowling alley on July 18. Jackie is Jackie Pritchard, who has been helped by Guttman on numerous occasions. Based on the Pritchard's file card, "Tension between the two since their children began dating. Possibly more going on here." What could this all mean???

That's about as far as I got, and since I don't have any clue cards, I'm not about to keep on digging. Here are the rest of the locations.

Back Alley
Burgers Fries Pop
Gas 'n' Go
Givens Residence
Guttman Residence
Klugman Residence
Skudlow Park Gazebo
Tom's Place (what we've been following)
Vacant Lot
Willow Cove High School
Willow Cove Trainyard

Type one in and go nuts. This is beginning to read like one of those 80's computer text games or a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. I'd love to see how this all turns out in the end. If this somehow helps you solve the mystery and crack the code, let me know. If this is all old news...it is to you. I'm just trying to catch up.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama