A Letter from Jason Fry of Faith and Fear in Flushing

I received a letter from Jason Fry, one of the writers of the Mets blog Faith and Fear in Flushing sent me a nice email last night:

Hey Jaybee,

Thanks on behalf of myself and everyone who doesn't say it for your annual checklist of Topps team set cards.

Question for you -- it may be impossible to answer, but if anyone knows I bet it will be you: Is there a list of cards from these sets that doesn't appear in that year's regular Topps series? By random example, Joe Smith has a card in the 2011 Indians set, but doesn't seem to have one in the regular set.

Do you know of such a resource?

Jason, you aren't the first person to ask me this, as Rich Mueller, the editor of Sports Collectors Daily (namedrop much???), asked something similar a few years ago.

At the time, I told him I could rattle off a few examples that came to mind, but I never thought to come up with a complete list of cards of players that don't appear in the regular Topps set (are you also including the Updates & Highlights/Update Series sets too)?

When I started doing the Random Team sets of the Week segment on this humble, little blog, I've made sure to note which players don't have a card at all. For example:

• Jason Kendall does not have a card in either the 2006 Topps or U&H sets, but is included in the 2006 Oakland Athletics team set.
• Jenrry Mejia does not have a card in either the 2011 Topps or Update sets, but is included in the 2011 New York Mets team set.
• Both John McDonald, and Scott Richmond had no cards in either the 2010 Topps or Update sets, but both are included in the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays team set.
• Rich Harden does not have a card in either the 2012 Topps or Update sets, but is included in the 2012 Oakland Athletics team set.
• Both Matt Diaz and Daniel McCutchen had no cards in either the 2011 Topps or Update sets, but both are included in the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates team set.
• Both Tommy Hunter and Brandon Webb had no cards in either the 2011 Topps or Update sets, but both are included in the 2011 Texas Rangers team set.

There are also cases where a player does have a card in the update set, but in a different uniform than what was on the team set (and had no card in the regular set). For example:

• Jon Rauch started the 2008 season with the Nationals and has a card in the retail set. He was traded to the Diamondbacks during the year, and is in the 2008 U&H set as a D-Back, but he does not have a card in the regular set.
• Alex Gonzalez finished the 2009 season with the Red Sox, and signed with the Blue Jays in 2010. He appears in the 2010 Blue Jays set. However, he was traded to the Braves, and is in the 2010 Update Series set in an Atlanta uniform, but he does not have a card in the regular set.
• Mark DeRosa is in the 2009 base set in a Cubs uniform, and the U & H set as a Cardinal. But he's in the 2009 Topps Cleveland Indians set, so he has three cards from the same year, wearing three different uniforms.

Those are just some of the prime examples I could pull from my previous blog posts. It would take some doing to do a full list comparing everything, but it can be done if I had some time (and since I have all the cards). I just haven't had the opportunity to do so, but I'll see what I can do.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2012 Topps Chicago Cubs

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

• Team: 2012 Chicago Cubs
• Record: 61-101, fifth place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Dale Sveum
• Card on the Top: Starlin Castro

The checklist consists of the following players:

• CHC1 Starlin Castro
• CHC2 Reed Johnson
• CHC3 Alfonso Soriano
• CHC4 Ryan Dempster
• CHC5 Darwin Barney
• CHC6 Kerry Wood
• CHC7 Marlon Byrd
• CHC8 Matt Garza
• CHC9 Geovany Soto
• CHC10 Randy Wells
• CHC11 Carlos Marmol
• CHC12 Bryan LaHair
• CHC13 Anthony Rizzo
• CHC14 David DeJesus
• CHC15 Paul Maholm
• CHC16 Ian Stewart
• CHC17 Wrigley Field

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 2012 Topps eponymous set:

• I wonder why Alfonso Soriano's retail card looks like it's photoshopped? I mean he's been with the team for years. Maybe it's just the way the picture looks. But compare it to his base card...:
  
  

• While Darwin Barney is flashing his eventual Gold Glove arm in the retail set, he's showing his Superman impression in his base card:
  
  

• Here is Kerry Wood as I'd like to remember him...in happier times...on his base card:
  
  

• Carlos Marmol on the Fourth of July (the picture was shot in Washington, D.C.) throwing what I'm hoping is a strike against somebody as depicted on his eponymous card:
  
  

• I was so happy that Bryan LaHair was voted by the players to be a 2012 All-Star. It's a shame that his playing time was cut off (although the Cubs did get an upgrade). I hope he's doing well in Japan. But here's his base card...and no, it's not the same as what was used in the retail set:
  
  

• David DeJesus' card uses the same picture on both retail and regular cards, but is cropped just ever so slightly:
  
  

• Okay, you can see the blatant photoshopping used on Paul Maholm's base card:
  
  

• I really hope that what's on Ian Stewart's jersy on this card is infield dirt...:
  
  

So of the 16 players included in this set, there are seven cards that feature a different picture in the retail set that was used in 2012 Topps set (and one slight crop job). If you're a fan of variations, you're going to have a field day with this set. If you are a team collector, you have to get this set (I know Wrigley Wax did as he talked about this set last year in a couple of posts)

Next week's featured set will be the 2012 Miami Marlins. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Update Series (and as it's the Marlins, there will be a lot to discuss).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #385 Enos Cabell

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, May 15, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #385.
• Player Name, position, team: Enos Cabell, third baseman, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: September 17, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Astros): 155 G, 603 AB, 60 R, 164 H, 30 2B, 5 3B, 6 HR, 67 RBI, .272 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Orioles as a Free Agent 09/22/1968. Traded by the Orioles to the Astros 12/03/1974. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his ninth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Enjoyed the longest hitting streak of his major league career with 14-game performance, 1978. Was selected as Astros' Most Valuable Player for 1978 campaign."
• Commentary: Note how the Topps logo is conspicuously absent from the cards from Topps' 1980 set, one year after it was prominently featured the year prior. It would also be the final year that Topps would remain the lone major player in the baseball card wars as the following year, Donruss and Fleer  became Topps' first competitors since 1956. It would be another 30 years before Topps would become the sole licensee for MLB Properties. The 1980 set is remembered mainly as the set that houses the rookie card of Rickey Henderson. But what this set gets right in some cases, is the proper team colors for the borders on the cards. Look how the yellow border on this card matches the yellow on the jersey of Enos Cabell, who was recently featured as a subject for the Card of the Day back in March.As his career (which lasted 15 seasons in the majors) was previously discussed, today's commentary will be a recap of his 1980 season. Two years removed from his best season to date (and ultimately the best season of his career), Cabell was still manning the hot corner for the Astros, and hit .276 with 2 home runs, 55 rbi's, 21 stolen bases, and a .656 OPS. Defensively, he committed a career high 29 errors, which contributed to a .927 fielding average. It would be his final year with the Astros (he would return to the team years later as we all know), as he was traded to the Giants for Chris Bourjos and Bob Knepper on December 8, 1980.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 15.

Tomorrow's card will be 2008 Topps #205. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2001 Topps #750 Draft Picks David Krynzel & Grady Sizemore

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, May 14, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2001 Topps #750.
• Player Name, position, team: Draft Picks David Krynzel, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers; Grady Sizemore, outfielder, Montréal Expos.
• Major League Debut: September 1, 2004 (Krynzel); July 21, 2004 (Sizemore)
• Last Line of Statistics: 2003 stats: Krynzel (Ogden, Rookie-Pioneer): 34 G, 131 AB, 47 H, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 8 SB, .359 AVG.; Sizemore (GCL Expos, Rookie-Gulf Coast): 55 G, 205 AB, 60 H, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 16 SB, .293 AVG.
• Any special information about players: Krynzel: Drafted by the Dodgers #1st, June 2000. Bats: left. Throws: left.; Sizemore: Drafted by the Expos #3rd, June 2000. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): Krynzel: 2. This is his first card; Sizemore: 10. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: First thing of note regarding this card is that Krynzel's statistics on the back indicate that he also played for the Expos GCL team in 2000. That is incorrect, making this card a error card. Another note is that because Topps decided to gradually change the color contrast on the back of the card from a light gray to black, it becomes really hard to read the numbers at the bottom of the card (WHAT??!) David Benjamin Krynzel played in a grand total of 21 games over two seasons in 2004-05. He hit .188 with 3 rbi's. While that may not be too much to talk about, he was a minor league veteran of ten seasons, continuing in the Brewers' system until 2006. He also played for the AAA teams of the Diamondbacks and Orioles before calling it quits in 2009. In his 10 seasons in MiLB, he hit .267 with 57 home runs, 339 rbi's, 218 stolen bases, and an OPS of .739. On the other hand, Grady Sizemore was of four players traded by the Expos to the Indians on June 27, 2002 (All-Stars Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips, along with Lee Stevens were part of the package). After a cup of coffee with the Indians, he became the Tribe's centerfielder and leadoff hitter. In his 8 years with Cleveland, he hit a cumulative .269 with 139 home runs, 458 rbi's, 134 stolen bases, an OPS of .830, not to mention three All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger, earning all three after the 2008 season.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 2 (Krynzel); 65 (Sizemore).

Tomorrow's card will be: 1980 Topps #385. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1980 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Letter from the Sports Card Blogroll

Dear JayBee:

What happened? You last updated me back in March when your kids were home because of a snowstorm (in March??!). I know you and your family have been busy lately, but you haven't updated me since then. Why??! I have blogs past seven months of inactivity and I'm due for an update. Please help.

Sincerely,

The Sports Card Blogroll

Okay, so the above letter didn't really magically show up in my e-mail. But it is true, while I've added blogs to the big SCBR since March, I haven't removed any. That will change now.

At last count in March, the blogroll ended with exactly 350 active sites. As of right now, before any sites are removed, we are at 370 blogs. That means in the past two months since the last update, 20 blogs have been added to the active roster. The SCBR now removes the following sites due to six or more months of inactivity:

• Dropped Third Strike
• BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet
• Baseball Card Collectors
• Canadian Cardboard
• Troll Might Rule!!! (some may know this blog as the Collective Troll)
• Juuust a bit outside (JABOs) (good luck to you JABO)
• Panini Basketball Blog
• Box Fresh Vintage
• no one's going to read this blog
• Sports Card Report
• Fossil Cards and Collectibles
• oh my o-pee-chee! (oh mon o-pee-chee!) (this site will now be moving to the "Retired but Relevant section of the SCBR)
• 2012 Topps
• 7 Hours from Tampa
• The Amazing Shea Stadium Autograph Project
• Rickey Henderson Collectibles

That's 16 sites being removed from the active list, with one going to the RbR sidebar. That brings us down to 354 active blogs on the main section of the SCBR, for a two month net gain of +4.

As always, if you or somebody you know has a blog about the Hobby that we all love (that of Sports Card Collecting), and you don't see it on here, please e-mail me at bdj610@hotmail.com. If your site has been removed from the site and you plan on making a comeback, please let me know as well.

Okay, now that this bit of business is resolved, it's time to go back and focus on the Random Cards of the Day segments that everybody loves.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The Final and Official Post about the 2013 Topps 17-Card Team Sets.

Back in January, I posted the preliminary checklists for all 32 of the 17-card team sets that Topps was going to come out with after the 2013 season would commence. Needless to say, lots of roster changes happened after the 11th of January, and in the middle of April, the new team sets were popping up in stores and Internet sites everywhere. The source I use for pictures (really good pictures) had 29 of the 30 teams' sets up on their site (once again, the Padres were the lone hold out, which was the reason why my 2011 post ran so late).

But since then, two developments occurred that is allowing me to write this post. The first was that the site has finally added the Padres team set to their site (I'll get to the second development after this long post...it will be long...trust me).

For those who don't know why I obsess over these sets (like the Random Team Set of the Week posts weren't enough), here is a "brief" background of my history with the sets:

Since 2006, as a way to bring kids back to the Hobby, Topps began issuing Team Sets for each of the 30 MLB teams. And they could be found EVERYWHERE!!! From big box stores like Target and WalMart, to your local Supermarket, these blister packed sets contained at least 14 cards of your local team's heroes. No leafing through pack after pack to get cards of the team you root for, it's all here in easy-to-carry-to-the-register-package.

While many cards had pictures similar to those found in the 2006 base set, there were a number of cards of players who were pictured in different uniforms, had different pictures than what was used in the base set (photoshop was used in more than one instance), or players who were left of the base set included, meaning that they were only found in these retail only sets. These must have sold very well because in 2007 and 2008, these 14-card packages returned to store shelves. In 2009, a bonus 15th card was added to each of the sets. These bonus cards could have been of the stadium, the manager, the team mascot, a bonus player, or even a President or two. In 2010, two more cards were added to the blister packs, so each set contained an astounding 17 cards. In 2011, Topps introduced AL and NL All-Star Team Sets ;along with the 30 team sets. Of course I had to get those as well.

For the record, I have been insane enough to buy not just one set, or even two. I have bought ALL 30 TEAM SETS for the last SEVEN YEARS (plus the two All-Star Sets from 2011 AND 2012).That's 214 team sets, roughly 3308 cards total, that I have added to my collection. What can I say, I wanted to collect them all...

Without further ado, here are the final checklists for all 32 team sets (including the All-Star sets):

Arizona Diamondbacks
ARI1 Ian Kennedy
ARI2 Gerardo Parra
ARI3 Wade Miley
ARI4 Trevor Cahill
ARI5 Paul Goldschmidt
ARI6 Miguel Montero
ARI7 Jason Kubel
ARI8 J.J. Putz
ARI9 Martin Prado
ARI10 Patrick Corbin
ARI11 Brandon McCarthy
ARI12 Adam Eaton
ARI13 Aaron Hill
ARI14 Didi Gregorius
ARI15 Cody Ross
ARI16 Tyler Skaggs
ARI17 Chase Field

Atlanta Braves
ATL1 Craig Kimbrel
ATL2 Justin Upton
ATL3 Jason Heyward
ATL4 B.J. Upton
ATL5 Tim Hudson
ATL6 Brian McCann
ATL7 Kris Medlen
ATL8 Dan Uggla
ATL9 Freddie Freeman
ATL10 Brandon Beachy
ATL11 Jordan Walden
ATL12 Andrelton Simmons
ATL13 Mike Minor
ATL14 Julio Teheran
ATL15 Juan Francisco
ATL16 Paul Maholm
ATL17 Turner Field

Baltimore Orioles
BAL1 Adam Jones
BAL2 Manny Machado
BAL3 Nick Markakis
BAL4 Jim Johnson
BAL5 J.J. Hardy
BAL6 Jason Hammel
BAL7 Dylan Bundy
BAL8 Wei-Yin Chen
BAL9 Chris Davis
BAL10 Brian Roberts
BAL11 Jake Arrieta
BAL12 Brian Matusz
BAL13 Nolan Reimold
BAL14 Nate McLouth
BAL15 Miguel Gonzalez
BAL16 Chris Tillman
BAL17 Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Boston Red Sox
BOS1 David Ortiz
BOS2 Jacoby Ellsbury
BOS3 Dustin Pedroia
BOS4 Jon Lester
BOS5 Will Middlebrooks
BOS6 Clay Buchholz
BOS7 Koji Uehara
BOS8 Stephen Drew
BOS9 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
BOS10 Joel Hanrahan
BOS11 Shane Victorino
BOS12 Ryan Dempster
BOS13 John Lackey
BOS14 Felix Doubront
BOS15 Jonny Gomes
BOS16 Mike Napoli
BOS17 Fenway Park

Chicago Cubs
CHC1 Anthony Rizzo
CHC2 Starlin Castro
CHC3 Alfonso Soriano
CHC4 Matt Garza
CHC5 Scott Feldman
CHC6 Carlos Marmol
CHC7 Scott Baker
CHC8 David DeJesus
CHC9 Jeff Samardzija
CHC10 Tony Campana
CHC11 Darwin Barney
CHC12 Welington Castillo
CHC13 Edwin Jackson
CHC14 Brett Jackson
CHC15 Travis Wood
CHC16 Ian Stewart
CHC17 Wrigley Field

Chicago White Sox
CHW1 Chris Sale
CHW2 Paul Konerko
CHW3 Jake Peavy
CHW4 Adam Dunn
CHW5 Addison Reed
CHW6 Alejandro De Aza
CHW7 Alex Rios
CHW8 John Danks
CHW9 Alexei Ramirez
CHW10 Gavin Floyd
CHW11 Jeff Keppinger
CHW12 Matt Thornton
CHW13 Dayan Viciedo
CHW14 Gordon Beckham
CHW15 Jose Quintana
CHW16 Tyler Flowers
CHW17 U.S. Cellular Field

Cincinnati Reds
CIN1 Joey Votto
CIN2 Aroldis Chapman
CIN3 Johnny Cueto
CIN4 Brandon Phillips
CIN5 Jay Bruce
CIN6 Mat Latos
CIN7 Jonathan Broxton
CIN8 Chris Heisey
CIN9 Ryan Ludwick
CIN10 Shin-Soo Choo
CIN11 Todd Frazier
CIN12 Bronson Arroyo
CIN13 Homer Bailey
CIN14 Zack Cozart
CIN15 Ryan Hanigan
CIN16 Mike Leake
CIN17 Great American Ball Park

Cleveland Indians
CLE1 Asdrubal Cabrera
CLE2 Chris Perez
CLE3 Drew Stubbs
CLE4 Carlos Santana
CLE5 Jason Kipnis
CLE6 Justin Masterson
CLE7 Ubaldo Jimenez
CLE8 Brett Myers
CLE9 Mark Reynolds
CLE10 Michael Brantley
CLE11 Lonnie Chisenhall
CLE12 Vinnie Pestano
CLE13 Mike Aviles
CLE14 Nick Swisher
CLE15 Trevor Bauer
CLE16 Zach McAllister
CLE17 Progressive Field

Colorado Rockies
COL1 Carlos Gonzalez
COL2 Troy Tulowitzki
COL3 Michael Cuddyer
COL4 Todd Helton
COL5 Jhoulys Chacin
COL6 Chris Nelson
COL7 Jordan Pacheco
COL8 Juan Nicasio
COL9 Josh Rutledge
COL10 Jorge De La Rosa
COL11 Rafael Betancourt
COL12 Wilin Rosario
COL13 Dexter Fowler
COL14 Tyler Colvin
COL15 Tyler Chatwood
COL16 Drew Pomeranz
COL17 Coors Field

Detroit Tigers
DET1 Justin Verlander
DET2 Miguel Cabrera
DET3 Doug Fister
DET4 Max Scherzer
DET5 Andy Dirks
DET6 Drew Smyly
DET7 Omar Infante
DET8 Jhonny Peralta
DET9 Phil Coke
DET10 Austin Jackson
DET11 Joaquin Benoit
DET12 Alex Avila
DET13 Victor Martinez
DET14 Prince Fielder
DET15 Anibal Sanchez
DET16 Torii Hunter
DET17 Comerica Park

Houston Astros
HOU1 Jose Altuve
HOU2 Chris Carter
HOU3 Brett Wallace
HOU4 Brandon Barnes
HOU5 Carlos Pena
HOU6 Lucas Harrell
HOU7 Bud Norris
HOU8 Jordan Lyles
HOU9 Philip Humber
HOU10 Matt Dominguez
HOU11 Jason Castro
HOU12 Alex White
HOU13 Justin Maxwell
HOU14 J.D. Martinez
HOU15 Dallas Keuchel
HOU16 Fernando Martinez
HOU17 Minute Maid Park

Kansas City Royals
KCR1 Billy Butler
KCR2 Alex Gordon
KCR3 Mike Moustakas
KCR4 Jeff Francoeur
KCR5 Lorenzo Cain
KCR6 Alcides Escobar
KCR7 Johnny Giavotella
KCR8 Eric Hosmer
KCR9 James Shields
KCR10 Bruce Chen
KCR11 Ervin Santana
KCR12 Jeremy Guthrie
KCR13 Salvador Perez
KCR14 Greg Holland
KCR15 Aaron Crow
KCR16 Wade Davis
KCR17 Kauffman Stadium

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
LAA1 Josh Hamilton
LAA2 Mike Trout
LAA3 Albert Pujols
LAA4 Jered Weaver
LAA5 Mark Trumbo
LAA6 Tommy Hanson
LAA7 C.J. Wilson
LAA8 Joe Blanton
LAA9 Ryan Madson
LAA10 Ernesto Frieri
LAA11 Jason Vargas
LAA12 Chris Iannetta
LAA13 Howie Kendrick
LAA14 Erick Aybar
LAA15 Peter Bourjos
LAA16 Alberto Callaspo
LAA17 Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Los Angeles Dodgers
LAD1 Adrian Gonzalez
LAD2 Matt Kemp
LAD3 Clayton Kershaw
LAD4 Andre Ethier
LAD5 Carl Crawford
LAD6 Hanley Ramirez
LAD7 Mark Ellis
LAD8 A.J. Ellis
LAD9 Zack Greinke
LAD10 Kenley Jansen
LAD11 Josh Beckett
LAD12 Chad Billingsley
LAD13 Dee Gordon
LAD14 Ted Lilly
LAD15 Brandon League
LAD16 Luis Cruz
LAD17 Dodger Stadium

Miami Marlins
MIA1 Giancarlo Stanton
MIA2 Juan Pierre
MIA3 Justin Ruggiano
MIA4 Greg Dobbs
MIA5 Adeiny Hechavarria
MIA6 Rob Brantly
MIA7 Ricky Nolasco
MIA8 Logan Morrison
MIA9 Donovan Solano
MIA10 Steve Cishek
MIA11 Jacob Turner
MIA12 Henderson Alvarez
MIA13 Nate Eovaldi
MIA14 Wade LeBlanc
MIA15 Placido Polanco
MIA16 A.J. Ramos
MIA17 Marlins Park

Milwaukee Brewers
MIL1 Ryan Braun
MIL2 Carlos Gomez
MIL3 Norichika Aoki
MIL4 Jean Segura
MIL5 Rickie Weeks
MIL6 Aramis Ramirez
MIL7 Corey Hart
MIL8 Yovani Gallardo
MIL9 Marco Estrada
MIL10 Wily Peralta
MIL11 Mike Fiers
MIL12 Jonathan Lucroy
MIL13 John Axford
MIL14 Chris Narveson
MIL15 Mat Gamel
MIL16 Martin Maldonado
MIL17 Miller Park

Minnesota Twins
MIN1 Joe Mauer
MIN2 Justin Morneau
MIN3 Josh Willingham
MIN4 Darin Mastroianni
MIN5 Chris Parmelee
MIN6 Ryan Doumit
MIN7 Jamey Carroll
MIN8 Brian Dozier
MIN9 Scott Diamond
MIN10 Trevor Plouffe
MIN11 Glen Perkins
MIN12 Vance Worley
MIN13 Liam Hendriks
MIN14 Pedro Florimon
MIN15 Kevin Correia
MIN16 Mike Pelfrey
MIN17 Target Field

New York Mets
NYM1 David Wright
NYM2 Johan Santana
NYM3 John Buck
NYM4 Ike Davis
NYM5 Daniel Murphy
NYM6 Ruben Tejada
NYM7 Jordany Valdespin
NYM8 Jonathon Niese
NYM9 Dillon Gee
NYM10 Matt Harvey
NYM11 Jenrry Mejia
NYM12 Bobby Parnell
NYM13 Mike Baxter
NYM14 Lucas Duda
NYM15 Kirk Nieuwenhuis
NYM16 Justin Turner
NYM17 Citi Field

New York Yankees
NYY1 Derek Jeter
NYY2 Robinson Cano
NYY3 Alex Rodriguez
NYY4 CC Sabathia
NYY5 Mark Teixeira
NYY6 Brett Gardner
NYY7 Curtis Granderson
NYY8 Mariano Rivera
NYY9 Hiroki Kuroda
NYY10 Andy Pettitte
NYY11 Phil Hughes
NYY12 Ivan Nova
NYY13 Francisco Cervelli
NYY14 Kevin Youkilis
NYY15 David Robertson
NYY16 Eduardo Nunez
NYY17 Yankee Stadium

Oakland Athletics
OAK1 Yoenis Cespedes
OAK2 Josh Reddick
OAK3 Bartolo Colon
OAK4 Ryan Cook
OAK5 Tommy Milone
OAK6 Jarrod Parker
OAK7 Seth Smith
OAK8 Josh Donaldson
OAK9 Brett Anderson
OAK10 Jed Lowrie
OAK11 Grant Balfour
OAK12 Chris Young
OAK13 A.J. Griffin
OAK14 Scott Sizemore
OAK15 Derek Norris
OAK16 Brandon Moss
OAK17 Coco Crisp

Philadelphia Phillies
PHI1 Cole Hamels
PHI2 Roy Halladay
PHI3 Cliff Lee
PHI4 Ryan Howard
PHI5 Jimmy Rollins
PHI6 Chase Utley
PHI7 Kyle Kendrick
PHI8 Jonathan Papelbon
PHI9 Michael Young
PHI10 Delmon Young
PHI11 Carlos Ruiz
PHI12 Darin Ruf
PHI13 Domonic Brown
PHI14 Ben Revere
PHI15 Erik Kratz
PHI16 John Mayberry
PHI17 Citizens Bank Park

Pittsburgh Pirates
PIT1 Andrew McCutchen
PIT2 Starling Marte
PIT3 Travis Snider
PIT4 Jose Tabata
PIT5 Pedro Alvarez
PIT6 Neil Walker
PIT7 Garrett Jones
PIT8 Clint Barmes
PIT9 A.J. Burnett
PIT10 James McDonald
PIT11 Wandy Rodriguez
PIT12 Russell Martin
PIT13 Alex Presley
PIT14 Jason Grilli
PIT15 Josh Harrison
PIT16 Jeff Locke
PIT17 PNC Park

St. Louis Cardinals
STL1 Matt Holliday
STL2 Adam Wainwright
STL3 Carlos Beltran
STL4 Chris Carpenter
STL5 Shelby Miller
STL6 David Freese
STL7 Yadier Molina
STL8 Rafael Furcal
STL9 Jaime Garcia
STL10 Jason Motte
STL11 Daniel Descalso
STL12 Jake Westbrook
STL13 Lance Lynn
STL14 Jon Jay
STL15 Allen Craig
STL16 Trevor Rosenthal
STL17 Matt Carpenter

San Diego Padres
SDP1 Chase Headley
SDP2 Yonder Alonso
SDP3 Logan Forsythe
SDP4 Yasmani Grandal
SDP5 Carlos Quentin
SDP6 Cameron Maybin
SDP7 Everth Cabrera
SDP8 Clayton Richard
SDP9 Edinson Volquez
SDP10 Andrew Cashner
SDP11 Casey Kelly
SDP12 Jason Marquis
SDP13 Huston Street
SDP14 Jesus Guzman
SDP15 Nick Hundley
SDP16 Will Venable
SDP17 Petco Park

San Francisco Giants
SFG1 Buster Posey
SFG2 Matt Cain
SFG3 Pablo Sandoval
SFG4 Madison Bumgarner
SFG5 Ryan Vogelsong
SFG6 Tim Lincecum
SFG7 Barry Zito
SFG8 Brandon Belt
SFG9 Brandon Crawford
SFG10 Marco Scutaro
SFG11 Sergio Romo
SFG12 Gregor Blanco
SFG13 Angel Pagan
SFG14 Hunter Pence
SFG15 Santiago Casilla
SFG16 Jeremy Affeldt
SFG17 AT&T Park

Seattle Mariners
SEA1 Felix Hernandez
SEA2 Dustin Ackley
SEA3 Kyle Seager
SEA4 Kendrys Morales
SEA5 Hisashi Iwakuma
SEA6 Jesus Montero
SEA7 Justin Smoak
SEA8 Michael Saunders
SEA9 Jason Bay
SEA10 Franklin Gutierrez
SEA11 Casper Wells
SEA12 Michael Morse
SEA13 Brendan Ryan
SEA14 Blake Beavan
SEA15 Erasmo Ramirez
SEA16 Tom Wilhelmsen
SEA17 Safeco Field

Tampa Bay Rays
TAM1 Evan Longoria
TAM2 David Price
TAM3 Ben Zobrist
TAM4 Yunel Escobar
TAM5 Fernando Rodney
TAM6 Matt Joyce
TAM7 Matt Moore
TAM8 Jeremy Hellickson
TAM9 Desmond Jennings
TAM10 James Loney
TAM11 Alex Cobb
TAM12 Jose Molina
TAM13 Sam Fuld
TAM14 Kelly Johnson
TAM15 Jake McGee
TAM16 Jeff Niemann
TAM17 Tropicana Field

Texas Rangers
TEX1 Yu Darvish
TEX2 Adrian Beltre
TEX3 Elvis Andrus
TEX4 Ian Kinsler
TEX5 Matt Harrison
TEX6 Lance Berkman
TEX7 Alexi Ogando
TEX8 Nelson Cruz
TEX9 Derek Holland
TEX10 Mike Olt
TEX11 Jurickson Profar
TEX12 David Murphy
TEX13 Craig Gentry
TEX14 Joe Nathan
TEX15 A.J. Pierzynski
TEX16 Mitch Moreland
TEX17 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

Toronto Blue Jays
TOR1 Brett Lawrie
TOR2 Jose Bautista
TOR3 Brandon Morrow
TOR4 Edwin Encarnacion
TOR5 Colby Rasmus
TOR6 Ricky Romero
TOR7 R.A. Dickey
TOR8 Casey Janssen
TOR9 Adam Lind
TOR10 Rajai Davis
TOR11 Jose Reyes
TOR12 Melky Cabrera
TOR13 Josh Johnson
TOR14 Mark Buehrle
TOR15 J.P. Arencibia
TOR16 Maicer Izturis
TOR17 Rogers Centre

Washington Nationals
WAS1 Bryce Harper
WAS2 Stephen Strasburg
WAS3 Ryan Zimmerman
WAS4 Gio Gonzalez
WAS5 Jordan Zimmermann
WAS6 Ian Desmond
WAS7 Dan Haren
WAS8 Jayson Werth
WAS9 Drew Storen
WAS10 Steve Lombardozzi
WAS11 Denard Span
WAS12 Adam LaRoche
WAS13 Rafael Soriano
WAS14 Danny Espinosa
WAS15 Ross Detwiler
WAS16 Kurt Suzuki
WAS17 Nationals Park

American League All-Stars
AL1 Prince Fielder, 1B, Detroit Tigers
AL2 Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees
AL3 Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees
AL4 David Price, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
AL5 Adrian Beltre, 3B, Texas Rangers
AL6 Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
AL7 Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers
AL8 Josh Hamilton, OF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL9 Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers
AL10 Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL11 Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL12 Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners
AL13 Jose Reyes, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
AL14 Chris Sale, SP, Chicago White Sox
AL15 Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers
AL16 Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
AL17 Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox

National League All-Stars
NL1 Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals
NL2 Matt Kemp, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
NL3 Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
NL4 Matt Cain, SP, San Francisco Giants
NL5 Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
NL6 Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
NL7 Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies
NL8 Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals
NL9 David Wright, 3B, New York Mets
NL10 Pablo Sandoval, 3B, San Francisco Giants
NL11 Cole Hamels, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
NL12 Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants
NL13 Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins
NL14 Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
NL15 Craig Kimbrel, RP, Atlanta Braves
NL16 Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL17 Ryan Braun, OF Milwaukee Brewers

A few thoughts:

• It turns out that it is the Athletics and Cardinals (not the Phillies) that will not include a card of the stadium (opting to include Coco Crisp and Matt Carpenter respectively as their card #17.
• Pablo Sandoval and Craig Kimbrel replace David Freese and Matt Holliday on the NL All-Stars team set. This also means that the NL has the lone relief pitcher on either set. Somehow the Cardinals get the shaft on this deal.
• Neither Ryu Hyun-Jin (Dodgers) and Zack Wheeler (Mets), players who had not made his major league debut at the time but were initially included in these checklists, do NOT appear to have a card in their respective team's retail sets.

Finally, I mentioned at the beginning that there were two developments that occurred that made this post possible. The first was having all the images ready. The second?

I now have all 32 of the 2013 Topps Team sets. They arrived over the weekend, and after ensuring that all were included in the package, I have something to tide me over until Series 2 arrives in June. Time to add another 544 cards to the ever growing collection.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #548 Dave Nilsson

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, May 13, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #548.
• Player Name, position, team: Dave Nilsson, catcher, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: May 18, 1992.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (New Orleans, AAA-American Association): 17 G, 61 AB, 9 R, 21 H, 6 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .492 SLG, 5 BB, 6 SO, .344 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Brewers as a Free Agent 01/28/1987. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his fourth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Bothered by shoulder problems much of the year, Dave snapped back to hit .301 in his last 33 games."
• Commentary: You have to love it when players are depicted in a throwback uniform. I think the "Turn-Back-the-Clock" trend started with the White Sox in 1990 (see Topps '91 cards of Robin Ventura and Sammy Sosa, along with cards from the other companies). In the 1994 set, both Billy Spiers and today's subject are wearing the uniforms of the American Association Milwaukee Brewers from the 1920's (more info about this can be found here). Now I don't get it. I understand Topps' non-official rule of including the complete minor league stats of a player if he has less than four lines of MLB stats. But why did Topps put his minor league stats at the end of the stat box instead of his MLB stats. He certainly stayed on the big league roster for most of the year (well, there was that exception from the middle of May through late June when he was on the DL and then rehabbed with Zephyrs for 17 games. His MLB stats were: 100 G, 296 AB, 35 R, 76 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 3 SB, .375 SLG, 37 BB, 36 SO, .257 AVG. The Brewers in the mid 90's had two native Aussies on their roster: Geelong-born pitcher Graeme Lloyd (1993-1996) and Brisbane-native catcher Dave Nilsson. Both men made history on April 14, 1993, when Lloyd appeared in the ninth inning of a game against the California Angels. It would be the first time that MLB would witness an All-Aussie battery. Nilsson had a pretty good year at the plate for the Brewers in 1994. Before the strike, he was hitting .275 with 12 home runs, 69 rbi's, and an OPS of .777. As Milwaukee switched leagues to accommodate the arrival of both the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays, Nilsson found National League pitching more to his liking. In 1999, he hit a career high 21 home runs to go with 62 rbi's and hit above .300 for the second time in his career (.309) to go with a career high OPS of .954. He even made the NL All-Star team that year, becoming the first Australian MLB All-Star. He could have continued his career with the Brewers, or with any of the other 29 clubs for that matter. With the money he earned in the US, he bought the Australian Baseball League in 1999, renaming it the International Baseball League of Australia. Speaking of Australia, with the Olympics being hosted by Sydney in 2000, he opted for Free Agency and after a stint with the Chunichi Dragons, led all Olympic baseball players in batting average with a high .565 and .957 slugging percentage (an international best for Nilsson). Although he was out of MLB, he remained active as a player, first with Telemarket Rimini in the Italian Baseball League in 2003, then with the Braves after signing a minor league contract with the franchise in 2004. He left the Braves after a month to prepare for the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Aussie team shocked the world by beating a Japanese "Dream Team" 1-0 and eventually took the Silver Medal at the Games. Although the IBL of Australia eventually went bankrupt, Dave remained active developing players in his home country. In 2010, a new Australian Baseball League was formed and Nilsson was tabbed to manage the new Brisbane Bandits. Dave Nilsson is a Hall of Famer, inducted to the Sports Australia Hall of Fame in 2008. The SABR's BioProject has a page on the man known as "Dingo."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2001 Topps #750. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama