bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2007 Houston Astros

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

Team: 2007 Houston Astros
Record: 73-89, fourth place, NL Central Division.
Managers: Phil Garner & Cecil Cooper
Card on the Top: Lance Berkman

The checklist consists of the following players:

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 2007 Topps eponymous set:

While Brad Ausmus' retail card looks like he is making the catch, his base card shows what may have happened afterwards:

Luke Scott's base card is horizontally-oriented to showcase that swing on his base card:

Of the 14 players included in this set, 2 players have different pictures on the retail set compared to the base set. Not too much to write home about, but you can make an argument that both retail cards look better than the base cards.

Next week's featured set will be the 2009 Cincinnati Reds. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Updates and Highlights sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2013 Topps #395 Alexei Ramirez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, January 11, 2014:

Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps #395.
Player Name, position, team: Alexei Ramirez, shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
Major League Debut: March 31, 2008.
Last Line of Statistics: 2012 stats (White Sox): 158 G, 593 AB, 59 R, 157 H, 24 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 73 RBI, 20 SB, 16 BB, 77 SO, .364 SLG, .651 OPS, .265 AVG.
Any special information about player: Signed with the White Sox as a Free Agent 01/22/2008. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 5. This is his fifth Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Alexei has been more consistent than spectacular in all phases of the game in his five seasons, almost to his own detriment. Though he's rarely hailed as a star, the numbers beg to differ. In that period, Ramirez ranks sixth in RBI, seventh in homers, and eighth in hits as a shortstop. His 20 stolen bases and .982 FLD% in 2012 were both career highs."
Commentary: Some people believe that the 2013 Topps Baseball design element looks like a turtle. Personally, I think it looks like a ship you'd find on either Star Wars or Star Trek. But either way, it's a very interesting design. Alexei Fernando (Rodriguez) Ramirez was one of the few bright spots on an admittedly bad White Sox team in 2013. While he didn't supply the power in 2013 (6 home runs, 48 rbi's...a far cry from his 21 home run/77 rbi rookie season), he led the team in hits (181) and batting average (.284) and achieved a career high (up to this point) in stolen bases (30). Now heading into his seventh season on the South Side, the former Silver Slugger award winner is now fourth in seniority, and is being looked upon to mentor the Sox' newest export, first baseman Jose Abreu.
Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 28 cards.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1974 Topps #478. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Friday, January 10, 2014

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2006 Topps #529 Kris Benson

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, January 10, 2014:

Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2006 Topps #529.
Player Name, position, team: Kris Benson, pitcher, Baltimore Orioles.
Major League Debut: April 9, 1999.
Last Line of Statistics: 2005 stats (Mets): 28 G, 10-8, 174.1 IP, 171 H, 86 R, 80 ER, 49 BB, 85 SO, 0 CG. 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.26 WHIP, 4.13 ERA.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #1st, June 1986. Traded by the Mets to the Orioles 01/21/2006. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his tenth and card.
Blurb on the back: "Kris proved critical to the Mets in some "hidden" areas in 2005. They went 10-6 in his starts after a loss, and he is now 17-10 against NL East foes."
Commentary: After five active seasons with the Pirates (was injured for all of 2001), and two "interesting seasons" in New York, Kristen James Benson was traded off to the Orioles in exchange for Jorge Julio and John Maine. In his lone season in Baltimore, Benson appeared in 30 games, all starts, went 11-12 in his decisions, with an ERA of 4.82 and 88 strikeouts in 183 innings of work. Shoulder injuries kept him from playing in 2007 and after the O's allowed him to walk into Free Agency, the Phillies took a chance on him, but released him after struggling in Lehigh Valley. The Rangers signed him to a minor league deal for 2009, but after a stint on the DL, the Rangers used him in long relief, a role in which he struggled. In 2010, he signed with the Diamondbacks. However, after three starts, he re-injured his shoulder and was out for the rest of the year (he did pitch in Reno, but the shoulder definitely affected his performance). He retired on January 10, 2011.
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
How many cards of each player do I own?: 10 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2013 Topps #395. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1997 Topps #283 Jamie Moyer

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, January 9, 2014:

Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1997 Topps #283.
Player Name, position, team: Jamie Moyer, pitcher, Seattle Mariners.
Major League Debut: June 16, 1986.
Last Line of Statistics: 1996 stats (Mariners): 11 G, 70.2 IP, 6-2, 36 R, 26 ER, 29 SO, 19 BB, 11 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 3.31 ERA.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cubs #4th, June 1984. Traded by the Red Sox to the Mariners 07/30/1996. Bats: left. Throws: left.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 25. This is his ninth Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Jamie led the ML's in WIN% last year - not bad for a guy who, four years earlier, had one foot in civilian life. Cut by the Cubs in '92 spring training, he was offered a job as a pitching coach in their farm system, but persevered and worked his way back through the minors."
Commentary: A couple of quick notes about the back of the card. Topps normally shows an "Acquired" line, to show how he arrived with his "current team." The problem is that it shows that he signed as a free agent on 12/19/1992. Well, Jamie Moyer did sign with a team on that date (if you believe baseball-reference, it says it was five days earlier), but that team was the Baltimore Orioles. Funny, I didn't realize that after the Cardinals released him in 1991 that he went back to the Cubs only to be released. Notice that 1992 is missing from the stat box? That's because he spent the entire season with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers' AAA team, earning a 10-8 record to go with a 2.86 ERA and 80 strikeouts. After bouncing around from team to team, it would be with the Mariners that he would find not only success, but a home as well. In 1997, Moyer proved everybody that he still belonged in the majors. In 30 starts, Moyer earned a 17-5 record, an ERA of 3.86, struck out 113 batters, and achieved had a WHIP of 1.219. In his 11 seasons with the M's, he would earn his first All-Star gig (in 2003), finish in the top 10 voting for the AL Cy Young Award three times, start 323 of the 324 games he appeared in, achieve a cumulative record of 145-87, an ERA of 3.97, and strikeout 1239 batters. In 2006, at the age of 43, Moyer was traded to the Phillies for two minor leaguers. He would stay with the team for another 4 seasons. After a year off to recover from Tommy John surgery, he attempted a comeback with the Colorado Rockies, becoming the oldest player in MLB history to earn a win, record an RBI (2 of them on May 16), and pitch in his 50th Major League stadium. Upon finally hanging up his cleats for good, Moyer has spent time focusing on his philanthropic work. The Moyer Foundation (which you can follow on twitter @moyerfoundation), whose mission statement is, "Provide comfort, hope and healing to children affected by loss and family addiction."
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 36.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2006 Topps #529. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Hallbound...2014!!!

The votes are in...

Greg Maddux 555 (97.2%);
Tom Glavine 525 (91.9%);
Frank Thomas 478 (83.7%);
Craig Biggio 427 (74.8%);
Mike Piazza 355 (62.2%);
Jack Morris 351 (67.7%);
Jeff Bagwell 310 (54.3%);
Tim Raines 263 (46.1%);
Roger Clemens 202 (35.4%);
Barry Bonds 198 (34.7%);
Lee Smith 171 (29.9%);
Curt Schilling 167 (29.2%);
Edgar Martinez 144 (25.2%);
Alan Trammell 119 (20.8%);
Mike Mussina 116 (20.3%);
Jeff Kent 87 (15.2%);
Fred McGriff 67 (11.7%);
Mark McGwire 63 (11.0%);
Larry Walker 58 (10.2%);
Don Mattingly 47 (8.2%);
Sammy Sosa 41 (7.2%);
Rafael Palmeiro 25 (4.4%);
Moises Alou 6 (1.1%);
Hideo Nomo 6 (1.1%);
Luis Gonzalez 5 (0.9%);
Eric Gagne 2 (0.4%);
J. T. Snow 2 (0.4%);
Armando Benitez 1 (0.2%);
Jacque Jones 1 (0.2%);
Kenny Rogers 1 (0.2%);
Sean Casey 0;
Ray Durham 0;
Todd Jones 0;
Paul Lo Duca 0;
Richie Sexson 0;
Mike Timlin 0;

For the first time since 1999, three players have been elected by the BBWAA into the Baseball Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 429 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (29 votes). Jack Morris was on his fifteenth and final ballot, and will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide his fate in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 569 ballots were cast. One of the ballots returned were left BLANK!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1979 Topps #16 Fred Stanley

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, January 8, 2014:

Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1979 Topps #16.
Player Name, position, team: Fred Stanley, shortstop-third baseman, New York Yankees.
Major League Debut: September 11, 1969.
Last Line of Statistics: 1978 stats (Yankees): 130 G, 480 AB, 96 R, 138 H, 26 2B, 1 3B, 36 HR, 100 RBI, 7 SB, 66 BB, 80 SO, .571 SLG, .965 OPS, .320 AVG.
Any special information about player: Drafted by the Astros #8th, June 1966. Traded by the Padres to the Yankees 10/24/1972. Bats: right. Throws: right.
Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his seventh Topps card.
Blurb on the back: "Went 5-for-15 with 2 Doubles in 1976 American League Championship Series."
Commentary: Fredrick Blair Stanley made his MLB debut with the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and when he retired from the game in 1982, he became the last active player from the Pilots to do so. But even after playing for the Pilots/Brewers, Indians, and Padres, he made the most of his time playing for the Bronx Bombers during a time in which the Yankees were in the midst of another run of postseason/World Series appearances. Primarily a back up his first two seasons in pinstripes, Stanley was given the chance to be an everyday player from 1975-76. During that stretch (in which he appeared in more than 100 games in both seasons, the only time he'd make that many appearances while in New York), Stanley hit for a .230 average, one home run, 35 rbi's, and achieve an OPS of .568 in 227 games and 590 plate appearances. Once the Yankees acquired Bucky Dent from the White Sox for the 1977 season, Stanley returned to back-up duty (and then the Yankees would go on to win the World Series...but that's another story). In 1979, Stanley appeared in 57 games, hit .200 with 2 home runs and 14 rbi's, hit for percentages of .236/.270/.506. After one more season in New York, he signed on with the Oakland Athletics, finishing his career in 1972. He would go on to work within the Giants organization, first as a minor league manager, then named as the team's Director of Player Development in 2007. The back of Stanley's card, like many from 1979, has a section on the side of the statistics box asking "What Happened" on a certain date. On the back of the card, it asks "What Happened on July 29, 1908?" Answer: "Browns' Rube Waddell fanned 16 A's in winning 5-4."
Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
How many cards of this player do I own?: 9.

Tomorrow's card will be 1997 Topps #283. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

This is It! The Hall of Fame Announcement is Today.

When the announcement is made today at 11:00 CST to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at the orthodontist because my daughter has an appointment.

But that doesn't mean I'll be out of the loop. I will have my laptop with me, and I'll be keeping tabs that way. Today, someone from this list of 36 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2013 election) being considered:

Moises Alou
Jeff Bagwell, 4th, 59.6%
Armando Benitez
Craig Biggio, 2nd, 68.2%
Barry Bonds, 2nd, 36.2%
Sean Casey
Roger Clemens, 2nd, 37.6%
Ray Durham
Eric Gagne
Tom Glavine
Luis Gonzalez
Jacque Jones
Todd Jones
Jeff Kent
Paul Lo Duca
Greg Maddux
Edgar Martinez, 5th, 35.9%
Don Mattingly, 14th, 13.2%
Fred McGriff, 5th, 20.7%
Mark McGwire, 8th, 16.9%
Jack Morris, 15th, 67.7%
Mike Mussina
Hideo Nomo
Rafael Palmeiro, 4th, 8.8%
Mike Piazza, 2nd, 57.8%
Tim Raines, 7th, 52.2%
Kenny Rogers
Curt Schilling, 2nd, 38.8%
Richie Sexson
Lee Smith, 12th, 47.8%
J.T. Snow
Sammy Sosa, 2nd, 12.5%
Frank Thomas
Mike Timlin
Alan Trammell, 13th, 33.6%
Larry Walker, 4th, 21.6%

After the ballots were counted last night, only two or three people know the results of the election. Someone will be joining the managerial triumvirate of Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre as part of the HOF Class of 2014. Stay tuned. This should be an interesting day to say the least.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama