The 2016 All-Star Rosters Have Been Announced...What Do You Think???

Yesterday, ESPN hosted the MLB All-Star Team Selection Show. Starters that were voted by the fans, the reserves selected via the player ballot and by the respective managers, were announced officially.

I love this time of year, if only because it allows for a break in what is a long season and celebrates the game's best players. And what I do, as I have done every year since I really stated following the game, is take out the cards of the players who made each roster and put them in a special binder (my All-Star binder...if you will). I do this because it helps me not only recognize the players who became all-stars that particular year, but during the game, I use it to keep track of who's in the game as it progresses. Yes, I'm a geek.

So without further ado, here are the 2016 MLB All-Star Game rosters as announced on Tuesday night (with 2016 Topps Card # and retail team set # if applicable, for those of you playing along and putting them into your All-Star Binders):

American League Starters

1B-Eric Hosmer, Royals (#9, KCR-2)
2B-Jose Altuve, Astros(#317, HA-7)
3B-Manny Machado, Orioles(#175, BO-1)
SS-Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox (#368, BRS-54)
OF-Mookie Betts, Red Sox (#84, BRS-5)
OF-Jackie Bradley, Jr., Red Sox (#425, BRS-7)
OF-Mike Trout, Angels (#1, A-11)
C-Salvador Perez, Royals (#50, KCR-1)
DH-David Ortiz, Red Sox (#126, BRS-1)

American League Pitchers

P-Marco Estrada, Blue Jays (#466, TBJ-17)
P-Cole Hamels, Rangers (#588, TRA-11)
P-Danny Salazar, Indians (#460, CI-12)
P-Chris Sale, White Sox (#160, CWS-1)
P-Steven Wright, Red Sox
RP-Zach Britton, Orioles (#63, BO-13)
RP-Wade Davis, Royalsº (#307, KCR-13)
RP-Andrew Miller, Yankees (#218, NYY-14)
RP-Dellin Betances, Yankees (#369, NYY-15, selected by MGR)
RP-Brad Brach, Orioles (selected by MGR)
RP-Alex Colome, Rays (selected by MGR)
RP-Will Harris, Astrosª (#331 selected by MGR, replaces Davis)
RP-Kelvin Herrera, Royals (#393, selected by MGR)
RP-Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox (#13 with the Padres, BRS-12, selected by MGR)

American League Reserves

1B-Miguel Cabrera, Tigers(#250, DT-1)
2B-Robinson Cano, Mariners (#268, SM-4)
3B-Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays (#200, TBJ-1)
SS-Francisco Lindor, Indians (#439, CI-1)
OF-Carlos Beltran, Yankees (#567, NYY-10)
OF-Ian Desmond, Rangers
OF-Mark Trumbo, Orioles (#39 with the Mariners, BO-8)
C-Matt Wieters, Orioles
DH-Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (#89, TBJ-7)
SS-Eduardo Nunez, Twins (#534, MT-12, selected by MGR)
C-Stephen Vogt, Athletics (#506, OA-8, selected by MGR)


American League Final Man Candidates

2B-Ian Kinsler, Tigers (#275, DT-3)
3B-Evan Longoria, Rays (#388, TB-6)
2B-Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (#246, BRS-4)
OF-Michael Saunders, Blue Jays (#630)
3B-George Springer, Astros (#53, KCR-10)

National League Starters

1B-Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (#327, CC-6)
2B-Ben Zobrist, Cubs(#447, CC-5)
3B-Kris Bryant, Cubs (#350, CC-1)
SS-Addison Russell, Cubs (#562, CC-4)
OF-Yoenis Cespedes, Mets (#407, NYM-17)
OF-Dexter Fowler, Cubs
OF-Bryce Harper, Nationals (#100, WN-1)
C-Buster Posey, Giants (#300, SFG-1)

National League Pitchers

P-Jake Arrieta, Cubs (#264, CC-9)
P-Madison Bumgarner, Giants (#600, SFG-9)
P-Johnny Cueto, Giants (#416, SFG-15)
P-Clayton Kershaw, Dodgersº (#24, LAD-1)
P-Noah Syndergaard, Mets (#43, NYM-11)
RP-Jeurys Familia, Mets (#190, NYM-14)
RP-Kenley Jansen, Dodgers (#458, LAD-13)
RP-Fernando Rodney, Marlins
P-Jose Fernandez, Marlins (#118, MM-10, selected by MGR))
P-Jon Lester, Cubsª (#151, CC-8, selected by MGR, replaces Kershaw)
P-Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (#637, WN-8, selected by MGR)
P-Julio Teheran, Braves (#52, AB-7, selected by MGR))
RP-Marc Melancon, Pirates (#336, PPI-12, selected by MGR)
RP-A. J. Ramos, Marlins (#42, MM-12, selected by MGR)

National League Reserves

1B-Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (#259, AD-1)
2B-Daniel Murphy, Nationals (#554, WN-5)
3B-Nolan Arenado, Rockies (#12, CRO-1)
SS-Corey Seager, Dodgers (#85, LAD-8)
OF-Adam Duvall, Reds (#584, CR-6)
OF-Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (#683, CRO-2)
OF-Marcell Ozuna, Marlins (#572, MM-8)
C-Wilson Ramos, Nationals (#658, WN-2)
1B-Wil Myers, Padres (#625, SDP-4, selected by MGR)
3B-Matt Carpenter, Cardinals (#616, SLC-5, selected by MGR)
OF-Odubel Herrera, Phillies (#68, PP-8, selected by MGR)
C-Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers (#344, MB-1, selected by MGR)

National League Final Man Candidates

1B-Brandon Belt, Giants (#424, SFG-2)
OF-Ryan Braun, Brewers (#298, MB-2)
SP-Jake Lamb, Diamondbacks (#288, AD-5)
OF-Starling Marte, Pirates (#83, PPI-7)
SS-Trevor Story, Rockies

º Injured, will not participate
ª Named as replacement

The rosters once again will consist of 34 active players. Each team is already at 34 players and we haven't even gotten the final man voting in yet. Why is that?

Wade Davis of the Royals is on the DL. So manager Ned Yost added Astros closer Will Harris to the AL bullpen. That was announced off the bat (pun intended).

On the National League side, Clayton Kershaw was just placed on the DL, meaning a replacement needed to be named. After finding this article on ESPN's website, I think it's safe to say that Lester was named as his replacement.

Without clicking the article, Terry Collins initially had nine "manager choices," including finding representatives for six teams (Braves, Brewers, Cardinals Padres, Phillies, Pirates). After naming players from each of those teams (Teheran, Lucroy, Carpenter, Myers - would have been Rodney had he not been traded last week -, Herrera, and Melancon), the other three players he picked were Strasburg, Fernandez, and Ramos. This leaves Lester as the only possible choice as the replacement.

Including the players on the Final Man balloting, eight players do not have cards in the eponymous Topps set or any of the retail sets. Those players include pitchers Brad Brach, Alex Colome, Steven Wright, infielder Ian Desmond, and catcher Matt "No-Topps-Cards...Yet" Wieters on the AL side, and pitcher Fernando Rodney, outfielder Dexter Fowler, and shortstop Trevor Story from the NL. Each should have cards in the expanded Update series. In the meantime, every other player has a card that at least features them on their current team as long as you count the retail sets.

As it seems to be the case these past few years, there is a lot of youth on both rosters, as well as a ton of first-time All-Stars to boot (about 26 at last count, 13 on each side). Of the 17 elected starters, twelve of them are 26 years old...or YOUNGER!!! If you look at the Final Man Nominees, all ten candidates are hitters.

Chicago is extremely well represented this year with eight players between both teams, including the entire infield for the Cubs (Rizzo, Zobrist, Bryant, Russell). Look, I know the Cubs have been (up until these last two weeks) very dominant. And while this doesn't top the eight Cubs that represented the team in 2008, the fact that more than half of the starting lineup are Cubs makes me happy. I voted...once. That was it. I know you could vote more than that, but how is that fair? Boston has six players punching their tickets to San Diego, and a possible 7th if Pedroia wins the Final Man.

Rumors have it that Bumgarner is scheduled to start on Sunday. The rule is in effect that if any of them are in line to pitch that day, they will have to be replaced. And today, Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays landed on the DL. This is just the beginning. If history is an indicator, expect both active rosters to dramatically change by the time July 12 comes. As always, I'll make sure to help you add cards to your All-Star binders by providing card numbers for the players added onto the All-Star teams.

Let's hear the answers to these questions:

Who do you think should have been chosen that wasn't (not even for the Final Man ballot)?

Of the players selected, who shouldn't be going to the game?

Were the guys you wanted from your team chosen?

If not, then who should have represented your team?

Let the debates begin.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Hey Anonymous:

Just to let you know that I haven't abandoned the blog, even though it's the first time that I've actually missed posting something at least once during a month (and for the record, it's six months of inactivity before I remove myself from the SCBR).

But I will be back. After all, the All-Star Game is coming soon, and this humble, little blog gets very busy once the All-Star rosters are announced.

So get your All-Star binders ready. On Tuesday, when the initial rosters are announced, you'll want to fill them with your 2016 Topps cards, whether they're from the eponymous set or the 17-card retail sets.

Until then,



Happy Birthday America!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

It's MLB's Opening Day (or Was that Yesterday)!!!

Work keeps me busy and away from this humble, little blog. I do have drafts of articles I want to post on here, but then a project comes up, so reality comes first and the blog goes back to the back burner.

But that's last month. Spring Training is now over. Yesterday, six teams started their 162-game quest to reach the postseason. Today, eighteen teams do the same (two games have already been postponed thanks to the snowstorms in the east coast).

Hobby wise, I've been keeping track of the comings and goings. I joined Topps Bunt this year and have a decent amount of cards so far. I'm having fun with it and as crazy as it sounds, I'm going to try for a complete "virtual" set of 2016 cards. I've also joined the contests...okay one anyway. Thanks to my 9-card lineup, I have a grand total of 840 on the scoreboard (heavy on Cardinals...they lost, right?). Should have picked Liriano as one of my cards instead of Wainwright. Trying again today, so wish me luck.

Regarding MLB Debuts in 2016, on Opening Day, two players took the field for the first time in a MLB uniform:

Jeremy Hazelbaker, an outfielder who joined the Cardinals after a seven-season career in the minor leagues (with Boston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis). He was added to the Cardinals' roster after Ruben Tejeda was placed on the DL. He appeared in the seventh inning, leading off as a pinch hitter for Adam Wainwright, striking out in five pitches against the Pirates' star reliever Tony Watson.

With Wainwright now out of the game, the Cardinals sent Seung-hwan Oh, an eleven-year veteran of the Korean and Japanese baseball leagues, to pitch the bottom of the seventh. He faced five batters, walking Matt Joyce, inducing John Jaso to ground out 4-3, walked Andrew McCutchen, and struck out David Freese (looking) and Starling Marte (swinging).

Hazelbaker does not have any Topps produced MiLB cards. His only cardboard appearances were back in 2009, with autographed cards in the 2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set. He also appears in the 2009 TRISTAR Prospects Plus set.

Oh signed with the Cardinals as a free agent in January. He already had a storied career in both Korea (seven-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year 2005, five-time KBO Relief Man Award) and Japan (All-Star 2015, CLCS MVP 2014), In eleven seasons in both leagues, he has recorded 357 saves, a 1.81 ERA, and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings in 646.1 IP. He was also on the 2006 Korean Team for the World Baseball Classic. He has no baseball cards in the US.

It's going to be a great year for baseball in Chicago. There are extremely high expectations on both sides of town. Should be a lot of fun.

Are you ready?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Éirinn go brách! Celebrating at Home...Again.

For those wondering what happened to me, I'm still here. Work has been extremely busy, and that's a good thing.

Some quick Hobby Notes:

I have completed my 2016 Topps Master set. With all of the Heritage hub bub lately, I take comfort knowing that the Gypsy Queen (the 2016 edition anyway) will set sail soon.

There is a big card show this weekend down the street from my house. Do I plan on buying stuff? Maybe. I'm hoping to get a lot of free stuff. But more importantly, I'm there to feel the environment. I love these big card shows. I love watching the people. I might not go for the autographs, but to see fathers (and mothers) with their sons (and daughters) sharing the Hobby we all love, makes me appreciate all that is good about it.

But I digress.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It is the day that honors St. Patrick, who is the patron saint of Ireland. It also commemorates the arrival of Christianity to the Emerald Isle. In fact, it is said (thanks Wikipedia) that he used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity.

My family will be enjoying boiled corned beef brisket with all the veggies (potatoes, carrots, cabbage) tonight. I would like to apologize to my sister...AGAIN...because we will not be able to join her and the rest of the family for dinner (it's a school night, there are still dance classes happening). Meanwhile, I've been playing Irish music on the computer all afternoon, just to get into the mood.


If anybody says, "Top of the morning to you," to you today, make sure to respond in kind, "And the rest of the day to yourself."

Public Service Announcement (as my wife just said that she found the Bailey's): As you celebrate St. Patrick's Day, please remember to celebrate responsibly.



Now for the baseball portion of the program. If you're wondering, while there are many baseball players of Irish descent, 47 native-born Irish men made at least one appearance in the majors.
The last native born Irish player was Joe Cleary. Born in County Cork, Cleary only appeared in one game (08/04/1945) in 0.1 inning of work for the Washington Senators. But in that eventful inning, he struck out one batter (the good news), but allowed five hits, three walks, and seven earned runs to score. Saving time for the math, but seven runs in 1/3 innings equals an ERA of 189.

So now, a quick toast to everyone, Irish or just-for-the-day:

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be at your back.
May your cards collections grow to unmeasurable heights in both volume and value.
May the quest for new cards be swift.
May the journey of life treat you well today and always.
And may a certain North Side baseball team win it all this year (just have a decent season...please).
If you catch my drift.

Sláinte!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The Philippines in the World Baseball Classic...2016 Edition!!!

In 2012, the Philippines, that hotbed of baseball in Asia, was invited to participate in a four-team qualifying round where the country that wins this six-game round-robin schedule, would go on to the 16-team World Baseball Classic tournament.

Okay, so hotbed isn't really the word. But listen, after the Americans introduced the Filipinos to the game during the Spanish-American War, the Philippines won the first Asian Baseball Championships in 1954. The game, however, faded in popularity, with basketball the number one team sport on the islands. But baseball is making a comeback, thanks in part to Filpino teams winning gold medals in the 2005 and 2011 Southeast Asian Games.

The WBC Philippines team shocked the world by beating Johnny Damon (yes, THAT Johnny Damon) and team Thailand in their first game (proudly recalled in this post back after it happened). And although they did eventually lose to squads from Chinese Taipei and New Zealand, a third place showing did in fact give the powers that be to give the Philippines another shot at getting to the games.

This week, the Philippines, along with Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, are competing amongst themselves for one spot in the tournament that takes place in 2017. Team Aussie will be their first opponents, which should be a challenge for the Filipino team. Australia has participated in EVERY WBC since 2006 and doesn't plan on taking next year off.

So who is on Team Philippines? Any major leaguers with ties to "The Pearl of the Orient?" The answer...is YES!!!

Tim Hulett, a MLB player from 1983-1995 and has been a minor league manager (presently with the Rangers Short-A team in Spokane) after his playing days, was tabbed to manage Team Philippines.

Clay Rapada, a journeyman left-hander who last appeared in the majors in 2013, leads a pitching staff of 13. In seven seasons, Rapada has a cumulative record of 8-0, with a 4.06 ERA, 82 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.366 in seven MLB seasons.

Chris Aguila, one of six outfielders on the team, played for both the Marlins and the Mets in parts of four seasons. He hit 4 home runs, drove in 16 rbi's, to go with a .230 batting average and slash statistics (OBP/SLG/OPS) of .280/.343/.624.

Eric Fariss, who was in the majors from 2011-2012 and was recently in the minor league system of the Twins, is on the team as well.

There are presently two players on the team with MLB affiliations, one is Marlins farmhand Brad Haynal, a catcher, and the other is outfielder Angelo Songco, who has a Pro Debut card from 2010.

By the time this post comes out, the game would be long over (they lost 11-1 by the way).

Good luck to Team Philippines the rest of the way.

Mabuhay!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

It's Opening Day!!! Really!!! 2016 Topps is Live!!!

It's Opening Day ladies and gentlemen.

No, pitchers and catchers don't report to their spring training sites until later this month. But that doesn't mean that baseball season is not upon us.

The official street date for 2016 Topps Baseball cards is today. And guess what my big box store had on their shelves this morning?

That's right, a five pack of Harpers!!!

Series 1's cover boy is Bryce Harper (golf clap). And the store near me had 12 packs, 36 packs, 72 card boxes, etc. They also had 2015 Topps Team sets of the White Sox and Dodgers (Dodgers...really??!), so there's that.

But that doesn't matter. The new stuff is out now, and the Bay has already been inundated with auctions and BIN's for every card imaginable. I'm going to wait until next week to see if any master sets are around to avoid temptation of hitting the "Buy it Now" button.

For now, though, I'm going to start ripping a couple of packs of this stuff, and save a pack or two for my nephew, who, if you haven't heard by now, had asked me about collecting baseball cards. To answer a couple of questions:

Jeff, his dad is a White Sox fan (eh, what do you expect from in-laws). He seems to be pulling for them, although his mom, my sister, has been trying to get him to the light side of the force (the Cubs). I plan on getting him some packs of 2016 and a few packs of 2015 that I can find. He's a pretty bright kid, but I don't want to overwhelm him with everything about the Hobby. I figure start with the basics, teaching him the joys of reading card backs and how to calculate statistics (that's how I learned). And then go from there. I also have a couple of Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa cards for him, you know, for investment...(ha).

So, what is my first card of the 2016 campaign going to be???

Drumroll please...

My first card from 2016...Nick Ahmed #211

Okay, that was a bit anti-climactic.

The borderless look is something I'm going to have to get used to. The only sense of a border could be the "smoke" filter on the corners of the card. Upon first glance, it looks like smudges on a picture. You can make out certain shapes in the smoke (a rectangle, a letter A). It's like a "find-it" page in the Highlights for Kids magazines (first time I've used that reference...EVER). While the "smoke" effect is a bit distracting, taking away focus on the really crisp pictures, it does give the pictures a bit of a painted look as well. It's like an unfinished Bob Ross painting, just needing to put a few more crisscross strokes of pthalo green to complete the lower half of the picture. Like other designs that I wasn't to fond of in the beginning, this is going to grow on me, and I'll come around. While it's a groundbreaking design for Topps, here's hoping that they go back to borders in 2017.

For those who want to know what the back of the card looks like, here you go:

It looks very similar to last year's card back, down to the Series One line on top of the card number. So, while that's not necessarily unprecedented, because other than a change in font above and below the stat box, it was pretty much the same thing in the late 80's - early 90's, it's kind of a downer.

So what else did I get in this first official pack of 2016?

• #18 Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers
• #99 Taijuan Walker, Mariners
• #108 Ben Paulsen, Rockies
• #332 Toronto Blue Jays team card
• #P-21 Perspectives Cal Ripken Jr
• #B2B-13 Back 2 Back Ted Williams / Bobby Doerr
• #20 Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
• #73 Ketel Marte, Mariners
• #296 Yordano Ventura, Royals
• #258 Devon Travis, Blue Jays Future Star
• #145 Jon Niese, Mets

No Cubs cards, darn. But this McCutchen card looks pretty nice:

I will get to the official 2016 Topps Series 1 post in the next few days, complete with sell sheets that I didn't have time to post last year.

So get out there. Buy those cards (just no pack searching...save some for the rest of us). Show off those pictures. Get your want lists going. It's Baseball Card Season...and it's going to be a great year.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Are You Ready??! I SAID...

ARE YOU READY??!

The 66th edition of Topps Baseball (okay, 65th if you're not counting 1951 Topps Red and Blue Backs), is officially due to arrive on Wednesday, February 3. But it looks like some lucky markets (I will check my local box stores tomorrow) got theirs early (lucky).

Regardless, it's coming, I can't wait to open some packs to see this design up close.

Sorry pack break week seemed to have ended earlier than I'd like. But hey, work calls. But I still have the packs unopened, so I'll get to it soon.

Also, let me apologize to everyone who's sent me emails asking me to add their sites to the Sports Card Blogroll. I have not forgotten you, and I still have your emails, links, twitter DM's, etc. Your site will be added as soon as I can get a moment to catch my breath.

Okay. Got to run. Have to get back at it and get some sleep. Here's hoping 2016 Topps will be on the shelves tomorrow, and here's hoping I get to them faster than the pack searchers.

And maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll find something to get my nephew started on his collecting journey.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama