Random Topps Card of the Day: 2009 Topps #350 Dustin Pedroia

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 17, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2009 Topps #350.
• Player Name, position, team: Dustin Pedroia, second baseman, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: August 22, 2006.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2008 stats (Red Sox): 157 G, 653 AB, 118 R, 213 H, 54 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 20 SB, 50 BB, 52 SO, .493 SLG, .869 OPS, .326 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Red Sox #2nd, June 2004. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Pedroia's third regular Topps card (total does not include combo cards, awards cards, league leader cards). In just three full seasons (and a cup of coffee in 2006), Pedroia has already won the AL Rookie of the Year (2007) and the AL Most Valuable Player (2008) awards, is a two time all-star, and a World Series Champion. If it has not already been said, the 2009 Topps design is one of the best they've done in the last 58 years. Definitely in the top 10. Personally, I call it the scrapbook set because the design utilizes corners that my wife would use in scrapbooking. The pictures zoom in so close to the action, I know it sounds cliche, but it's like you're actually there. If there is only one detraction to the design is that it is sometimes hard to read the team name and position on the card in the black field below the picture. That and trying to read the card number in the back. Other than that, the design is gorgeous. The blurb on the back, above the stats, mentions that Dustin is "the only player in Red Sox history with a 5-hit, 5 run (both 05/12/2008) and a 5-RBI (09/02/2008) game in the same season." The 05/12/2008 date is incorrect (making this card an ERROR CARD!!!) as the game against the Rangers that Pedroia had his five run/five hit game, was on 08/12/2008. Above the arch that houses Dustin's name is a quirky little stat line, mentioning Pedroia's highest career average by ballpark (minimum 12 AB's): Minute Maid (Houston) .643, Citizens Bank (Philadelphia) .538, Kauffman (Kansas City) .474, Metrodome (Minnesota) .458, Angels Stadium (Los Angeles/Anaheim) .389, Fenway (Boston) .339.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.50-$1.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 21 cards.

One final note. Now, as you know, Pedroia's card is not the only #350 in the 2009 Topps set. And I would be nuts if I didn't note this little tidbit. As this card was found in 2009 Topps Series 2, Topps included "modern day" legend variation cards in their product, seventeen of them to be in fact. Many of the "legends" had something in common with the player he shares a card number with (whether it's a team affiliation or a position). And Topps paired the legends and the current players appropriately, especially in this case. Because Dustin shares his card #350 with another MVP second baseman, from another historic franchise: Ryne Sandberg.


(allow me a minute to geek out...thanks).

Tomorrow's card will be: 1981 Topps Traded #753. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Éirinn go brách!

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."

A quick toast...



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.
If you catch my drift.

Sláinte!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH81 Vinny Castilla

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 16, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH81.
• Player Name, position, team: Vinny Castilla, third baseman, Washington Nationals.
• Major League Debut: September 1, 1991.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2005 stats (Nationals): 142 G, 494 AB, 53 R, 125 H, 36 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 66 RBI, 4 SB, 43 BB, 82 SO, .403 SLG, .722 OPS, .253 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Contract purchased by Braves from Saltillo of the Mexican League 03/19/1990. Signed with the Nationals as a Free Agent 11/16/2004. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Castilla's fifteenth regular Topps card (total includes regular, traded, and 1992 MLB debut cards). The all-time Mexican Home Run Leader signed with the Washington Nationals before the 2005 season to give the Nats a power hitter in their otherwise not so potent lineup. And for a while, he did deliver, hitting .347 for the DC team in the month of April. But his best days were just about behind him, and he wound up only playing in Washington, DC, for the 2005 season. The 2005 Topps set features bold team colored ribbons bordering either side of the picture (with the team name on one side and the player's name on the other), the player's last name in big bold letters in gold foil above the picture, with a solid black band below the picture with 2005 and the Topps logo in gold foil, sandwiching the team logo in the middle. The unique thing about the 2005 Topps U & H set is that it also included the statistics from the past season, instead of leaving the stats from the previous year as the last line of stats. The back of the card, along with a second picture, also includes a picture of a baseball diamond with each of the positions circled. As the third baseman, the circle on the third base position is filled. Next to the graph is a random statistic. In Castilla's case, it highlights his career RBI total (as of the end of the 2005 season) of 1,078.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 30 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #350. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from just last year here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hey Stale Gum...Yes, I Still Like Gimmicks!!!

Question directed towards me from Chris Harris at Stale Gum (new website by the way) via twitter:

bdj610: What Do You Mean There Are More Lincolns in Cubs Cards??! http://goo.gl/fb/Mbty

stalegum: @bdj610 So, still like all these gimmick cards?

bdj610: @stalegum Absolutely! If I had the money, I'd go after them. If I come across one at a show, MINE! If not, I won't lose sleep without them.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time that Mr. Harris has asked me this question. Contrary to what you like to believe, the gimmick cards Topps has thrown into packs over the last few years:

• 2005 Topps Boston Red Sox #368
• 2006 Topps Alex Gordon #297 and the variations (cut outs, blanks, etc)
• 2007 Topps Derek Jeter #40
• 2007 Topps U&H Poley Walnuts
• 2007 Topps U&H Jacoby Ellsbury #100
• 2007 Topps Joba Chamberlain and his numerous "errors"
• 2008 Topps Kazuo Uzuki #FS1
• 2008 Topps Series II-Six (Fukudome, Yabuta, Ramirez, Gore, Schwarzanegger, Santana #661)
• 2008 Topps U&H Fukudome, Bruce, and Longoria "upside down errors"
• 2008 Topps U&H Sarah Palin "Beauty Queen Card"
• 2009 Topps Barack Obama #44
• 2010 Topps Yankees PITF and Cubs ABE SP's.

served a purpose and did exactly what they were intended to do: garner interest from people outside the hobby and, if anything, get attention from people who don't normally even THINK about cards. Guess what? It worked!!! Because even non collectors went after these cards like no tomorrow as soon as word spread. Of course many already have, or will, regret buying the cards, especially if they did so at astronomical prices (that demand vs. supply thing kinda sorta jacked up the prices on those cards); but the damage was done. And the Topps Company made money!!! Not on the cards themselves, but because people bought packs of their product searching for even one of them.

And what have these gimmicks done for established collectors? They've made us start looking at the base cards again. I mean REALLY LOOK at them, instead of just flipping through them until they find the relic/auto/insert card of the moment and pushing them aside. Topps has finally found a way to make us pay attention to the base cards again. How awesome is that???

I never said that I didn't like them (or at least these new ones), nor did I say I was totally frustrated and am giving up (isn't part of the fun in collecting cards the chase???). As I said on twitter, if I had the money, I'd be on eBay buying up the cards when the prices went down as I'm about as impatient as the next collector and would like to get my hands on every copy I can find. But I'm trying my best to show restraint and this year, and am choosing not to actively pursue them (okay...maybe the Yankee cards...and only when the prices go down!!!). Otherwise, you know what, I'm happy with the set I have so far, and am more than happy to continue hunting for the legends SP cards (and the Granderson) in 2010 and the remaining 19 cards I need for series 2.

Finally, back to twitter:

toppscards: Interesting, so it appears that a lot of people like the mystery behind the variations. Thanks for the feedback guys.

bdj610: @toppscards The variation cards are great IMO, and when done correctly, are worth chasing. That's all part of the fun in this Hobby!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. The big Chicago Sun-Times show is this weekend (hooray!!!) and I get paid this week (double hooray!!!). So, I plan on making a couple of trips (Friday possibly, Saturday...DEFINITELY!!!) The mission: cut down the wantlist of SP cards, and maybe buy a cheap (if there is such a thing) 2009 Topps T206 set with SP's. You'll know it's me because I'll be the guy with a Topps baseball hat, carrying around a black Topps bag full of cards I'd like to get rid off (possibly trade...you never know). jba

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T58 Kit Pellow

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, March 15, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T58.
• Player Name, position, team: Kit Pellow, third baseman, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: August 14, 2002.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2001 stats (Omaha Royals - AAA): 14 G, 54 AB, 8 R, 10 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .352 SLG, 2 BB, 19 SO, .185 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Royals #22nd, June 1996. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Pellow's second regular Topps card (total includes both regular and traded cards). This is Pellow's only solo Topps card. His two other cards (from 1999 Topps and 2000 Topps) included other prospects (Carlos Lee and Mike Lowell in 1999, Kevin Barker and Russ Branyan in 2000). The 1999 Topps design was probably the best of the "colored borders" era of 1998-2003 with it's gold borders and large picture, with the player's name coming down either side of the card in a very unobtrusive manner. The back of the card notes that Pellow hit "29 home runs and drove in 73. Ranked second in the Texas League in longballs, third in slugging at .580, and made the All-Star Team." Pellows did make his major league debut three years later, but spent the last two years of his major league career with the Colorado Rockies.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 3 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2005 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH81. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1955 Topps #170 Jim Pearce

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 14, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1955 Topps #170.
• Player Name, position, team: Jim Pearce, pitcher, Cincinnati Redlegs.
• Major League Debut: September 8, 1949.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1954 stats (Chattanooga Lookouts AA): 32 G, 231 IP, 17-7, .708 PCT, 208 H, 96 R, 78 ER, 113 SO, 77 BB, 3.04 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed by Cubs as a Free Agent before 1944 season. Contract purchased by the Reds from the Senators 08/07/1954. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Pearce's first (and only) regular Topps card. The 1955 Topps design is truly a classic. It combines many aspects of what makes for a good-looking card: team logo, player headshot, action shot on the side, colorful background. Player name, team, and position below the pictures (it's like he's standing on it), and the facsimile autograph. It was the first year that Topps used a horizontally designed set for all of the card fronts. Pearce's card is found in the third series of the set (161-210), and is unique in that although he had already spent time in the majors, the totals above his lifetime stats are his minor league statistics with the Reds Southern League team in Chattanooga. The card was double printed, meaning that there were more of his card (among others) printed on the same sheet. The back of the card has a great bio (to make up for the lack of statistics). "...Jim came to the Redlegs and hurled an impressive 4-hitter against the Braves in his only starting assignment...posted a good 2.38 ERA and won a trial with the Senators (in 1949). In '50 he appeared in 20 games for Washington and 4 in '53." (Which means in 1951-52, he was stuck in the minors). Pearce makes an appearance in the 2004 Topps Heritage set (the one that reproduces the 1955 Topps set) as an autograph subject (200 regular, 55 red-ink autos). Mr. Pearce passed away the following year. Finally, there is also a trivia cartoon which asks "When was the first extra inning game played?" The answer is "in 1870." No exact date was given.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $7.00-$15.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card. And this time I was not able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. However, thanks to Topps' new promotion, the Million Card Giveaway, and after figuring out how to find a card by it's numeric ID, I was able to snag the image you see above. For the record, the card in Topps' baseball card library is #1303.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T58. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2010 MLB.com Fantasy Preview...Sponsored by 1987 Topps Baseball!

I meant to write this posts two weeks ago. But then I got sidetracked, and as it was saved into drafts, it just kept moving down the list of posts I've written to the point where it vanished into the second page of posts. So I'm going to write this and get it over with.

I received an e-mail from reader Philip Melita, telling me that MLB.com's fantasy preview website is using the 1987 Topps Baseball design to feature all the players. So I went onto the site in question that he included in the e-mail, and yes, that's Albert Pujols in the famous 1987 Topps design all right.

I've seen these before and I've actually spent time looking at EVERY SINGLE PROFILE just to see what each "virtual card" looked like. While this is all great, and I know that I've played with the site MLB put out in previous years, it got me wondering if I could find the past year's sites as well. Well, after a bit of digging, I did find all the previous year's fantasy profiles going all the way back to 2005!!!

So let's flashback to 2009:


The great 1984 Topps design was used here. Nice job of sticking to the original design for the picture on the bottom left (just a headshot in front of a colored background). Here's 2008:


The 1980 Topps design. This is where it gets a bit challenging...2007:


The used the 1980 design here first. And look at how aged the borders are (worn down, just like older cards are supposed to look like over time). Now, unfortunately the pictures won't come up, but this is what we saw in 2006:


For the 26 teams that were around for the 1985 season, mlb.com made sure to use the team's logo from that year, for example, the old Philadelphia Phillies' "P." And finally, MLB's fantasy site from 2005:


They brought us all the way back to 1976 with this one. What's cool is that when you click on the position, the drawing of the player on the bottom left of the card appears above the position list.

Now, I did find the 2004 site, but all the pictures were "x" out and doesn't look like there was a Topps theme used that year.

Did you notice on all of the screen captures that each card had dinged corners and, in the case of the 1980 design, showed a bit of age? How awesome is this? The interactivity of the previews and the use of the Topps card design to frame each player's picture is much better than using a regular headshot or usual action photo. As baseball cards were (and some might still argue) the original fantasy player preview for the upcoming season, it just made sense for mlb.com to utilize the iconic Topps designs that even a non-collector would recognize. Something you couldn't do with the designs from that other card company...

So thanks for the tip, Mr. Melita. Who knows how long these sites are going to be up and around (I mean, I thought they'd have been torn down by now). But as it was once said, "Fame is fleeting, but the internet is forever." So maybe they'll stay up for a while. Maybe.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama