#CHC-16 Jose Veras

For the most part, I’m going to slowly add the Factory Team sets to my collection but wait and see which cards actually make Series 2 and the Update set before writing about them. With that said, I picked up the Cubs set for my team collection and did a brief write up on my other blog, Once a Cub, where I briefly touched on this card. I don’t want this card to show up in Series 2 or the Update series and I’m pretty sure Topps doesn’t either.

#CHC-16 Jose Veras

First impression of what’s going on: To a non-Cubs fan, this might look like a pretty good card. Jose Veras is making a goofy face. The card is horizontal (one of my favorite attributes) and is framed well. We get to see a nice grip on his breaking ball. In fact, if Topps keeps this card for Series 2 or Update, but makes the correction, this might be one of my favorite Cubs cards of the year. What correction am I talking about?

THIS!

Any respectable Cubs fan and even a lot of good baseball-in-general fans can tell you that the Cubs retired the #31 in honors of Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. For you non-Cubs fans, this happened five years ago, May 3, 2009 in a joint number retirement ceremony.

The problem begins with the source photo.

Screen grab courtesy of Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 11: Jose Veras #31 of the Detroit Tigers in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 11, 2013 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Tigers 5-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Veras signed with the Cubs as a Free Agent during the off season so Topps does what it normally does and uses a photo from the player's previous team but touches it up a bit. As you can see, Veras wore #31 with the Tigers last season and Topps just carried over that number to the Cubs, regardless of the fact that it is retired.

For what it’s worth, Topps did an otherwise pretty good converting the Tigers road jersey to the Cubs road jersey. They even added the logoed sleeve patch to his left arm.

Enough with the “error” and let’s go to the BOXSCORE to see how Veras did in his game against the Yankees when the photo was taken.

Screen grab courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

A walk off loss after coming from behind doesn’t look good. Hopefully, Veras wasn’t the closer this game.

Screen grab courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

Whoops! Veras got through two thirds of an inning but took the loss, his fifth of the season.

Screen grab courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

It took 13 pitches to get the first two out, but the 15th ended the game with a solo home run from Brett Gardner. As Yankee biased as Topps can be, I wonder if this was a subtle dig on Veras with the photo selection. But Veras is a former Yankee so I’m probably just reading too much into it.

We do get the Nike swoosh on Veras’ undershirt for a little Free Advertising credit.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Jose retired the only batter he faced in a 1-run game for his 1st save.

I like the fact that Topps carried over the Rookie Facts to the Factory Team sets. As I mentioned, Veras is a former Yankee, making his MLB debut with them in 2006. His first Save came on September 18^th that year against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Screen grab courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

After the Yankees extended their lead with three runs in the top of the 9^th, the Troy Glaus brought the Blue Jays back to within one run with a three-run home run.

Screen grab courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

A single by pinch-hitter JasonPhillips chased reliever Mike Meyers and Jose Veras was able to induce a fly ball from Aaron Hill to end the game.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #CHC-16

Player Name: Jose Veras

Team: Detroit Tigers (Chicago Cubs)

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: August 11, 2013

Opponent: New York Yankees

Stadium: Yankee Stadium

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 5-4, Yankees over the Tigers, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 10/20/1980

Birthplace: Dominican Republic

Cameos by: Greg Maddux, Fergie Jenkins

Photographer: Jim McIsaac

Niche collections this card could fit into: Cubs, Horizontal, Photoshopped, Error, Free Advertising

My Grade: I really wanted to like this card. As I already said, it’s horizontal, it’s cropped well, Veras is making a funny face. This card was destined for an A+ grade, but with one Topps oversight, it goes straight to an F. No offense to Veras or the photographer, Jim McIsaac. They did their parts. This one rests solely on Topps.

Normally, if a card gets a failing grade, I'll look for some photos that would have worked better. But I really like this photo and just want them to correct the number, not change the photo. 

Hopefully this was caught early enough that someone at Topps can change the “3” to a “4” before it goes to print in Series 2 or the Update series. As I mentioned in my other post about the team set as a whole, last year Edwin Jackson was a National in Series 1, a Photoshopped Cub in the factory team set and had a different third card altogether in the Update series. So it can be done. 

I tweeted Topps earlier today from my Once a Cub twitter account pointing out the error, but haven’t heard anything back yet. I've never been a “rally the troops” kind of guy but do we bloggers and collectors have any power here? Can this oversight be corrected in time? I don’t ask for much from this tiny blog, but let’s see what the power of the people can do!

Here’s a link to my tweet. Please retweet that or this post to @Toppscards and make our voices heard!

Hopefully, this doesn't come off as too whiny. I don't want anything but a fixed card!

#34 Buddy Boshers

#34 Buddy Boshers

First impression of what’s going on: Buddy Boshers just closed out a game and is getting a congratulatory “good doggy” pat on the head from his catcher. I think battery shots like this would make a good insert along with double play combos. Maybe for Gypsy Queen like they do for Sliding Stars or Glove Stories. Unfortunately, a lot of mound conferences are negative as they’re usually calming the pitcher down or pulling him.

SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 24: Relief pitcher Buddy Boshers #54 (L) of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is congratulated by catcher Hank Conger #16 after defeating the Seattle Mariners 5-1 at Safeco Field on August 24, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Like I thought, this photo is pretty self-explanatory. We can see from the caption that it wasn’t a save situation and I’m not even sure that Boshers is the Angels official closer. American League. Pfffft. Anyway, let’s take a look at the BOXSCORE and see if Boshers was in any kind of trouble at all.

Doesn’t look like much trouble unless he pitched the 7^th inning.

Nope, just the 9^th. And two strikeouts to boot.  Let’s see who he got.

Dustin Ackley fly ball. Nick Franklin for the backwards K. And finally Brad Miller for the swinging K. Not a bad day’s work.

But let’s play I Spy for a minute back on the picture. With two players being featured, there’s a lot going on.

On Boshers, we have a Nike logo on his undershirt.

And his clearly marked (twice) Rawlings glove.

Also, on his chest, he is wearing the LEW patch. The patch is in memory of team doctor, Dr. Lewis Yocum. But his influence wasn’t limited to the Angels as some other players wore the patch as well.

Moving over to catcher, Hank Conger, we see the Mizuno logo on his glove and juuuust barely on his catcher’s mask.

And a new one that I’ve either missed a dozen times already or just didn’t get a clear enough shot, under the Angels patch on Conger’s sleeve, we see the Majestic Athletic logo. Majestic Athletic is the current official provider of MLB uniforms.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Buddy held lefties to a .158 average as a rookie.

This is one of those facts that I’ll trust Topps to get right because I’m too lazy to actually do the digging myself. If anybody has a quick and easy way for me to verify this kind of information, please let me know!

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #34

Player Name: Buddy Boshers

Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: August 24, 2013

Opponent: Seattle Mariners

Stadium: Safeco Field

Division: American League West

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 5-1, Angels over the Mariners, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Birthdate: 5/9/1988

Birthplace: Alabama

Cameos by: Hank Conger

Photographer: Otto Greule Jr

Niche collections this card could fit into: Southpaw, Cameo, Free Advertising, Patch

My Grade: I like this card. Probably more than I should considering I’m not an American League fan and it is not horizontal. It does fill quite a few niches though and I like that it shows a congratulatory mound conference instead of one of the negative ones. The crop and centering is really good and the only drawback that I can think of is that Boshers isn’t the one front and center. Not that Hank Conger is, but they kind of co-share the space. Like I said earlier if this was a “Battery” themed insert, this photo would have been perfect.

It still gets an A+ from me though and as you can see by the grades in the left hand column, I don’t give those out willy-nilly like!

#M-10 Dinger (Colorado Rockies)

I know my posting schedule here has been a little out of whack but I’m trying to find my groove again. I’m back today with another Mascot from 2014 Topps Opening Day.

 #M-10 Dinger (Colorado Rockies)

First impression of what’s going on: Unlike the Orioles Mascot, the Colorado Rockies mascot gets a name on the card, Dinger. There isn’t much “mascotting” going on here as Dinger looks more like a deer caught in the headlights. I have no idea if Dinger is male or female so I’ll say “it” until my research tells me otherwise.

Dinger is a purple triceratops with some multi-colored freckles(?) on it’s head. No pants, just a too short jersey.

 

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 25: Dinger the mascot of the Colorado Rockies adorns a beard to commemorate Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies as he plays his last home game at Coors Field on September 25, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The caption didn’t help much for Dinger’s gender because anybody can sport a fake beard to honor longtime Rockie, Todd Helton. I noticed the black around the mouth but I had no idea what it was supposed to be. Let’s take a look at the BOXSCORE and see if Dinger did its job of cheering the Rockies to victory.

 

Yikes! Nope. Well it didn’t help the team, but maybe sporting that honorary fake beard helped Helton.

 

 

Yes! In his Coors Field swan song, Helton went 2-3 with a double, home run and a sacrifice fly.

On to the back:

 

There’s no Rookie Fact on these as it has been replaced by the Identifying Feature.

Identifying Feature: Colorful Dots on His Head

Nice! I identified his identifying feature in my first impressions. Score! And in case you missed it, his head. Dinger is male!

The write up on the back provides Dinger’s origin story. Apparently, during contruction for the stadium, the construction crew found dinosaur bones. Maybe it did, but I’m surprised this didn’t cause some kind of delay or even relocation of the facilities.

I couldn’t find much information on Dinger through the Rockies website (just his rates for private appearances) and it appears he doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. There does appear to be a lot of anti-Dinger propaganda out there though. It’s a hard knock life for a mascot.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #M-10
Player Name: Dinger
Team: Colorado Rockies
Position: Mascot
Game Date: September 25, 2013
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Stadium: Coors Field
Division: National League West
Home/Away: Home
Outcome of the game: 15-5, Red Sox over the Rockies
Alternate/Throwback Jersey: N/A
Bats/Throws: N/A
Birthdate: Hatched: N/A
Birthplace: Colorado
Cameos by: N/A
Photographer: Doug Pensinger
Niche collections this card could fit into: Awesome Hair, Mascots

My Grade: I mentioned at the beginning that Dinger didn’t seem to be doing any “mascotting” in this photo and that, to me is kind of a detractor for a mascot card. He should be hooting and hollering and pumping up the crowd. I know there are some mixed feelings on mascots and their place in the game, but I think they’re fun.

To be fair to Topps, there wasn’t much of a selection to choose from though.

This card is getting a C.

#301 Shane Victorino

#301 Shane Victorino

First impression of what’s going on: At first glance you might think Shane Victorino is trying to steal a home run. But that yellow line on the wall behind him is the foul marker and he’s going a ball that pushed foul. It doesn’t look good as far as making the catch because he is out of room and the ball is not in the picture. I like how none of the Boston fans are interfering with the play. That home team crowd knows what’s up.

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 4: Shane Victorino #18 of the Boston Red Sox leaps over the right field wall in foul territory while missing a pop fly in front of a young fan during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 4, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: After looking at the source photo, the ball does look catchable but the caption claims it was not caught. And after zooming a bit out, we do see a young Red Sox fan sticking his cap out to try and catch the ball too, but I’m not sure how much he would have actually interfered. With no out recorded, the BOXSCORE won’t be much help but let’s see how Victorino did overall anyway.

The Red Sox came away winners, 4-0.

Victorino had two hits, including an RBI single in the 6^th inning.

We do see most of the Nike swooshes on his shoes as he’s flying through the air.

And I’m pretty sure these are sunglasses.

There are several fans although I wouldn't call any of them notable. Maybe if that kid reaching out his hat had made the card and not just his hat.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: On 5/11/2003, Shane entered as a pinch-runner, and stole second and third.

Victorino was a rookie with the San Diego Padres. I don't think I knew that. I've mostly associated him with the Phillies. That May 11^th game was the 30^th of Victorino's career and up to that point had only a few meaningless hits and RBIs.

With the Padres down by one with one out in the top of the 9^th, Victorino entered as a pinch runner when pinch-hitter Dave Hansen drew a walk. As noted in the rookie fact, he steals second and third, still with one out. Unfortunately, Victorino gets stranded there as the game ends when the next two batters can't drive him.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #301

Player Name: Shane Victorino

Team: Boston Red Sox

Position: Outfield

Game Date: August 4, 2013

Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks

Stadium: Fenway Park

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-0, Red Sox over the Diamondbacks, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 11/30/1980

Birthplace: Hawaii

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jared Wickerham

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, League Leader in Italics, Sunglasses

My Grade: When I first saw the card I thought it was pretty cool. Then I thought it may be coasting on the Victorino’s attempt. I have nothing against the Red Sox but I seemed to be looking for ways to give this card less than an A. I almost missed the Nike logos and sunglasses. Despite not making the catch, it is an amazing shot, so it gets it’s A.