#280 Everth Cabrera

Yesterday, I mentioned how much I appreciate a dirty jersey. Playing hard and sacrificing the body to get the job done. I scrolled through the file folder of 2014 Topps cards until I came upon this gem.

#280 Everth Cabrera

First impression of what’s going on: Everth Cabrera has just slid into, I’m pretty sure, third base. He’s either arguing the call and telling the umpire how safe he was or he is caught mid celebratory clap. It could be a stolen base or a triple or maybe just a close play. The cropping is pretty good. Any tighter and we wouldn't have been able to see the base and for all we know, it would have just been Cabrera telling us how big the fish was he caught.

SAN DIEGO, CA-APRIL13: Everth Cabrera #2 of the San Diego Padres claps after sliding into third base with a triple against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 13, 2013 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Andy Hayt/SanDiego Padres/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: We have another early season photo, this one in mid-April. The photographer didn't leave Topps much room to super crop, so the photo isn't much different than the card. Like I tell my barber, just a little off the sides and top. The caption confirms a triple but nothing of the score so let's head over to the BOXSCORE.

Looks like the Padres suffered a few rough innings early and ran short of outs to catch up. But not for lack of trying on Cabrera part.

Four hits, two runs and two RBIs.

He led off the bottom of the first the pictured triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly.

In the third, he had an RBI single. Too bad he ended the inning by being caught stealing. Third base. I swear my theory on him explaining to the umpire how far he was safe came before I looked at the boxscore. I pretty much write these as I research them and always do my “first impression” by just looking at the card. Luckily the caption already clarified that this was after his triple or else we’d have a dilemma on our hands.

After a ground out in the fifth, Cabrera bounced back with a solo home run in the 7^th. C’mon, teammates! He can only knock in those of you who get on base! I guess I just been J. Baker because Venable already cleared the bases himself.

And finally, in the 9^th, he tried to start another rally with a one out single before Chirs Denorfia ended the game with a double play. For those of you keeping track, that’s a double short of the cycle for Cabrera, something no Padre has ever done. How much did you miss it by, Everth?

That much.

If I knew Petco Park a little better, I could probably tell you what the sign behind Cabrera said. Fortunately for the Free Advertising collectors, Cabrera is sporting a Nike swoosh on his undershirt.

And since we’re in Petco Park, and Cabrera is not wearing the typical white colored jersey of the home team, this must be an alternate jersey, correct?

Correct. This is one of two alternate uniform the Padres sported in 2013, along with their Sunday camo jerseys.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Everth was the first Padres rookie to hit a walk-off grand slam.

Just about every young ballplayer has pretended at one point or another to be at the plate in the bottom of the 9^th, two outs, down by three and hitting a walk-off grand slam. On August 7, 2009, Everth Cabrera almost lived that dream. His Padres weren't down by three and there weren't any outs but it's still pretty awesome to come up that big, especially as a rookie.

As to the aforementioned “dream” feat (walk-off situation, two outs, down by three), that has only happened fifteen times in the hundreds of thousands of games in MLB history. It has happened twelve other times with either one or zero outs for a total of twenty seven walk-off grand slams with the team down by three. Source: Baseball Almanac

Knowing that every team gets at least one player onto the All-Star team, the first part of the last sentence in the blurb makes you think he was the token Padre. But the second half lets you know he deserved it. Those are some impressive half season stats.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #280

Player Name: Everth Cabrera

Team: San Diego Padres

Position: Shortstop

Game Date: April 13, 2013

Opponent: Colorado Rockies

Stadium: Petco Park

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 9-5, Rockies over Padres, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 11/17/1986

Birthplace: Nicaragua

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Andy Hayt

Niche collections this card could fit into: League Leader in Italics, Switch Hitter, Dirty Jersey, Alternate Jersey, Free Advertising, Celebration

My Grade: No doubter, A+. Good photography, catching a great moment. Good crop. Lots of niches. The player had a great game. The rookie fact was interesting. And I didn't even go into the red text on the back touting his League Leader status. Nice job all around.