#94 Mitch Moreland

Yesterday’s card didn’t leave me much wiggle room in finding a connecting card. I could have gone Marlins but since I connected teams to get to Nicasio, I decided to go with a palette cleansing horizontal card.

#94 Mitch Moreland

First impression of what’s going on: At first glance, this one might look like a generic first baseman’s pose. And to many, it might be kind of boring. I like that you can see the ball just before it arrives in the glove. Many times this would have been vertical card  and the ball cropped out. This is a great example of how cards should be cropped/framed. I like it.

ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 30: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Texas Rangers in action in the interleague game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on May 30, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Since the card was well-cropped, there isn't much I want to add about the photo. As far as the selection goes, the only thing that could have been better for the viewer is maybe a closer play where the runner is coming into view. No big deal though, still a great shot. And since the caption for the photo doesn't give any detailed information about the play or the final score, let’s go to the BOXSCORE to find out more about the game.

Looks like the Rangers got off to an early big lead before stamping out some late inning Diamondbacks rallies. Even though this card shows Moreland on the defensive side of the ball, let's see if he helped offensively, too.

Not a bad day at the plate, a two run home run and he was hit by a pitch and came around to score on that, too.

And his home run was even one of the top five plays of the game.

Ive mentioned before that I don’t know too much about teams’ jerseys other than the Cubs. I thought Moreland might be wearing an alternate jersey because they were obviously home (check out the Rangers Road Trip sign in the background) but his jersey said Texas and not Rangers across the front. I thought, for the most part, home jerseys said the team nickname while road jerseys bore the name of the city/state from which the team hailed. Apparently, the Texas Rangers are an exception to this rule of thumb.

And speaking of the Rangers Road Trip, does that count towards the Free Advertising niche?

Unfortunately, I’m leaning towards no. Maybe if the website had been a little more in focus. What do you think? I almost missed the subtlety of the Nike logo from his undershirt. Nike has gone subliminal!

Moreland does get credit for wearing sunglasses, even though they are being worn uselessly. And from the brightness of the original Getty photo, it looks like he probably should have had them on his eyes.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Mitch ranked fourth in the 2010 AL rookie class with nine homers.

I ran a quick query over at Fangraphs.com and came up with the list of rookie home run leaders in the AL in 2010.

Even though he is listed as “5^th” Moreland clearly tied for fourth with the Detroit Tigers’ Don Kelly. But when you look at how many fewer games and plate appearances it took Moreland to reach his numbers than any of the other top players, it is much more impressive.

Moreland’s blurb mentions her interest in pitching. I wonder if we’ll ever get to see him as a late game, inning eater in a blow out or extra inning affair.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #94

Player Name: Mitch Moreland

Team: Texas Rangers

Position: First Base

Game Date: May 30, 2013

Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks

Stadium: Rangers Ball Park in Arlington

Division: American League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 9-5, Rangers over the Diamondbacks, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Birthdate: 9/6/1985

Birthplace: Mississippi

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: R. Yeatts

Niche collections this card could fit into: Horizontal, Southpaws, Sunglasses, Free Advertising

My Grade: I really like this card. The look of concentration, great angle, ball in the photo, great crop. All the makings of an A card. An alternate/throwback jersey or maybe the runner as a cameo would have pushed it over the top to an A+. Still a great card though.