#168 Alex Rodriguez

#168 Alex Rodriguez

First impression of what’s going on: Personal feeling about Alex Rodriguez aside, this card is…eh. I’m tying it together with yesterday’s Oswaldo Arcia card through the fist pumping celebration they showcase. But unlike Arcia's, Rodriguez’s card takes place on the defensive side of the ball. He could have just made a play himself or it could be one of those where the game just ended and everybody’s happy. He could have found out he just “passed” another drug test. Without any context from a wider angle shot, I have no clue.

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 22: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees reacts after throwing out Brett Lawrie #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays to end the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium on August 22, 2013 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Wow! We actually get the exact play from the caption. I thought this was going to be an inconclusive photo with a generic caption. Topps did have more room on the right to not crop out A-Rod’s arm but do we expect anything less by now?

An inning ending ground out isn't something normally celebrated like that so let’s check out the BOXSCORE and see if it was a close game or a clutch play.

It was still scoreless and only the fourth inning. Maybe A-Rod really didn't have a lot to celebrate in his life so a ground ball is that important.

According to the inning summary, the Blue Jays had a runner on third and A-Rod’s 3B counterpart, Brett Lawrie hit the ball to weak third base. I guess I can cut A-Rod some slack for celebrating a little because it was a play that if he doesn't make, the Blue Jays get a run and still have a runner at first.

But here’s a plot twist for you.

If I’m interpreting the inning summary correctly, in the bottom half of the inning, A-Rod hits a ball that deflects off the pitcher to Lawrie, who proceeds to throw A-Rod out at first. Without seeing videos of either play, it kind of sounds like Lawrie one-upped him for a little karmic payback.

There’s not much going on in the photo to qualify many other niches. As classic as the Yankees pinstripes are, we don’t get to see anything else on the uniform that make some of the other cards so interesting. Even A-Rod’s arm bands are logo-less, from this angle at least. We do get to see that his glove preference is Rawlings with a small logo peeking out.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Alex was just the third 18-year-old since 1900 to debut as a shortstop.

So I found a list of the youngest player in the league for each year, but it didn't list it by position. And there could be an 18-year-old shortstop that wasn't the youngest in the league so I’m not sure how helpful that is. I’m pretty sure Robin Yount is one of the other two guys, but I’m a little too lazy to look any further.

With A-Rod’s tenure, there's no room for a blurb. We get a lot of red text which is usually pretty good. Unfortunately, most of it should probably have an asterix. And in the words of Forrest Gump, “that’s all I have to say about that.”

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #168

Player Name: Alex Rodriguez

Team: New York Yankees

Position: Third Base

Game Date: August 22, 2013

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays

Stadium: Yankee Stadium

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 5-3, Yankees over the Blue Jays, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 7/27/1975

Birthplace: New York

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jim McIsaac

Niche collections this card could fit into: Celebration, League Leader in Italics, Former 1^st Round Draft Pick

My Grade: Even admitting a slight bias against Alex Rodriguez, I’m not sure I can justify giving more than a B- to this card. Nothing about it excites me. The photo is pretty good, capturing what was probably a fairly quick fist pump after a bang bang play. But the crop isn’t great. The back is full of gaudy stats but I don’t think I have to explain why that’s not impressive either. Meh.

#327 Pablo Sandoval

We’ve got a couple of connections between yesterday’s card (Dioner Navarro) and today’s. Both were born in Venezuela. Both are wearing sunglasses. But the connection I was trying to make is they are both Switch Hitters.

#327 Pablo Sandoval

First impression of what’s going on: This is another solid photo with a unfortunate crop. No elbows for Pablo! I always like a dirty jersey so without a bunch of obvious niches, the card has that going for it at least.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 5: Pablo Sandoval #48 of the San Francisco Giants fields during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on April 5, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The Giants defeated the Cardinals 1-0. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Look at all that elbow room Sandoval has! The caption doesn’t give much to go on so let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see if we can’t figure something out ourselves.

We knew it was 1-0 from the caption, but only nine hits from both teams combined probably puts it on the bubble for an actual pitchers’ duel, right? Throw in another combined 9 walks and the error you have 19 base runners. I don’t know who to give credit (or blame) for on that.

Sandoval had a number of assists in this game and aside from the two double plays he started, it would be tough to rule any of them out.

Kind of a boring card to investigate.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Pablo hit .393 in August of 2008 – highest of any MLB Rookie that month.

That’s impressive, but not necessarily that interesting. On the other hand, mentioned in the blurb, is that Sandoval was a judge at the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant. Kind of random, but here are a couple of photos from the event I found.

Kung Fu Panda posing on the red carpet:

With what I’m assuming are some of the other judges:

I think Sandoval is second from the left

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #327

Player Name: Pablo Sandoval

Team: San Francisco Giants

Position: Third Base

Game Date: April 5, 2013

Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals

Stadium: AT&T Park

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 1-0 Giants over the Cardinals, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 8/11/1986

Birthplace: Venezuela

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Michael Zagaris

Niche collections this card could fit into: Sunglasses, Switch Hitter, Dirty Jersey

My Grade: I thought this one was going to be better when I picked it. The photo is pretty standard for a fielding third baseman, but as I mentioned, I like a dirty jersey and the extra effort that can be assumed from one. The cropped elbows hurt it along with a lack of mini collections this would fit into. The back was also kind of boring too although it allowed me to Google image search the Miss Universe pageant so I’m going to give this one a B-. 

#77 Aroldis Chapman

Since I waited so long to do the Reds, I’ll go back-to-back with them.

#77 Aroldis Chapman

First impression of what’s going on: Again, I’m not good with other team’s alternate vs. throwback uniforms but this one has an old-timey feel to it. The crop is ok, better than most Topps has done, but still a little too zoomed in, cutting off his right elbow.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 01: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Cincinnati Reds closes out the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game on June 1, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Like the Leake photo from yesterday, this is another really nice photo, if you’re a Reds fan. The subtle red in the uniform really pops against the grey and there’s nothing in the background to distract from Chapman. The caption doesn’t give much information so as usual, let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Despite giving up 10 hits, the Reds shut out the Pirates, so it looks like Chapman got the Save.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Yep, five batters faced though. Late game rally for the Buccos?

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Wow, three pinch hitters for the Pirates. I guess if you’re not scoring with the guys you got out there, the last of the 9^th is the time to pull out all the stops. Despite a single and a walk, Chapman maintained the shutout, earning his 14^th Save on the season. Coincidentally, yesterday’s subject, Mike Leake was the starter and earned the win.

As for the uniform, it was a throwback. Both teams wore Negro League tribute uniforms as shown below.

Screenshot courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportlogos.net

This was the only time last season the Reds wore this uniform, going a perfect 1-0 with this win.

And for a little Free Advertising, it looks like Chapman is a Nike guy. Sporting “swooshes” on his glove and undershirt, Chapman gives a double shoutout. There’s also a little bit of self-promotion with his name stitched on the glove.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: A 105-MPH fastball by Aroldis was the fastest ever recorded by Pitch/FX.

What is Pitch/FX you ask? Well, here’s a handy dandy LINK to the FanGraphs explanation because I was curious myself. It mentions that it has been installed in every MLB stadium since around 2006. I don’t know if anyone has thrown faster than that, but having the fastest pitch in the past 8-ish years is till pretty impressive. Especially for a rookie.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #77

Player Name: Aroldis Chapman

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: June 1, 2013

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates

Stadium: PNC Park

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 2-0, Reds over Pirates, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, throwback

Bats/Throws: Left /Left

Birthdate: 2/28/1988

Birthplace: Cuba

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Justin K. Aller

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

My Grade: I have nothing against Chapman except that he plays for the rival Reds. The only time I see him play is against my Cubs so if he’s not in the game, that’s a good sign for my Cubbies. The card itself doesn’t have much going for it but the throwback uniform carries a lot of weight. Enough to bring it up from an average C to a B-. 

#110 Wil Myers

#110 Wil Myers

First impression of what’s going on: I like me a good running photo. Going from first to third or trying to score from second on a single to the outfield. Hair and jersey flapping in the breeze. Wil Myers looks ready to karate chop you out of his way with one hand or knock your lights out with the other. By my count, six of the eleven Topps All-Star Rookies are included in Topps Series 1, but Myers is the first one I've shown.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 27: Wil Myers #9 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2013 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Rays defeated the Yankees 1-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The angle of Myers running seems a little more pronounced zoomed out. The caption just lists him “in action” so let’s go to the BOXSCORE to see if we can figure out what’s going on.

Oooh, close game. Did Myers score the lone run? Or maybe drive it in?

Nope and nope. Let’s see what he did with his hit.

Hmmmm. A leadoff double by Myers in the 4th, followed by a walk and then three strikeouts. I would have sworn Myers was coming to third in this photo but he was stranded at second. Getting the angle of Myers coming in that hard on a double would put the photographer out in the left field bleachers. Possible, but not likely. If I knew more about Yankee Stadium, I could probably tell you exactly where that yellow sign is in the background and know better.

Aha.

I got ahead of myself. I found his hit in the fourth but going back to the first inning, with a runner already on, Myers grounded to the third baseman who went for the lead runner. Myers was safe at first though. And that was followed by a single to center field by James Loney, moving Myers from first to third on the play. Much more likely scenario to match the photo.

The lone run came in the 6^th but had nothing to do with Myers, as he led off the inning with a ground ball out.

Myers is wearing an “alternate” jersey. The Rays wore it 61 times last year. Compare that to the 27 times they wore their official road uniform and the 65 times they wore their home whites and you'll see why I put the word alternate in air quotes.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Wil is the lone Rays rookie with 7 RBI in his first eight games.

I’ll be honest, I’m feeling a little too lazy to fact check this. But the Rays are just starting their 17^th season (wow, that makes me feel old!) so it seems feasible for Myers to have that record already.

I don’t know what the deadline is for these cards, but there is no mention of Myers winning the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year award on November 11, 2013. Myers was the third Rays player in the last six seasons to win the award and teammate Chris Archer (former Cubs prospect) took third place.Previous Rays winners include Evan Longoria in 2008 and Jeremy Hellickson in 2011. It was a Florida sweep as Miami Marlins pitcher, Jose Fernandez took home the NL ROY honors.

I would have to do more research on it, but 88 games seems low for a non-pitcher Rookie of the Year winner. I know a lot of rookies are mid or late season call ups, but I would think a player who made the team out of spring training or hit at least 100 games would have a leg up on those guys. But he seems to have gotten overwhelming support.

Eh, what do I know? Myers winning the ROY was fairly recent, but if you ask me again in 6 months, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you! Again, no offense to Myers. It's just that 90% of the time if I'm watching AL baseball, its because one of their teams is playing the Cubs. The other ten percent is postseason.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #110

Player Name: Wil Myers

Team: Tampa Bay Rays

Position: Outfield

Game Date: July 27, 2013

Opponent: New York Yankees

Stadium: Yankee Stadium

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 1-0, Rays over the Yankees, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate road

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 12/10/1990

Birthplace: North Carolina

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jim McIsaac

Niche collections this card could fit into: Alternate Jersey, Topps All-Star Rookie

My Grade:  I like the photo choice, but not the cropping. The Topps All-Star Rookie designation carries a lot of weight but there's just not a lot about this card that wows me. B-

#266 Zack Wheeler

#266 Zack Wheeler

First impression of what’s going on: Like earlier with the Ernesto Frieri of the Angels, I think Wheeler is sporting an alternate jersey. And like most of the cards this year so far, cropped too close. Eventually I might stop mentioning it, but in fairness to the cards I've already dinged on it, it’ll still get counted. Although the Future Stars logo isn't very legible, Wheeler is one of 15 players in Series 1 to get it on his card.

 

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 30: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets in action against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on June 30, 2013 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Nationals defeated the Mets 13-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Yep, plenty of uncropped elbow in the original photo and the ball/hand doesn't have to be obscured by the Topps logo. Getty hasn't been real specific with the pitchers on their captions as to the batter or situation.  But it does let me know that this was a 13-2 drubbing. This won’t be good for Wheeler. Let’s go to the BOXSCORE to see just how bad it was.

Well, it looks like most of the runs came late in the game, probably off the bullpen. I’d be surprised if Wheeler made it much past those first five runs. And if he did, certainly not all the way to the 8^th when the Nationals unleashed a half dozen more runs.

So Wheeler did make it a little further but started to get into trouble in the 5^th and got the hook. Wheeler was involved in all five of the Top 5 Plays, although as a pitcher, that’s rarely a good thing. Case in point:

Another thing that caught my attention about this game, and it has nothing to do with Wheeler or this card. Former Cub, Anthony Recker pitched the 9^th inning. And that’s only notable because, with the Cubs, Recker was a catcher. He must have gotten some whiplash from his inning though as you’ll see from the inning summary:

Walk. Home Run. And then three fly balls hit to the outfield. Luckily, they stayed in the field of play. I don’t know how hard they were hit, but with the wind on any given day at Wrigley Field, those could have been gone!

Back to Zack Wheeler. The Mets uniforms were one of seven they used in 2013. See the chart below courtesy of sportslogos.net for the results while wearing this one.

And Rawlings is getting a little Free Advertising with two prominent logos on Wheeler’s glove. And I guess he’s advertising himself too as his name is written on the glove.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Zack is the only Mets rookie to have won his first five road decisions.

Aha! The bludgeoning at the hands of the Nationals was a home game. Sorry season ticket holders, in 2014, Wheeler is only pitching on the road!

The blurb mentions that the Mets won 10 of Wheeler’s first 14 starts. By the end of the season, they had still only won 10 of his eventual 17 starts. It doesn't mention in the five games that Wheeler is credited with “losing” that the Mets scored two runs twice, one run twice and were shutout the last one.

Yes, there was the lopsided game against the Nats depicted on the card, but how about some run support, Mets?!

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #266

Player Name: Zack Wheeler

Team: New York Mets

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: June 30, 2013

Opponent: Washington Nationals

Stadium: Citi Field

Division: National League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 13-2, Nationals over the Mets, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 5/30/1990

Birthplace: Georgia

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jim McIsaac

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, Future Stars, Alternate Jersey, Partial Southpaw, Former First Round Pick

My Grade: I started out thinking this card would be a dud. Bad crop, boring photo, dud of a game. I think I've seen cards of his in the Pro Debut set but I’ll admit, I've only heard of Zack Wheeler in passing. No appearances against the Cubs last year. After going further into his season, I’d definitely take him on the Cubs.

But that doesn't really have anything to do with the card itself. It does fit into a few of the niche collections to save it from mediocrity of a C. But only barely. Final grade is a B-.

#24 Manny Machado

#24 Manny Machado

First impression of what’s going on: Pretty standard third baseman shot, but again, the crop is a tad too tight. I think we still get the dirt on the jersey and expression on his face without sacrificing his elbow.

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 11: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles throws the ball to first base against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 11, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: It looks like Machado is charging a slow roller/bunt. The caption doesn’t give much detail so we’ll have to go to the BOXSCORE.

In the first inning, Machado fielded two ground balls. The first, going towards the shortstop is where I’m speculating his uniform got dirty. The third batter and final out of the inning was a ground ball to weak third base by Albert Pujols. That could be it.

In the 4^th, Machado fielded another ball to weak 3B, this time off the bat of Mark Trumbo.

Finally, in the 9^th, Mike Trout also had a ball to weak third base.

In my limited skills as a detective, I’m going to say this photo was taken during the first inning on the ball hit by Albert Pujols. If you look in the upper right hand corner of the photo there are a lot of empty seats behind Machado. It could very well be a snack run in the 4^th or people left during the 9^th, but I’m betting that people were still trickling into the game.

Machado does give Rawlings some love by displaying two logos prominently on his glove.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Manny was, on 8/10/2012, the franchise’s youngest player with a 2-HR game.

I didn’t fact check this but I did go to the BOXSCORE to see the game.

Batting .500 on the season after going 2-4. What was it his first game?

Close. He did it in just his second game! That’s pretty impressive.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #24

Player Name: Manny Machado

Team: Baltimore Orioles

Position: Third Base

Game Date: June 11, 2013

Opponent: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Stadium: Oriole Park at Camden Yard

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-2, Orioles over the Angels, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 7/6/1992

Birthplace: Florida

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: G Fiume

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, Future Stars, Dirty Jersey

My Grade: I did say it was a pretty standard third baseman shot, but the dirty jersey gives it a little extra something. At the same time, the orange blob in the upper right hand corner (a vendor’s shirt if you look at the photo) is not very attractive to the card.  The crop job doesn’t really help either. But I am a fan of the cartoon bird on the hat making a comeback. I’m going to say B- on this one.