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There’s no Rookie Fact on these as it has been replaced by the Identifying Feature.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

#13 Juan Nicasio

Today’s card is connected to the last card through the Colorado Rockies organization. A sliding Josh Rutledge appeared as a cameo on Mark Ellis' card and today I have Juan Nicasio, a pitcher with the Rockies.

#13 Juan Nicasio

First impression of what’s going on: I don’t think even my love for horizontal cards can save this monstrosity. This is a worse-than-usual crop job by Topps here. Right leg in the upper left corner, cropped. Glove hand on the right side, cropped. Left leg, cropped. Even the one appendage we can fully see, Topps managed to find a photo where it looks like Nicasio’s thumb is missing! This card is very synergetic with my Once a Cub post from today, Ugh.

DENVER, CO - JULY 25: Juan Nicasio #12 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Miami Marlins during a game at Coors Field on July 25, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The game was delayed due to rain in the middle of the seventh inning. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: This photo by itself isn't bad at all, but on this particular baseball card, Topps chose poorly. Nicasio's delivery is so spread out, it didn't really have a chance of being cropped properly. The caption is generic so we can’t pinpoint to any particular play in the game. But let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see if they at least finished the game, since the caption says it was delayed.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Looks like some solid starting pitching before the dam broke for both bullpens. Is that literal since there was a rain delay between the shutout and scoring?

To be honest, I couldn't even tell you if Nicasio was a starting pitcher or a reliever so I’ll have to further into the breakdown to see what this means for today's subject.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

I guess the good news for Nicasio is that despite the crappy card, he had a very nice day on the mound. Seven innings pitched while only giving up two hits and a walk and striking out nine seems pretty good in the Mile High City. Who knows how it would have turned out if there was no rain delay and Nicasio kept pitching. According to this RECAP, it was 93 minute delay.

Unlike during the Rutledge cameo, the Rockies weren't wearing an alternate jersey on this day. But we do get to see a decent shot of the Rockies 20^th Anniversary patch that Nicasio is sporting on his sleeve.

Here’s a better look courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net:

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: The Colorado Rockies won six of Juan’s seven starts at Coors Field in 2011.

He must have gotten a little bit more run support than he did in the game pictured on the front.

Turns out that while the Rockies were 6-1 when Nicasio pitched at home, they were 1-5 when he pitched on the road. And that only home loss? That was the game that Nicasio “broke his neck” as mentioned in the blurb.

For those that don’t remember, while pitching against the Washington Nationals, Nicasio took a line drive to the head. When he fell, he fractured a vertebrae in his neck. There is video online for those curious, but I won’t be posting it here. Scary stuff.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #13

Player Name: Juan Nicasio

Team: Colorado Rockies

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: July 25, 2013

Opponent: Miami Marlins

Stadium: Coors Field

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 5-3, Marlins over the Rockies, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 8/31/1986

Birthplace: Dominican Republic

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Dustin Bradford

Niche collections this card could fit into: Horiztonal

My Grade: When I saw this card, I hated it. After the breakdown, and remembering/learning more about Nicasio’s injury, I feel a little guilty about that but it is still a horribly conceived card. The fact that it is horizontal can’t even carry it out the doldrums. Sorry, Juan, but this card gets an F.

Also apologies go out to photographer Dustin Bradford because the photo itself is pretty good. Not his fault.

As I did with the other “F” card, here are a couple of photos that would have been better.

This is a slightly different angle of the one used but would have been much better as the only thing cropped would have been his left leg. Still nothing that would set it apart so I kept looking.

Cropped at the waist, this one would have made for a good horizontal card too. We have an alternate jersey with a celebratory motion going on.

Can't go wrong with a pitcher at the plate. And laying down a bunt, too. The last three were also by the same photographer as the one that was used.

And last, we have what could be my favorite. We've got a cameo by the bat boy and the player most synonymous with the Rockies organization, Todd Helton. There's the pitcher's appreciative and congratulatory butt slap. And of course one of the rarest of locations for a card, the on deck circle. Photographer Doug Pensinger's work has already been used on other cards and the game is from May, well within Topps time frame for cards, so I see nothing that would have stopped the use of this photo.

#111 Mark Ellis

Continuing a string of connected cards, I’m going to pair up yesterday’s Lonnie Chisenhall card with Mark Ellis.

#111 Mark Ellis

First impression of what’s going on: Tying these two cards together are the cameos. Chisenhall had a guy on deck and an umpire. Ellis' card has the lead runner in what looks to be a double play. This card is going to hit a lot of niches but I don’t know how I feel about that. Could Topps really not squeeze in two or three more pixels to get Ellis’ throwing pinkie in the frame?

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 02: Second baseman Mark Ellis #14 of the Los Angeles Dodgers turns a doube play on Josh Rutledge #14 of the Colorado Rockies as shortstop Hanley Ramirez #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers watches in the sixth inning at Coors Field on September 2, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 10-8. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: This photo didn’t come up right away from me on Getty Images. The term “Mark Ellis 2013” brought up over 1000 results so I tried to narrow down. Next, I tried “Mark Ellis 2013 Double Play” but as you can see, Getty spelled “double” wrong in the caption so it didn’t come up. Luckily, Topps kept the Rockies Josh Rutledge in the picture as “Mark Ellis 2013 Rockies” finally brought up the picture with just a few options.

We also get to see Dodgers shortstop, Hanley Ramirez who was cropped out of the card and the caption credits him as “watching” the double play. That makes me wonder if this actually was a 4-3 double play that Ellis handled on his own or if Hanley is watching after feeding the ball to Ellis for a 6-4-3 twin killing. Guess we’ll have to check out the BOXSCORE.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

The Dodgers were winning 8-5 at this point in the game, so a double play was definitely crucial to stopping a potential rally. Let’s see how it went down.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Wow. The Rockies had runners on first and third with no outs and the Dodgers managed to get out of it. Thanks in part to Mark Ellis and the double play. And as you can see, Ramirez did more than just “watch” the play.

I mentioned that this card qualifies for a couple of niches so let’s break those down. From the top down, we have sunglasses (even if not worn over his eyes) and a pair of logos for some Free Advertising.

There’s a Nike undershirt and a Rawlings logo on the glove. I believe there’s a second Nike logo on his wrist band but since the card is already getting Nike credit from his undershirt and you can’t really see it, I didn’t screenshot it.

I also thought it was worth noting that even though Ellis is not wearing an alternate or throwback jersey, Josh Rutledge is wearing one.

Screenshot from Chris Creamer's Sportslogos.net

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Mark’s .368 AVG in the 2002 ALDS included a ninth-inning 3-run homer.

Unfortunately for the Athletics, it was a case of too little too late. In Game 5, the A’s were down 5-1 before Ellis’s homer and couldn't quite complete the comeback. They lost not only the game, but also the series. 

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Because of his veteran status and years of playing experience, there’s no blurb on the back of the card.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #111

Player Name: Mark Ellis

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Position: Second Base

Game Date: September 2, 2013

Opponent: Colorado Rockies

Stadium: Coors Field

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 10-8, Dodgers over the Rockies, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No, kinda. Cameo player has one.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/6/1977

Birthplace: South Dakota

Cameos by: Josh Rutledge

Photographer: Doug Pensinger

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, Double Play, Sunglasses, Cameo

My Grade: I think I’m supposed to like this card as it hits a couple of the bigger mini collections but something about it doesn’t do it for me. I’m ok giving it an A, but again, this is not a “No Doubter” of an A+. 

#96 Wily Peralta

#96 Wily Peralta

First impression of what’s going on: I can’t quite put my finger on it because there’s nothing real exciting about this photo, but I like it. Maybe the intimidation factor? There’s s light cropping issue on the right side, but nothing horrible like a missing limb. There isn’t much to go on so hopefully the caption can shed some light.

DENVER, CO - JULY 26: Starting pitcher Wily Peralta #60 of the Milwaukee Brewers works against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 26, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Peralta collected the loss as the Rockies defeated the Brewers 8-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Well that was kind of a spoiler alert with the caption. Looks like the Rockies weren’t as intimidated by Peralta.  Let’s take a look at the BOXSCORE.

Most of the runs were scored early. Let’s see how many Peralta was on the hook for:

Ouch. I’ve seen a couple of cards already where the player depicted was n the losing end, but there hasn’t been one yet where the player was as directly responsible. Maybe Peralta wasn’t trying to be intimidating, but instead trying to hide.

We do get more than a glimpse of Peralta’s glove brand, TPX, for a little free advertising there.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Wily tossed eight innings of two-hit shutut ball, 9/16/12.

This is a pretty straight forward fact that, although a little on the boring side, are harder to get wrong.

This game definitely went more Peralta’s way than the one captured for the card.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #96

Player Name: Wily Peralta

Team: Milwaukee Brewers

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: July 26, 2013

Opponent: Colorado Rockies

Stadium: Coors Field

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 8-3, Rockies over Brewers, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 5/8/89

Birthplace: Dominican Republic

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Doug Pensinger

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising

My Grade: I really like the photo on this one. The story behind it isn't great and the rookie fact is average. Lots of minor league experience fills up the back of the card, so there isn't a blurb. Not a lot of niche value there though. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the photo here really carries this card. I’ll give it a B.

#20 Charlie Blackmon

Whoops, this prematurely posted earlier and I had to rescind it. Here it is again for those that didn't catch it then.

In honor of the Super Bowl yesterday I thought I’d show some baseball representatives from the areas involved. Earlier from the Seattle Mariners, I had Kyle Seager. From Colorado, I present outfielder Charlie Blackmon.

#20 Charlie Blackmon

 First impression of what’s going on: If Seager’s card was a good photo presented poorly, Blackmon’s card is a fairly boring photo presented well. Good crop and the purple is surprisingly nice. The eye black is one of my niches and the first of its kind this season.

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 11: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies takes an at bat as catcher Tony Sanchez #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates backs up the plate and umpire Bill Welke oversees the action at Coors Field on August 11, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Pirates 3-2 and swept the three game series. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo:  Man, talk about a Topps close up, cropping out the catcher and umpire. I even skipped over this photo twice when searching for it because it wasn't what I was looking for. This won’t happen very often, but I happen to agree with this particular extreme close up. I generally like photos like this but with the amount of distance `between Blackmon and the catcher and umpire, it wouldn’t have made for a good card. They may have been able to find a better photo, but Topps did pretty well with what they did pick.

The caption gives the game but not much else to help nail down the play. Let’s head over to the BOXSCORE.

Pretty close game there. Let’s see if Blackmon had any say in the outcome.

Two-for-three win a runs scored is pretty good. Also you may notice all the way on the right, Blackmon was also hit by a pitch. That was his plate appearance that led to him scoring a run. After he stole second and was balked to third, Blackmon scored on a sacrifice fly hit by former Cub, DJ Lemahieu. Another former Cub, middle reliever Manny Corpas got the win.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Within his first 9 MLB games, Charlie had a string of 5 with a steal.

I’ll admit I had to read this sentence a couple of times to understand what it what trying to say. What I think it was awkwardly trying to say is that Blackmon had a five game stretch with at least one stolen base, that happened to be in his first 9 games. So in his 5^th-9^th games. He did not have another during his other 18 games that season. And only had one in 47 games the next year. He did step up his base stealing again in 2013 with 7 in 82 games.

The blurb portion of the card makes mention of Blackmon making a run at becoming an everyday player. My first thought was why does Topps have a fourth outfielder in Series One? I even had to stop and think about whom else in the Rockies outfield was holding him back. Carlos Gonzalez. Dexter Fowler…uh that’s all I got. I know another former Cub, Tyler Colvin was jumping back and forth between AAA and the Rockies but that can’t be right. Another quick Baseball-Reference search showed me that Michael Cuddyer was roaming the right side. Oh yeah. And then three other outfielder played more games than Colvin. Oh…

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #20

Player Name: Charlie Blackmon

Team: Colorado Rockies

Position: Outfield

Game Date: August 11, 2013

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates

Stadium: Coors Field

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-2, Rockies over Pirates, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Birthdate: 7/1/1987

Birthplace: Texas

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Doug Pensinger

Niche collections this card could fit into: Southpaw, Eye Black

My Grade: Unlike the Super Bowl, I think Colorado pulls out a squeaker over the Seattle card from earlier. Despite fewer niche collections this card fits into, I think it is a better looking card than the Seager. But still not great. This one gets a C+ too, but maybe a half percentage point higher.