#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-. 

#192 Pedro Alvarez

#192 Pedro Alvarez

First impression of what’s going on: I’m as big a fan of horizontally laid out cards as it gets, but in my opinion, this one probably could have been your standard vertical card. The crowd shot would have been cool if everybody was on their feet, pumping fists and whatnot, but some of them hadn't gotten the memo yet that Alvarez just launched one. That’s what I’m guessing happened anyway.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 03: Pedro Alvarez #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates bats against the Philadelphia Phillies during the game on July 3, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: After my last post had a most informative caption, we have the other end of the spectrum with one of the least. No final score, no inning, nothing even noting a home run. We've got the two teams and the date but I guess that’s good enough to find the BOXSCORE.

A two-out rally was squashed in the 9^th and the Pirates were able to hang on for the victory.

With no indication of the inning for the Alvarez photo, I’ll go to the inning recap and see how he did in each at-bat.

Alvarez leads off the second with a single but gets stranded at third despite the Pirates loading the bases with no outs. I don’t think too many players would watch a single like this so I’m going to say this is probably not the at-bat featured.

Second at-bat, Alvarez strikes out swinging. Unless he’s watching a jumbotron replay of the pitch that got by him, I doubt it is this at-bat either.

Following three straight singles in the bottom of the fifth, Alvarez hit a three run home run to deep CF-RF, breaking the 1-1 tie. I think we have a winner.

Just to be sure, in the bottom of the 6^th inning, Alvarez struck out swinging again.

The black Pirates jersey is listed as an alternate jersey.

So much for being an alternate. Of the 7 different uniforms the Pirates wore in 2013, they wore this one the most.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Pedro drove in a run in seven straight games, August 4-11, 2010.

I think it’s pretty good to get into seven straight games as a rookie, let alone drive in a run. And not only did he drive a run, but in two of those games, he drove in three.

I was only somewhat familiar with the ESPN Home Run Tracker (Free Advertising, on the back!) so I decided to look a little more into it. After finding Pedro Alvarez’s page, there are some neat statistical breakdowns. A scatter plot of his home runs. A list of all of his NL leading 36 home runs with info on the opposing pitcher, ballpark, inning, distance and a ton of other stuff.

Here's how they breakdown each of the three types of home runs.

Now, I’ll admit that even before the steroid era, I was more of a fan of small ball than home run power, but this kind of statistical analysis leaves me downright giddy. There are even video links for each one and here is the video from the home run depicted on the card.

Sorry, the embedding didn't work. Here's a link instead.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #192

Player Name: Pedro Alvarez

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

Position: Third Base

Game Date: July 3, 2013

Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies

Stadium: PNC Park

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 6-5, Pirates over Phillies

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 2/6/1987

Birthplace: Dominican Republic

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Justin K. Aller

Niche collections this card could fit into: Alternate Jersey, Horizontal, League Leader in Italics, Free Advertising (ESPN), Former First Round Draft Pick, Partial Southpaw

My Grade: This card has a lot going for it. It led me to some great nerdy statistics. Funny enough, the one thing holding it back from getting an A+ is something I generally give bonus points for, the horizontal layout. As I mentioned, this would have looked much better as a vertical card, and I don’t say that lightly. It still gets a solid A, which is a pretty good grade for a NL Central, non-Cub card.