#277 Mike Leake

This wraps up a sample for each of the 30 teams. After this, because of the difference in the cards per team ratio, they’re may be team repeats before others.

#277 Mike Leake

First impression of what’s going on: Standard swing follow through, slightly mis-cropped. Meh. I say this as a card collector, not as a fan of the rival Cubs. At first glance the only niche this might fill is Pitchers at the Plate. There's some pine tar on the helmet. Enough that I noticed, but not quite Manny Ramirez proportions (look here and here). Does anybody have a pine tar mini collection? If somebody cops to it, I’ll add it as a niche. I know somebody or two collects cards that show name plates and or numbers from jersey backs but this one doesn't quite get either in full.

CINCINNATI, OH - APRIL 17: Mike Leake #44 of the Cincinnati Reds bats during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park on April 17, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds won 11-2. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The photo itself is a nice shot, even if it wasn't a pitcher. If I collected signed photos and/or Reds stuff, I’d have it in my collection. With the tight crop, you miss the high socks. And the Free Advertising of Nike on his shoes. We know the Reds crushed the Phillies from the caption but maybe Leake had a great day at the plate and made this special. Let’s go to the BOXSCORE.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

There’s a five run second inning. Maybe he hit a grand slam!?

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Not quite. But he did go 3 for 4, including an RBI triple and scored three runs himself. Nothing like helping yourself out at the plate when when you’re not pitching a real gem.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

What’s that? Oh it was a gem? Seven innings of scoreless, three-hit baseball. Fine, Reds fans. He had a great game. Are you happy now? LOL

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Mike was the 21^st player to reach the show while skipping the minors.

So I went looking for a list of the other twenty players to reach the Majors without playing in minor leagues and got confused along the way. The first link that popped up was courtesy of WIKIPEDIA but it had a list of 90+ players. It mentions that some of the players may have later played in the minors for rehab, demotions or other various reasons. And anyone who has been to college in the last decade knows, Wikipedia is a great source, but not one you can necessarily get away with citing.

Another LINK  from 2007 (pre-Leake) had a list of 19 players and stipulated that these were since the First Year Player Draft in 1965. Going back to the Wiki list, most of the players were from before that time. I’m guessing this was the criteria used by Topps when constructing the Rookie Fact. But if this list has 19, and Leake was the 21^st, who was number 20? Inquiring minds want to know.

Finally, I came across a link from BASEBALL-ALMANAC.COM that, in my opinion, gives a definitive answer as a trusted source. There wasn’t anybody between #19 Xavier Nady and #21 Mike Leake. According to this list, Nady is actually #20 as the previous link neglected Darren Dreifort of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994.

I’m trying to get better about citing my sources, but if you don’t want to click the links I provided, here’s the screenshotted chart from Baseball-Almanac.

Screenshot from Baseball-Almanac.com

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #277

Player Name: Mike Leake

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: April 17, 2013

Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies

Stadium: Great American Ball Park

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 11-2, Reds over Phillies, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 11/12/1987

Birthplace: California

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Joe Robbins

Niche collections this card could fit into: Former First Round Draft Pick, Pitchers at the Plate

My Grade: This card didn’t wow me right off the bat. A standard batting pose, but wait! It’s a pitcher! Different, although not altogether unique. Leake did have a hell of a game, both from the mound and at the plate. That’s got to count for something, right? The Rookie fact provided some interesting information, and intrigued me enough to do some more research. Maybe if he was dropping down a bunt, I could justify an A, but it’s going to have to settle for a solid B.

If somebody can show me a Pine Tar mini collection, maybe I’ll bump it up 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.

#67 Yasmani Grandal

More randomness today from teams we haven’t seen yet.

#67 Yasmani Grandal

First impression of what’s going on: Growing up, catcher was the one position I didn’t play. I’m a lefty and there was never a catcher’s mitt for me to use. But catchers always get my respect despite wearing the so-called tools of ignorance. This is a great shot of Yasmani Grandal, presumably fielding a bunt or maybe a dropped third strike. But why oh why oh why oh why, did Topps crop his throwing arm?!? I’m a week into this blog and I’m feel like a broken record on this. I understand his face is centered, but why not zoom out a few more pixels?

SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 25: Yasmati Grandal #12 of the San Diego Padres fields a bunt and throws to first base against the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park on June 25, 2013 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Andy Hayt/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: You may not have noticed, but if you look closely at the caption copied and pasted from Getty, you’ll see Grandal’s name spelled wrong. His first name is spelled with a “t” instead of an “n” which made this picture a little more difficult to find. As I guessed, Grandal is fielding a bunt.

The caption doesn't give me a batter or inning so I’m going to have to dig a little deeper into the BOXSCORE to see what’s going on.

Looks like the Phillies pulled this one out from the host Padres. Did the small ball have any effect?

This sacrifice bunt by Ben Revere moved John Mayberry to second but didn’t end up inflicting any damage to the Padres. The only other bunt in the game came from the Padres offense, so it’s a pretty safe bet I’ve found the play.

Grandal really didn’t want Revere on base that day because after Revere walked in his next at bat, Grandal threw him out trying to steal second.

Grandal also had a decent day at the plate in the losing effort, going 2-4 and scoring a run.

His double in the second was one of the top five plays of the game.

Based on context clues, I’m going to say the Phillie behind Grandal on the right side of the card is on deck batter, Carlos Ruiz. He followed Revere’s sac bunt with strikeout.

Thanks to the giant Under Armour logo on the chest protector, this card also qualifies for Free Advertising credit.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Yasmani’s first two hits were switch hit home runs in the same game.

What!? Now that is a pretty good rookie fact. Grandal made his first start on June 30, 2012 and went deep in his third and fourth career at bats, but I can't tell which was as a righty and which was as a lefty. His first home run came ff Christian Friedrich, a lefty and the second off of Jeremy Guthrie, a righty. Switch hitting in itself seems like an incredible feat to me. To have home run power from both sides of the plate and be able to use it during the same game is just ridiculous.

Despite playing 60 games in 2012, Grandal only played 28 in 2013. I don’t know if he was injured, or if starting catcher Nick Hundley was the better option. The blurb on the card seems to think Grandal is ready to step in and take over.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #67

Player Name: Yasmani Grandal

Team: San Diego Padres

Position: Catcher

Game Date: June 25, 2013

Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies

Stadium: Petco Park

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 6-3, Phillies over Padres, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 11/8/88

Birthplace: Cuba

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Andy Hayt

Niche collections this card could fit into: Former First Round Draft Pick, Free Advertising, Cameo

My Grade: I’ll give this card a B. While there’s nothing particularly impressive about the play, catchers in action are much better than the standard batting pose. Grandal had a pretty decent game and the rookie fact was above average. If the crop was better, and another niche or two was met, I could see this card getting a B+/A-.

#90 Ethan Martin

Staying in the National League, but going all the way back east to Philadelphia, we have rookie pitcher Ethan Martin.

#90 Ethan Martin

First impression of what’s going on: Basic pitcher shot, but we have the dreaded appendage crop. Meh.

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 8: Starting pitcher Ethan Martin #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Citizens Bank Park on August 8, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Yep, nothing blocking his arm from being included. He’s not flipping the bird with a fancy “middle finger curve” or anything. Just poor cropping. You can’t tell anything from the scoreboard in the background and the caption is as generic as the photo. It does give a date and opponent so let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

Dang. They crushed the Cubs. So badly that the Phillies pinch hit for Martin in the 5^th with a 10-1 lead. I’d like to think this is the pitch that Nate Schierholtz smashed for a home run to lead off the top of the fourth and accounted for the only Cubs run. In fact, please start spreading that rumor now.

Anyhow, Martin had a decent day’s work against one of the worst teams in the league. Thanks Marlins, White Sox and Astros for being worse! And the Twins for being just as bad!

You may notice that after earning this victory, his record was 1-1. Great. His first career victory was against the Cubs? I guess maybe this can be worked into a niche collection somewhere. He’s also wearing one of the Phillies’ alternate uniforms rather than the standard home red pinstripes, so the card has that going for it, which is nice.

I almost gave him credit for the "Free Advertising" with the Rawlings logo on his glove, but I didn't think the average person would instantly recognize the logo. Baseball fans? Probably. Card collectors? Probably. Guess I'm being a jerk, huh?

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Ethan’s 10.6 SOS/9 IP set a record for a Phillies rookie (Min: 40 IP).

Well, the Cubs tried not to help him out on that stat as they only struck out 4 times in 5 innings against Martin. Moving to the bullpen after starting his first seven appearances probably did help though.

Since this is the first rookie card I’m taking a look at, let me just say, I wish Topps would have put Major League stats on the back. They had time to get the veterans’ stats together. Why not the rookies? I guess Martin’s Rookie Fact sounds more impressive if you just glance at his card and think he pitched 115.2 innings and still had the team record. But those are his minor league stats for 2013. He actually only pitched the minimum 40 innings, a true example of how you can make statistics say just about anything you want.

The blurb is a little silly, but amusing. After looking at Martin’s game log, the only time he threw “goose eggs” in three straight appearances was right after moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen. I don’t know enough about the Phillies to make the call, but what does that say about his chances of being on the Phillies roster this year? Who knows, maybe he'll be a failed starter turned closer a la Mariano Rivera?

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #90

Player Name: Ethan Martin

Team: Philadelphia Phillies

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: August 8, 2013

Opponent: Chicago Cubs

Stadium: Citizens Bank Park

Division:  National League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 12-1, Phillies over Cubs, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/6/1989

Birthplace: Georgia

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Hunter Martin (any relation!?)

Niche collections this card could fit into: Rookie Card, Career Milestone (from first career win), Alternate/Throwback Jersey, Former First Round Draft Pick, Unnecessary Censorship

My Grade: Reading back through the breakdown, I feel like I came down really hard on this card. Maybe it was the fact that Martin shutdown the Cubs, but I’m not so sure. I mean, who didn’t last year? Its not that big of a deal…

I think the bad crop job got it started on the wrong foot. And the back was disappointing. I know Topps doesn't have much to work with since a lot of these guys only have a few weeks’ worth of a season, but I expected a bit more. This card was on the verge of failing, but when all was said and done, it pulled off enough niche collections to squeak by with a C-.

I don’t know how often I’ll do this with cards that don’t make the grade, but I thought it would be interesting to see how Topps could have done better with the photo selection. A search for “Ethan Martin Phillies” pulled up 51 photos on Getty Images. Compared to more established players, that is a pittance. Many of them are from a few weeks after the photo Topps ended up using, but if you remember Michael Young’s card from earlier today, that photo was all the way from September 11, 2013.

I didn't have time to mock up a Photoshopped version of the actual card so here are some original photos.

I’ve always liked these Catcher’s Eye photos where the ball is headed straight towards the camera. This is from just two weeks after the photo that was used and two weeks before the Young card. There's even an umpire in view, although he'd probably be cropped out. And just think of the sparkle that could have been added to make this an SP…

Mound meetings are generally not good. The lone exception might be a postgame handshake between the closer and catcher. When the catcher goes out like this, it generally means the pitcher needs to calm down a bit or signals are getting crossed. Probably not good for a card, but in my opinion, it’s better than a cropped arm/hand.

But when I saw this photo where interim (at the time) Phillies manager was relieving Martin of his duties, I smiled. Ethan “Cub Killer” Martin getting yanked by HOF Cub, Ryne Sandberg? Cardboard gold! Instant A+!

Throughout the year, Sunday will be a day off from posting for me. It'll give me time to catch up on some research and/or rest, especially when these get upped to three per day. Then I’ll come back with a new card on Monday morning. Since I’m ran a contest to drum up some followers earlier in the week, I’ll do a short post announcing the winner.