#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.

#39 David Murphy

And so it begins…

Rather than show favorites and start off with a Cub, I decided to put the 50 or so cards I already have on hand into the randomizer.

In case you didn't read the title, the randomizer has selected….

#39 David Murphy

First impression of what’s going on: Murphy hit at least a home run, knocking in at least one of his teammates pictured. The other could be another potential base runner in a three run blast, or maybe just the on deck guy. But it probably wasn't a walk-off since the catcher is standing dejected in the background and not heading towards the dugout.

Here’s the original source photo pulled from gettyimages.com along with the caption they gave:

ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 19: Leonys Martin #2 and Elvis Andrus #1 celebrates David Murphy's #7 of the Texas Rangers three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on May 19, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: So this one wasn't too hard to call. I wasn't sure about the size of his home run but the caption confirmed it was a three-run shot and that it was from the 7^th inning and not a walkoff.

Taking the date from the caption I headed over to Baseball-Reference.com for the BOXSCORE and further details.

Wait a minute. The Rangers only scored two runs in the seventh inning. How do you hit a three run homer but only get two runs? The answer is: you don’t. The home run was actually hit in the 6^th inning. Here’s a screenshot of the inning recap:

I don’t know how often this will happen, but Getty Mistakes might be something I have to track too! Murphy did bat again in the 7^th, but it was merely an RBI sacrifice fly, not something celebrated so jubilantly.

Murphy’s home run turned a 7-5 deficit into an 8-5 lead, marking the fifth and final lead change of the game.

David’s line for the day:

Not too shabby.

Earlier this week, I teased that I was compiling a list of mini collections that these cards could possibly fit into. Some of them are niches I've read about on the blogs (bunting, night cards, throwback unis, etc.) but others I came up with after looking at cards in my own collection (eye black, headfirst slides, umpires, etc.). This card puts a lot of tick marks on the checklist, including one that I came up with for just this card (although I have a feeling it’ll be used more often): Notable Fans

And I by notable, I don't mean famous. More like the fan could be credited in the cameo section. Usually they'll show up on cards when a player is signing an autograph or diving into the stands. How many of you noticed the little red headed fan amidst all the celebrating? She certainly jumped out out at me.

On to the back:

Since the backs are relatively the same, I’ll just be breaking down the content.

I mentioned yesterday that I really liked the Rookie Fact on the back of the cards and that they really seemed more personalized to each player than the generic milestones from last year. That said, my initial reaction to Murphy’s fact was that it was oddly specific.

Rookie Fact: Murphy led Texas in hitting (.340) over the last seven weeks of 2007.

But after looking at his statistics, he still qualified as a rookie in 2007 even though he played a bit in 2006. And the “last seven weeks of the season” was the time he actually played with Texas after starting the season with the Red Sox organization. I guess that wasn't so odd.

My Grade: I’m going to give this card an A. The photo had a lot going on, giving me a lengthy post to get this blog rolling. Good job, randomizer! Another takeaway is that having seen other cards from the set but without having looked at the 2014 Topps Opening Day checklist, makes me wonder if they are doing away with the celebration themed inserts they've had in years past. 

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: 39

Player Name: David Murphy

Team: Texas Rangers

Position: Outfield

Game Date: May 19, 2013

Opponent: Detroit Tigers

Stadium: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Division: American League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 11-8, Rangers over Tigers, Win for the player depicted

Alternate Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Birthdate: 10/18/1981

Birthplace: Texas

Cameos by: Elvis Andrus (Rangers), Leonys Martin (Rangers), Brayan Pena (Tigers), Ginger Fan

Photographer: Rick Yeatts

Niche collections this card could fit into: Group Celebrations, Horizontal Layout, Notable Fan (little redheaded photo bomber), Southpaws, Former First Round Draft Pick

Whew! One down, only about a thousand more to go! I hope you enjoyed the review, as this is what you'll have to look forward to for the next year. Come back at or after 6 PM EST for the next one.

Didn’t enjoy it? Please, please, please tell me what else you’d like to see/know!