#317 Lonnie Chisenhall

I think going forward I’ll find something to tie cards together for consecutive posts and then link another card through a different attribute. Kind of a six degrees of Kevin Bacon thing but with cards. Let’s see how long I can keep it going. From Mike Leake (Reds) to Aroldis Chapman (also Reds) to…

#317 Lonnie Chisenhall

First impression of what’s going on: Bringing Chapman and Lonnie Chisenhall together are Throwback uniforms. As much as I like the Reds versions, this Cleveland Indians one is bad. So horrendous, it almost comes back around to glorious. We've got a couple of cameos but I don’t know enough about the Indians or umpires to recognize them. If I had to guess, this is probably a home run but could be just about anything. For the umpire to be where he is, it must be one of those “No Doubters” I mentioned in a previous post. Probably not a walk off though, as the on deck guy isn't jumping around or anything. Surprisingly, this is also one that Topps could have actually cropped a bit tighter.

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 13: Lonnie Chisenhall #8 of the Cleveland Indians runs the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on July 13, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Ok, a grand slam. You’d think the on deck guy would be a little more excited! But since the caption didn't give the final score, maybe the Indians were still down by five, even after the grand slam. So let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

Nope, it actually quintupled the Indians lead.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

And as the top play of the game, it raised the probability of the Indians winning by a staggering 21% to 98%. That’s pretty high considering it was only the 6^th inning. That percent would creep back down after the Royals tacked on a few runs, but the end result was an Indians win.

Screenshot from Baseball-Reference.com

A peek at the inning summary shows that after a single, a double and an intentional walk (with two swinging strikeouts mixed in), Chisenhall drilled the first pitch he saw to drive everybody in. This was his first career grand slam.

As for the jersey, Chisenhall and the Indians are sporting the 1902 Indians jersey. This was the only game these were worn this season.

Screenshots from Chris Creamer's Sportslogos.net

Back to the boxscore, I’m concluding that the Indian in the background is Yan Gomes, the #9 hitter in the lineup behind Chisenhall. Any Indians fan care to verify that? Also according to the boxscore, the home plate umpire for the game was Dan Iassoga. The Royals catcher that was cropped out of the card but still shows up in the photo is Salvador Perez.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Though a lefty himself, Lonnie hit five of his seven homeruns off of southpaws.

I guess there’s some sort of statistical analysis about this, but as a lefty myself, I always liked hitting against left handers, too. Between the fact and the blurb there isn't much for me to look into. Oh well. Good thing the front was exciting. But for those curious, a pair of his first seven home runs came off lefty Mark Buehrle in the same game.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #317

Player Name: Lonnie Chisenhall

Team: Cleveland Indians

Position: Third Base

Game Date: July 13, 2013

Opponent: Kansas City Royals

Stadium: Progressive Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 5-3, Indians over Royals, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, throwback

Bats/Throws: Left /Right

Birthdate: 10/4/1988

Birthplace: North Carolina

Cameos by: Dan Iassoga, Yan Gomes

Photographer: Jason Miller

Niche collections this card could fit into: Partial Southpaws, Throwback, Cameo, High Socks, Career Milestone (First Grand Slam), Umpire

My Grade: This card is easily one of the best of the Series. It hits several of the bigger niche collections. The questions is, does it deserve an A+? The weak back side is the only thing keeping me on the fence. And to me, an A+ is a “No Doubter” so this card has to settle for merely an A.

#298 Chris Getz

More randomization.

#298 Chris Getz

First impression of what’s going on: Pretty simple here. Looks like Getz is turning two. Some sketchy tactics by the base runner trying to break it up. As an above average fielder, I played quite a bit of middle infield growing up, until being left handed and my below average height caught up to me in high school. Luckily, there weren't very opportunities to turn two so my shins, ankles and groin remained intact. Looks like Getz got just enough air to avoid any serious mishaps.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Chris Getz (17) forces out Detroit Tigers' Andy Dirks (12) at second and completes a double play on Torii Hunter at first in the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Monday, June 10, 2013. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The caption says the double play was completed, but early on I have trust issues. With both Getty and Topps so I will definitely follow up with the BOXSCORE.

The Royals pulled out a squeaker here. Did the double play squash a potentially game winning rally? (Even if was only the fifth…)

Nah not really, just the second batter of the inning after a leadoff single.  Maybe, but I guess we’ll never know.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Chris’ seven errors in 2009 were fewest of regular AL second basemen.

My skepticism ran a little high here. I have trust issues. I went over to FanGraphs and ran a chart of American League second baseman from 2009.

Placido Polanco, Dustin Pedroia and Mark Ellis all had fewer errors than Getz as regular second basemen. Ugh. Why do I have to keep digging deeper?

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #298

Player Name: Chris Getz

Team: Kansas City Royals

Position: Second Base

Game Date: June 10, 2013

Opponent: Detroit Tigers

Stadium: Kauffman Stadium

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-2, Royals over the Tigers, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 8/30/1983

Birthplace: Michigan

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Kansas City Star

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

My Grade: I’m torn on this one. These inaccurate blurbs/rookie facts are getting annoying. But I really like the photo. Good crop, good action. Getz is up in the air. The play was made. There aren't too many niches this fits into but I’m still going to give it a B anyway because I think more people are interested in the fronts of cards than the backs. Still no excuse for bad facts though.

#274 Jonny Gomes

Yesterday I honored the Super Bowl teams with cards from their baseball counterparts. Today, I’ve got two random members of the two World Series teams. Actually, this first one is the only Red Sox player I pulled in either the blaster or the hanger box I bought so it was randomly selected by Topps I guess.

#274 Jonny Gomes

First impression of what’s going on: I remember this image quite well as it, or one much like it, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated last April. It followed the terrible bombing at the Boston marathon. I have mixed feelings about putting this particular image on a baseball card and think its selection walks a fine line between honoring a community and capitalizing on a tragedy.

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 20: Jonny Gomes #2 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after hitting a double against the Kansas City Royals in the eighth inning on April 20, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo:  Despite another mis-crop by Topps, this really is a great photo. The caption makes no mention of the importance of the play. Following the marathon bombing on April 19, 2013, the Red Sox/Royals game was cancelled. The next day, David Ortiz game the crowd an impassioned speech, even dropping the F-bomb on live TV. That's a story you won't see in the BOXSCORE.

What you will see is that down 2-1, Gomes came off the bench to lead off the bottom of the 8^th with a double. This pose was the result after reaching second base. He would later score on a three run homer by Daniel Nava which secured a 4-3 win for the Red Sox and the city of Boston.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Jonny’s 21 HRs were most by a Rays rookie between 1998 and 2007.

Gomes got a few games under his belt in 2003 and 2004 but was still able to qualify as a rookie in 2005 when he clubbed 21 HRs in 108 games for the Devil Rays.

For those curious, I looked up who broke his Rays rookie record in 2008. Only two players on the Rays that year had more. Carlos Pena (not a rookie) had 31 and some guy who won the Rookie of the Year award that year, Evan Longoria had 27. And to be nitpicky, Gomes still has the Devil Rays record as 2008 was the year they became just the Rays.

Beacuase of all the stats the card has, Gomes is the first card I’ve shown without a blurb. Funny how the veterans with a career’s worth of stories are the one left without them.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #274

Player Name: Jonny Gomes

Team: Boston Red Sox

Position: Outfield

Game Date: April 20, 2013

Opponent: Kansas City Royals

Stadium: Fenway Park

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-3, Red Sox over the Royals, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 11/22/1980

Birthplace: California

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Michael Ivins

Niche collections this card could fit into: Horizontal, Awesome Hair, Tattoos, Celebration, Patch

My Grade: I hope this card doesn’t end up lost in dime boxes somewhere and the significance lost.

A horizontal layout is one of my top niches. Awesome hair isn’t just limited to long flowing manes, facial hair counts too. I myself am not a tattoo guy, but I've noticed a lot more popping up on players and cards. The Boston Strong patch is the first one I've seen this year, although when I get to the Cardinals cards, I'm betting I'll see a Stan Musial commemorative patch.

If Topps hadn't zoomed in so close and kept his fists in the frame, this would have been my second A card. But I won’t let my disdain for bad cropping drop this otherwise pretty awesome card a full letter grade. A- it is.

UPDATE: Since I wrote this, I've decided to change my grade to an A. If it was cropped better, I would have given it an A+, not just an A, thus the change.