#301 Shane Victorino

#301 Shane Victorino

First impression of what’s going on: At first glance you might think Shane Victorino is trying to steal a home run. But that yellow line on the wall behind him is the foul marker and he’s going a ball that pushed foul. It doesn’t look good as far as making the catch because he is out of room and the ball is not in the picture. I like how none of the Boston fans are interfering with the play. That home team crowd knows what’s up.

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 4: Shane Victorino #18 of the Boston Red Sox leaps over the right field wall in foul territory while missing a pop fly in front of a young fan during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 4, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: After looking at the source photo, the ball does look catchable but the caption claims it was not caught. And after zooming a bit out, we do see a young Red Sox fan sticking his cap out to try and catch the ball too, but I’m not sure how much he would have actually interfered. With no out recorded, the BOXSCORE won’t be much help but let’s see how Victorino did overall anyway.

The Red Sox came away winners, 4-0.

Victorino had two hits, including an RBI single in the 6^th inning.

We do see most of the Nike swooshes on his shoes as he’s flying through the air.

And I’m pretty sure these are sunglasses.

There are several fans although I wouldn't call any of them notable. Maybe if that kid reaching out his hat had made the card and not just his hat.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: On 5/11/2003, Shane entered as a pinch-runner, and stole second and third.

Victorino was a rookie with the San Diego Padres. I don't think I knew that. I've mostly associated him with the Phillies. That May 11^th game was the 30^th of Victorino's career and up to that point had only a few meaningless hits and RBIs.

With the Padres down by one with one out in the top of the 9^th, Victorino entered as a pinch runner when pinch-hitter Dave Hansen drew a walk. As noted in the rookie fact, he steals second and third, still with one out. Unfortunately, Victorino gets stranded there as the game ends when the next two batters can't drive him.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #301

Player Name: Shane Victorino

Team: Boston Red Sox

Position: Outfield

Game Date: August 4, 2013

Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks

Stadium: Fenway Park

Division: American League East

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-0, Red Sox over the Diamondbacks, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 11/30/1980

Birthplace: Hawaii

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jared Wickerham

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, League Leader in Italics, Sunglasses

My Grade: When I first saw the card I thought it was pretty cool. Then I thought it may be coasting on the Victorino’s attempt. I have nothing against the Red Sox but I seemed to be looking for ways to give this card less than an A. I almost missed the Nike logos and sunglasses. Despite not making the catch, it is an amazing shot, so it gets it’s A.

#329 Matt Holliday

#329 Matt Holliday

First impression of what’s going on: Looks like Matt Holliday has the beat on a fly ball hit his way. I don’t know much about photography, but I can only imagine the lens needed to get an image that clear from the distance this had to be taken from. Probably one of those that are the size of Prince Fielder’s thigh. Holliday is listed as an outfielder but I believe he plays left field more often than not. So the photographer was probably in/near the first base dugout. Crazy.

ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 1: Matt Holliday #7 of the St. Louis Cardinals catches a fly ball against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning during game one of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium on June 1, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals beat the Giants 8-0. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The caption gives us just about every piece of information we’d need about the play. The only thing missing is the batter, but hopefully narrowing it down to the 7^th inning is enough help. Let’s go to the BOXSCORE.

Always nice to shutout the defending World Champions. And for the record, the Cardinals swept the double header by beating the Giants in Game 2, 7-1.

Luckily, there was only one flyball to left field in the 7^th inning and the batter was Nick Noonan.

In addition to being a good photo, the card fits into a couple of niches.

First up, Holliday is another one wearing sunglasses as an accessory instead of eye protection.

We get a sneak peak at a Nike logo on his shoe for some Free Advertising.

The Cardinals wore alternate jerseys for both games in the double header.

And lastly, I don’t actually collect cards of guys named Matt (my name), but I know some people collect cards of people with their names. Holliday is the second player to join the Players Named Matt niche.

I see Bob Gibson peaking but he doesn’t get a cameo appearance.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Matt was the third Colorado Rockies rookie ever to hit a grand slam, 6/12/2004.

I did a quick search but aside from searching every rookie from every season to see if they hit  grand slam, I couldn't find the other two. I did find a game recap where Nolan Arenado hit one as a rookie last season. There was no mention in the article that he was the first Rockies rookie to do it since…so and so did it. Oh well.

Before I forget, tying this card to A-Rod’s card from yesterday is the red text designating a league leader.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #329

Player Name: Matt Holliday

Team: St. Louis Cardinals

Position: Outfield

Game Date: June 1, 2013

Opponent: San Francisco Giants

Stadium: Busch Stadium

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 8-0, Cardinals over the Giants, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 1/15/1980

Birthplace: Oklahoma

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Dilip Vishnawat

Niche collections this card could fit into: League Leader in Italics, Alternate Jersey, Sunglasses, Free Advertising, Players Named Matt, Unnecessary Censorship

My Grade: I don’t really hate the Cardinals, but I toe the company line when it comes to the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. Holliday, however, has been on my s-list since this incident a couple years back.

That said, this is pretty nice card. Despite the miscrop by Topps, it hit several niches. I can’t justify giving it any lower than an A aside from my bias.

#326 Khris Davis

Yesterday I had Chris Davis. Not to be confused with today’s Khris Davis.

#326 Khris Davis

First impression of what’s going on: We've got a nice action shot here, leaping at the wall to stop a home run, or at least an extra base hit. The slightly too tight crop will keep it from a no doubter A+, but let's see if we can't find enough to make sure he gets an A. If he ended up making the catch, there's not much to stop it. Normally I root against the NL Central rival Brewers, but I’m kind of hoping this one does well. A great card is a great card.

MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 3: Khris Davis #18 of the Milwaukee Brewers makes a catch at the wall on a ball hit by Ryan Zimmerman #11 of the Washington Nationals, as teammate Carlos Gomez #27 looks on in the third inning at Miller Park on August 3, 2013 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Tom Lynn/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Well, according to the caption, he made the catch. So I can stop now, right? Nah. It was only the third inning, but we might as well look at the BOXSCORE to see if it was a close game and potentially one of those “game changer” moments early in the game.

Nope, but I’m sure Brewers starting pitcher Donovan Hand is happy to keep his ERA a little lower, despite taking the loss.

The inning ending catch saved two runs.

The Brewers were at home and not wearing white, so it appears Davis is wearing an alternate jersey.

With this record though, they may want to try something different this year.

Davis also makes into some collections with Eye Black and Sunglasses (on his hat). No niches for the expression, sorry.

Also not making the final cut were Cameos and Free Advertising. Teammate Carlos Gomez and a pair of bullpen guys were cropped out of the original picture. The same goes for the Gatorade jug and cups.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Milwaukee went 18-14 in Khris’ starts, but 56-74 otherwise.

I’m not real impressed with this back. No real individual statistic, although it’s always good to help your team. And actually, the Brewers were 30-26 with him in the lineup, so it wasn’t just his ability to start. According to Baseball-Reference, Davis had 6 “go-ahead” hits when the game was either tied or the Brewers were behind. That seems pretty good for a rookie. To have the confidence of your manager to hit in that situation and then actually come through.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #326

Player Name: Khris Davis

Team: Milwaukee Brewers

Position: Outfield

Game Date: August 3, 2013

Opponent: Washington Nationals

Stadium: Miller Park

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-0, Nationals over the Brewers, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, alternate

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 12/21/1987

Birthplace: California

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Tom Lynn

Niche collections this card could fit into: Alternate Jersey, Eye Black, Sunglasses

My Grade: I can comfortably give this card an A. Those extra niches may have even helped it overcome the cropping for an A+, but unfortunately not the lackluster backside. The front has to carry a lot of weight and luckily, it does.

#327 Pablo Sandoval

We’ve got a couple of connections between yesterday’s card (Dioner Navarro) and today’s. Both were born in Venezuela. Both are wearing sunglasses. But the connection I was trying to make is they are both Switch Hitters.

#327 Pablo Sandoval

First impression of what’s going on: This is another solid photo with a unfortunate crop. No elbows for Pablo! I always like a dirty jersey so without a bunch of obvious niches, the card has that going for it at least.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 5: Pablo Sandoval #48 of the San Francisco Giants fields during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on April 5, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The Giants defeated the Cardinals 1-0. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Look at all that elbow room Sandoval has! The caption doesn’t give much to go on so let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see if we can’t figure something out ourselves.

We knew it was 1-0 from the caption, but only nine hits from both teams combined probably puts it on the bubble for an actual pitchers’ duel, right? Throw in another combined 9 walks and the error you have 19 base runners. I don’t know who to give credit (or blame) for on that.

Sandoval had a number of assists in this game and aside from the two double plays he started, it would be tough to rule any of them out.

Kind of a boring card to investigate.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Pablo hit .393 in August of 2008 – highest of any MLB Rookie that month.

That’s impressive, but not necessarily that interesting. On the other hand, mentioned in the blurb, is that Sandoval was a judge at the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant. Kind of random, but here are a couple of photos from the event I found.

Kung Fu Panda posing on the red carpet:

With what I’m assuming are some of the other judges:

I think Sandoval is second from the left

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #327

Player Name: Pablo Sandoval

Team: San Francisco Giants

Position: Third Base

Game Date: April 5, 2013

Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals

Stadium: AT&T Park

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 1-0 Giants over the Cardinals, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 8/11/1986

Birthplace: Venezuela

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Michael Zagaris

Niche collections this card could fit into: Sunglasses, Switch Hitter, Dirty Jersey

My Grade: I thought this one was going to be better when I picked it. The photo is pretty standard for a fielding third baseman, but as I mentioned, I like a dirty jersey and the extra effort that can be assumed from one. The cropped elbows hurt it along with a lack of mini collections this would fit into. The back was also kind of boring too although it allowed me to Google image search the Miss Universe pageant so I’m going to give this one a B-. 

#211 Dioner Navarro

Continuing my streak of connecting players, today I’m using sunglasses. But unlike yesterday’s Mitch Moreland card, Dioner Navarro is actually wearing his properly.

#211 Dioner Navarro

First impression of what’s going on: I know there are quite a few fans of the players that wear the Tools of Ignorance, but as a lefty, it was never a position I gravitated towards. I can appreciate them but as for collecting them specifically, I could take ‘em or leave ‘em. But here we have a Cub so I would definitely be taking this one.

It’s a nicely cropped action shot. It could be a dropped third strike or a bases loaded double play but with the player in the background, it’s more likely to be a bunt. If I had to guess, I’d say that’s one of the Cubs rotating third baseman in 2013, #1 Cody Ransom. The boxscore will probably tell me definitively.

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 9: Dioner Navarro #30 of the Chicago Cubs fields a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Locke #49 of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning on June 9, 2013 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The caption confirms a bunt attempt and while it doesn't mention Ransom, the photo of him is much clearer than on the card. I assumed Topps does some touch up work on cards to make the pictures show up better (lightening and such) but never really thought about them blurring out backgrounds. It look like Navarro beat Ransom to the ball so Ransom is racing back to cover third to prevent runner(s) from advancing further. The original photo also shows the bunter, Pirates starting pitcher, Jeff Locke.

The caption calls it a sacrifice bunt so Locke was out at first. But did the sacrifice pay off? There’s no mention of the final score so let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Since the sacrifice happened in the third inning and the Pirates did not end up scoring, let’s see how it all went down.

Clint Barmes was the lead runner on the sacrifice and only managed to make it third base before the inning ended.

At the plate, Navarro went 2-for-2 with two walks. Unfortunately, the Cubs weren't able to capitalize on his perfect day at the plate but managed to win anyway. At this point in the year, Navarro was only batting .279 but by the end of the season, he finished with a nice round .300.

Just above the Cubs logo on the card, the shoulder that’s nearly cropped all of the way out belongs to pitching coach Chris Bosio. He can be seen more clearly in the original photo. I can’t make out the other Cubs player in the dugout though, just beyond Cody Ransom’s knee.

While the Gatorade logos in the dugout are cropped out and the State Farm insurance logo on the dugout are blurred with the rest of the background, there is still a bit of Free Advertising. Navarro is clearly using a Wilson catcher’s mitt.

And Nike swooshes make not one, not two, but three appearances on Navarro’s catcher’s gear. He’s a walking billboard!

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Dioner’s first longball, on August 12, 2005, was a 10^th-inning walk-off.

Here’s a link to the BOXSCORE of that game. While I didn’t see anything on Getty Images from that moment, here are some photos from rival APIMAGES.COM.

Watching his shot:

Image Number 05081303429, Photographer: Matt Sayles

Lost in the crowd celebration as he scores:

Image Number 0508130465, Photographer: Matt Sayles 

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #211

Player Name: Dioner Navarro

Team: Chicago Cubs

Position: Catcher

Game Date: June 9, 2013

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates

Stadium: Wrigley Field

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-1, Cubs over the Pirates, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Both/Right

Birthdate: 2/9/1984

Birthplace: Venezuela

Cameos by: Cody Ransom, Chris Bosio’s shoulder

Photographer: David Banks

Niche collections this card could fit into: Sunglasses, Free Advertising, Switch Hitter, Cameo

My Grade: This might be my Cubs bias coming through but I'm going to give this card an A-. The cropping/framing is excellent. There's a good action shot with a cameo. If Ransom wasn't intentionally blurred out, that might have helped the grade a little. The runner is a bit too far away to justify trying to make it a horizontal card, but that would have been pretty cool. Navarro is also the first switch hitter I've come across.

The back blurb mentions his three home run performance against the cross town White Sox. I'm not a Chicago native so I wasn't raised with a love-the-Cubs-hate-the-Sox mentality and have no ill will towards the Sox or their fans. But it is always nice to do well in as rivalry game.

Good luck to Dioner in Toronto his season!

#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.