#26 Josh Phegley

#26 Josh Phegley

First impression of what’s going on: Here’s a guy I have never heard of outside of baseball cards. Granted I’m not a big American League guy but I've seen a few White Sox games on WGN when the Cubs aren't on. Phegley’s rookie card is in last year’s Update series.

On this card, he could be launching a bomb or merely flying out, but either way, his eye line looks like it’s headed towards the outfield.

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 26: Josh Phegley #36 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Houston Astros at U.S. Cellular Field on August 26, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The Astros defeated the White Sox 10-8. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Cropping bats is ok with me, but it’s a little tight at Phegley’s elbow. The caption didn't give much detail about the at bat but let’s see if we can narrow it down with a little help from the BOXSCORE.

We knew the White Sox lost from the caption, but maybe Phegley had a good game?

Pretty good actually. Two hits, two runs, an RBI. Let’s see if we can pin down the photo.

A single to center in the third. That’s a possibility. And he came around to score. What else?

A groundout to shortstop in the fifth. Probably not.

An RBI single to center in the 5-run sixth that led to Phegley scoring another run too.

And finally a flyball to left field. If this was left center, I’d call it a maybe, but his eye line doesn’t say “left field line” to me. So the photo probably comes from one of those two singles from earlier.

Phegley was also involved in what seems to be an interesting double play in that game too, although its hard to tell from just a boxscore interpretation.

It looks like a squeeze play gone wrong for the Astros. With a runner at third and one out, Phegley fields the ball (bunt attempt?), throws to first for the second out. The first baseman, Paul Konerko, then fires home to the pitcher, Andre Rienzo for the third out for the uncommon, 2-3-1 double play.

*EDIT*

After a little search, I found the play on MLB.com. I can't figure out how to embed it but here's the link:

Double Play started by Josh Phegley

So it wasn't a sacrifice attempt, just a weak hit.

Unfortunately for Phegley, there isn’t much to latch onto with this card. No real niches. There’s a partial Astros cameo in the background, but the photo is too blurry to make out who the player is.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Josh threw out 13 runners and picked off two in 64 defensive games.

I couldn’t figure out if Topps was underselling Phegley behind the plate or overselling him so I decided to do a little research myself. How many innings was he behind the plate in these defensive games? Was he a pinch hitter who stayed in for one defensive inning with no runners? Did the White Sox pitchers give up tons of singles and walks last year?

I was actually a little surprised by these numbers. Of his 64 defensive appearances, 47 of them were complete games. That seems like a lot for a backup, but what do I know?

Phegley’s 13 thrown out base runners was good for 30% of the attempts. That seems like a pretty high, or at least decent, percentage to me. Nearly one in three. But again, I’m no expert on the catcher position, so what do I know.

This blurb actually gave a fact and followed up with the others who have done it so I didn’t have to do the research myself. Yay!

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #26

Player Name: Josh Phegley

Team: Chicago White Sox

Position: Catcher

Game Date: August 26, 2013

Opponent: Houston Astros

Stadium: US Cellular Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 10-8, Astros over the White Sox, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 2/12/1988

Birthplace: Indiana

Cameos by: Unknown (Astros)

Photographer: Jonathan Daniel

Niche collections this card could fit into: Former 1^st Round Draft Pick,
 

My Grade: This card isn’t bad. There isn’t much wrong with it at all, just some slight mis-cropping. But there isn’t much great about it either. It is the definition of average. Other than him being a younger player and no options, I don’t know why card manufacturers wouldn’t always showcase a catcher in their gear and/or a play at the plate. And I’m not even a catcher guy.

This card gets a C.

Although not a failing grade, here are some photos from earlier in the season than this one that could have been used to improve it.

A play at the plate where a Cub is safe? Yes!

A double high five with cameos? 

Throwbacks?

Broken Bat?

Celebrations and throwbacks? And a potential horizontal layout ? Ding! Ding! Ding!

Whoops, too many more and Topps might start to feel bad.

#230 Andre Rienzo

One more link to a rookie. Yes, I know that’s three in a row but this gimmick is running a bit thin for me. I’ll probably go back to random soon.

#230 Andre Rienzo

First impression of what’s going on: I mentioned yesterday that my expectations were a little lower for Rookies since they probably have a fewer photo opportunities compared to the veterans. And being a rookie pitcher is probably even tougher since you don’t even really have an opportunity to play every day.

With that said, and aside from the bad crop along the top, this card isn’t bad. There’s a little Free Advertising I’ll touch on a bit later and some interesting pitching mechanics. There’s been thousands of pitchers and thousands of different ways to through the ball. I’m sure there are a lot of pitchers whose upper body goes perpendicular to the ground but I don’t think it shows up on cards that often. Maybe this is the fastest part of the pitching process? Or I could be making that up. But it sounds good, right?

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 30: Starting pitcher Andre Rienzo #64 of the Chicago White Sox pitches during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on July 30, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: One thing I didn’t see in the photo but is mentioned in the caption is that Andre Rienzo wears #64 as a starting pitcher. That’s a Spring Training number if I’ve ever heard one. Rookies, man. I wonder if that number is special to him for some reason or if he was just happy to get one handed to him by the clubbie.

Other than that, the caption doesn’t say much about the game, so let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see how he did.

It looks like he may have been roughed up a little in the 5^th and shouldn’t have taken the loss, even though his team did lose.

No loss for Rienzo. Holds is a category that's new to me, so I’m not sure how you can get credit for a hold and the loss. Seems shady, Donnie Veal. Reeeaaaal shady.

One more company and I’d have to give Rienzo the “Nascar Award” for advertisements. But he sneaks by with just two, the Nike swoosh on his undershirt and his Rawlings glove.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Andre’s 7-IP, 0-ER debut was a first for a White Sox hurler since 1989.

That’s cool, as that’s about a quarter century. But wait a minute… 

That’s Rienzo’s entire MLB career in one screenshot. The game pictured on the front was his MLB debut and we just talked about how he gave up three runs in the 5^th inning. All earned. And if you look at the rest of the chart, he had no other 7-IP appearances and in every appearance he gave up at least one Earned Run. Uh-oh, Topps. Busted!

It didn’t say it on the back of the card but after the talk about Brazil in the blurb, I decided to look it up. Rienzo is just the second MLB player born in Brazil. Here’s a staggering chart from Baseball-Almanac.com.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #230

Player Name: Andre Rienzo

Team: Chicago White Sox

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: July 30, 2013

Opponent: Indians

Stadium: Progressive Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 7-4, Indians over the White Sox, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 6/5/1988

Birthplace: Brazil

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jason Miller

Niche collections this card could fit into: Rookie Card, Free Advertising

My Grade: I wanted to like this card. I saw Andre Rienzo when he came through and played against my local minor league team in 2011. He, and many of the other Winston Salem Dash signed autographs for my kids so I’m a little partial. The photo itself is pretty cool and it’s a rookie card. But the bad fact on the back kind of sours it for me. I remember when Error cards were “cool” to collect and some companies even issued corrected versions. But bad facts are just lazy. This card gets a C-.

#262 Jeff Keppinger

Today, we’re going South Side/North Side.

#262 Jeff Keppinger

First impression of what’s going on: As usual, the crop is too tight.  Keppinger is missing part of a hand and the baseball is missing a chunk. Otherwise, it’s a decent shot of a play at first. I like the photos where the ball is about to be caught or hit. And on a blown up version of the photo, I bet I could count the stitches on the ball, no blur at all in the photo.

Wait. Did I say play at first? The card says he’s a third baseman but he’s definitely wearing a first baseman’s mitt. This isn't something I’m tracking, maybe I should, but I’m wondering how many utility guys make Series 1.

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 14: First baseman Jeff Keppinger #7 of the Chicago White Sox catches the ball against the Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field on August 14, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The Tigers defeated the White Sox 6-4. (Photo by Brian D. Kersey/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Yep, definitely cropped too tight. I’m not saying the card could have fit the full length photo, but I know Jeff from 2x3 Heroes probably would have liked him some high socks on a White Sox card. The caption doesn’t give much information on the exact play, and in any given game, a putout at first could be the most common play. Let’s go to the BOXSCORE.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the division leading Tigers beat the division cellar dwelling White Sox in a later season game. But let’s look for putouts at first base.

Right off the bat, to start the game, Austin Jackson grounded out to the shortstop. Based on Keppinger’s eye line, I would probably say this is a definite possibility.

Top of the second brings two more putouts. The first seems like a tougher play that would be closer at the bag. The eye line could work but I would expect to see the runner at least starting to enter the frame. The other play came from second base and unless it was a slow roller into the grass, I don’t think the angle works. And again, a play in the grass would probably be a closer play at first.

The top of the third ends with a ground ball to shortstop. Ok, I’m done trying to figure it out. Too many opportunities and it’s only the third inning. For the record, I looked it up, and Jeff had 12 putouts in this game. I guess I could look at the shadows and find the exact time of day and correspond...zzzzzzzz.

Anyway, there's not much in the way of niches on the front of this card, just sunglasses, so let’s see what we can get from the back:

Rookie Fact: Jeff, though not a power hitter, homered twice in his first 8 games.

I went back to 2004 for some boxscores to look up his home runs and came up with game 7 of his career and game 8, both against the Dodgers. Keppinger’s Mets lost both games, and interestingly enough, they also lost the game where he hit his only other home run that season. How many before that’s a jinx?

The blurb mentions the utility of Keppinger and it shows up in the stats. Seven teams in nine seasons and nearly 200 games at three different positions is pretty much the definition of utility.

.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #262

Player Name: Jeff Keppinger

Team: Chicago White Sox

Position: Third Base

Game Date: August 14, 2013

Opponent: Detroit Tigers

Stadium: US Cellular Field

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 6-4, Tigers over White Sox, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 4/21/1980

Birthplace: Florida

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Brian D. Kersey

Niche collections this card could fit into: Sunglasses

My Grade:  While there is nothing that makes me say, “WOW!” about this card, I still kind of like it. Maybe it’s because he’s playing a different position than what he is credited with. Or the calmness in his reaction to the play.  Or my soft spot for utility guys.

I can’t quite pinpoint why I think this is a slightly better than average card, but I’m going to give it a B-.

#191 Chris Perez

Staying in the American League, today we have Chris Perez of the Cleveland Indians.

#191 Chris Perez

First impression of what’s going on: That’s a lot. A lot of red, lot of green, lot of off-white and a lot of hair. Kind of a generic shot, a pitcher doing what a pitcher does. I don't know the Indians uniforms well enough to know if this is a throwback or alternate, but it is not their normal home jersey. The crop job doesn't help the overall appeal of the card. Cutting off legs and feet can be unavoidable, but I hate missing arms, elbows and hands. And in this case, the forearm. I don’t blame the border design on this one because, depending on the source photo, it could have easily been zoomed out.

And a look at said photo confirms that. Look at all the room!

Photo courtesy of Getty Images. Photographer: Jason Miller

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 14: Closing pitcher Chris Perez #54 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on April 14, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. The White Sox defeated the Indians 3-1. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: Yep, a pitcher doing what a pitcher does. And plenty of space to not have zoomed in quite so close. Giving this photo a horizontal layout on the card may have worked better.

The caption mentions this was taken during the 9^th inning. That makes sense seeing as Perez is the Indians' closer. But then again, Getty was wrong yesterday, right?

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

Ok, they could be right today. Looks like Perez pitched the top 9^th inning, despite his Indians trailing the White Sox 3-1. Most closers only come in when their team is leading. His pitch count for the appearance was 9 and without much else to go on, the photo could have been taken during his strikeout of Dayan Viciedo, the four pitches thrown to induce Conor Gillaspie’s groundout to third base or the single pitch that caused Alexei Ramirez to fly out to deep right center.

Chris’ line for the day:

A perfect inning of work but unfortunately it came in a losing effort for his team. They failed to rally in the bottom half of the inning, despite a two out walk by pinch hitter, Carlos Santana.

Earlier today, I debuted a new niche collection with the Notable Fan designation. This card inspires the Free Advertising label with Perez displaying, not one, but two fairly prominent Nike swoosh logos.

Undershirt and glove

I vaguely remember seeing a blog post last year in regards to all of the advertising on the legendary AJ Pierzynski card, but I’m sorry I can’t site the source. If somebody else remembers, I would be glad to give credit where its due.

On to the back:

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

Rookie Fact: Chris’ first major league save came in August when he was 6-for-6

This stat made me chuckle a little bit.  Being a rookie usually means a late season call up so to have a first of anything in August isn't anything to look down upon. And going 6-6 is certainly commendable. But my first thought was it sounded like it was trying too hard to put a positive spin on something. Sure enough, when I went to his Baseball Reference page, his first save came in his 24th relief appearance. Granted, he worked mostly in a setup role, but he is also credited with a blown save and a blown loss before he earned his first save. I do give credit to the Topps writer who put a good spin on it. It's exactly what I like to do when writing blurbs for former Cubs in my custom ATCRCS set.

And as you can see by the rest of his stats on the back of the card, Perez went on to become a pretty solid reliever, racking up over 100 Saves since joining the Indians.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: 191

Player Name: Chris Perez

Team: Cleveland Indians

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: April 14, 2013

Opponent: Chicago White Sox

Stadium: Progressive Field

Division:  American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-1,White Sox over Indians, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: One or the other, not sure which

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 7/1/1985

Birthplace: Florida

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Jason Miller

Niche collections this card could fit into: Free Advertising, Throwbacks/Alternate Jersey, Awesome Hair, Former First Round Draft Pick

My Grade: With all due respect to Perez and through no fault of his own, this card gets a B- from me. Its just an average card with a bad crop but it does get a few extra bonus points thrown in for meeting the criteria of four niche collections. That's only one less than Murphy's card earlier, but this is still just an average card. As for the Awesome Hair category, long hair by itself doesn't qualify it. The flowing mane action resulting from his throwing motion that removes any doubt it belongs.

That wraps up day one. Come back tomorrow to see whether the randomizer continues to favor the American League.