#44 Matt Carpenter

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. Earlier I had a representative of the World Champion Boston Red Sox in Jonny Gomes and now I’ve got one from the runner-up St. Louis Cardinals.

#44 Matt Carpenter

First impression of what’s going on: I’ll try to do this review without letting my Cubs bias shine through. Pretty standard follow through swing. I can live with the bat being slightly cut off on the left but the crop at the top is too tight. I don’t know enough about the Cardinals jerseys, but it looks like an alternate one to me. I think they're regular ones are whiter for home and grey from away?

 ST. LOUIS, MO - JULY 6: Matt Carpenter #13 of the St. Louis Cardinals bats against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium on July 6, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo:  You can see that Topps did go with a pretty tight crop, although the photographer didn't leave much room at the top for them to work with. That being the case, I probably would've opted for a different photo, especially since it is just a generic swing. The caption doesn't lead me to believe that the swing was even a particularly important one so let’s go to the BOXSCORE and see how Carpenter did that day.

Well, the Cardinals won, so there's a start.

Carpenter went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored. He tripled home pitcher Joe Kelly in the bottom of the third to put the Cardinals on the board and later scored on a Carlos Beltran single. But like I said, there’s nothing in the caption to prove this is anything significant and I’m not sure his posture is that of a triple. Although, if you think you've just hit a home run that turns into a triple…maybe.

His other at bats consisted of a fly ball to center, short fly to left and a ground out to the pitcher. It’s tough to tell with his eye line, as it could be any of those of them except for the last one.

After a little research, I see that the red piping and St.Louis (rather than Cardinals) across the front show that this is an alternate jersey. Combine that with the eye black and a commemorative patch, Carpenter has nice trifecta to help him out, despite a below average photo selection.

Photo from the Cardinals Wikipedia page

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Matt’s 11 pinch-hits in 2012 were most since 1954 by a Cardinals rookie

I don’t know the statistics behind pinch-hitting but coming off the bench and delivering 11 times, and as a rookie no less, seems pretty impressive to me. I didn't look too hard for the rookie record or for the 1954 Cardinal rookie but the all-time record for pinch hits in a season (not just rookies) is 28 by John Vander Wal in 1995. That doesn't make me think any less of Carpenter, though as that's a lot of trust by a manager to keep throwing a rookie into that situation.

And it certainly didn't hurt him winning the starting second base job for 2013 and again dominating the Majors at the plate. Carpenter’s blurb mentions that he is only the second person to lead the MLB in hits, runs and doubles since 1911. The other? Pete Rose in 1976. Guess he can’t be mentioned on the card though…

In 1911, Ty Cobb did it, and Nap Lajoie in 1901. That is some pretty solid company to keep. Thanks to a Roger Schlueter article for those tidbits.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #44

Player Name: Matt Carpenter

Team: St. Louis Cardinals

Position: Second Base

Game Date: July 6, 2013

Opponent: Miami Marlins

Stadium: Busch Stadium

Division: National League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 5-4, Cardinals over the Marlins, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 11/26/1985

Birthplace: Texas

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Dilip Vishwanat

Niche collections this card could fit into: Eye black, Alternate Jersey, Commemorative Patch, League Leader in Italics, Players Named Matt, Partial Southpaw

My Grade: I've already had a couple of cards I wanted to like but gave only average scores to. This is one I didn't want to like because of the Cardinals affiliation and generic photo but it is going to get a B+ from me. Despite its shortcomings, it racked up on the niche collections and had a solid rookie fact and blurb on the back.

#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.

#20 Charlie Blackmon

Whoops, this prematurely posted earlier and I had to rescind it. Here it is again for those that didn't catch it then.

In honor of the Super Bowl yesterday I thought I’d show some baseball representatives from the areas involved. Earlier from the Seattle Mariners, I had Kyle Seager. From Colorado, I present outfielder Charlie Blackmon.

#20 Charlie Blackmon

 First impression of what’s going on: If Seager’s card was a good photo presented poorly, Blackmon’s card is a fairly boring photo presented well. Good crop and the purple is surprisingly nice. The eye black is one of my niches and the first of its kind this season.

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 11: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies takes an at bat as catcher Tony Sanchez #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates backs up the plate and umpire Bill Welke oversees the action at Coors Field on August 11, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Pirates 3-2 and swept the three game series. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo:  Man, talk about a Topps close up, cropping out the catcher and umpire. I even skipped over this photo twice when searching for it because it wasn't what I was looking for. This won’t happen very often, but I happen to agree with this particular extreme close up. I generally like photos like this but with the amount of distance `between Blackmon and the catcher and umpire, it wouldn’t have made for a good card. They may have been able to find a better photo, but Topps did pretty well with what they did pick.

The caption gives the game but not much else to help nail down the play. Let’s head over to the BOXSCORE.

Pretty close game there. Let’s see if Blackmon had any say in the outcome.

Two-for-three win a runs scored is pretty good. Also you may notice all the way on the right, Blackmon was also hit by a pitch. That was his plate appearance that led to him scoring a run. After he stole second and was balked to third, Blackmon scored on a sacrifice fly hit by former Cub, DJ Lemahieu. Another former Cub, middle reliever Manny Corpas got the win.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Within his first 9 MLB games, Charlie had a string of 5 with a steal.

I’ll admit I had to read this sentence a couple of times to understand what it what trying to say. What I think it was awkwardly trying to say is that Blackmon had a five game stretch with at least one stolen base, that happened to be in his first 9 games. So in his 5^th-9^th games. He did not have another during his other 18 games that season. And only had one in 47 games the next year. He did step up his base stealing again in 2013 with 7 in 82 games.

The blurb portion of the card makes mention of Blackmon making a run at becoming an everyday player. My first thought was why does Topps have a fourth outfielder in Series One? I even had to stop and think about whom else in the Rockies outfield was holding him back. Carlos Gonzalez. Dexter Fowler…uh that’s all I got. I know another former Cub, Tyler Colvin was jumping back and forth between AAA and the Rockies but that can’t be right. Another quick Baseball-Reference search showed me that Michael Cuddyer was roaming the right side. Oh yeah. And then three other outfielder played more games than Colvin. Oh…

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #20

Player Name: Charlie Blackmon

Team: Colorado Rockies

Position: Outfield

Game Date: August 11, 2013

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates

Stadium: Coors Field

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 3-2, Rockies over Pirates, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Birthdate: 7/1/1987

Birthplace: Texas

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Doug Pensinger

Niche collections this card could fit into: Southpaw, Eye Black

My Grade: Unlike the Super Bowl, I think Colorado pulls out a squeaker over the Seattle card from earlier. Despite fewer niche collections this card fits into, I think it is a better looking card than the Seager. But still not great. This one gets a C+ too, but maybe a half percentage point higher.

#73 Kyle Seager

In honor of the Super Bowl yesterday I thought I’d show some baseball representatives from the areas involved. First up from the Seattle Mariners, I have Kyle Seager.

#73 Kyle Seager

First impression of what’s going on: Good action shot, though not great. I’d call it a play at the plate even though it doesn’t appear to be close with the catcher jumping to make the play. I’m going to go out on a shaky, thin limb and say Seager was safe. A couple of cameos I’ll have to try to figure out.

SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 14: Kyle Seager #15 of the Seattle Mariners scores on a single by Jesus Montero as catcher Geovany Soto #8 of the Texas Rangers takes the throw in the sixth inning at Safeco Field on April 14, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners defeated the Rangers 4-3. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo:  Another pretty self-explanatory photo. Surprise isn't the right word for it, but I found it interesting that Geovany Soto was the catcher. Former Cubs isn't a real niche collection of mine but I do point them out when I see them during Repack Breaks on my other blog, Once aCub… and will be tracking appearances even if its just his butt. 

The caption gives a little more detail, like who hit the ball, but let’s go to the BOXSCORE to see if we can find out some more information.

Looks like the Mariners took the lead for good in the sixth inning when this picture was supposedly taken. Was this a game-winning run? Let’s go a little deeper and look at the inning summary.

Ok, so not the game winner, but Seager started the rally with a one-out double. He then scored on the Jesus Montero single to right field that resulted in the photo above. In the background, Montero is advancing to second on the throw home. Baseball-Reference also has a chart that shows the top plays of the game. Montero's RBI single tops the list for this game.

In my baseball experience, a ball hit to right field has the second baseman as the cutoff man. With the positioning of the photo, the blurry Ranger could very well be keystoner, Leury Garcia. Any Rangers fans out there that can help me ID the Rangers fielder and the other one in the photo that got cropped out of the photo on the left?

On to the back:

 

Rookie Fact: Kyle was the first Seattle rookie to go 4-for-4 with 3 XBHS, 8/24/2011.

There may have been a rookie to go 4-for-4 but without the extra base hits or one that had three extra base hits but not a perfect 4-for-4. But even with the qualifiers, this is still a pretty impressive feat. In case you were curious, I’ve tracked down the BOXSCORE for that game too. Seager’s three extra base hits were all doubles and he managed to score three runs while driving one in during a 9-2 drubbing of the Cleveland Indians.

The blurb mentions Seager has been the team MVP for the past two seasons, but knowing the Mariners are just as happy the Astros have joined the AL West as the Cubs are disappointed they left the NL Central, that's not saying much. They've got some good young guys, tough.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #73

Player Name: Kyle Seager

Team: Seattle Mariners

Position: Third Base

Game Date: April 14, 2013

Opponent: Texas Rangers

Stadium: Safeco Field

Division: American League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-3, Mariners over Rangers, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 11/3/1987

Birthplace: North Carolina

Cameos by: Jesus Montero (Mariners), Geovany Soto (Rangers), ???? (Rangers)

Photographer: Otto Greule Jr.

Niche collections this card could fit into: Horizontal, Cameo, Play at the Plate, Former Cub

My Grade: Although this card fits into four niche collections and is another I wanted to like, I think Topps could have done better. In my opinion, Seager’s head is too close to the top border. I have no formal art/photography/graphic design training but I vaguely remember a concept from art class when I was in school regarding the rule of thirds. It had to do with framing important elements of the art in certain areas of the overall composition. This card would have benefitted greatly from lowering the photo from where the top of his helmet is down to where his nose is, putting his face in a more prominent spot on the card. Even if that sacrificed a little more of his legs (an acceptable crop), you can still tell he was sliding home with the catcher in the picture.

My love of horizontal cards can’t overcome the fact that while Seager has all of his important appendages, the card is poorly cropped and just slightly above average at best. I'll go C+.

Contest Winner!

Shortly after the soft open of the blog, I announced a contest to try to drum up some followers before the official launch. First off, thanks so much to everybody who helped out by following me both here and on Twitter and to those who did a little free advertising for me on their own blogs and Twitter accounts.
First off, I offered up all of my inserts from my pack-itch-scratching blaster that I bought to go along with my complete set if I had 10 followers by the time I posted my first card. This amounted to about 30 cards, all inserts and parallels.

Well thanks to this wonderful community, I had 17 blog followers by the time the Daniel Murphy card posted on Friday morning! That may not sound like a lot, but I think it is pretty fantastic considering I hadn't even posted an example of what the next 1000 posts would be like. So thanks, too, for taking my word for it.

On the other hand, and maybe I'm reading too much into this, I haven't added any followers since the "real" posts started. But I'm ok with that. All of the posts so far have gotten comments so they are being read. And that's good enough for me. I'll paraphrase Field of Dreams here and assume if I continue to build it, they'll continue to come.

The second part of my challenge was to get to 20 followers by the same deadline. With that I was giving away my sight unseen, unopened pack that contained the commemorative manu patch from my blaster. As I mentioned above, I had 17 by the deadline (and still do) so unfortunately, I will not be including that as a prize. However, I'll be holding onto that as a prize for a later contest and instead will add a few extras to the package from the winner's favorite team.

As a recap here were the steps to join the contest:

Step 1. Follow this blog. Pretty simple stuff right there. If I'm not following you, I will. I'm always looking for some good reads.

Step 2. Promote my "Welcome" post on your own blog, if you've got one. Let me know when/where you've done that. Multiple promotions allowed, one per day limit.

Step 3. I'll be tweeting each post when it goes live. Follow me for another entry: @2014ToppsBlog

Step 4. Retweeting any of my posts will get you an additional entry.

By my calculations, I had 32 entires into the contest. I typed out the list of entries over at random.org and ran the process three times (as I normally do). The first two times spreads out multiple entries by the same person. Kind of like cutting the deck before dealing. The third time provides the winner:

Decoy photo so the next picture doesn't ruin the surprise in previews...

Congratulations to Chris from over at View From the Skybox. He followed the blog and also chose to follow me on Twitter, which gave him an extra entry to secure the victory. Shoot me your address and I'll get these to you ASAP.

Again, thanks to the rest of you that have done your share to spread the word. This was only the first of what I hope is several contests over the course of the year. If I haven't traded with you before, let's set something up! Check out my other blog, Once a Cub..., to get a sense of what I collect.

New card shown off Monday morning at 9 AM EST.

#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.

#72 Michael Young

In honor of Michael Young announcing his retirement, I am bumping the randomizer’s selected post.

#72 Michael Young

First impression of what’s going on: Michael Young is well in front of the base so he appears to be charging hard on a bunt or slow roller.  Good action shot, good crop.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 11: Michael Young #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers makes a throw to first base for Aaron Hill #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on September 11, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Hill was safe. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: The uncropped version seems to lend creedance to my theory. The caption gives me some information to work with, but doesn’t tell the whole story. So let’s check out the BOXSCORE.

There’s no mention of the inning, but it does say Young is making a play against Arizona’s Aaron Hill. So let’s check the inning recaps and see if we can’t find a Hill plate appearance that makes sense.

First at bat in the top of the first, ground out to second base. Nope.

His second at bat, leading off the fourth inning was a single to left field.  The caption did mention Hill was safe, and it is the correct side of the field, but I don’t think this is the play. Let’s keep looking.

Third at bat came in the top of the 6th, again leading off. A ha! This time it’s a single to 3B and regarded as being hit to “weak” third base. Fits perfectly! Just to be sure, let’s see his last at bat of the game.

Hmmm, leading off again, this time in the 8^th. Somebody needs a better setup guy in front of him! But this one was a fly ball to left-center.

Yesterday, I gave a stat line for the David Murphy because his card showed him in an offensive situation. And Chris Perez’s card showed him pitching so I included those stats. Baseball Reference doesn’t give fielding statistics in the daily boxscores, just on the individual player’s page. SO after tracking down that information, here’s his line for that game.

Two assists in two chances.  Young fielded another weak ground ball from Paul Goldschmidt in the third and one off that bat of Martin Prado to get a force out at second to end the 9^th. I never really thought about how a player could field a ball and make the throw to first, without getting an error and there is no accounting for it in the stats. Apparently Chances consist of Assists + Putouts + Errors. Baseball cards be teaching me stuff!

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Two of Michael’s eight multi-homer games came as a Rookie in 2001.

When Young made his debut in the early 2000’s, I was playing the dating/marrying/having kids game so I wasn't paying as much attention to baseball as I had previously and do now. I have no idea if he was a highly touted prospect. I barely follow the American League as it is now, so I still don't really know much about him.

Despite what the PED era may lead you to believe, hitting a home run isn’t easy. Young is listed as 6’1” and 200 pounds on the back of his card, much bigger than me, but not exactly a hulking specimen when you think of home run hitters in the league. Even if he was, I don’t care who you are, hitting two in the same game is pretty impressive. And to do it as a rookie? Twice? Color me impressed.

Also of note is the extra red font in the statistics area on the back of the card. You know what that means. We've got a League Leader up in here! In 2005, while with the Rangers, Young led the American League with a .331 Batting Average while collecting a Major League leading 221 hits (a career high and 15 more than the runner up, Ichiro). The following year he tied the league lead for Games Played by participating in all 162 of the Rangers' games. It appears Young was consistently healthy throughout his career, as after his rookie season, he never dipped below 135 Games Played. He would tie for the league lead in Hits in 2011, but what the card doesn't show you is that Young would finish in the top four in hits four other times during his career.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #72

Player Name: Michael Young

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Position: Third Base

Game Date: September 11, 2013

Opponent: Arizona Diamondbacks

Stadium: Dodger Stadium

Division:  National League West

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 4-1, Diamondbacks over Dodgers, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 10/19/1976

Birthplace: California

Cameos by: N/A

Photographer: Harry How

Niche collections this card could fit into: League Leader In Italics,

My Grade: I want to like this card. You’ve got a veteran heading towards the end of his career, playing for his third team within 12 months. As I mentioned, he looks like he’s charging hard to make the play.  I’m trying not to take into consideration that the batter ended up being safe. Young is older than me and I don’t know that I could put in that much effort, haha.

Night Owl might not think he needs a Michael-Young-as-a-Dodger card for his collection (yeah, I saw that tweet), but I do think it was pretty cool that Topps got the card into Series 1 without utilizing Photoshop to change a Rangers or Phillies uniform. The photo is only about four and a half months old so that’s a pretty quick turnaround. I think in season’s past, Young would have been shown as a Phillie or maybe held until Series 2 or Update. 

I think I’ll give this card another B-. Good action, good cropping. But there isn't much unique about it and unfortunately, the card itself doesn't fit into too many of the niche collections, which hold a good amount of weight on my grading scale.

It does have a few things going for it that may change my grade in the future. Since Young just announced his retirement, this might end up being his “Sunset” card. With a September 11th photo date, it currently holds the leads for latest picture to be included in Series 1. Granted, I'm three cards in, but we'll see how long it can hold the title. And with only 21 games as a Dodger, in a few years this card'll end up on somebody’s blog as an “Unfamiliar Uniform” post. So B-, and maybe with a little extra credit, it can move up.