The 2014 Topps Blog: A-

Showing posts with label A-. Show all posts

Thursday, April 24, 2014

#223 Joaquin Benoit

Ok, so I took a much longer than intended break from posting. The season is under way. If you follow my other blog, Once a Cub, you ‘ll know there were a few new collection pickup s that needed sorting through. I should be back to posting fairly regularly now but I think going forward, this will be an evening time posting instead of earlier like my other blog.

#223 Joaquin Benoit

First impression of what’s going on: Another potentially great card almost ruined by a bad crop job. Great throwback uniform. Joaquin Benoit is working the high socks but the uniform seems a little too baggy to say it’s 100% accurate. But that could just be my perception as I wasn’t around back then. I spy an umpire cameo that I’ll be looking into as well.

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 27: Joaquin Benoit #53 of the Detroit Tigers pitches while wearing a Detroit Stars Negro League tribute uniform during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Comerica Park on April 27, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: As usual, plenty of room to fit Benoit’s entire glove into the frame. And I knew it going into this post, but this photo is from the same game as my last post, Kris Medlen’s card. So here’s the link again to the BOXSCORE and the same line score:

But now let’s see it from the Tigers’ and Benoit’s perspective.

Luckily, the Tigers were up by two when Benoit entered the game because he did end up giving up a home run to Justin Upton before the Tigers tacked on two more in the bottom half of the inning.

If Topps had cropped off Benoit’s feet, we would have missed a shot at some Free Advertising. Instead we get the New Balance logo on the tongue of Benoit’s cleat.

The background is too blurry to make out the advertisments on the outfield wall.

The umpire credited with working second base that game was Mark Carlson. According to his Wikipedia bio, Carlson has been umpiring in the Majors since 1999.

As I mentioned in the Medlen post, last season, the Tigers hosted the 11^th Annual Negro League Weekend for their series against the Braves. Here is a link from the Tigers website that talks about the weekend festivities. The Saturday game was the only one that featured the throwback uniforms though.

I probably should have spread these posts out rather than do them back to back since I’m using some of the same photos. Here again are the uniforms worn that day.

The Braves represented the Atlanta Black Crackers and the Tigers were the Detroit Stars.

And again, the high socks:

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Joaquin won his first game on the day he was recalled, 5/9/2002.

That game went pretty well for Benoit. Six innings pitched, just one run given up.

But I want to go back to his first game, a season earlier. As you can see on the back of his card, it doesn’t look like it went well. I did notice that despite giving up six runs in five innings, Benoit didn’t suffer the loss. Did his team rally and save him?

Nope. On the contrary. The Rangers gave up 13 runs in the top of the 9^th to Benoit’s future team, the Tigers.

I don’t know if it’s a normal thing for players making their MLB debut to give post-game press conferences, but Benoit would have had time to hit the showers and wait…and wait…and wait…

In this dream scenario, I wonder how long he would have waited before starting to think it was part of his rookie hazing.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #223

Player Name: Joaquin Benoit

Team: Detroit Tigers

Position: Pitcher

Game Date: April 27, 2013

Opponent: Atlanta Braves

Stadium: Comerica Park

Division: American League Central

Home/Away: Home

Outcome of the game: 7-4, Tigers over the Braves, Win for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: Yes, throwback.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Birthdate: 7/26/1977

Birthplace: Dominican Republic

Cameos by: Umpire Mark Carlson

Photographer: Mark Cunningham

Niche collections this card could fit into: Throwback Uniform, Free Advertising, High Socks

My Grade: The Kris Medlen card got a solid A. I do like the Stars uniform worn by Benoit better but not more than I liked the horizontal layout of the Medlen. Since it hit the same other niches, for that, it gets a slightly lower grade of A-.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

#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!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

#225 Brian McCann

First impression of what’s going on: Something leads me to believe this is one of those “Play at the Plate” cards. I can’t say this one is particularly well cropped in a conventional sense, but it is such a unique angle, I’m actually going to let that slide. Catcher Brian McCann’s body language and eye line tells me he’s got the ball and this base runner is out.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 12: Gregor Blanco #7 of the San Francisco Giants is tagged out at home plate by Brian McCann #16 of the Atlanta Braves during the fourth inning at AT&T Park on May 12, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

The Reality of the Photo: I’d have to go back and check (who am I kidding, I won't) but this may the most complete caption I've seen yet. Both players are named. I've got the date and location of the game, as well as the two teams involved. I've even got the inning. The only thing missing is the final outcome of the game so let’s go check out the BOXSCORE.

Looks like the play wasn’t crucial to the game but it can still be demoralizing to be thrown out at the plate. How did Blanco get into this position?

Whoa, talk about a crazy inning. So much going on. An error. A walk. A hit. A sacrifice that only kind of, sort of worked (no run, but it advanced a different runner). A fielder’s choice out at home (the play captured on the card). And a base runner caught stealing. If a run didn't score, that would seem almost Hollywood scripted. Or at least something you’d see on Looney Tunes.

I couldn't tell from the card or photo, but thanks to one of my new favorite features on Sportslogos.net, I can find exactly which uniform the players were wearing that day. According to the site, both teams were wearing their respective standard home and away uniforms.

Because it was Mother's Day, they had a special pink ribbon patch over their hearts. McCann's ribbon is covered by his chest protector and Blanco's front is facing away from the camera so you can’t actually see either. Therefore, the card won’t get any special consideration for the commemorative patch niche. You do get a small taste of the Mother's Day festivities with Gregor Blanco's pink arm sleeve/wrist band at the top of the card.

McCann does double dip on the Free Advertising though with a Mizuno logo on his chest protector and mitt.

On to the back:

Rookie Fact: Brian was the first Braves player ever to homer in his initial postseason at-bat.

That would be pretty magical for just about anyone. But take a minute and remember that this is a Rookie Fact and it's that much more impressive. Here’s a list of all the players who have played at least 1,000 regular season games without ever playing the postseason. Or if you don't want to click on the link, here's a screenshot of the top twenty:

* designates a Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer Ernie Banks played for 19 seasons and hit 512 home runs but never played in the postseason. Then this whippersnapper, rookie catcher not only makes the postseason his first year, but cranks a homer in his first at bat!? Kids these days, with their six divisions and wild cards.

I did a double take at the end of the blurb when it said McCann had his seventh All-Star season in 2013. Man, I’m getting old. How has McCann already played 9 seasons and been an All-Star seven times? It’s definitely the Cubs bias, but when I think of Braves catchers, I still think of Cubs-turned-Braves Jody Davis and Damon Berryhill in the late 1980’s-early 1990’s. And yes, I've heard of Javy Lopez, but he came later.

Information I’ll be tracking:

Card Number: #225

Player Name: Brian McCann

Team: Atlanta Braves

Position: Catcher

Game Date: May 12, 2013

Opponent: San Francisco Giants

Stadium: AT&T Park

Division: National League West

Home/Away: Away

Outcome of the game: 5-1, Giants over the Braves, Loss for the player depicted

Alternate/Throwback Jersey: No

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Birthdate: 2/20/1984

Birthplace: Georgia

Cameos by: Gregor Blanco

Photographer: Jason O. Watson

Niche collections this card could fit into: Play at the Plate, Cameo, Free Advertising, Partial Southpaw

My Grade: This is a pretty cool looking card with a unique angle for the play at the plate. It’s not overflowing with niche collections but the ones it fits into are some of the more popular ones. I guess I can overlook the fact that McCann is showing up Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Don Kessinger on the back of the card and let this one slide by with an A-.

Getting to see the Mother’s Day ribbon and maybe a little bit of red text on the back (League Leader status) would have made this card an A.

As a 7x All-Star and 5x Silver Slugger, I’m actually kind of surprised McCann hasn't led the league in something that Topps tracks in his near decade in Atlanta. I never really thought about McCann’s Hall of Fame potential (mainly because I didn't realize he had already played so long), but after looking at his stats, I’m not sure he comes close to passing the sniff test, despite those accolades.

Pages

Thursday, April 24, 2014

#223 Joaquin Benoit

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

#211 Dioner Navarro

Thursday, February 20, 2014

#225 Brian McCann