The Trading Post #96: All Trade Bait, All The Time

Dante Bichette always wore #10.

1997 Upper Deck #60 Dante Bichette

Except during the occasional Spring Training game, as pictured on this copper-heavy 1997 Upper Deck card.

I know a lot of people talk about 1993 Upper Deck as one of the best sets of the entire overproduction era, but all the little details, dates, and tidbits found on the 1997 set really appeal to me. Thanks to that little white line of text, we know the exact date that Dante Bichette suited up with #8. It's an appropriate card for today, which happens to be Jackie Robinson Day. Every Major League player wore #42 today, in honor of the player who famously broke the color barrier seventy years ago.

It can be a bit confusing to the casual baseball fan to watch when everyone is wearing the same number. But it's probably even more confusing to rabid fans when regular players are not wearing their normal number. On rare occasions, the uniform even has a mind of its own, as a number fell off a jersey mid-pitch during a recent Minor League game.

2017 Topps #152 Nolan Arenado LL

You can't quite make out Arenado's number on his League Leader card for 2016 NL Home Runs, but he wears #28, something I'm reminded of every day when I open my closet door and see his jersey. Just like in 2015, Arenado finished the season tied for the lead in home runs. In 2015, his 42 shots were on par with Bryce Harper, and he almost equaled that total in 2016, tying Chris Carter with 41. Since then, Topps decided to feature single-player league leader cards for the 2017 set, rather different from the three-player cards they had been using for quite a while.

Of course, that brings up the question of what to do about ties. Arenado played second fiddle to Harper on the 2016 card, but pretty much took over the entire 2017 card, getting the featured photo, team color coding on the back, and the first listing at the head of the top-ten list.

Maybe one of these seasons he will have the lead all to himself.

2017 Topps #17 Daniel Descalso

Daniel Descalso didn't lead any categories in 2016, nor is he even a Rockie in 2017. He migrated southwest in the offseason to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks, so as a member of the NL West, he's sure to remain a familiar face to Rockies fans. He's no stranger to the division, either. Judging by those yellow seats, this shot came from Dodger Stadium, and offers one of the final images on cardboard of the Rockies' old shade of purple.

This Descalso card came from a recent PWE from All Trade Bait, All The Time, one of the many Dodgers fans in the Cardsphere. My Rockies and his Dodgers square off frequently, and the Dodgers were even the visiting team for the Rockies' home opener last weekend. The Rockies are on the road for now, playing in San Francisco. Tyler Chatwood turned in a marvelous pitching performance today, a complete game shutout, and he was perfect through 5.2 innings.

2017 Topps #311 Tyler Chatwood

Speaking of Chatwood, I didn't have this card originally selected when I started this post. But after that shutout against the Giants on the road, I gave it a second thought and decided to include it. I'm probably nearing completion of the Rockies team set in 2017 Topps by now, and while it may not go down in history as one of the great all-time designs, it is starting to grow on me. Especially that beautiful purple on the back.

2013 Topps #461 Drew Pomeranz

Like Descalso, Drew Pomeranz has moved on, even venturing to an entirely different league. An All-Star last year with the Padres, he now pitches for Boston. He built up a dismal 4-14 record in three seasons with the Rockies, but has turned things around since leaving Denver, good enough for about a .500 record in recent seasons.

And that's not a bad Coors Field card in the 2013 set, statistically likely to have been taken during one of his nine losses in 2012.

2016 Topps Chrome Youth Impact #Y-I5 Jon Gray

Jon Gray took the hill three times so far this season for the Rockies, but was pulled early from Friday's game after aggravating a foot injury. Turns out he has a broken bone in his foot and is likely to miss more than a month. The Rockies are still in second place, not that unusual for the month of April, but the injuries are piling up at an alarming rate. Trevor Story is off to a slow start, many of the names that sportswriters picked as key players for the 2017 Rockies are injured, and if not for strong starting and relief pitching, a surprising performance by Mark Reynolds, and Tyler Chatwood's complete game shutout, things would be looking pretty bad.

At least Jon Gray can spend the next month admiring this awesome insert card from 2016 Topps Chrome. It could easily pass for a Topps Finest card, shows off his uniform number 55 perfectly, and evokes images of stained-glass windows. The color scheme is muted a bit on the back, but this will be an eye-catching specimen no matter which direction I display it in the binder.

I always like writing with a ballgame on, but especially so when I can write about a trade during a Rockies win. April is a fun month for Rockies fans, no matter what the uniform numbers say.