Eight Clubby Nights: A Stadium Club Hanukkah (Night 8)

We've come to the end, the final night of Hanukkah. Technically, it still goes until sundown tomorrow, since the day changes at sundown in the Jewish calendar, rather than arbitrarily at midnight. But we'll be out of both candles and cards soon, and there are no empty branches left on our menorah. And my dreidel hand is a little fatigued.

Hanukkah will be late next year, so we have a bit more than a trip around the sun until we begin the ritual again. Did the final pack of 2018 Stadium Club top the pinnacle of night four? Read on to find out.

2018 Stadium Club #253 Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola is only 25, but he already has the makings of an ace. His 17-6 record for the Phillies in 2018 got him as high as #3 in Cy Young voting, and with all the NL East clubs besides the Marlins taking 2019 very seriously, we'll surely see some more stellar performances next year. His card is already mentioning him in the same sentence as Phillies stars like Curt Schilling. He'll surely face the Nationals' shiny new acquisition, Patrick Corbin, at some point in the coming seasons.

I'm still a little shaky on pitch grips, so I can't quite tell what Nola is about to deftly filing toward the plate. All I know is that I probably wouldn't be able to hit it.

2018 Stadium Club #143 Tim Locastro (RC)

It didn't take long for our first rookie to join the party, Tim Locastro, formerly of the Dodgers. Los Angeles dealt him to the Yankees the day before Thanksgiving in return for a minor leaguer. He had a single plate appearance in 2017, and spent most of 2018's September call-up as a pinch runner.

This photo is from a 2018 game, based on the 60th Anniversary patch on the right sleeve, which documents that it's been 60 years since the Dodgers left Brooklyn and broke hearts all over New York.

According to Baseball-Reference, Locastro has only worn #70 for the Dodgers, so whatever number Topps photoshopped him into isn't actually a real Dodgers uniform, unless this is a spring training shot. Also giving that away is his helmet with two ear flaps, something generally just reserved at the major league level for switch hitters, which Locastro is not. I wore helmets just like that in little league. We weren't rolling in enough dough to afford both left- and right-handed helmets, so we all wore the slightly goofy-looking double flap ones. A batting helmet with a single ear flap once seemed like the ultimate luxury.

2018 Stadium Club #214 Parker Bridwell (RC)

Our second rookie of the pack is Parker Bridwell, formerly of the Angels. He, too, is now a Yankee, as the Bronx Bombers selected him off waivers a couple weeks ago. They must see quite a bit of potential in him, but they surely weren't looking at his 2018 stats, which saw him give up 13 earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched. It was an injury-shortened year, obviously, so we'll see if he can turn things around when he dons the pinstripes.

At least Topps got the uniform number right. He might even get to keep it when he moves to New York, as 62 is one of the many integers that the Yankees still have in circulation.

2018 Stadium Club #39 Wil Myers

At this point in the offseason, when players aren't mashing baseballs out of stadiums across the country, talk turns to which team a player might be with next year. The Yankees have already been busy acquiring the rookies from this final pack. Wil Myers, like many of his fellow players, will be discussed at the upcoming Winter Meetings (that's actually a trademark), and many rumors pop up if you search his name. The Padres have already been active recently, acquiring Garrett Richards and Francisco Mejia, both names we've seen in this little Hanukkah celebration so far.

Underneath the lettering at the bottom of the card, we can see that Wil Myers, 2013's AL Rookie of the Year, is one of the few players who do not wear batting gloves. Tim Locastro isn't either, pointing to a small but growing trend. It may have the tiniest impact on the pace of play debate, because if you don't wear batting gloves, you can't constantly step out of the box to adjust them.

Like a batting helmet with a single ear flap, batting gloves for both hands were another once-unobtainable luxury, but I did have one for my left hand.

2018 Stadium Club #190 Ian Happ

The final card of this 40-card blaster is a good way to wrap things up. It shows Ian Happ soaring past first base, presumably after just hitting one out of Wrigley. This has the look of a walk-off shot, but nothing to that effect shows up in his career stats. He doesn't have a ton more experience than most rookies throughout this series, just two seasons. However, he's gotten regular playing time with the Cubbies and has been on their postseason roster in both years. If he's out there giving photographers this kind of opportunity, then he's sure to stick around for some time to come.

I have to admit, even though these have been some great cards, I am a little disappointed with my luck this time around. Our final three packs yielded fifteen straight base cards. I like the base cards from this set more than most others, but not to have that punctuated with something a little more unique is a slight letdown.

It turns out that night 4 was my favorite, and it included the only Rockie of the bunch. But thanks to Trevor's group break, I have plenty of the Rockies from this set, and I guess that's why we do group breaks. Once I get these into binders, I'll see that Photographer's Proof case hit nearby, and I'll remember that Stadium Club is actually pretty awesome.

Thanks for coming along this little adventure, and being open to indulging my little nightly Hanukkah lessons. I hope you all have an excellent holiday season, however you choose to celebrate it.