The Lost Collector, who has appeared multiple times in The Trading Post series, thought of me when he pulled a few Topps Update cards from 2019. I haven't built a pie chart of the various collectors who have appeared in The Trading Post over the years, but The Lost Collector would certainly have a sizeable wedge. This time, he found some Rockies parallels from the quasi-Series 3 that Topps releases annually.
2019 Topps Update Walgreens Yellow #US42 David Dahl AS |
The All-Star Game is always one of the primary features of any Topps Update set, and both these cards are from the 2019 Midsummer Classic, held this year in Cleveland. With the pitchers duels these games have become, crossing the plate is a real accomplishment, as is getting on base in the first place. And David Dahl did just that, singling in the 5th inning and scoring thanks to an RBI single from Pete Alonso, who had just won the Home Run Derby the night before, and was recently named the NL Rookie of the Year.
Dahl is certainly wearing a lot of numbers on his uniform in this photo. There's obviously his uniform number, #26, the number previously worn by Ellis Burks and Jeff Francis. On his right, he has the number 45, a memorial for Tyler Skaggs, the Angels pitcher who died tragically just over a week before the All-Star Game. On Dahl's right sleeve, we can see the MLB 150 logo worn league-wide this year, as well as a "1" inside a five-pointed star. which represents Dahl's first All-Star selection. MLB has been adding service stars to All-Star Game uniforms for a few years now, and I think they're a nice touch.
2019 Topps Update Walgreens Yellow #US44 Trevor Story AS |
Both these card backs describe why each of these players warranted an All-Star selection, as well as their in-game performances. Trevor Story went 0-1 while facing Liam Hendriks, one batter before his buddy Charlie Blackmon would hit a home run. Yes, Rockies had two of the three runs scored by the National League that day, which was still not enough to beat the American League.
Story's other "All-Star Game Creds" included his fourth NL Player of the Week award, a seven-RBI game against the Blue Jays in late May, and his 100th career home run a week before that, the fastest-ever shortstop to reach that mark. His two All-Star selections go into the same trophy case as his two Silver Slugger awards, though he's yet to win a Gold Glove.
If he keeps that kind of performance up, he'll need a bigger trophy case, and can expect to appear in many more Topps Update sets yet to come.
I'm a lot more confident in that than what the colored parallel situation will be next year.
Thanks to The Lost Collector for adding a little extra color to my 2019 binder!
I really like the service stars idea! Cool pickups!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to get back onto your trading post sometime soon. I'm sure I've got some Rockies I can send your way..less sure about your Eight Men Out. The Walgreenses near me didn't have any Topps packs so I was unable to track down any yellow parallels. Target is much more reliable for retail packs; all Walgreens ever has are repacks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Cleveland All-Star Game logo was one of the best I've ever seen.
I really love the colored parallels from this year's flagship set and Chrome set. My favorite Topps design since 2015.
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