Farewell, Nolan

This is not a post I ever wanted to write. It's a post I've been putting off writing for over a week. Less than two years ago I thought it was a sure thing that Nolan Arenado, my favorite player to ever suit up for the Rockies, would remain in Denver for many years to come. Maybe for not the full eight years of his contract, but at least until his opt-out kicked in.

As we all know by now, it was not to be. Last week, the Rockies traded their generational talent (and around $50 million) to the St. Louis Cardinals for a flotilla of mid-ranked prospects. I had heard of precisely zero of them, and only one, LHP Austin Gomber, has any Major League experience.

Predictably, the Rockies have been getting torn to shreds over this one in the press, with one Athletic sportswriter charitably giving Colorado a grade of "D". And, yeah. This is bad.

Really bad.

Every team makes bad trades; it happens to the best of them. Dodgers fans know it. Yankees fans know it. Red Sox fans know it. Even Cardinals fans know it. But this is more than a bad trade. This is an indication of a systemic problem in the organization. Because in the last half-decade or so under Jeff Bridich, their current General Manager, hardly any transaction has panned out. Corey Dickerson to the Rays for German Márquez has pretty much been the lone highlight.

There's no need to recount the whole thing, but it's been done quite exhaustively by a particular reddit user if you'd like the gory details.

Long story short, Nolan Arenado simply said all along that he wanted to win, either in Colorado or elsewhere, and it became clear that the Rockies were no longer a good fit.

As a longtime fan, that's heartbreaking. I and a lot of fans like me have stuck around for it all, after the Tulowitzki trade, after the failure to ever win the division, after all the free-agent busts, after having to perpetually defend the team and the ballpark which much of the league considers a laughingstock, after learning why Arenado even had an opt-out in the first place.

I stuck around because there was always a glimmer of hope. There was always something to build around, like Todd Helton or the latest batch of young homegrown stars (e.g. Troy Tulowitzki). There was the occasional wild card. More recently, there was a solid rotation, playoff appearances in two straight years, and an infield that was as good as it's ever been. There was always possibility. There was always potential.

But now?

2013 Topps Update #US259 Nolan Arenado (RC)

Now it just seems like Nolan Arenado will just be yet another former Rockie that finds success (or at least more Postseason appearances) elsewhere. Like Larry Walker, Matt Holliday, Tulowitzki, DJ LeMahieu, etc.... And he's taking a huge amount of that potential with him.

It's very likely we'll see Trevor Story add his name to that list. He'll be a free agent after the 2021 season, and he just watched his legendary teammate sixty feet to his right get shipped off. Why would he stick around knowing he'll have to carry the whole left side of the infield?

Once upon a time, Arenado made his own splash as a Major League rookie, documented on his Rookie Card in 2013 Topps Update. It took him a few weeks to find his footing, but he rapidly became known throughout the league as an elite defender and a consistent hitter. 

Watching him play is magical. He's electric to watch. His defense is absolutely jaw-dropping in every single game. He's a great hitter, a perennial MVP candidate, and found himself atop the leaderboards regularly. As you likely know, he's won a Gold Glove every year he's been in the league, and the Platinum Glove four years running. And he plays the game with fierce intensity. 

You might have seen his walk-off, cycle-completing home run on Father's Day 2017, which, looking back, probably marked the high point of Arenado's tenure in Colorado. A month or so before that, I saw him play in a game against the Dodgers, and I remember him lining a rocket to third that Justin Turner managed to spear to end the inning. That was definitely an RBI chance, and everyone in the ballpark could tell that Nolan was pissed. He makes that play on batters day in and day out, but expected of himself that he could beat it from the other side.

That's what I'll miss.

And back in 2013, there was so much hope. Along with Christian Yelich and Anthony Rendon, he's one of the key rookie cards in 2013 Topps Update. I honestly don't know where I even got this one. It's easily one of the most sought-after recent cards in my collection, and I probably pulled it out of a commons box at a card show not long after its release. I also found the Yelich, but not the Rendon. That clearly visible number 28 became iconic in Rockies history, and the team really ought to retire it anyway. They should do so to honor the best player they've ever had, and as a reminder of mistakes made.

So where does that leave me as a die-hard Rockies fan? Honestly, I'm not sure. I'll definitely be tuning in to more Cardinals games this year. But I did see a tweet (or Reddit comment, or news quip, who can remember?) from another long-suffering fan of an NFL team who threw in the towel, saying, "I didn't give up on the team. The team gave up on me."

And while that's probably taking one's fandom a bit too personally, I'll say that I'm not expecting to find myself at the ballpark anytime soon. That's largely because of the pandemic, for sure, as I have no desire to add 35,000 people to my bubble, but also because my favorite player very conspicuously won't be there anymore.

I wish him well, and hope he gets to experience the pinnacles of baseball stardom that he's so clearly worthy of.

What's new last year?

In the midst of all these trade posts, I haven't posted much about the cards I ordered from Dave & Adam's Card World a few months ago. I've opened everything by now, but haven't sorted through it all just yet. Part of that shipment was a blaster of 2013 Topps Update, and there was quite a bit of interesting photography to be found.

First off, a Coors Field Card! The forest behind center field which I've written about before is visible here, along with a section of the Wells Fargo banner in right center above the bullpens.

2013 Topps Update #US118 Joe Blanton

I figured that it would be pretty easy to pinpoint which game this was from, as the Angels rarely make interleague appearances in Denver. However, research shows that the Angels didn't play the Rockies at all in 2013, nor was Blanton an Angel prior to that, which can only mean that this is a Photoshop job on Topps' part. Blanton pitched for the Dodgers in 2012, and made a start in Coors Field that August. I am guessing this photo was taken while Blanton was playing for LA's National League team, rather than their Anaheim rivals as pictured.

Detective work is fun!

Continuing to examine these photos with a fine-toothed comb, this checklist card of Mariano Rivera shows a vehicle of some kind in the middle infield area. Which is an unusual location for vehicles, to say the least.

2013 Topps Update #US237 Mariano Rivera

Rather than some lame pickup truck like Madison Bumgarner drove away with for earning MVP honors in this year's World Series, Mr. Sandman was the recipient of a shiny new C7 Corvette Stingray for his performance in the 2013 All-Star Game. The Chevy guys would probably not like to hear that I initially thought this was a Dodge Viper until I remembered that Chevrolet has been a major sponsor of MLB for quite some time.

Another interesting photograph came on this horizontal card of A.J. Pollock with his exuberant teammates exiting the dugout.

2013 Topps Update #US34 A.J. Pollock

An imminent play at the plate! This looks to be against the Dodgers, possibly even in walk-off fashion.

Of course, there were more than just base cards in this box. Topps Update always seems to be heavy on content from the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby, so this short-printed variant card of Bo Jackson at the '89 All-Star Game fits with the Update theme quite nicely.

2013 Topps Update #US16b Bo Jackson SP

Though this card doesn't mention it, Bo was the MVP of that All-Star Game in Anaheim. Regrettably, injuries plagued him and derailed his promising career, leaving him as one of the best players that "might have been," in two sports, no less.

I know I've posted cards from Topps Emerald before, but I just can't get over how striking they are.

2013 Topps Update Emerald #US187 Wilson Betemit

Don't expect me to pass up an opportunity to show off a little green.

I missed most of the buzz about the Chasing History inserts, which seems to be quite a well-liked and frequently collected set. That's not surprising, given that there is a great mix of old-time legends and current stars to be collected.

2013 Topps Chasing History #CH-147 Bob Feller

This is the base card, but there are silver- and gold-foil parallels to be found as well. Parallels of insert cards. This can be a confusing hobby, indeed.

Finally, I thought it was very appropriate to find two cards in particular from the Postseason Heroes insert set—one that is exclusive to 2013 Update, unlike the above, which was found in all series of 2013 Topps.

2013 Topps Update Postseason Heroes #PH-3 George Brett

2013 Topps Update Postseason Heroes #PH-11 Buster Posey

Think back just a few weeks to the World Series, when the San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in seven games. George Brett had the TV cameras trained on him quite frequently throughout the postseason, and Posey performed well on-field. The way these photos are positioned, Fox could have done some clever graphics and used these two cards to illustrate the matchup, perhaps something like the animation of two colliding helmets that precedes many football games.

Even though Topps Emerald was a one-year treat, I'll still look for a deal on 2014 Topps Update next year.