The Trading Post #95: 2x3 Heroes

It's finally Opening Day!

Baseball has come out of its long winter hibernation. Well, not counting the weeks of spring training and the World Baseball Classic. But you know what I mean.

Writing with a ballgame on in the background is one of my favorite pastimes, especially when someone from my fantasy team is playing. I happen to have Madison Bumgarner on my team, who was on the hill for the Giants this Opening Day. He took a perfect game into the 6th, and became the first pitcher to hit two home runs in a single Opening Day game.

That makes today the perfect day to write about a stack of cards that Jeff from 2x3 Heroes sent as part of his annual 'Tis the Season giveaway.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-133 Greg Holland

Greg Holland didn't actually appear as a Royal in 2016, as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent shortly before the Royals' World Series championship in 2015. But he still got a card in 2016 Topps Opening Day, a perfect set to highlight on a day like today. Holland, of course, signed with the Rockies in the offseason, and while it's not certain he'll spend all season as the closer, he'll be a solid late-inning reliever to support the Rockies' rotation.

Or maybe he'll end up in more of a high-leverage sort of role, similar to what the Indians have been doing with Andrew Miller. ESPN ran a pretty interesting article the other day, about how the whole idea of the Save statistic has effectively shaped the modern closer role, and perhaps not always for the best. The argument is that it makes more sense to put your best reliever in during the diciest late inning, not simply the 9th where a Save can be earned. Leaving your best reliever in the bullpen in case a save situation materializes isn't necessarily the best strategy. For example, the Orioles famously didn't use their star closer Zach Britton in last year's AL Wild Card game against the Blue Jays, and that ended up costing them dearly in the 11th inning with Edwin Encarnación at the plate.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-152A Carlos Gonzalez

Slugging outfielders are a lot more consistent with Rockies history than elite closers. Carlos Gonzalez has been holding down various outfield positions at Coors Field for the better part of a decade, and he's no slouch on the basepaths either. He's sliding into third at AT&T Park against the Giants, a common location for Rockies cards and other NL West teams. CarGo's season doesn't kick off until Monday, as only six teams played their first game today. As usual, the Rockies begin their season on the road, a four-game set in Milwaukee.

2016 Topps Bunt #59 Trevor Story (RC)

Trevor Story is also expected to be in the Opening Day lineup, and while he didn't get a card in 2016 Topps Opening Day, he did get a card in Bunt. Of course, the gray back of this card mentions his "unprecedented" start to his rookie season, in which he hit ten memorable home runs in his first 21 games. Not bad for a rookie in a 200-card set that also includes retired legends.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-148 Robinson Cano

I watched part of a Rockies/Mariners spring training game on Friday, one that ended in a 5-5 tie. Robinson Cano is one of the key players for Seattle, but from what I saw he wasn't doing anything special at second. Maybe he was just getting the last minute kinks out, but he's definitely been supplanted by Jose Altuve as the best second baseman in the league.

By the way, I did it! I finally remembered the Astros are in the AL without having to think twice about it!

The Mariners' colors do look good on this card, and especially on Cano's batting gloves. And seeing all those aqua-colored knuckle pads on his batting gloves line up appeals to me. I liked when the Seahawks had similar colors, before they moved to airport-gate-worker electric green.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-139 Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Pedroia was once toward the top of the 2B rankings, and he also won the Rookie of the Year award in 2007. He's got quite the career under his belt, but he's no longer the elite second baseman he once was. Still, I did pick him for my fantasy team as the final hitter, with DJ LeMahieu as the primary second baseman. It's nice to have a Rockie this year; it will make watching Rockies games that much more interesting.

Also, with the trend toward beard and facial hair throughout the Major Leagues, it's a bit odd to see Pedroia clean-shaven now. It's even more odd to see Hunter Pence with a much shorter beard than before.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-138 David Ortiz

David Ortiz has etched himself into Red Sox lore even more than Dustin Pedroia. Ortiz retired at the end of 2016, so it will be strange not to see him on the highlight reels this year. Ortiz does have a card in 2017 Topps, but with the shift to five years of stats, this is as close to a sunset card as we're likely to see for him. This photograph is much more appropriate for a sunset card than his 2017 issue anyway, but it does skip his still-strong 2016 statistics.

2016 Topps Bunt #133 Stephen Piscotty (RC)

2016 Topps Opening Day and 2016 Topps Bunt were the two sets that Jeff sent as part of this giveaway. Nothing super high-end but I do enjoy these lower-end sets. The no-frills design may not be as eye-catching as others, but the price point really can't be beat. And Stephen Piscotty, whom I saw play when the Cardinals came to town last year, is also on my Fantasy team. I'm not sure if I'll see the Cardinals this season, as my Cardinals-fan friend who I tried to catch a game with every season moved to Chattanooga this weekend. I'm sure we'll catch a Double-A Lookouts game if I have a chance to visit him, but it will be unusual not to catch the Redbirds in Denver with him this year.

2016 Topps Bunt #45 Steven Matz

Stephen Matz of the Mets went just a couple picks later than Piscotty in my league's draft. Unfortunately, Matz is dealing with an elbow injury and will miss the first few weeks of the season. The Mets have some insanely good young pitching talent, but elbow problems and Tommy John surgeries have affected most of them over the years, including Matt Harvey, Zach Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, and Matz. Mets fans will certainly recognize those names as pretty much the entire rotation, other than Noah Syndergaard. Robert Gsellman will round out the Mets' rotation to start the season, a player I spent a late-round pick on.

2016 Topps Opening Day #OD-73 George Springer

George Springer, along with his teammates Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Dallas Keuchel, are making the Astros look like a very strong young team, despite the Cardinals' computer-hacking efforts. Moving to the AL West could end up being a great move for the Astros, as it effectively takes them out of competition with the Cardinals, Cubs, and even Pirates, all of whom are at least a Wild Card threat. Even if it takes half a decade for their new division to become second-nature to this baseball fan.

On this shot of Springer sliding into home, you can spot an Astros' 50th Anniversary patch on his right sleeve. Not the 50th Anniversary patch, a 50th Anniversary patch. Apparently the Astros also celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2012, but for 2015 they ignored the three years they spent as the Houston Colt .45s and celebrated it again. It's a bit strange, celebrating anniversaries that both include and disregard the team's first name. But it does let you sell twice as many t-shirts.

2016 Topps Bunt #114 Brooks Robinson

Brooks Robinson, the career Oriole, finished a little bit shy of 3,000 hits, at 2,848. But in that time he won an MVP award, became one of the most well-known Orioles in history, and earned himself two World Series rings. He's also considered to be the best defensive third baseman of all-time, winning sixteen consecutive Gold Glove awards. Now, everyone knows I'm a huge Nolan Arenado fan, but as talented as he is on the diamond, he has a long, long way to go before he challenges Robinson for a record like that. 3,000 hits is somewhat likely, but to win another 12 Gold Gloves, let alone consecutively, remains a tall order. Especially so, as much as the defensive game of baseball has been elevated in the past forty or so years.

2016 Topps Bunt Light Force #LF-23 Willie Stargell

There were even a couple inserts that made it in here. Willie Stargell, the career Pirate, got a card in the Light Force set, the same as Luis Gonzalez in the pack of Topps Bunt I purchased. Stargell won two World Series as a Pirate, his second coming in 1979, the same year as his only NL MVP award. That came surprisingly late in his career, at the age of 39. The inclusion of Hall of Famers like Robinson and Stargell help distinguish this Bunt set from Topps Opening Day, and although some have suggested otherwise, I'd be happy to continue seeing these two sets stay on the market.

Christmas in July

One of my favorite aspects of this wonderful community is all the mini-collections people go for. I'm not just talking about team or player collectors, I mean the guys who focus parts of their collection on really specific things, like night cards, for example. Some collectors like memorial and commemorative patches. Others prefer all-dirt cards. A few have too many to count, ranging from kids on cards to photographic equipment, and from broken bats to the act of signing autographs. Myself, I like Coors Field cards. It's just something that gives us each our own personality.

Of course, one of the favorite mini-collections throughout the Cardsphere also happens to be my girlfriend's least-favorite aspect of baseball.

1995 Collector's Choice SE #163 Trevor Hoffman

Bunting.

Usually you're trying to advance a runner. Maybe you can get up the line like a speeding bullet. Perhaps you just plain can't hit. On rare occasions, your guy on third is trying to nab home plate if you can just put the ball just barely in play.

But whatever the reason, it makes for a relatively unusual card. And us baseball card bloggers seem to go nuts for them.

JediJeff, over at 2x3 Heroes, offered cards from a few of his mini collections as part of his 'Tis The Season annual giveaway last year. As in 2015, it's taken me more than a few months to get the related post up, but at least there are lots of great cards to pick from.

Trevor Hoffman's career was just getting off the ground in 1995, on his way to 601 career saves. He was the all-time leader for a few years until Mariano Rivera caught up. He was just a few votes shy of being a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer this year, but he should make it after another vote or two.

His legendary performance as a closer makes it all the more unusual to see him bunting on this 1995 UD Collector's Choice Special Edition card, as usually only the starters have to suffer through a couple plate appearances. Unless a starter is chased from a game early, or the game has dragged far into the double-digit innings, most managers just stick a pinch hitter in there when a reliever is due up, maybe coinciding with a double switch.

I collected this set as a kid, and it was right up there with 1994 Fleer Ultra and Topps Gold parallels as one of my favorite sets. Even with all the colored borders that Topps uses, I can't recall one quite this shade of blue, other than maybe the 2003 Topps base set. But that didn't have a fancy blue foil stamp on it.

1995 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion #60 Brian McRae

Brian McRae, son of fellow Royal player and manager Hal McRae, doesn't have quite the right bunting form. The photographer probably captured a split second in which Brian was repositioning his hands. But this card has a fancy foil stamp too, signifying that it's a Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion parallel. These have shown up here before, and as I didn't buy much 1995 Ultra, the Gold Medallion cards might be coming close to rivaling the count of base cards I have from that set.

1999 UD Ionix #60 Jose Cruz Jr.

Along with 1996 Stadium Club, 1995 Ultra was one of the last products I remember buying before getting away from baseball cards for a while. Had I stayed with it longer, cards like UD Ionix might not seem so alien to me. There is a lot going on with this design, and some of the elements are raised. The dot pattern in the background reminds me of...something. Maybe 2013 Finest? And if you look closely enough you might even spot the player's name and team.

I never liked this look of Blue Jays uniforms. I'm glad they decided to return to their more traditional logo and lettering. Then again, the regular Jays jerseys on a card like this wouldn't work either. So it's all for the best, I suppose.

1994 Topps Archives 1954 #34 Jim Rivera

1954 Topps Archives took a classic and gave it a more modern treatment. It has a glossy coating, as nearly everything had in 1994. But they also scaled it down to a standard size, as the original '54s were slightly larger, roughly as big as a 1989 Bowman card, or one from the Topps Big series. They also added a top border, something not found on the originals due the way they were laid out on the sheet.

According to the back, it turns out that Jim Rivera was quite the base stealer and a "speedster", so it makes sense that he'd be pictured bunting on the first Topps set containing action photos. I don't know the pre-war sets very well, but I'd wager that the original is the first card to contain an actual photograph of a player bunting. It might be posed, but this very card could have kicked off one of the top mini-collection subjects in the hobby today.

1993 Fleer Ultra #310 Otis Nixon

Otis Nixon, the Braves' main leadoff guy in the early '90s, shows up a lot on these bunting cards. He's clearly a switch hitter because of the helmet with ear flaps on both sides. Juan Pierre used to wear one, but you don't really see these much any more at the Major League level. I guess teams are starting to spring for two batting helmets with a single ear flap for their switch hitters. After all, what's a few hundred bucks when the player is probably making seven figures?

I used to buy packs of 1993 Ultra when it was on the shelves, even though it was a bit pricey. Still, thanks to that early exposure, I'm one of those rare types that can tell 1993 Ultra apart from 1992. And I always liked the way Fleer's card numbers matched each team's players alphabetically. It makes for quick organizing after you've ensured the set is complete.

1993 Donruss #262 Otis Nixon

Another Nixon card, this time in his home jersey, further illustrates his versatility. He's hitting from the right side of the plate in this one, and even though he's a step further away from first base, it looks like he's already got a running start.

1991 Upper Deck #91 Tom Pagnozzi

I don't know exactly what's happening here, but this is one of the most awkward bunts I've ever seen. It might be a situation where he must put the ball in play because there's a suicide squeeze on. But that's an extraordinarily rare play, and it looks like he just fouled it off anyway. Why you wouldn't let this one go for a ball instead of chasing it like a hockey face-off is beyond me. But this is why we like these bunting cards, isn't it?

2002 Donruss Originals #276 Bernie Williams 86

Bunting is more of a National League thing, at least in the designated-hitter era. So it's odd to see a consistent contact hitter in the AL square up to bunt. And even though Williams is a switch hitter (and a fine musician), the Yankees clearly have separate helmets for left-handed and right-handed hitting. Winning four World Series in five years will get you that kind of a perk.

For this 2002 set, Donruss took some of their most well-known sets from the '80s and reused the designs for a 425-card set. I have a few of these, including Todd Helton's card, but I don't see them too often. I'm sure that they get mixed in with cards from the actual year, and you have to have an eagle eye to spot them if you're leafing through a discount box with other Donruss cards you've seen countless times. They feel a little different, and the print quality is significantly better, but if you don't know what you're looking for, you might just flip right past it.

2008 Upper Deck #118 Omar Vizquel

Finally, Jeff threw in a single card from another of his mini-collection offerings, the double play. As a middle infielder myself during my two short years of little league, I have a certain appreciation for these cards. And like we saw with Tulowitzki's 2012 Topps Mini, they offer a great opportunity for cameos (also a mini-collection topic). Orlando Hudson of the Diamondbacks is trying to take out veteran Omar Vizquel, a real NL West showdown.

Vizquel played until the age of 45, and though you wouldn't expect it, he got over 2,800 hits in his long career. If his production hadn't trailed off in his later years, this unassuming middle infielder could have been a member of the exclusive 3,000-hit club, a club which Ichiro is only days away from joining. I guess it's partially because Vizquel played for so long, but he could still hit. I looked up Jamie Moyer's career stats, and he got 269 wins in his 25-year career, a bit short of that magic 300 mark. So these milestones are within reach if you just keep plugging away.

One last thing I'll point out is that Vizquel has a commemorative patch on his right sleeve, marking the year that San Francisco hosted the All-Star Game. He has eye black on, there is an advertisement on the outfield wall, and the cameo is of a division rival.

Any of those topics can start a mini collection, if you're willing to look hard enough. Hoffman's wearing a commemorative patch, Cruz, Nixon, and maybe Hudson have double-eared batting helmets, Nixon's Fleer Ultra card is in Wrigley Field. He has flip-down sunglasses on the back of the Donruss card, and Pagnozzi is wearing his catcher's gear on the back of his.

The possibilities are endless.

The Trading Post #42: 2x3 Heroes

Trading activity is starting to pick back up. This summer has been pretty quiet on that front, but my mailbox has been graced by a couple PWEs in recent days.

2013 Topps Chasing History Holofoil #CH-97 Troy Tulowitzki

These have done some damage to my Eight Men Out list with very little warning. Jeff at 2x3 Heroes mailed over this Tulowitzki card, which is the silver holofoil parallel from a 2013 Topps insert set. You've seen other varieties of this card before, including the bat relic and gold holofoil. All that's missing is the base version, meaning I'll be completing this rainbow in a highly unusual reverse order. Sort of like hitting for the cycle with a homer, triple, double, and single.

2014 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #157 Michael Cuddyer

Jeff continued to work some rainbow magic, sending over the orange parallel of Michael Cuddyer's Chrome card, adding to the base and blue parallel already in my collection. This orange is especially appropriate, given that he's playing for the Mets in the NLCS. In fact, he just ripped an opposite-field single up the first base line as I type this. Unlike the blue parallel, this orange is not serial numbered, but it certainly scans better than the blue.

2010 Topps #445 Miguel Olivo

2010 Topps had a good base design, and they really wanted to make all the collectors know that they still had the rights to display team logos and names, unlike their longtime competitor Upper Deck, who lost that right that year.

Still, they focused a bit too much on logos and not enough on photography, as this is one of the more egregious Photoshop jobs I can remember seeing in recent years. First, that isn't really the right shade of purple to represent the Rockies, the belt is still blue, and the pinstripes are way too close together. Even worse, flip the card over and you can see that Topps didn't even bother to edit Olivo out of his Royals jersey, meaning you can plainly see where they made changes for the front photo.

2010 Topps #445 Miguel Olivo (Reverse)

I suppose it's better than just some white text saying "Signed by Rockies", but Topps' image manipulation skills had a long way to go in 2010.

2014 Bowman #20 Nolan Arenado

There, now that's a proper Rockies jersey! This image is from Nolan Arenado's rookie year of 2013, which you can tell by that commemorative 20th Anniversary patch on the right sleeve. Arenado took a month or so to settle into his role at third base, but he's quickly become one of the best all-around players in the Majors. He'd had plenty of Bowman cards by the time he actually reached the majors, but some varieties of his 2010 card go for a pretty penny.

Here's hoping he can lead the Rockies to one of these playoff games in the not-too-distant future.

The Trading Post #40: 2x3 Heroes

I'm still catching up on trade packages received long ago. This is the third time Jeff from 2x3 Heroes has sent me cards, and I am definitely in a debt, as he's sent me football cards, hockey cards, and lots of Rockies without me having returned the favor yet. That'll soon change, but in the meantime, let's get into the cards.

1993 Pinnacle #239 Eric Wedge (RC)

Eric Wedge had a much better career as a manager of the Indians and Mariners than he ever had as a player. Over four seasons, he appeared in just a few dozen games for three different teams. He probably has more cards as a manager than as a player. However, he's fairly well known to me, since he appeared in most of the inaugural Rockies sets in 1993, my first serious year as a collector.

Joe Girardi was the face of Rockies catching those first few years, but puffy clouds and blue skies do little to diminish the hope of an MLB rookie, making his mark on a 1993 league with 50 new roster spots to occupy.

1998 Topps Stars Bronze #4 Ellis Burks /9799

Like Wedge, Ellis Burks spent most of his pre-Rockies career on the Boston Red Sox. After playing a few seasons in Coors Field, he was recognized in the Topps Stars set. This particular iteration has plenty of texture, almost giving it the look and feel of linen paper. Even better, this card is serial numbered to an ultra-rare 9,799.

Get them before they're gone, kids.

2008 Bowman Blue #119 Jeff Francis /500

This blue parallel of Jeff Francis' 2008 Bowman card is just a bit scarcer, numbered to 500. The blue border sets this apart from the vast ocean of black borders found in Bowman sets, and the fact that his name is outlined in foil makes it a whole lot more scanner-friendly.

2008 Upper Deck Star Quest #7 Matt Holliday

You've seen this card before, but in a slightly different variant. That green one, which came from The Angels, In Order, was from the First Edition set, while this is the base common in silver. The bag of sunflower seeds in Holliday's back pocket really sticks out like a sore thumb without all the rest of that green to hide in.

2008 Upper Deck #746 Matt Holliday SH

Though his fielding has always left something to be desired, Holliday achieved what might be the pinnacle in Rockies history, NLCS MVP. Sure, there have been lots of batting titles, a near triple-crown winner in Larry Walker, a Rookie of the Year, and even an unassisted triple play, but no other Rockie has ever been named MVP of a postseason series.

You can see on his face that he knows it's something special.

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Sliding Stars #SS-CG Carlos Gonzalez

Though Tulo has moved on to the Great White North, our other star, Carlos Gonzalez (who was obtained when the Rockies traded Holliday to Oakland), remains in the Rockies' deep outfield. I'm not just talking about the walls; the Rox have quite a bit of roster depth in the outfield.

Gonzalez is great on the basepaths, good enough to earn a spot in the well-liked Sliding Stars insert set, by far my favorite part of Gypsy Queen. It's a Coors Field card, showing the field-level suites below the right field out-of-town scoreboard. I'm not sure whether CarGo successfully stole second on this attempt, but he's clearly giving the Reds' Zack Cozart (?) some trouble.
 
Though he's already doing lots of winning in Toronto, at least you'll continue to see Troy Tulowitzki appear on this blog.

2011 Topps Lineage 3-D #T3D22 Troy Tulowitzki

Especially when he's on awesome cards like this.

I'm only a few cards away from completing the 2011 Topps Lineage base set, but this 3D insert of Tulowitzki turning two is easily one of my favorite cards from that year. I'm not sure who they're playing here—maybe the Rays—but the 3D effect is so good that I almost thought I could see deeper past the edges, like one of those portraits in Hogwarts.

I discussed pinstripes at length yesterday, so I'll simply show one of two relic cards that Jeff included in this shipment.

2008 Upper Deck UD Game Materials #UDJ-GA Garrett Atkins S.2

This Garrett Atkins relic was the specific card I claimed in a giveaway Jeff ran for his 'Tis The Season theme late last year, the rest was just a generous bonus. What I particularly like about this card is that maybe, just maybe, the swatch is from the same photo as the action. I realize that's the longest of long shots, but many relic cards don't even match the photograph.

It's good to be getting back into the swing of things in the hobby. Not to give anything away, but I'm making a trip to my LCS tomorrow to pick up a card I've had my eye on for some time.

You'll know it when you see it.