The Trading Post #152: Card Hemorrhage (Part 1: Rockies)

Last October, I wrote ten posts in a single month. I doubt I'll be able to pull that off this year, even though there are a zillion playoff games on. The Rockies are in none of them, so I'll have to find some former Rockies to root for, guys like DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Matzek. Coincidentally, that's the matchup I predicted in Collector's Crack's annual contest, Yankees vs. Braves. 

But while the Rockies may not have made it to the 2020 Postseason, I still have Rockies cards to get me through the month of October, and beyond. This batch came from Jay at Card Hemorrhage, which fell victim to the diminished capabilities of the USPS. They eventually arrived safely, but far later than either of us hoped for.

1996 Upper Deck #320 Dante Bichette

It was worth the wait, because it included a great mix of old and new, starting with 1996 Upper Deck in all its coppery goodness. UD gave us a very Collector's Choice-esque photo of Dante Bichette, showing him involved in a cell phone conversation on a comically huge mobile phone. It's a museum piece by now, probably an early Motorola model.

I'm also noticing the "BICHETTE" lettering on the embossed label on his batting helmet, as well as the screen behind him that appears to be more like flimsy chicken wire than proper chain-link. Maybe this is a Spring Training photo, because it doesn't look like MLB was rolling in dough at the time.

I've seen 1996 Upper Deck a time or two, but I never really noticed the tiny baseball player outline in each corner of the copper foil. It blends in almost to the point of camouflage, but pops a little better on the scan. The card back is also pretty coppery, but lacks any foil other than the UD hologram. The photo on the back is almost a "Tatooine" photo, showing Bichette preparing to round third and casting a late-afternoon shadow in his stride. There's just the tiniest sliver of outfield grass to interfere with the photo.

1996 Upper Deck #320 Dante Bichette (Reverse)

I'm pretty sure that tiny baseball player icon above the hologram is the same image that UD put on the copper foil. It's cards like these that always make me an advocate for turning your cards over.

2017 Topps Heritage #169 Chad Bettis

This card marks the second consecutive appearance for Chad Bettis, this time on 2017 Topps Heritage. Clearly I like this set, because I've shown it in at least five different posts. I own only two real 1968 Topps cards, but the Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman rookie card has been on the top of my want list since early in my collecting days. The burlap set never rises to the top of the countdowns, but I'm confident in saying I like this one better than most do.

Obviously, this card doesn't discuss anything beyond Bettis's 2016 season, which was a pretty good one. This card was on the shelves as Bettis was fighting cancer in 2017, as I mentioned last time. I'm very glad to know that his Rockies career didn't end there.

There's a fun trivia question on the back of the '68s, and that's no different for 2017 Heritage. This one asks us who became the single-season Rockies leader in stolen bases, setting the mark in 2008. The mark still stands by far, and it was Willy Taveras with, appropriately enough, sixty-eight.

2018 Topps All Star Game Silver #688 Tony Wolters

The 2020 Rockies roster will round out the remainder of this post, starting with catcher Tony Wolters. You recognize the 2018 "waterslide" set by now, but this one has a special silver foil stamp on it, commemorating the 2018 All Star Game in Washington, D.C. Wolters has yet to earn a trip to the Midsummer Classic, so this isn't just for him. It's a parallel set that Topps released in factory set form, including this silver stamp on every card.

2018, you might remember, is the year that Bryce Harper won the Home Run Derby in front of his then-home crowd.

This card is a very tricky one to date due to how blurry the out-of-town scoreboard at Coors is in this photo, but I'll take a stab at it. I'm going to have to guess the top game is the Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, in the 9th inning. The Cubs have 7 runs, that I'm confident in. The Brewers, 8? 3? 0? Hard to say. But we do have a candidate, April 9th, 2017. The Cubs beat the Brewers 7-4, but Milwaukee scored one run in the bottom of the 9th, so maybe that's a 3 and the final run hadn't scored yet. If I have the right day, the Dodgers were visiting the Rockies, an encouraging development that the Rockies were at home that day. Opening weekend, in fact.

What about Wolters? Well, in the bottom of the 5th that day, Wolters drew a walk to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a Charlie Blackmon single, eventually scoring his second of three runs in a 10-6 loss. This photo sure looks like "advancing to third" to me, and the timing is about right, since games in Mountain Time run about 3-4 innings behind games in Central time. 

I'm not exceptionally confident in dating this to April 9th, 2017, but given such a blurry background, it's as good a guess as I could make.

2017 Topps Chrome #137 Antonio Senzatela (RC)

No such luck with Antonio Senzatela's card; it's just a plain outfield wall. But we get Chrome to make up for it. This is most likely a Spring Training photo, as the logo on his cap isn't the usual interlocking "CR". This is a more recent logo used only in the Cactus League, which keeps the mountain and baseball portion of the Rockies team logo, omitting the lettering above and below.

Senzatela has been a regular in the Rockies rotation for four seasons by now, but it looks like this is his Infield Fly Rule debut. He turned in a .500 record a couple times, but he's won more than he's lost, and that's no small feat as a Rockies pitcher.

One more win and he'll tie that legendary Rockies reliever, Steve Reed, who has slipped into a tie for 13th on the all-time Rockies Wins leaderboard.

2020 Donruss Holo Pink #46 Sam Hilliard RR

Also making his Infield Fly Rule debut is Sam Hilliard, a left-handed outfielder who has played a small part in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He has 63 career games so far, and I'm not sure whether he's made enough of an impact to stick around in the big leagues. His bWAR in the abbreviated 2020 season was right at 0.0. He might have a tough time keeping a spot once Ian Desmond returns in 2021, assuming things are safe enough to hold a complete season next year.

This is my first look at 2020 Donruss, and I can certainly see the similarities to 1991 Donruss, right down to the Rated Rookie logo. Of course, twenty-nine years later we have about twenty-nine colored border parallels that 1991 didn't have, and this is the Holo Pink one, probably. Apparently there's something called a Baby Shark parallel(?). I'd like to see what that looks like just out of sheer curiosity. 

2020 Topps #293 Wade Davis

Our final card in part 1 is Wade Davis's 2020 Topps issue, which happens to the the first time the 2020 Topps base design has made it onto this blog. I've been spending all year catching up on trades, and it just didn't seem right to put a random 2020 Series 1 value pack ahead of all these awesome trades you've been seeing throughout 2020.

I still have a couple other trades to cover, from The Collector and Topps Cards that Never Were. I've had them here for a long time. They were so chock-full of awesomeness (and just, a lot of cards) that I haven't found a way to properly showcase those. I will, though. Mark my words.

Anyway, back to Wade Davis, who is no longer a Rockie. He finished with 43 saves in 2018, a Rockies single-season record. It looked for a while that this ultra-high-dollar signing was going to pay off, but instead the wheels started to come off in 2019. He was injured early on in the 2020 season, and was released by the team in late September. There have been many disappointing Rockies pitchers, but I can't recall any of them who grew to be so hated by the fans as Davis. It's unfortunate.

I'll have more to say on the 2020 design in a future post, but I will say it has a lot of angles. I think that much is obvious.

Thanks to Jay for the trade, and keep an eye out for a Stadium Club-heavy part 2.

 

NOW We Finally Have Some Pitching

The season was almost over when I finally pulled the trigger, but I finally ordered some 2018 Topps Now cards. Sadly, their season was over by the time they arrived, even though I ordered them when the Rockies were on fire and looking great for another Postseason run. It just goes to show you how quickly your fortunes can change in this sport.

2018 Topps Now #791 German Marquez /194

Rockies starter German Marquez pitched a few high-profile games toward the end of the 2018 season on their way to their second straight Wild Card spot. More on that later, but the Rockies beat up on the Phillies in a 14-0 win on September 26th, 2018, the third game of a four-game set that the Rockies swept. I attended the first one of that series, the final contest I was able to visit during the regular season. It was a win, but I chose to get the Topps Now card from Wednesday's game, thanks to German Marquez tying a modern-era Major League record. That makes it the second Marquez Topps Now card in my collection.

Marquez struck out eight straight batters to begin the game, tying a record set by Jim Deshaies in 1986 and tied by Jacob DeGrom in 2012, which we know thanks to the helpful paragraph on the card back. That card back has some faint rainbow-colored Topps logos, basically a series of watermarks. What it doesn't tell us is that during this early-innings streak, German Marquez passed Ubaldo Jimenez to become the Rockies' single-season strikeout leader, finishing the year with 230.

It was an impressive performance, and even though a couple batters got on base to end the streak at eight, Marquez struck out another batter to end the third inning, meaning he got his first nine outs via the strikeout. And as soon as it happened, I knew exactly which card to pair it with, assuming Topps released a NOW card for the feat.

1987 Topps #2 Jim Deshaies RB

Long before Topps NOW, Topps opened their annual sets with a subset of Record Breaker cards, and this one of Jim Deshaies, the first player to set the modern record of eight strikeouts to start a game, is a card that's been in my collection since the very beginning. This 1987 Topps card has been replaced over the years, but it's one of the most familiar cards I own. It might have even been at the very top of the once-small stack that comprised my entire collection, since even back then I was alphabetizing cards by team. None of the 1987 Angels cards jump out at me, so this is pretty much Side 1, Track 1 of my baseball card collection.

Despite this being more or less my first-ever baseball card, it still has things to teach me. I keep saying that this 8-strikeout opener is a "modern" record, because according to Deshaies' card back, there was a game way back in 1884 where Hall-of-Famer Mickey Welch started a game with nine Ks.

The strikeout story doesn't end there, because in his very next start during the NL Tiebreaker game against the Dodgers, Marquez tied another mark, recording four strikeouts in one inning. Many pitchers have reached that catcher-assisted record, this time thanks to a passed ball from Tony Wolters. It ended up being extremely costly, because instead of Max Muncy sitting in the dugout as the first out, he remained on first base after the third strikeout, at which point Cody Bellinger hit a home run to lead the the Dodgers to a sixth straight division title.

That set up a Wild Card matchup between the Rockies and Cubs at Wrigley Field, and let's just say Rockies managed to earn another Topps NOW card, despite 13 innings of little offense and terrible announcing from ESPN.

2018 Topps Now #834 Colorado Rockies /360

I covered the results of the NL Wild Card game in my previous post, which ended up being the only Rockies win of the postseason. Lots of Rockies are visible on this team card, including Nolan Arenado, Scott Oberg, Garrett Hampson, and the backup catcher with the game-winning hit, Tony Wolters. Topps was sure to mention that the Rockies played games in three time zones in three days, something that had to take a toll on the team. Sunday was in Denver, Monday was in L.A., and Tuesday was in Chicago.

None of that would be possible without air travel, which reminds me of an interesting article I read recently on the Washington Nationals and all the behind-the-scenes logistics management that it takes to field a Major League team.

German Marquez would take the mound one final time in 2018, starting NLDS Game 3 at home against the Brewers. I had the good fortune to snag four seats in the upper deck, two rows from the top. It was cold, cloudy, and rainy, and the offense that was on display during the final week of the regular season was nowhere to be found. Go figure, the team finally has some solid pitching, and the bats shut down.

View this post on Instagram

The playoff colors are flying at Coors Field! Let’s get a win in NLDS game 3! #nlds #rockies #postseason #ilovecoorsfield #baseball

A post shared by AdamK (@adamk0310) on Oct 7, 2018 at 12:13pm PDT

It was just the tenth postseason game ever played at Coors Field, and I've been to two of them. I'd really love to see these banners around the ballpark more frequently, but we'll have to wait until next year. The Brewers look great, and I can't help but wonder how this postseason would look if the Rockies had managed to win the division for the first time ever. They would have hosted the Braves for a rematch of the 1995 NLDS, and the Braves did almost as badly in this year's NLDS as the Rockies did. If the Rockies had been able to scratch out just one more win this year, things might be very different.

The Three Dollar Group Break (and a contest winner!)

Peter, everyone's favorite Darryl Strawberry collector and author of the Baseball Every Night blog, recently ran a highly affordable group break of 2017 Topps Series 2. For the price of a rack pack at Target, I was happy to sign up for the Rockies slot, once someone kindly brought this one to my attention on Twitter.

I have to admit that I'm not keeping up with the Cardsphere on a daily basis. I'm much more likely to scroll through at least four days of posts at a time, which would explain why I'm listed as the last commenter on many of your posts. But I found out in time to shell out three bucks for some Rockies, knowing I'd end up with most of the team set, and likely a few inserts on top of that.

2017 Topps #371 Chad Bettis

Even though this is Series 2, the card was sent to printing a little too soon. Bettis, expected to be a key figure in the Rockies' 2017 rotation after being "declared good-to-go" following his treatment for testicular cancer, had some unfavorable test results during spring training and had to undergo another round of treatments. That seems to have been successful, and his rehab is progressing nicely. He may even make an appearance this season, perhaps when rosters expand in September.

Bettis isn't the only pitcher this year to be affected by the disease. Jameson Taillon of the Pirates (and my fantasy team) was treated in May but is already back on the hill. He's scheduled to face Jon Lester and the Cubs to close out the first half tomorrow, Lester himself being a cancer survivor. Here's wishing all three pitchers continued good health.

2017 Topps #415 Pat Valaika (RC)

Series 2 is a great place to find some lesser known players that have been making an impact in the early stages of the season. Pat Valaika, brother of former MLB player Chris Valaika, has been a reliable utility infielder for the Rockies, and has played nearly every position this season. "Patty Barrels", as the TV guys like to call him, has six homers this year, more than DJ LeMahieu, the starting second baseman and All-Star reserve.

This card also marks one of the first appearances of Coors Field's raised wall in right-center field on a baseball card. It's a blurred background, but you can see the heightened fence over his shoulders, which is now equally high as the out-of-town scoreboard in right field. It's still a hitters park, for sure, and as a longtime fan, one of the more noticeable changes related to that was the removal of the Darryl Kile memorial banner, visible on this shot I took in 2007.

2017 Topps #516 Tony Wolters

Other than Greg Holland, much of the Rockies' success this year can be attributed to their rookies. It's obviously trailed off a bit in the past few weeks, but Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman, and others kept them right at the top of the standings well into June. Catcher Tony Wolters, stepping in for the injured Tom Murphy, has been doing a great job as the starting catcher. Murphy, on the other hand, came back from the DL in late June and was quickly sent down to the minors.

I haven't said much on the design of 2017 Topps yet other than a handful of trade posts and my annual Opening Day blaster. I think the design looks particularly good on this card, as the lines and angles on the banner match pretty well with Wolters' uniform. It is still odd to see anyone besides Andres Galarraga wear #14 for the Rockies, even though lots of players have, including Josh Rutledge, Greg Norton (one of my least favorite Rockies ever), and even Troy Tulowitzki, once upon a time.

2017 Topps #467 Adam Ottavino

Adam Ottavino, the only Rockie to ever wear the number 0, has been one of the shakier options in the Rockies bullpen this season. Greg Holland has been lights out except for a few instances, but Ottavino has a rather alarming 5.81 ERA so far in 2017. The Rockies are a high-scoring team, especially like last night when they beat the White Sox 12-4, so they are often able to leave their relievers with a bit of wiggle room. But on the other hand, their record in one-run games has been pretty good this season.

2017 Topps #397 Stephen Cardullo (RC)

Stephen Cardullo, last season's surprise rookie, managed to finally make it to the majors just before his 29th birthday. He added some real pop to the Rockies bats in late summer last year, but his inspirational story didn't last, as the Rockies cut him earlier this season. Still, not only did he manage to hit a grand slam the day he turned 29, but also earned a spot in Series 2 of 2017 Topps, complete with the rookie card logo and everything, not to mention a nice example of a first baseman's mitt. It seems likely that this will be both his rookie card and sunset card, all in one, but it's still a great story and would make a nice episode of 30 for 30, a fantastic sports documentary series that is now also a podcast.

2017 Topps #385 DJ LeMahieu

I realize that few of you have even heard of the five players so far, so we'll move on to a more recognizable name, and one of the four Rockies elected to the 2017 All-Star team. You can just barely make out the seams on this rapidly-spinning baseball that DJ is about to field, something he's been doing a great job of on the right side of the infield. His production at the plate has been less than stellar this season, but he'll always have the batting title from 2016, and a nice little .348 in red italics on the back of all his future Topps cards. Or at least for the next five years, assuming Topps doesn't revert back to giving us complete career statistics.

I'm not sure what stadium this is. I had originally thought Chase Field, due to that odd split that the outfield wall is doing behind his right shoulder. But photos suggest the split in that ballpark is different, so I'm at a bit of a loss. Can anyone help out?

2017 Topps #400a Nolan Arenado

Here's your NL All-Star starting third baseman, Nolan Arenado. He just edged out Kris Bryant for that honor, and we'll see him Tuesday in Miami. Hopefully he gets a chance to flash the leather in front of a huge crowd, so the rest of the baseball world can see what us Rockies fans see pretty much every night. He did commit a very rare error on Wednesday night, bringing his 2017 total up to just three. And those three have come in the last three weeks, meaning he had a perfect fielding percentage until June 17th. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was right around the time the Rockies started losing their grip on first place. They now sit 8.5 games behind the Dodgers, and even the Diamondbacks have slipped a bit, now at 5.5 games back.

2017 Topps Major League Milestones #MLM-3 Trevor Story

The nice thing about packs is that you're certain to find a few insert cards, the lack of which is the primary drawback to factory sets. This group break didn't disappoint, and included one documenting Trevor Story's amazing debut in April 2016, tying an MLB record for 10 home runs as a rookie in the month of April. It was quite a sight, watching six in his first four games, including two in the home opener. There were lots of jokes being thrown around by us fans along the lines of "He's on pace for 243 home runs!"

Of course, he came back down to earth and finished the 2016 campaign with 27, matching his uniform number. He would certainly have made it at least into the 30s if he didn't experience a season-ending injury at the end of July. And the rookie home run sensation has grown even bigger this year, thanks to Aaron Judge of the Yankees, and Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers. Both of them will participate in Monday's Home Run Derby. Bellinger has 24, despite not being called up until April 25th. And Aaron Judge is the only player league-wide to hit 30 so far. No Yankee rookie has hit that many in a season since Joe DiMaggio in 1936, and it's not even the All-Star Break yet. Judge has a real shot at Mark McGwire's rookie record of 49, and he just needs 8 more to tie Frank Robinson and Wally Berger in 2nd place.

2017 Topps '87 Topps #87-180 Andres Galarraga

Retired players have their spot too, such as this throwback to the 30-year old (!) 1987 Topps, the set that really kicked off the overproduction era. It's nice to see such a faithful reproduction of the old set, aside from the glossy finish and silver foil, of course. But the back is pretty much just like you remember it, except for the gum stain. Andres Galarraga's "Big Cat" nickname is clearly visible on the collar of his undershirt, and this photo clearly dates to the Coors Field era, in the early days of the Blake Street Bombers. It's tough to tell for sure, but I'd date this one to 1996, based on the sliver of a small memorial patch on Galarraga's right sleeve. That patch had the initials "MDM", after Michael McMorris, the son of then-owner Jerry McMorris. Michael passed away from cystic fibrosis in 1996, and was honored with that patch throughout the season.

Finally, a little housekeeping before I head off to catch the Rockies play the White Sox tonight. I announced a contest for my 200th post, offering a 36-card Moon Mars Space Shots set. There were 12 entries, including plugs on their own blogs from two of the ten commenters.

And the winner is...

GCA of The Collective Mind, thanks to the bonus entry from this blog post! Congratulations, and thanks to all who entered.