All-Star Rookie Cups in the 2024 World Series

To kick off the 2024 edition of the World Series we are going to examine the series from a Rookie Cup perspective and see if that can predict a winner. 

Yankees

Juan Soto 2019

Gleyber Torres 2019

Aaron Judge 2018

Carlos Rodon 2016

Anthony Rizzo 2013

Giancarlo (Mike) Stanton 2011

Dodgers

James Outman 2024

Will Smith 2020

Shohei Ohtani 2019

Walker Buehler 2019

Sort of Dodgers

Ryan Yarbrough 2019

Jason Heyward 2011

Turns out Rookie Cups are well represented in this year's World Series with each team rostering 6 players this season. However the Yankees have all 6 of their cups on the Postseason Roster. 

Two of the Dodgers six are no longer with the team Ryan Yarbrough was traded and Jason Heyward released. 

The Yankees have gotten contributions from all of their cups players Especially Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Even Anthony Rizzo who had a miserable regular season has performed well in the Playoffs.

For the Dodgers Shohei Ohtani has been a star on the big stage but that is it for the hitters. Will Smith has a couple of Home Runs, but otherwise he has been a member of the Dodgers bottom third of the order which has failed to produce. James Outman has not appears in the Postseason but appears to be on the World Series Roster. Walker Buehler, Like Rizzo struggled during the regular season, however his Postseason has been mixed at best. 

If the cups have anything to do with picking a winner all signs point to the Yankees.

1) More Cups 6-4  

2) More contributions from the Cup Players

2019 Topps All-Star Rookie Cup Team 

Special Shoutout to the 2019 Rookie Cup Team - the cards above are all from the 2019 Cup Class and will all be playing in the World Series this week.  Pretty strong class to have 4 players in a single World Series Five if we count Ryan Yarbrough.

2024 World Series

We will be following the Series this week and giving special attention to the Rookie Cup winners. I will be rooting for the Dodgers so I will be looking for big games out of Ohtani and Buehler.  

 

Sources 

FA Sports Cards Trading Card DB Topps All-Star Rookie Card List

Blaster Break: 2024 Topps Update - inserts (Plus Justin Topa IG Link)

On Monday we covered base cards, today we are going to take a look at the inserts and noteworthy cards. 

Orioles

The blaster was a bit of an Oriole Hot Pack. out of 84 cards Eight were Orioles. We discussed the crummy Stars of MLB cards earlier this week and I am confusing the new Mystical cards with Stars - although they are slightly better. I prefer players wearing their teams uniforms for the ASG, but this year I did not mind the design that much. Regardless the Orioles have lots of young talent and are my favorite AL team, it was nice to get a bunch of them in one pack. 

Shohei Ohtani

I have no idea how many Ohtani cards are in Series 3 but picking up a trio in a blaster feels pretty strong. \

The bottom right card is from a new insert called "All Class". I don't get it, but if I am going to get one that is not a Phillies Player Ohtani is solid. The All Class insert falls at a rate of 1:32 for blasters.

The HR Record Card will go into my game dated binder. The Trout Shared card will go into the Versus collection (2 teams repped on one card)

Retro and Game Dated Cards

Couple of 1989 Retro-Selfies. Big Day in the Volpe Household when he gets to share a room with Willie Mays. Anthony Rizzo is destined for the Game Dated Binder. Ronel Blanco joins one of my favorite collections No-Hitter Cards! 

2024 Update Blaster Review

The Highs of the Blaster was getting a Paul Skenes Card (see Monday's Post), a couple of Ohtani's, a bunch of Orioles and I will also admit I kinda liked the Jack-O-Lanterns Insert. A number of singles will go towards special collections. 

Lows: No Justin Topa card which was #1 on my wish list, and only one Phillies Card. 

There are 2 cards I haven't covered yet one is the Phillies Card (which is a Low) and one is of a Hall of Famer - a high. 

So Mixed bag some fun inserts, but no Topa and a dud Phillie. 

Sources and Links

Topps

Twins Reliever Justin Topa Ripping Packs at Wheelhouse Cards

On Monday I mentioned I was looking for Justin Topa cards in my s3 Blaster. 

Why would I, a Phillies fan, care about a reliever that has never played for the Phillies?

Well the IG post below sort of explains why I was seeking a Justin Topa card in this box. 

Topa is an MLB reliever that is also a card collector. Last Friday HE WAS IN MY LOCAL CARD SHOP OPENING CARDS. I happened to be there that same day, but I was there prior to Topa - who I believe dropped in unannounced. The Cards in this blaster review were all picked up that day. 

Here is a link to the Instagram -> Justin Topa at Wheelhouse Cards

Justin Topa with his Card

Topa opened at least two boxes and in the IG post you get to see his reaction to getting his own first card. He also gets another pretty good hit as well.

Great to see Justin Topa is a card collector that also comes out and supports local card shops. 

Sources

Wheelhouse Cards. 

Blaster Break: 2024 Topps Update (the Hunt for Topa)

Picked up a Blaster of 2024 Topps Update Last Week. I have dubbed this the "Hunt for Justin Topa" because: 

1) The Twins Reliever is a baseball collector who is active and fun follow on social media 

2) This is the first set that contains a Justin Topa card - since Topps had dawdled at getting Topa a card, the -net made a bid deal out of him being on the Mariners celebration card in series one 

3) He is connected to the Philadelphia area. 

Eighty-Four cards 12x7, In addition to Topa, we will be looking for Phillies and the sets prominent rookies like Paul Skenes and Jackson Holliday. Lets look at what we found: 

It's been a while since I did a Break Post - I start out with the Base Card Highlights by Position and move on to the inserts (and possible hits)

Today we are going to look at Base Cards and the continuity insert.

The Battery:

2024 Topps s3 clockwise: Skenes/Grandal, Trevor Williams, Alex Wood, Ben Brown

I won't keep you in suspense - no Justin Topa. But I did get a Paul Skenes, just not The Paul Skenese RC. Ben Brown is also a prospect. Posted the Alex Wood to honor the A's final season in Oakland. 

Infield

2024 Topps s3: Luis Vazquez, Tony Kemp, Austin Shenton, Colt Keith

Yeah my IF were pretty thin. The only one I know anything bout is Keith because I saw him in a couple of playoff games and thought of him as the guy with the backwards name - bonus points for the batting helmet flying off. 

Outfield

2024 Topps s3: Jackson Chourio, Austin Martin, Victor Scott II, Jordan Beck

Little bit stronger set of prospects here, The Rookie Debut cards of Austin Martin and Victor Scott II standout from all the overdose of action shots in the newer topps set. You don't see much of it but the Rockies City Connect on Jordan Beck is one of the stronger ones. 

Parallels

Emmanuel Rivera Halloween Insert & Base, Garrett Crochet, Joey Gallo

The orange and black down arrow cards are the Halloween Parallels which are pure dreck. I added Garrett Crochet here just to confirm that the 121 loss White Sox did get an All-Star - that is like saying you have the fastest pinto on the street.

Parallels #2: 

Alec Burleson (Jack-O-Lantern), Dylan Lee Purple, Martin Perez Gold, Matt Carpenter Foil

In this second quad of parallels we have the Jack-O-Lantern set which is NOT the more common Halloween parallel. The Jack-O-Lanterns are 1 in 22 packs. The Purple parallels are 1 in 42 packs but still numbered to /800.

Inserts

The Stars of MLB continuity insert, which you all likely remember from s1 and s2. These are blah to me - Wyatt Langford is a prospect, his name makes me think of the Ozark character. 

We have covered the commons and their related parallels here as well as the continuity insert. Later this week we will take a look at some of the less common inserts that were produced by the break.

Sources and Links

SI/Collectibles/Suzy Lulgluraj

Topps 

TASR: 1966 Topps #35 Ron Swoboda

Today we take at 1966 Outfield Topps Cup Selection Ron Swoboda 

Ron came up in 1965 and led NL Rookies in Home Runs with 19. The outfielder did not receive any ROY votes likely due to his .228 batting average. Regardless his 1.6 WAR placed him 5th among 1965 rookies and was good enough to earn Swoboda Cup Honors.

For the most part Ron Swoboda's career was top loaded. His 19 Home Runs in 1965 was 6 better than any other season he would haveIn fact by the end of May Swoboda had 11 dingers, a number he would only exceed once during his remaining career.

The highlight of Ron Swoboda's career was being a member of the 1969 Mets. He played 4 games for the Miracle Mets in the series which was against his Hometown Baltimore Orioles.

1966 Topps #35 Ron Swoboda

Ron Swoboda wore #14 throughout the rest of his career but only as a rookie with the Mets. Following the 1965 season he turned it over to newly acquired Third Baseman Ken Boyer. Fourteen was also worn by Miracle Mets manager Gil Hodges for whom the number is now retired. 

That is the entire history of the #14 for the Mets: Hodges (player), Swoboda, Boyer, Hodges (Manager) and retired.   

The patch on Swoboda's left sleeve notes the Worlds Fair hosted in New York.  The Worlds Fair opened in 1964 and ran through 65, the Mets wore the patch both years.

I also need to note it is nice to see the Yellow Font on the card which matches the colors of the cup trophy.    

 

Toon Time

1966 Topps #35 Ron Swoboda (b-side)

The franchise rookie Home Record referred to in the comic was previously held by Jim Hickman

Mets Rookie HR Record

Year	HR	Mets Rookie
1962	13	Jim Hickman
1965	19	Ron Swoboda
1983	26	Darryl Strawberry
2019	53	Pete Alonso

The evolution of the Mets Rookie Home Run record consists of four players including members of each of the franchises World Series teams in 1969 (Swoboda) and 1968 (Darryl Strawberry). Could Pete Alonso add his name to that list....

Ron Swoboda Index

Reserved for future Swoboda Content

Sources and Links

1966 All-Star Rookie Index

Baseball_ref

bleacher report

TASR: 1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman

We are down to the PostSeason final 4 we are going to take this opportunity to look back on some cards representing the remaining contenders.

Today we lead off with the Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) and 1961 Topps Dick Stigman.

1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman

Dick Stigman at age 88 is one of the eldest of the TASR honorees. He had a remarkable career that is highlighted by being part of big baseball events but not getting a chance to participate. During his rookie campaign in 1960 (the Two ASG era) he was named to both All-Star Teams (despite a 5-11 record), but did not participate in either game. Stigman was also a member of the 1965 Twins Team who pushed the Sandy Koufax led LA Dodgers to 7 games in the World Series. He was a member of the postseason roster but did not get to pitch in the series. A disappointment for Stigman who was a local athlete from the small town of Nimrod Minnesota.

1961 Topps

Classic follow-thru pose of the young southpaw here. The Red and Yellow ID panels complement the old school original large form Rookie Cup Trophy. 

Dick Stigman's selection as a dual All-Star and All-Star Rookie cup member is pretty dubious. In addition to the aforementioned 5-11 record among LHP rookie pitchers in 1960 he ranked 8th in ERA (4.51) almost a run and a half behind the leader, Senators pitcher Jack Kralick (3.04). In fact Stigman was 8th in ERA for the subset (50+ip) which included the Phillies Chris Short (3.94). Among southpaws Stigman 5 wins ranked 7th (Steve Barber 10, Short 5). He did rank 2nd in Strikeouts with 104, a category again won by Steve Barber at 112. Pretty hard to justify a selection for a player that lost out in all 3 of the triple crown categories. The only thing that can point to Stigman is his combined Win+Save total of 14 eclipsed Barber by.... ONE (10 wins, 3 Saves)

30 Million Youngsters Can't be Wrong 

According to the TASR Team Announcement in the Sporting News 30 Million Youngsters voted for the team, who knew that Dick Stigman would be so popular?

The 1961 Topps Rookie All-Star Squad was only the 2nd one elected and during that era it was done by the "Youth of America". I don't want to group them in with the BBWAA, but their selection is suspect.

WAR Report

The Youth of America had no clue of what WAR was then, but I will  note that Dick Stigman did not do well here either, finishing with an abysmal -0.7. Jack Kralick's Southpaw leading ERA propelled him to the WAR crown with a 4.0 (Barber and Dick Ellsworth 2nd at 2.1 - Chris Short T5 1.1)

1961 All-Star Team(s)

4 Wins and 58 Career Strikeouts...

And 2 All-Star Teams 

That is where the Official Baseball Record stood for Dick Stigman on July 13 1960

That's Right, he had less than 60 Career Ks and the guy was already on his 2nd all-star team. 

How did this happen:

1) The biggest reason is this was during the two all-star games in one season era

2) 6 Saves. Coupled with his four wins this meant that Dick Stigman was involved in 10 of Clevelands 43 wins. Not sure where six saves ranked mid season, but chances are it was pretty high. For the season Stigman's teammate Johnny Klippstein led the league with 14. 

3) Possibly minor League Dominance - Stigman led his league in Ks twice while in the Minors. 

 

White Sox and 1960 AL All-Star Manager Al Lopez had seen Stigman a lot prior to the All-Star break,  those games were likely not helpful. In the week prior to the All-Star Break Stigman faced the White Sox 3 times, twice as a starter and once as a road finish. He pitched 8.2 innings and gave up 7 earned runs (7.27 ERA) including a start where he gave up 10 walks in 5.2 innings. 

All I can figure is Lopez was happy with the 3 Ws over Cleveland and selected Stigman - who knows. 

 

Flip

1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman (b-side)

We have Couple of -Toons! 

In panel 1 we have the source for the aforementioned comment on Minor League Dominance. Panel 2 echoes the All-Star Rookie Trophy from the front side and in the finale we have an all-star reference with some dated artwork. 

Topps Subset Royalty

Dick Stigman's career may not have panned out but he ended up being in a number of Topps Subsets. Two years prior to being an All-Star Rookie he was one of 31 players in the 1959 Sporting News Rookie Stars Subset which was the first time that Topps had run a rookies subber of any kind. Stigman is one of three players from the set that is still living, Eddie Haas and Bob Lillis are the others.

In 1962 Stigman was on Cleveland's "Tribe Hill Trio" card with fellow hurlers Jim Perry and Barry Latham. Following a trade to his hometown Twins Dick Stigman made it into the League Leaders pantheon with 1964 Topps. He shares his 1963 Strikeout Card Podium with Hall of Famer Jim Bunning and fellow Twin Camilo Pascual

Pretty good for a guy that appeared on 7 base cards to appear in 4 different subsets: Rookie Stars, Rookie Cup, Team Multis and League Leaders. 

Dick Stigman Index

Placeholder for more Stigman

Sources Links

1961 TASR Index

SABR Bioproject (Tom Tomashek)

Baseball_ref

Sporting News

TASR: 2009 Topps #390 Joey Votto - Game Dating

This is our second column in our series dedicated to Joey Votto's 2009 All-Star Rookie Cup Card. 

Today we are going to try and Game Date the Photo. For those of you that weren't with us last week you can go here to see the original posting - for purposes of this column here is a reminder of the card:

2009 Topps #390 Joey Votto

Game Dated Card*

I am opening with minor asterisk here by noting I am not positive on this one. The evidence we find in baseball-ref while not conclusive does appear to point to a specific at-bat. That likely plate appearance was in the fourth inning of a Reds game at Shea Stadium on May 10th 2008. 

How did we arrive here?

1) This appears to be Shea Stadium in it's closing season of 2008. Within Getty Images we were unable to find the picture on the card, However there was this series of photos of Votto that were all taken on May 10th    

This doesn't confirm the date but it is similar enough to verify we are dealing with the Mets and Shea Stadium.

2) This is a big one - According to baseball_reference Joey Votto played only 2 games at Shea Stadium. Those two games were on the proposed May 10th date and the following day May 11.

Now that we are down to 2 games we can look at the details. 

3) Now we switch over to retrosheet because their play by play is a tad more descriptive and we find this within the May 10th game:

 

YAHTZEE!!!

It is the only time that "Bunt" is mentioned with Votto in the play by play for either game within retrosheet or baseball_reference. 

That's good enough for me. We got ourselves down to two games and within one those two games we found documentation of a bunt attempt. 

Exceptions: Of course this is not conclusive, Votto could have attempted a bunt in any of his other plate appearances and fouled off the pitch and that would not be recorded by retrosheet or baseball_ref. Regardless we definitely got the card of a potential Hall of Famer down to a single series in May of 2008. 

Bonus Evidence

4) This is all just supplementary evidence that doesn't prove anything but does support the case we made in points 1-3 above

We return to Getty Images and find a photo from the other game (May 11th)

This photo looks a lot different because it's from the opposite camera well. There is another detail of interest. Look at the bat - it's a natural wood stain. Now return to the top and look at Votto's bat when he's bunting. It's black - the 3 photos from May 10 all black bat. 

There is one other photo from May 10 which is from the first base angle and it also shows black bat. 

Now this doesn't mean that Votto didn't have an AB with a black bat May 11 but so far every AB on May 10 is black bat and the only AB on May 11th is natural

Looking Back

In last weeks column we discussed that Joey Votto had 8700 PAs without a sacrifice, well he wasn't sacrificing here either. Votto was leading off the inning so this was not a sacrifice attempt. It was likely a good strategic move, Votto a Left Handed Hitter was leading off facing the tough Southpaw Johan Santana on the mound. Right Handed Slugger Edwin Encarnacion was on deck and in fact did hit a Home Run off Santana. 

Sources and Links

Joey Votto Index

2009 TASR Index

Game Dated Cards Index

baseball_reference

retrosheet

Getty Images

Rich Pilling Photography