Cy Young and MVP in the Same Season - Can it happen again: Tigers Justin Verlander 2013 Topps Triple Threads

Clayton Kershaw took home the NL Cy Young Award tonight, now we await what is probably the biggest question mark in the 2014 Awards Season. 

2013 Topps Triple Threads Relic TTR-JV1 Verlander (2/18)

Can Clayton Kershaw take the dual Cy Young/MVP Award Hardware. Personally I am from the Pitchers get there own award, Position players should get the other award school of thought.  However, this season the NL really hasn't had a standout candidate. Cases can be made for Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jonathan LuCroy. For me the strongest case among the hitters is McCutchen. In addition to putting up good offensive numbers at the plate, he really carried the Pirates.  When he was out of the lineup the Bucos struggled, upon his return, they made a run that got them into the playoffs. Curiously according to B-R Andrew McCutchen is an average fielder. Had he had a +1 or +2 dWAR season, his overall number would have been more comparable to Kershaws.

The Last time a Pitcher took both awards was relatively recently. In 2011 Justin Verlander won the award over Jacoby Ellsubry, Dustion Pedroia, Miguel Cabrera and others - Ben Zobrist won the WAR crown that year, but a significant portion of the number was defense based. 

2013 Topps 3x Threads
Topps noted Verlander's 2011 double dip on the above Triple Threads card. I am not a big relic or serial collector but those two features combined with the magnitude of the player featured pushed this card onto the buy side at a recent card show. The "M" in MVP is to large and somewhat mars the overall look of the card, otherwise it is decent looking. The Card went for $8 which is probably the most I have ever paid for any relic, including Phillies.

Philly Show
Double duty for this post, this gives me a chance to return to Philly Show coverage. I originally began posting info on pickups from the show on October 1. If you want to see some vintage from taht day and an index to other related postings click here.  


Sources and Links
Philly Show 2014 09 28
Philly Show 2014 09 28 Auto-Relic Summary
Baseball-ref

Congrats To Hunter Pence and the San Francisco Giants

Despite the Phillies not being involved and the Baltimore Orioles getting swept by the Kansas City Royals I really enjoyed the postseason.

This morning we featured a card to note the Royals fine season, tonight we recognize the champions

2011 Topps #US92 Hunter Pence

Yes, For 15 Minutes Hunter Pence was a Philadelphia Phillie. In a different world Hunter Pence is still with the club and they have won 3 more championship.

That, of course, did not happen. Regardless I am happy for Hunter Pence. He seems likea  great guy, Things have worked out well for him with the Giants, and he has had a pretty decent 2014 playoff.

2011 Topps #US92
I like this card for our final 2014 postseason card. It shows one of the series heroes with the Phillies, AND it also shows Raul Ibanez lurking in the background. Ibanez wasn't on the Royals World Series team, but he was on their 2014 squad and was in the dugout for the Series. Fox featured him during in game interviews. Raul Ibanez like Hunter Pence has always seemed to be a professional person and player who can offer something to a team, even if he cannot contribute on the diamond. I am glad the the Royals made him part of the festivities.

2014 Playoff Postings 
This concludes our 2014 Playoff Postings series. We have covered all 10 teams and featured 27 cards. During the series I tried to feature interesting and topical cards. An index of all the cards can be found here. Hope you enjoyed it.

The OnDeck feature for Phungo is an analysis of the 2015 Hall of Fame candidates. We have reviewed a few of these already including Tom Gordon & Scott Eyre (for the playoff series) , John Smoltz. and Pedro.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Teams

Kansas City Royals Black & Blue

Kansas City Royals fans have my sympathies. And I am sure that some are feeling Sad or Blue today or beat up, hence Black & Blue today.

Hopefully this fun set of cards from 1983 Fleer will bring a bit of a smile to their faces

1983 Fleer Super Star Special #644 Bud Black
1983 Fleer Super Star Special #643 Vida Blue

Fleer created the above card pair as part of their 1983 Super Star Special Subset.

Flip Side

1983 Fleer Super Star Special #643 Vida Blue (b-side)
1983 Fleer Super Star Special #644 Bud Black (b-side)

The reverse of both cards contains the same blurb about the two pitchers and a B/W "thumbnail" of the combined cards.

Solo

Here are the individual cards

 1983 Fleer Super Star Special #643 Vida Blue

1983 Fleer Super Star Special #644 Bud Black

1983 Fleer Super Star Special
Earlier this year we posted a Dave Concepcion - Manny Trillo Super Star Special Card. The column contains a short description of the 1983F Super Star Special subset. To read it go here and scroll down.


Sources & Links
2014 playoff teams 
baseballCardpedia
Bob Lemke's Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards   

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #141 Joe Buck

Barring inclement weather or some other unforeseen development the 2014 baseball season will draw to a close this evening.

Fans of one team, either the Giants or the Royals, will be very happy. The fans of the other will be bummed
I will have mixed emotions as the season concludes. 
 
The Phillies fan in me will be glad to see it go, while the baseball fan in me will try and maintain the illusion of baseball by following the hotstove information and winter leagues.


Other fans will have their own sets of emotions. The changing of seasons, the passing of another year are all existential questions one may consider as another year concludes.


 I want to consider another less serious question:

What about folks that dislike this “Fan Favorite”?
 

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #141 Joe Buck

There is great irony in the above card. I have never heard Joe Buck referred to as a “Fan Favorite” or even a Favorite broadcaster. There is an incredible amount of dislike thrown his way – not sure why. Perhaps because he was paired with Timmy McCarver for so long, maybe because he is so ubiquitous – he is everywhere, or maybe because he is a legacy to the position and some folks feel like he is only a broadcaster because his father held the position so prominently. Everybody I talk to seems to feel that Buck is against their team – but he of course can’t be against all of the teams.

I have my own theory – his surname rhymes with a common expletive. It makes it really easy to scream vitriol at him.
 
2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites
I believe 2004 was the middle issue of a 3 year run of Topps All-Time Fan Favorites. The 150 card set contains cards of favorite players from the past plus a handful of cards dedicated to folks connected to the game such broadcasters like Joe Buck, Owners, Commissioners and Umpires. There are eight Phillies in the set include Mike Schmidt, Dick Allen Darren Daulton and Joe Buck's former broadcast partner Tim McCarver.
 
Each card is on a different Topps design - For Joe Buck we get to see 1998 Topps. 

Topps did a reasonable job of recreating their own 1998 product. The design is basically the same. The originals have a fade beyond the inner border of the photo - The above TFF card does not. The name box at the cards bottom features team colors. The flip (which we will speak to in a minute) specifies Buck as a Cardinal. Blue is obviously not the Cardinals Color - The only other card in 2004 TFF that features the 1998 design is of broadcaster Ernie Harwell who represents the Tigers - the blue box is more apt here and Topps may have used the same template when building the Buck card. 

Flip Side

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #141 Joe Buck (b-side)
Reading the flip side of Buck's TFF card we find him described as "A flawless professional". So either a lot of folks are in disagreement with Topps or being a flawless professional ins't what they are looking for in a broadcaster

Perhaps the St Louis Cardinals fans enjoy Joe Buck – they are his home town team and the team for which he did his first broadcasting. KC Royals may also see Buck as a local kid and be fond of the broadcaster. 

Regardless baseball fans that dislike Buck will not have to deal with him for a few months unless they are football fans, particularly if your football team is a top tier NFC team (Like the Philadelphia Eagles). In that case you will have about 3 months of Joe Buck football to look forward to.
 
Sources
Trading Card DB
Baseball Card Database

2014 Playoffs: Royals George Brett 1978 Topps #100

The Kansas City Royals return home tonight, Unfortunately for them they are down 3-2 in the best of seven series and facing elimination. Tonight in an effort to help the Royals extend the Series and the season we bring out a Hall of Famer for our posting.

1978 Topps #100 George Brett

We have seen plenty of George Brett during the 2014 World Series and for good reason - 3000 Hits, 300 Homers and a member of the Royals 1985 World Series Team for whom he won ALCS MVP honors.

He is also the Royals only legitimate Hall of Fame Player. They have had a few other players make cameo appearances on the teams HoF register - Kllebrew, Cepeda, and Gaylord Perry - but none of them spent more than a season in Kansas City.

1978 Topps #100
1978 was the first time that George Brett checklisted a Hero Number. It was an honor that Topps gave to Brett 10 times during his career including his return to card #100 in 1985. At one time or another Brett occupied every Hero Number between 100 and 700.

I like a couple of things about this card, first George appears to be enjoying a nice pinch of chewing tobacco - that may be a no-no on a modern baseball card. Secondly I like the All-Star Shield used in 1978T. I believe it is the only year that style of flair was used for All-Stars, it has always evoked a Interstate route number sign for me. 

1978 Topps #100 George Brett (b-side)

On the flip of Brett's 1978T Card his 215 hit 1976 season is noted. 38 years later it still ranks as the Royals 2nd best single season hit total - Willie Wilson eclipsed Brett with 230 hits for the 1980 AL Pennant Champion Royals.

George Brett HoF Index
This posting is going to function as our HoF Indes for George Brett:
1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker Consecutive 3-Hit Games
1982 Topps Kmart #34 1976 All-Star Game/1980 MVP aWARd discussion
1991 Topps #2 RB 3 Batting Titles in 3 Different Decades 
1991 Score #769 HL 3 Batting Titles in 3 Decades
1994 Topps #180
2002 Fleer GOTG Dueling Duos #DD-27 (with Phillies HoF Mike Schmidt)
Phungo Complete HoF Page

Sources & Links
Playoff Teams
Phungo Complete HoF Page
Baseball-ref
Baseball Card Database

2014 Playoffs: Giants Buster Posey and the Queen of the Indies

Tonight we look at the Giants catcher who some folks have referred to as the Next Derek Jeter

2009 Obak #23 Buster Posey

As we mentioned in a prior posting, the Giants starting 8 during their World Series run has only two recurring regulars Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey.

Posey at age 27 has collected a Rookie of the Year Award, Batting Title, and MVP AND he is also playing in his 3rd World Series.

That is a solid resume for any player even more so at the demanding position of Catcher. Those tidbits are among the facts folks will cite when beginning the Jeter conversation.

2009 Obak
I really enjoyed opening a Hobby Box of 2009 Obak, For the Highlights check this posting.

Obak is an unlicensed product that consists of a mix of minor league prospects, MLB Alums, and historical figures related to the game. The first 31 Cards in the 100 card 2009 base (non-SP) set were dedicated to prospects.

Cards #22 and #23 feature a couple players that made me think there was a film fan at Obak.

2009 Obak #22 Jarrod Parker  
2009 Obak #23 Buster Posey 

Do these two cards make anyone think of a certain Indie Movie Queen?

Think about it.

Ok if you have given up click here

Yes originally I thought this was a wink to the actress Parker Posey. She seems to be involved in a lot of fun projects and I have always been a fan.

2009 Obak #21-29

See there they are in Numerical Order - top row middle and right Parker, Posey right next to each other. Whoever numbered the cards had to be a Paker Posey fan, right?

Unfortunately this doesn't appear to be the case. If you look at the page more closely you will notice allthe players are simply presented in alphabetical order. Indeed card #1 in the set is Pedro Alvarez, The last card in among the Prospects is #31 Brett Wallace.

Side Note: Just want to point out right next to Jarrod Parker we have #21 Mike Moustakas - another participant in the 2014 World Series.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Teams
Triistar productions
imdb
baseball-ref

2014 Playoffs: Royals Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez has had a pretty quiet postseason until last night when he came up with a big two run double in the 6th inning that extended the Royals Game 2 lead to 5-2.

2014 Opening Day Superstar Celebrations #SC-11 Salvador Perez 

This card shows Salvador Perez celebrating a Home Run with Eric Hosmer. Bit of a bummer that Perez is pretty much the B-Player on his own card. The Homer was a sixth inning blast off Justin Verlander in a Divisional matchup versus the Tigers in a game played one September 7 2013. 

2014 Superstar Celebrations
This is kind of a fun insert set that is limited to Opening Day. The set consists of 25 cards - The Phils are not represented, The Royals have 2 cards, the above Perez card and #SC-2 Alex Gordon

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Teams
baseball cardpedia
Baseball-ref
ESPN
amazon

2014 Playoff Cards Giants Pablo Sandoval 2006 Bowman Draft #FG6

Tonight our playoff cards series takes a look at the Giants and their 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval

2006 Bowman Draft Futures Game Prospects #FG6 Pablo Sandoval (gold chunk)

Last night Sandoval picked up a couple of hits and scored one of the Giants 7 runs while driving in two others.

The Giants have at a lot of success the past few seasons, and have done it with quite a bit of rotating personnel. Their playoff rotation includes only 1 pitcher from the 2010 squad, Madisnon Bumgarner, while their starting 8 in 2014 only includes only Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval from that first World Championship squad.  Sandoval saw little action in 2010 but rebounded to be the MVP of the 2012 Series. 

The switch-hitting 3rd baseman has been the Giants starter at the hot corner since 2009, although he has lost significant parts of a few seasons to injury. During this years NLDS Sandoval had a major contribution to the Giants 2014 postseason. His big game-tying Double off the Nats Drew Storen that led to the 18 inning Game 2 marathon eventually won by the Giants. 

Gold Chunk
One of the parralles to 2006 Bowman Draft is Gold Chunk, these cards mirror the base card with a gold border rather than black. They are also thicker then the base cards. 

In a previous 2014 Playoff Cards post dedicated to the Pirates Neil Walker we included a short write up on the 2006 Bowman Futures Cards. To read that posting click here and scroll down. 
 
Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards   
Baseball Cardpedia  
baseball-ref

2014 Playoffs: Royals Tom Gordon Rated Rookie 1989 Donruss #45

The World Series starts Tonight in Kansas City. During the series we have scheduled a couple of team related postings for the Royals and Giants. Tonight we open with a great Royals card from the past -  Tom "Flash" Gordon

1989 Donruss #45 Tom Gordon Rated Rookie

How great of card is this. The Royals Blue, the great big smile on young Tom Gordon, The Rated Rookie Logo. For me the icing is Gordon's uniform number '36' on the cap.

Tom Gordon spent the first eight years of his career as a Royal, the bulk of that was as a swing man.  He did have 16 starts and an impressive 17 wins (combined starts and relief). It was good enough to place Gordon 2nd in the 1989 Rookie of the year voting behind Gregg Olson (27 Saves, 1.69 ERA)

He didn't become a closer until age 30 (in 1998) when he took over the role for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. He led the league with 46 saves and made his first of 3 all-star teams.

Phillies fans remember Gordon for his three seasons he spent with the club near the end of his career. In 2006 he closed out 34 games for the Phils and made his final all-star team. Gordon was a member of the 2008 World Champion Phillies, but did not pitch after July 5th and was not involved in the postseason. He was part of the 2007 NLDS squad and did get involved in two games versus the Rockies.

1989 Donruss Rated Rookies
Rated Rookies is a 20 card subset of 1989 Donruss that runs from #28-47. Thirteen of the 20 cards are considered Rookie Cards including Tom Gordon above. The most significant RCs of the Rated Rookies are Ken Griffey Jr (#33), Randy Johnson(#42), and Gary Sheffield(#31). Ron Jones (#40) is the Phillies rep in the Rated Rookie 20, The subset also includes 1993 team member David West and Free Agent bust Greg Jeffries.  

2015 Hall of Fame Candidate
Yes Flash is on the 2015 HoF Ballot and as part of our candidates series I will check my Tom Gordon vote as a YES. Some folks may question this vote as Gordon was a good player with a long career, but they haven't factored in my affection for the Steven King Novella "The Girl Who Love Tom Gordon". For his tenure with the Phillies and for being named in a Steven King title Tom Gordon gets one HoF vote from Team Phungo 

#WS2014
Royals in 7. I don't feel either team is great, but I am hoping for a great series.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards 

2014 HoF Candidates

Baseball Cardpedia
baseball-ref

2014 Playoff Cards Orioles Jim Palmer 1973 Topps #160

It is time to dial up some Oriole Magic.

The O's are facing elimination versus the Royals today and we are calling on some divine intervention from the Hall of Fame.

1973 Topps #160 Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer turns 69 today, and for me there would be no better way for him to celebrate then to see his bubble gum card on Phungo - well that and and an Orioles Victory. 

Palmer was a member of three different Orioles World Championship squads in 3 different decades, 1966, 1970, and 1983 (versus the Phillies). He also took home 3 Cy Young Awards (1973, 1975, and 1976). In 1973 his performance was good enough to place him 2nd in the MVP award voting behind only Reggie Jackson. Note: in 1975 Palmer's teammate Bobby Grich, Bert Blyleven, John Hiller and Gaylord Perry all had higher WAR numbers then Reggie Among Pitchers Palmer finished 5th.

Palmer, a six time all-star, played his entire 19 year career with the Orioles collecting 268 (36th in MLB hitory) victories and 2212 strikeouts (53rd). 

Among HoF pitchers Palmer ranks 35th in career WAR (69.4) just a tick below the average of  the 59 pitchers in the Hall. Among contemporary pitchers Palmer's WAR  compares closely to John Smoltz (69.5).

The Cartoon on the back of this card mentions that Palmer won a sports car in a golf tournament. In today's era of multimillion dollar contracts for the mediocre players that seems truly passe, yet I am pretty sure a new car remains the award for the World Series MVP

1973 Topps Jim Palmer 
The late Chris Stufflestreet dedicated a posting to the above Jim Palmer card as part of his 1973 Topps Series. Definteily check it out, anything written by Chris is worth reading - He mentions how the 1973T card displays Palmer's distinctive high leg kick and also goes into some greated detail on Palmer's career highlights.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards
Phungo HoF Index
Baseball-ref

2014 Playoff Cards Giants Hunter Pence 2013 Topps Chrome #2

Today we turn our Playoff cards postings to the San Francisco Giants and our old friend Hunter Pence.

2013 Topps Chrome #2 Hunter Pence 

The photo on this card captures so much Hunter Pence. The High Leg Step is the trademark of his swing. We also see the choked up bat, the single batting glove, and the old school high socks.

The icing is Hunter's wild eyes just peeking out beneath his batting helmet.

Instagrams

2013 Topps #3 Hunter Pence
2013 Topps Chrome #2 Hunter Pence

Chrome and all those parallels are really just instagrams. Once the base card is created all the heavy lifting has rally been done. All the parallels, Chromes, Silks, Rainbows and other variations are just taken the originals and putting them through an intagram facility.

In the scan above the original actually looks a bit better than the Chrome card. There is a lot of whitespace on the border of 2013 Topps - likely to make the instagramming even easier, however I like the overall design. The rounded plate area and the light fringing behind the team logo proved a good frame for the Topps photos.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards 
Baseball Cardpedia
baseball-ref

Playoff Cards Orioles: JJ Hardy 2003 Bowman Draft #BDP137

The two day layoff is over....well, Weather permitting it is - at any rate the Royals and Orioles are scheduled to try and open the 2014 ALCS tonight.  

Game 1 of each series is always special with honorariums, ceremonial first pitches, and of course the player introductions. I am sure one of the big moments tonight will be when the Host Orioles announce JJ Hardy. The O's shortstop just signed a new three year contract extension and will certainly receive a grand ovation. 

2003 Bowman Draft Prospects #BDP137 JJ Hardy
The deal is probably the right one for everyone involved. The O’s window is the length of the contract, and Hardy is likely as good an option as anyone.  For whatever reason JJ still falls into the overrated underachiever category for me. Early in his career I felt like he either didn’t live up to his billing or couldn’t keep himself on the field. My O’s authorities assure me that this not the case anymore. He is much loved in Baltimore and has been a plus contract for them over the last couple of season. He bring a decent bat and gold glove defense to the Shortstop position all while playing 140+ games each of the last three seasons

2003 Bowman Draft Prospects
Found this one in the Dime box at the recent VF Show. outside of Baltimore JJ Hardy’s RC or pre-RCs will never be worth more than a dime, regardless at a dime it is the right price point for the Phungo collection.

2003 Bowman Draft consists of 165 cards, one of the Key Rookies in the Set is Ryan Howard who resides right next door to Hardy at card #BDP138. This is early oughts Bowman so there are a lot of Rookie Cards, 99 by my count. Other RCs include our friend Jonathan Papelbon (#51) and Robinson Cano (#124). Happened to notice former Phillies cathcer Steve Lerud(#49)  is in the set as well.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Teams
2014 09 28 Dime Box
Baseball-ref
Trading Card DB

2014 MLB Playoffs Cardinals Matt Adams 2014 Topps #157 (Rookie Cup)

Even on teams that annoy me, I have favorite players. Cardinals First Baseman Matt Adams falls into that category.

Matt Adams 2014 Topps #157 (Rookie Cup)

Last night via twitter Crashburn Alley author Corinne Landry (@ut26) used the term "Goosebumps" when describing Matt Adams Home Run off of Clayton Kershaw.

It is an apt description. 

There are several things I like about Matt Adams; He hails from an area near where Mrs Phungo came from, He went to a D2 PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) school like myself, He is big as a house, and goes by the nickname Big City. What's not to like?

If you play your college ball for Slippery Rock in Western PA, it is going to be hard to get noticed, and Matt Adams barely did. The Cardinals took Adams in the 23rd round of the 2009 Draft - The 699th overall pick int the draft. Adams arrived in the majors 3 years later.

Through the end of 2014 Adams has a 3.2 WAR this would rank him 11th among first round picks from the June 2009 Draft. It is obviously to early to get a feel for the relevance of that class (Mike Trout tops it at 28.2 WAR), but that is good company for a 23rd rounder.

Phillies 2009 Draft
The Phillies Did not have a pick in the 09 Draft, their highest selection was Kelly Dugan (2nd Round, 75th overall). Dugan has shown signs of life in 2014 playing up a level for AA Reading - He hit .296/.383/.435 as a corner outfielder, but only played 76 games.

To the point the Phils biggest "success" out of their 2009 crop is Darin Ruf (20th rd /216 overall) who bears some similarities to Adams - College Firstbaseman with Some Pop. Ruf has had some moments but for various reasons hasn't stuck at the major league level.

Rookie Cup
Didn't want to get out of here without mentioning the Rookie Cup. I try and place something beyond a base card when working with current cards outside the Phillies. Topps has gotten away from subsets, so I definitely consder Rookie Cup a subset and this makes the above Matt Adams card beyond base for me. I enjoy looking back at past Rookie Cup selcetions and am glad that Adams made the cut for 2014 Topps.

Cards from the Quarry has been on hiatus since July, but they have some really great Rookie Cup Coverage.

2013 Playoff Cards
We liked Adams so much we featured his 2010 Bowman Prospects card in our 2013 Playoff Cards series last year.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards
Baseball-ref
Cards from the Quarry

2014 Playoff Cards: Nationals Gio Gonzalez 2006 Bowman Prospects Chrome #FG7 Gio Gonzalez

Tonight the Nationals face elimination for a second consecutive game versus the Giants. The Scheduled starters for the contest are two hurlers who passed through the Phillies minor league system Ryan Vogelsong and Gio Gonzalez.

2006 Bowman Prospects Chrome #FG7 Gio Gonzalez

Giants starter Vogelsong (of Nearby Octorara HS and Kutztown U) spent part of the 2010 season with the Iron Pigs, while Nats lefty Gio Gonzalez spent the 2006 season with Reading between stints with the Chicago Whilte Sox organization.

I have always been a fans of Gio's, while I barely recollect Vogelsong's stint in the Phillies organization. Coincidentally, I will be pulling for Gonzalez in this game despite that fact that Vogelsong has all his local connections.

Bowman Futures Game Prospects
In a previous 2014 Playoff Cards post dedicated to the Pirates Neil Walker we included a short write up on the 2006 Bowman Futures Cards. To read that posting click here and scroll down. The above Gio Gonzalez card is a Chorme Parallel of the base card.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards 
Baseball Cardpedia
baseball-ref

2014 Playoffs: Dodgers Hanley Ramirez 2013 Topps #WBC-5

Tonight our Playoff Tour takes us to the Dodgers and we are featuring their shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Hanley Ramirez 2013 Topps #WBC-5

This ain't a popular POV, but I am a fan of the WBC cards. Yes  I like seeiing the game travel and enjoy seeing different players as teammates. The format of the WBC also provides for lots of interesting David vs Goliath moments.

Hanley Ramirez is a star but I am not sure he has ever lived up to his promise. He is a good hitting shortstop, but he is enough of a defensive liability that the Dodgers run in defensive substitutions for him if they are leading. Additionally he has been on the shelf a bit each of the last two years and hasn't exceeded 130 games in either season

2013 Topps WBC Stars
WBC stars is a 15 card insert set in 2013 Topps S2. This is a down from the 25 card set that was put out in 2009T S2,  It is a set that I don't need to put together, but since I picked up 5 of them out of a dime box last week, I am pretty sure 2013 WBC Stars will go on my todo list. The cards are nice enough looking and have a nice nod with the flags. The chrome text is hard to read in the above photo, but appears fine on the card - In my opinion the fact that the text doesn't scan well isn't a legit complaint about a card. If it is hard to read when your holding it in your hand then that is an issue.

As mentioned above there are only 15 cards in the 2013 WBC set, and the Phillies were shutout of the checker.

Dime Boxes 
With any luck we will feature a dime box posting on Tuesday with some other cards I picked up with Mr Ramurez. If you're interested in the some of the more expensive acquisitions that day check my Card Show Summary post here.


Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Cards
Philly Show 2014 09 28 Index
Philly Show 2014 09 28 Dime Box summary 
Baseball Cardpedia
baseball-ref
World Baseball Classic

2014 Playoff Contenders: Nationals Jordan Zimmermann 2013 Topps Opening Day #96

Stephen Strasburg may get the most press among the Nationals starting pitchers, but he sure isn't the only quality starter on their staff. The Nats have one of the toughest rotations in baseball; Doug Fister, Rookie Tanner Roark, and last weekends NoNo pitcher Jordan Zimmermann each could make an argument for having a better season than Strasburg.

2013 Topps Opening Day #96 Jordan Zimmermann

I am glad that Zimmermann had his no-hitter moment last week. He has put together solid seasons each of the last four years. His contributions to the Nationals have been comparable to Strasburg over that period. For 2014 Jordan Zimmerman has outpaced his teammate in ERA,  ERA+, K/9 and WAR numbers.

This afternoon the Nats send Zimmerman to the mound in a hope to even the Series with the Giants. The Giants may have a lead in the Series, but he Nats depth at rotation will make them a tough out. 

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Team Cards Indwx
Baseball-ref 

SNB & 2014 Playoff Contenders: Cardinals Matt Holliday 2011 Topps #US324

Sunday Night Baseball is in St Louis monitoring the Cardinals as the host their Division foe Cincinnati Reds. 

The Cardinals are the reigning NL Champions and once again find themselves atop the NL Central. As our Playoff Contenders series rolls on tonight we take a look at veteran Matt Holliday.

2011 Topps #US324 Matt Holliday HRD

There are some players I dislike for good reason, off the field problems, Hot Dogs, the play for the Mets etc. Then there are players I have disliked for a decade and can't remember why. Matt Holliday falls into the latter category.

I can't for the life of me figure out why I dislike him. Maybe it is East Coast bias, Maybe I think of him as an overrated Rockies player, Maybe he got a game winning hit vs the Phillies that I never shoook, Maybe somebody I thought knew nothing about baseball mentioned him favorably - probably a combination of the above.

Regardless the 34 year old outfielder has carved out a nice career. If he stays in baseball for a couple more season he will likely enter the 300 HR and 2000 Hit clubs. The six time All-Star has won a World Series (2011 Cardinals) and participated in 2 other Series. He has 59 postseason games under his belt with a healthy 12 playoff Homers.

Matt Holliday is not a Hall of  Famer, but if he is fortunate enough to play until he is in his 40s, he could become one.  

2011 Topps Home Run Derby
The last couple of years Topps as put the All-Star related cards in Update or TS3 as I sometimes refer to the set. Baseball cards are forgotten by most collectors by the time S3 arrives, they have either had enough or moved on to football or other interests. I have an affection for the last set of the annual flagship. It typically contains an eclectic mix of rookies/long awaited prospects, cup o coffee players, and veterans in odd unis - that is all good fun for me. I never build the set, but do enjoy the few odd packs I pick up.

Each of the eight participants in the 2011 Home Run Derby hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks is represented by a TS3 card. Robinson Cano (Card #US299) won the competition over Adrian Gonzalez (#US 126). Matt Holliday had 5 Homers in round one but was eliminated via tie-breaker to Prince Fielder and David Ortiz.  



Sources & Links
baseball-ref
baseball cardpedia
2014 Playoff Contenders
Arizona Diamondbacks
mlb

2014 Playoff Contenders: Oakland A's - Josh Donaldson 2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61

The Phillies disappointing 2014 season is coming to a close. They are in the middle of a last west coast swing which will take them on a rare trip to Oakland.

The A's have had a tough September but appear to still be in line to get into the playoffs which gives us another opportunity to add to our playoff contenders feature.

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson 

Josh Donaldson may be the least noteworthy superstar in Baseball. He is a WAR darling who finished 4th in the 2013 MVP voting and followed that up with his first All-Star appearance this summer.

His Batting Average has slipped this season, however, Josh Donaldson continues to hit for power. He is also leading the AL in Defensive WAR which has helped him maintain a 7.1 combined WAR which only trails Mike Trout among folks in the Junior Circuit..

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson (b-side)

I present the flip side of Josh Donaldson's card here to note the position. He is a an all-star 3rd baseman now but he was drafted as a catcher, where he played the majority of his games prior to making it to the majors. The position switch has definitely worked - Donaldson has hit better than expected and he has been a standout defensively.

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects
This is a bit confusing but the first 110 card of Bowman Chrome Prospects are Inserted into 2010 Bowman, while  the latter 110 cards are in 2010 Bowman Chrome. This is all confusing to me and I am sure other colletors.

While I do enjoy following prospects, I am not a real prospect collector - Bowman falls into that weird nether world of stuff I am a baseball fan of, but not a collecting fan of.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Contenders
Baseball-ref 
baseball-cardpedia. 

2014 Playoff Cards Index

This is an index of postings related to 2014 Playoff Contenders.

Nationals
     Jordan Zimmermann (2013 Topps Opening Day #96)
     Gio Gonzalez (2006 Bowman Draft Chrome Futures Game Prospects)

Cardinals
     Matt Adams (2014 Topps #157 Rookie Cup)
     Lou Brock (1968 Topps #372 All-Star)    
     Matt Holliday (2011 Topps #US324)
     AJ Pierzynski (1994 Topps Signature Rookies #61 rc-auto)

Pirates
     Neil Walker (2006 Bowman Draft - Futures Game Prospects)

Dodgers
     Hanley Ramirez (2013 Topps #WBC-5 World Baseball Classic)
     Yasiel Puig (2014 Topps #331 - Rookie Cup)
     Dodger Stadium Visit 

Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (2010 Bowman Prospects)
    Hunter Pence (2013 topps Chrome #2)
    Pence Again (2011 Topps #US92 - with the Phillies)
    Buster Posey (2009 Obak #23)
    Scott Eyre (Phillies Card 2015 HoF Candidate)

Orioles
     Nick Markakis (2009 Topps Propoganda)
     JJ Hardy (2003 Bowman Draft #BDP137)
     Adam Jones (2013 Topps Chase It Down #CD5)
     Jim Palmer (1973 Topps #160) 

Royals
     Black & Blue - Bud Black and Vida Blue (1983 Fleer Super Star Special #643 & #644)
     George Brett (1978 Topps #100)
     Alex Gordon  (2010 Topps CYMTO/2006 Topps)
     Tom Gordon (1989 Donruss #45)
     Salvador Perez (2014 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations #SC-11) 
Tigers
     Victor Martinez (2013 Topps Heritage - New Age Performers)

Angels
     Mike Trout (2013 Topps - Defensive Playoff of the Year)  
     Angels Stadium
A's
     Josh Donaldson (2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP61)