Having neglected to solicit questions for an #AskSpector tweetbag at the end of a busy week, and low on mental energy, I asked readers to tell me what to write on Friday.
The answers generated were good, with a lot of fun discussion topics, but as those answers were coming in, I was at Rite Aid, and at the end of an aisle, there was an even better answer: a pack of 2015 Topps baseball cards. It’s been a long time since I bought a pack of baseball cards, and at the end of a week that is both a celebration of baseball and a baseball wasteland, I thought it would be fun to tear into a pack of cards. Let’s see what was inside.
MORE: A photo history of homers: the dazzling Derby | Spector’s second half predictions
Let’s open a pack of baseball cards! http://t.co/CcyxOuE6YK
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) July 17, 2015
No. 36: Julio Teheran, Braves
Oh, yeah, Julio Teheran. What happened to that guy? He was awesome last year, with a 2.89 ERA and a trip to the All-Star Game. Well, not so much this year, as he’s 6-4 with a 4.56 ERA, with higher rates of hits and walks allowed and a little dip in strikeouts. While he outperformed his FIP last year, that FIP has jumped from 3.49 to 4.65, which is weird for a guy who’s 24. Until seeing this card, it had been months since I thought of a pitcher who was one of baseball’s rising stars just last year.
No. 151: C.J. Cron, Angels
Ooh, a Future Star! That may still be the case, but Cron has had trouble getting playing time in Anaheim, even with an OPS+ of 103. After hitting 11 homers in his first 242 major league at-bats a year ago, he has five in 145 at-bats this year. The text on the back of Cron’s card informs that he “was the first MLB rookie since Jason Kubel in 2006 to hit a home run in each contest of a three-game series sweep,” and it’s not clear if the reference to Kubel is intentional, because “right-handed Jason Kubel” might pretty much be Cron’s career track. The text also uses the word “greenhorn,” which suggests that someone at Topps is a “Deadliest Catch” fan.
No. 116: Vidal Nuno, Diamondbacks
Nuno’s photo perfectly captures the moment when, while delivering a pitch, he saw a guy next to the third base dugout shoving three hot dogs into his mouth at once. “Vidal was highly effective after joining the Diamondbacks in a trade for Brandon McCarthy,” the back of the card says, above a table of stats showing that show he was 0-7 with a 3.76 ERA. He’s on the Mariners now after the Mark Trumbo trade.
No. 60: Michael Wacha, Cardinals
There should be a really good reason to format a baseball card horizontally rather than vertically, and “Michael Wacha’s standard pitching motion” does not live up to that. “‘(He) may be one of the most talented pitchers I’ve seen,” said rotationmate Adam Wainwright,” the back of the card declares. What did Wainwright say instead of “He” that Topps could not use? When did “rotationmate” become a word? Eh, it doesn’t really matter. Wacha is quite good and was just an All-Star for the first time.
No. 271: Pittsburgh Pirates
Josh Harrison is 5-8, Andrew McCutchen is 5-10 and Gregory Polanco is 6-5, which makes their card together look like the youngest player here is a dad whose two growing sons are mocking him by assuming the same arms-crossed pose. It would be cool if the back of the card identified the players, but the only one even mentioned in the writeup of the 2014 Pirates season is McCutchen, in a parenthetical reference to his team-leading 25 homers.
No. 129: Jacob deGrom, Mets
Another Future Star! And Topps was right! The future just arrived, as deGrom was brilliant in the All-Star Game, with three strikeouts on 10 pitches. Catching his flowing hair on the card is great, but even better is the back, which says: “Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden … fans would gladly take that type of Mets career from Jacob who, in 2014, followed that quartet as a Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year.
No. 59: Jake Odorizzi, Rays
This card is embossed with foil, and says “1666/2015” on the back, so it’s special. It also tells us “Jake declined a chance to play baseball and football at the U. of Louisville, choosing the pro route at the former because ‘I was better at Baseball.’ He proved as much as the Rays leading winner in 2014.” Why is “Baseball” capitalized? Why doesn’t “Rays” have an apostrophe? Why is Topps stuck between using wins as an evaluation tool here and calling Vidal Nuno “effective” at 0-7?
No. A-17: Tony Gwynn, Padres
Neat, a Hall of Famer! Gwynn is in the “Archetypes” insert set to exemplify bat control, and it’s great to see him and the Padres’ brown pinstripes of the 1980s. The back of the card even talks about the “5.5 hole.” This is awesome.
No. 301: Zack Cozart, Reds
Well, nuts, it’s the card from the year that Cozart suffered a season-ending knee injury. At least the back of the card has the kind of fact that is the reason you flip over a baseball card. “When Zack talks about ‘getting in the cage,’ he’s not referring only to B.P. swings. One of his post retirement goals is to swim with great white sharks.”
No. 345: Brandon Cumpton, Pirates
“Do I tip my pitches by making a goofy face when I throw my change-up? Oh, well, let me flip over the card and see what verbal bouquets Topps has to throw my way… ‘Brandon doesn’t pack the heat of some other pitchers, but he throws strikes and induces ground balls. “This dude, he comes in every time and he battles,” said Josh Harrison. “He’s a warrior…he’s going to grind.”’ Oh, well, let me flip over the card and see if they got a cool action shot. DAMMIT, WHY AM I STILL MAKING THAT FACE?”
No. 103: Guilder Rodriguez, Rangers
One of the sweetest stories of a dismal Rangers season was Rodriguez’s call-up in September after 13 years in the minor leagues. Topps tells that story with what looks like a picture of one of his hits on the front, and text on the back including Rodriguez describing his two-hit debut as “one of the best moments of my life.” Unfortunately, the card lists Rodriguez as having had “28.2” hits in 2014, and also says he was born in 1990 in Albuquerque, and drafted by the Phillies in 2011. They gave him Ken Giles’ biographical information and minor league stats, though with hitting headers, so it looks like Rodriguez had 38 stolen bases (Giles’ strikeouts) in 24 games, while hitting an incredible 1.88 (Giles’ ERA).
No. 137: Alcides Escobar, Royals
This is a very boring picture, so much so that Escobar appears bored by being on this baseball card. “‘Esky’ peppers pokes all over the yard when he faces Chris Sale, one of the game’s top aces — a .400 AVG against him in 45 at-bats,” writes a Topps staffer trying to make this card exciting, as if the red type indicating a league leader wasn’t enough — Escobar played 162 games last year, tied for most in the majors! Also, way to jinx the guy, Topps. Escobar is 0-for-3 against Sale this year, twice grounding into a double play.
