2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #10-18

 Last monday, I debuted the first 9 cards in the 2020 Topps Final Edition set, righting the wrongs of Topps' production deadlines. This week, we get the next nine cards in the set, featuring some very interesting cases that I wanted to showcase with this project.

Card #010: Billy Hamilton, Chicago Cubs

Since leaving the Reds, Hamilton has played for five teams, and has struggled to return to the consistency and speed of his early seasons. The Cubs took a chance on him for the stretch, and Hamilton responded with a .300 average, 3 steals, and a brief postseason appearance as a pinch runner against Miami. Hamilton is yet-unsigned, but is still a valuable asset for any teams struggling with speed. 

Card #011: Jorge Lopez, Baltimore Orioles

After a breakout season in Kansas City in 2019, Lopez' abilities as a starter were put to the test when Baltimore selected him off waivers a day or so into the season. In 9 games, Lopez hit a 6.38 ERA while striking out 28, being a lower-tier starting option for the slowly-rebuilding O's. Lopez will most likely return to his roots as a bullpen piece for 2021. 

Card #012: Matt Joyce, Miami Marlins

Of late, Matt Joyce has become one of the most underrated and useful utility outfielders in baseball, making surprising seasons happen out of nowhere in Oakland, Atlanta, and now Miami. In 46 games, Joyce hit .252 with 14 RBIs, and became a useful outfield piece after Marte got injured. He'll be trying out for an OF gig in Philly this season.

Card #013: Ross Stripling, Toronto Blue Jays

Ross Stripling was one of the few casualties of the 2020 Dodgers, the one piece of the championship team that was traded right before the World Series win. Here, it was an odd move, a contender trading a starter to another contender, even a decent one like Stripling, but as Stripling's 5.61 ERA forewarned, the Dodgers needed to clear out some rotation space. So the Blue Jays took him on, started him for a few games, where he went for a 6.32 ERA and was later shifted to the bullpen, where he may start the season for Toronto this year.

Card #014: Pat Venditte, Miami Marlins

I couldn't resist making a Pat Venditte card. Of all the players that Topps doesn't make cards of year after year, Venditte might be the most sad but predictable one, the switch-pitcher that always manages to show up somewhere for a few innings. This year he submerged in Miami, and was scoreless in 3 games before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Considering the 'we'll try anything' approach of the Miami bullpen this year, it was a sad loss but one that could be remedied with another unsung hero. 

Card #015: Blake Treinen, Los Angeles Dodgers

To me, this was one of Topps' biggest omissions in 2020. Yes, they made a card of Treinen for flagship back in Oakland, but he was traded and pictured as a Dodger before the start of the season, and could have easily been included in 2020 Update. Yet he wasn't. Considering Treinen's improved season, it seems a bit heartless. Yes, Treinen was coming off a down 2019, but he could have used a new-uniform release. Treinen had a 3.86 ERA as a Dodger, with 22 Ks, 31 if you include the 9 postseason Ks. He'll be back with LA for 2021, and looking for similar results. 

Card #016- Taylor Williams, Seattle Mariners

One of the early-season relief options that Seattle was thankful for was Taylor Williams, who they'd got from Milwaukee the season before. Williams, in 14 games, had 6 saves, albeit with a 5.93 ERA. He was up against teams that were better than him, and his ERA suffered, but he was still a nice enough relief option to get San Diego's attention, as he'd be included in the Austin Nola trade. He'd only pitch one game for SD before being sidelined with an injury for the remainder of a season.

Card #017, Marcell Ozuna ASG, Atlanta Braves

Despite the OF credit, Marcell Ozuna would be the starting DH for the NL team in the 2020 All Star Game, had it happened at all. Ozuna's power-heavy and hard-hitting attributes made him a league-wide talent in 2020, and made it clear to the Braves that they needed to keep him around for the foreseeable future. 

Card #018: Spencer Howard RC, Philadelphia Phillies

One of the Phillies' many call-ups in 2020 was their pitching prospect Spencer Howard, who had been delivering fine numbers in the minors. Unfortunately, Howard may not have been ready for prime time. In 6 games, he had a 5.92 ERA with a too-high WHIP, and only added to the Phils' pitching woes rather than saving things. Hopefully in 2021 either he'll have more time in the minors to hone things or he'll be back in the majors ready for action.

Next monday, one of the reasons for me wanting to do this set in the first place is in the next nine.

Reunions Are the New Big Thing

 2021 is looking like it will be a year of familiarity in the MLB. One of the most intriguing trends in terms of signings and acquisitions is teams getting in touch with players who used to excel for their clubs and getting them back. This was a lower key trend until the past few days, where Jake Arrieta returned to Chicago and James Paxton returned to Seattle. And now I have to look at the whole offseason from this perspective. Why are people coming back, what are they expecting to get from this, and are the fans cool with it.

Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

Initial Impact: 5 seasons of exemplary work, a Cy Young, a no-no, a World Series, and membership into a mega-rotation that made it happen. 

Why Now?: Arrieta's three seasons in Philly have reduced him to a lower-tier, occasionally good starter, and perhaps returning to Chicago could refresh some of his memory.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Oh yeah, they loved Arrieta in his heyday, and they weren't too betrayed when he left for Philly. They should be excited, even if Kyle Hendricks will still be the star of the show this year.

James Paxton, Seattle Mariners

Initial Impact: After some early-season struggles, became a key strikeout artist during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, notched a no-no of his own in Canada, and became a sure-to-be successor to King Felix's throne.

Why Now?: In his seasons in the Bronx, Paxton has yet to evade his ability to get injured at the absolute worst times. His 2020 was nonexistent almost, and featured several subpar starts that led to his stock dropping drastically in 2021. The Ms calling was all he needed.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: A little. They loved him then, but they know as well as anyone how unreliable he can be as far as health is concerned. 

Adam Eaton, Chicago White Sox

Initial Impact: Three seasons of high-contact, impressive-defense work that made him a fan favorite despite this being the heat of the Ventura era. 

Why Now? Adam Eaton is still technically on the same page as he was in 2017 when he left, but he only really had one complete, Chicago-tier season in Washington. The rest were either injury-truncated, or very, very mediocrely 2020. So maybe he wants to see if his previous environment will call for better luck.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Slightly, but this is an older Adam Eaton looking for playing time in an outfield consisting of Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. So he may have to DH.

Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

Initial Impact: Archer was the prime ace after David Price's departure, having a Cy-Young-caliber season in 2015 and two ASG nominations, and keeping the Rays in the race. The unnerving thing is his current woes started about a year and a half before he left for Pittsburgh, and his ERA rising was probably one of the factors that led to trading him to Pittsburgh for some prospects that'd win them the East in 2020. 

Why Now? Archer's tenure in Pittsburgh has been mostly abhorrent. Last season, right when he was getting things together, he got injured and opted out. He needs to prove himself as a league-wide talent again, and a reunion with the Rays could help.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Yeah, they're gonna love it for his first few starts just on a recognition factor, but unless he has some material left, he's in for a rude awakening.

Charlie Morton, Atlanta Braves

Initial Impact: A rookie season in 2008, a 4-8 record with a 6+ ERA, and not much support before being shipped to Atlanta for Nate McLouth

Why Now?: Next to Rich Hill, Charlie Morton is one of the best 35 and up pitchers in baseball, and seeing as Hill just took his spot in the Rays rotation, Morton still wants to compete and continue his success alongside a rotation of kids. 

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Yes, but for reasons that have nothing to do with Morton's previous Braves tenure. Look, Braves fans are gonna get a kick out of Charlie Morton in good form pitching for their club, I don't see why they wouldn't. I don't know if anybody has any 2008-era Braves Morton jerseys, but this season may call for some fans wearing some Nike ones. 

Jason Castro, Houston Astros

Initial Impact: Castro was the Toby Hall of the post-AL-move Astros, being a solid everyday catcher for the first few years until they figured out how to compete. He was a decent starting catcher, but his decency would lead to him being in Minnesota by the time the Astros won it all.

Why Now?: Castro has bopped around a bit in the last year, split 2020 with Anaheim and San Diego, and is starting less and less games. Houston gave him a backup role, but he's still receptive.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: I think so. The real Astros fans will respect Castro for his early-2010s play and love to see him back in any capacity. The new-age Astros fans will complain that Maldonado isn't starting

Mike Minor, Kansas City Royals

Initial Impact: Mike Minor was nearly out of a career after bottoming out of Atlanta when he wound up as a relief option in KC in 2016. There he had an incredible season out of the pen, reestablished his star quality, and got the eye of Texas, who converted him back to a starter and made him a star again.

Why Now? The pixie dust has worn off, and after a disappointing 2020 split between Texas and Oakland, Minor needs to reclaim as much of his former mojo as possible, so perhaps a reunion with the team that jumpstarted the comeback will work

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Not especially. There'll be a few diehards from 2016 who'll be relieved to see Minor again, but most Royals fans will be worried that he doesn't have anything left if he's washed up on this shore. 

Jed Lowrie, Oakland Athletics

Initial Impact: In two different tenures with the A's, Lowrie went from bench option and infield utility player to all-star second baseman and contact aficionado, nabbing his best full-season numbers of his career as an Athletic. 

Why Now?: His Mets tenure should have been a way of telling people he could play for a true contender, but he only played 9 games in 2 seasons. The A's worked for him before, maybe they'll work again.

Will the Fans be Receptive?: Yes, they'll wanna see the old-fan favorite again, but considering how far the team has come even in 2 years, will they WANT to see Lowrie taking reps at 2nd over Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder?

So yeah, that's some interesting storylines regarding the movement to bring players back. I hope it works for all of these guys, and that former environments lead to future success. 

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #1-9

We've discussed that 2020's Topps flagship releases were a bit upended by early print dates, late releases, and a dissonance between the season Topps needed to depict following 2019 and the 2020 season that actually happened. As the resident customizer who's begun doing customs of more contemporary designs, I figured...if I could master the 2020 Topps design, then I'd have a way of doing the 2020 Update set that should have been. 

So, here we are. I outlined and commandeered a 330-card Update set...for a 2020 set that already had an Update set. I took on an entire checklist full of traded players past the deadline, rookies that debuted throughout the 2020 season, and lots and lots of relievers and bit players that Topps didn't document throughout the year. Additionally, I created simulated lineups for what would have been a 2020 All-Star Game, and littered the set with the people that, if voting and selection had gone ahead, would have made ASG teams this year. 

I did a lot of work for just a set I'm doing for the blog. Who knows, maybe Topps will wander onto it, though preferably without their lawyers. I'm not doing this for profit, I'm doing this relatively legally, so the only thing Topps could give me that'd alarm me is, uh, a job offer. 

So, as we'll be showing these off on a weekly basis, nine cards at a time, let's look at the first nine times of 2020 Topps Final Edition

Card #001: Starling Marte, Miami Marlins

By far the biggest star to change hands at the August trade deadline, Starling Marte proved his worth in Miami, hitting 13 RBIs in 28 games in Miami. Unfortunately, a broken hand limited Marte's output for the Marlins, despite hitting .500 in one game against the Cubs in the playoffs. Marte will likely be a major player for the Fins in 2021, and hopefully he'll stay healthy enough to warrant the plethora of Topps Marlins issues he deserves. 

Card #002: Matt Andriese, Los Angeles Angels

A former starting option for the Tampa Bay Rays, Andriese was traded to Arizona in 2018 for Michael Perez, and bopped around as a relief options. 2020 was more of a relief year for Andriese, as the Angels utilized him in a setup role, where he posted a 4.50 ERA with 33 Ks in 16 games. Andriese will be spending 2021 with the Boston Red Sox, so I doubt many issues will exist of his fleeting Angels year, which was at least a good way of proving himself in relief.

Card #003- Anderson Tejeda, Texas Rangers

Although the infield in Arlington belonged to Isiah Kiner-Falefa in 2021, Anderson Tejeda's call-up did prove that the Rangers are beginning to explore their farm system a bit more. Tejeda in 23 games sported decent defensive numbers, hitting .250 and plugging himself in at shortstop as the season went on. With Andrus heading to Oakland, Tejeda might be a strong favorite for an infield spot as the Rangers rebuild themselves. 

Card #004- Craig Stammen, San Diego Padres

After three strong seasons of bullpen work in San Diego, the rise of the rest of the team left Craig Stammen spread a bit thin. In 24 games, Stammen posted a career-high 5.63 ERA. At 36, Stammen may be beginning to slow down a bit, but the Padres have him signed for at least one more year, so hopefully he'll rebound enough to play to 38. 

Card #005- Ryan Mountcastle RC, Baltimore Orioles

One of the first steps of Baltimore's new youth movement was calling up Ryan Mountcastle, their sturdy, contact-hitting outfield prospect. In 35 games with the club, Mountcastle hit .333 with 23 RBIs, sliding into a starting outfield spot and getting even more crucial playing time after Anthony Santander's injury. Mountcastle came eighth in AL ROY voting, and will likely be starting in left this year at Camden Yards.

Card #006- Monte Harrison RC, Miami Marlins

Called up in tandem with fellow Miami prospect Jazz Chisholm, outfield bat Monte Harrison made a decent impression in 32 games with 6 stolen bases and solid defensive numbers despite not even remotely hitting for average. Harrison is likely to factor into the Marlins' outfield as the contract players begin to phase out. 

Card #007- Chris Bassitt ASG, Oakland Athletics 

As much as it pained manager A.J. Hinch, who would technically still be the AL ASG manager in 2020, he had to include Chris Bassitt as one of the starting options for the AL team. Bassitt was not only the most adept arm in Oakland, but his 2.29 ERA in 11 games was a strong statement for an A's also-ran for the last few years, and a piece of evidence that the A's had finally found their ace. 

Card #008- Taylor Clarke, Arizona Diamondbacks

While Clarke's fellow late-rotation battery member Alex Young got a card in 2020 Topps, Clarke himself, who had the better season, was shunned in both releases. Even if his 2019 season was slightly more inflated than necessary, he outdid Young, and had a 4.36 ERA in 12 games, including 5 starts. Yes, it's easy for people for Clarke and Young to get lost in the shuffle considering all the big names in the D-Backs rotation, but Clarke is still a crucial member, and did some cool stuff when people weren't looking this year.

Card #009- Matt Foster RC, Chicago White Sox

In the grand tradition of Aaron Bummer and Jace Fry, Matt Foster was the new out-of-nowhere relief specialist to take the South side of Chicago by storm. In 23 games, Foster sported a 6-1 record with a 2.20 ERA and 31 Ks, being a nice safety net for the burgeoning, expanding bullpen for the White Sox. 

Next Monday, I'll post the next 9 cards. There's a few fun player selections in there. 

What Could Have Been...

 

Am I the only one who's wondered what 2020 Topps' Update set could have been like if they waited two more months and took the 2020 season itself into account? What new players and uniforms could have come about?

I didn't think so.

I'll explain what I've been doing about it on Monday. Until then...here's card #1. Starling Marte as a Miami Marlin in 2020 Topps. All things as it should be.

Balance of Bauer

 

So. The biggest free agent arm on the board just went to the reigning MLB Champs. Now what?

Honestly, Trevor Bauer taking his time did add to the intrigue of it all. His hinting around on twitter did foreshadow a potential small-market contract, and Toronto and Queens were very much in the race for the better part of the offseason. However, Bauer instead decided he wanted to play for a super-competitor, signed for 3 years with the Dodgers, and now...the rest of the league might as well just shrug this season.

Let's just...examine the Dodgers rotation for a moment. Kershaw-Bauer-Buehler-May is the core, while Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin are hovering around looking for the fifth spot but still capable of relief numbers, and the big surprise mystery factor of David Price also potentially affecting the rotation. That's seven viable pitching options. Three are Cy Young winners, five are coming off fantastic seasons, and next to none of them feel like the 'safe option' for any opposing offenses. Also, the majority of the World Series lineup is back, including Seager, Bellinger, Muncy, Betts and Taylor, all of whom will likely be looking for another strong year at the plate.

And then you think about the other powerhouse of the NL West, the San Diego Padres, who have an outstanding rotation consisting of Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Chris Paddack, with Mike Clevinger coming back in 2022. So that's TWO NL West teams with entire rotations featuring really good pitchers you don't wanna have to face. I can't think of any other division that has more than one rotation like that, and mostly I'm thinking of teams that have the potential for huge rotations like the Mets and White Sox. 

So...is the NL West too stacked? Are the rest of the NL teams going to really work hard to have to outmatch the Padres and Dodgers this year? Or is this the kind of thing that gets straightened out with unknown variables and the things you can't account for? It's probably that. I do think both of these teams will go far this year, but I don't think the balance of power in baseball is too badly affected. If anything, it's nice that it hasn't been bent too far towards the Eastern divisions like it usually does.

I'm still excited to see how Bauer factors into the Dodgers rotation, and how he helps them try to get back to October. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2004 Topps Raul Mondesi

 

The career of Raul Mondesi is one that most collectors know of...to a degree. Like...Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers in 94, big hitting years for LA and Toronto, lands in New York in 02, then can't stay in one place for the rest of his career. 

Topps, to their credit, did document Raul Mondesi's stints on the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Pirates and Braves. But...one slipped through the cracks. The most boring one.

In May, after the Pirates have already released Mondesi after hitting [checks notes] .283 WITH 14 RBIS IN 26 GAMES??? WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY RELEASE THAT? Was he just making the rest of the team look too good???

Jeez. Anyway. The Pirates foolishly release Mondesi, and he signs with the Angels, who...apparently need outfield help? With...Garrett Anderson, Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen starting? This is making less and less sense the further I get into it.

This part does make sense- in 8 games with the Angels, Mondesi hits .118 with only one RBI, a home run. It's a very unspectacular run, and the Angels release him just as quickly as they pick him up. Because he's been released way before Topps' Traded deadline, they just don't put him in the set at all. Figures. They do give him a Braves card in 2005 for some reason, but...maybe they were just being nice.

Online Dime Box A-Go-Go

I'd been getting packages sporadically from baseballcardstore.ca for the last few months. They have a good catalog, there's a lot of cool stuff that can be found there, and it does take some hours of scouring but it's worth it. 

For instance, a few weeks back I just started leafing around in places I hadn't looked, got a nice cart together and went with it. And then a few days ago the package arrived, and most of the stuff which I'd forgotten I'd ordered popped for me even more. It's a very nice feeling. 

Like, I'd forgotten I went for the 2000 BowChro Jim Morris, aka the subject of the 2002 Dennis Quaid film The Rookie. That's insanely cool, even if it is a niche sort of thing that only odd collectors like me are willing to go for. 

This shipment had a lot of interesting stuff like that.

Relatively Recent Stuff:

The idea of getting current needs was not on my mind, but some of these stuck out to me. I thought I'd had all the necessary Calling Card inserts from 2012 Topps, and yet there was a Phils one, yes of general awful person Jonathan Papelbon, still floating around out there?

I think I'm gonna be finding 2019 Big League singles I need until the end of time. How did I not have that awesome LoCain throwback? 

Some recent GQ and Heritage. Somehow, this is the only Bartolo Colon card in this post. I know.

Three rookies I was surprised to find for 10 cents each. Garcia's gonna be tearing down the NL East in a bit, Matt Manning is one of the many Tigers pitching prospects, and that 2012 Vogey is his XRC, and a zero-year card as he never played any games with the Cubs. He looks odd here. Still big, but odd.

And yes, for the only Panini card in this shipment, here is technically the first Diamondbacks card of Madison Bumgarner.

...I know. He's...yeah. I'll have to get another one from later in the season. 

2000s Sets I'm Familiar With:

I got a bunch of 2005 Fleer Autographics back in the day, not as strongly as the 2004 stuff I've mentioned but enough to whet my appetite. So this Peavy, while it was the only one I could find, was enough. 

These two UD sets I got several packs of in 2007, but somehow didn't get these. That Rolen should have been in my collection years ago. 

I've been looking around at some A&G singles that I've missed over the years, and they had a few from the 2010 set, which I mostly sat out. That Halladay seemed to be everywhere in 2010, which is why it's criminal that I hadn't gotten it yet. 

I somehow had missed out on these 2015 A&G Starting Point inserts, which are cool because they mention team stints that Topps doesn't usually go for. Here, we have Jose Bautista on the O's and Nelson Cruz on the Brewers. Weird stuff. Plus, rookie Rodney!

Mid-2000s Stuff:

Yeah, like with most collectors, the mid-2000s is my blindspot, which is why I've slowly been getting more and more mid-2000s semi-premium stuff off of this site, cause it fills lots of needs. All three of these Marlins are from sets I'm not too familiar with. 2005 Artifacts I think was entirely new to me. 

This is 2005 SpX. I have never seen a single card from this set until now. It's not very impressive but there you go. Rangers Gonzalez made this a must-have, and that pre-fame Lee isn't bad either.

2001 Fleer Futures is another one I don't have a great deal of, but I'm always down for a non-Dodger Nomo. Cool-looking set, too.

2004 Leaf Certified Cuts. Striking-ass set, but I don't have much. They scan oddly. That Nomo does look cool, and I'm fine with Phils Wagners every now and then.

2005 Sweet Spot I've been getting a lot of thanks to this site, and these three are the next ones. 

2003 Fleer Showcase, also kinda new to me. Very odd how different this set looks from Showcase's more familiar run from 2004-2006. 

2005 Zenith, favorite of repacks from the 2006-2008 era of retail. Tim Hudson looks mighty new as a Brave. This is a minimal if interesting set. Kinda wonder how this one would have evolved if Playoff had survived past 2005.

2003 Leaf Certified Materials. Another set that's new to me, though I'm familiar with the run. A 2004 E-Mart is always cool, as is the usual Rolen's and Abreus I've been finding on this site. 

2005 Donruss Classics. Again, more familiar with earlier releases from this brand. Interesting that this became full-body photography, kinda like Elite. A-Gon and K-Rod look great here. 

And finally, a 2001 Bowman's Best CC Sabathia. Not quite a rookie, but entirely awesome.

90's Stuff:

These two 94 Topps star cards have evaded me for so long that finding them for 10 cents a pop felt cathartic. I still have some HOF singles from that set left to find, but these two will make things easier.

Assorted 90s UD star cards that I didn't have...for some reason. That Stewart looks awesome. 

Lofton and McGriff. If these guys didn't pop up in a order post of mine, something may have gone wrong. Plus, it's Giants Lofton, which is relatively rare.

Always down to add some new Dutch cards to the collection. All of these are from 93 and 94, the last great period of his career. 

And finally, two 'never in a million years' cards for me- Dale Murphy in Denver. The left is from 1993 Pinnacle's Cooperstown insert set, which at the moment is very ironic, and the one on the right is from 1993 Fleer Ultra. Didn't know either of these existed til I saw them in the catalog, thought he only did a Pacific card in Colorado. Glad to have both of these, as it's an odd final portrait of a Braves legend. 

So yeah, pretty satisfying stuff overall. Might go back eventually, they've been doing me well. Might look even deeper, go for even weirder stuff.