It had to happen at some point - Kennys Vargas has toiled for years in minors stuck behind several players on the Twins' depth chart. He never reached 250 at bats in a season with the Twins, but he's going out West- so far West that we think of it as the Far East - to play in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He was a minor-league free agent following the 2018 season, so his future in Minnesota was shaky at best.
Before the 2019 BBM Japanese baseball set comes out, I'll still be hunting for Vargas cards I don't have yet from the states. This 2018 Topps Chrome card is numbered to just 10 copies.
My scanner doesn't like thick cases- but this card had been on my radar for a couple years, but with the other guy on there, the card was hard to find for a good deal. This one popped up on eBay and I didn't hesitate to grab it.
Big Papi and Little Papi together on the same card! It's my first David Ortiz autograph, and even though the front of the card doesn't give it away, in theory this card depicts Ortiz as a Twin. Neither player reached their full potential in Minnesota, and now Vargas will get a chance in his age 28 season to try to make an impression on a one year deal.
So, who's got some Chiba Lotte Marines swag?
The Chrome Vargas is an awesome card, but man that dual relic auto is drool worthy! I hope Vargas kills it in the Far East and comes back to the bigs mashing like Cecil Fielder (or at the very least Eric Thames)
ReplyDeleteThat would be awesome, I worry that MLB teams don't love the one dimensional masher like they used to.
DeleteYes, I would also love to see another Big Cecil or Thames like story!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to him mashing some taters here in the states again soon.
DeleteFWIW, the front of the relic does say "Minnesota" for Ortiz, and shows him in a pinstriped uniform which Boston doesn't have. That's as clear as Panini can be.
ReplyDeleteTrue, I wonder when the photo was taken, pinstripes aren't as hard to add as they used to be!
DeleteI wouldn't have minded if it said Boston, either, though I am guessing it would have cost me more!
Ooh, red chrome!
ReplyDeleteScanner doesn't really show it, but the red bits are broken up like ice shards, it's a cool design.
DeleteI'll see if my friends overseas can keep an eye out for any Vargas' from Japanese releases.
ReplyDeleteThat would be awesome! Please let me know what kind of cards they might like in return, I'm happy to send them your way along with a finders fee of cards for you!
DeleteIt should be a lot of fun for you chasing down his BBM and Calbee issues in 2019.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Love that dual autograph! Congratulations on adding it to your collection.