NOW showing: My First 2020 Topps Card

I'm curious to see what replaces the 150 years Online subset this year - maybe something already has? Anyway, I was happy that Rod Carew's 1977 MVP season made the cut for this checklist.

The post season awards did result in a few Twins getting recognition for a record setting season. Cruz won a Silver Slugger Award at DH, and was also named the 2019 ALL-MLB 1st Team DH.

The Silver Slugger Award also went to Twins Catcher Mitch Garver, thanks to a tremendous season that set team records for homers by a backstop.

I was hoping to find some 2020 Topps Series 1 at Target today, but I struck out again. I did finally add a 2020 Topps card to my collection, though. The Topps NOW design hasn't changed yet for the new year, but obviously from the date, this card came out in January.

There was another one for sale yesterday featuring Kenta Maeda as the newest Twin, but we'll have to wait and see if he really becomes one! Today's news was that the Red Sox were expressing concerns that Brusdar Graterol's injury history projected him as a reliever instead of a starter. The young pitcher frequently tops 100 mph on his fastball and has a wicked slider, but had Tommy John surgery a few years ago and a minor shoulder issue during the season last year. Personally, I was looking forward to Graterol being a regular in the Twins bullpen in 2020, but getting a pitcher like Maeda that can help the rotation this year is an opportunity that can't be missed.

Swearing a Blue (pinstriped) Streak

So... yeah. That's 16 straight postseason losses by the Twins against New York. There was some reason to be hopeful this time, but ultimately it came down to pitching (or the lack thereof) for the Twins. Jose Berrios was undone by a high pitch count and some poor defense, going only 4 innings in Game 1. He surrendered just 1 earned run, and struck out 6 Yankees, but it wasn't going to be enough on a night where the bullpen was unable to get outs.

Well, you tried...

Berrios had a short start, Jake Odorizzi gave the Twins 5 solid innings in Game 3. He was the only pitcher on the roster with a positive WPA (win probability added). Brusdar Graterol pitched a clean inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts, one of the few highlights of the Twins bullpen in the postseason. Eddie Rosario had a homer in Game 3, the only run the Twins would score. Jorge Polanco was the Twin with the highest WPA, mostly from his 2-3 performance in Game 1. His homer in the first inning gave the Twins their only lead of the series.

Missing in Action . . . 

Luis Arraez had a fantastic rookie season, but a high ankle sprain on the final day of the season put a damper on an otherwise sterling debut. Even with a flat tire, Arraez had 5 hits in the 3 game series, 4 of them doubles. But the injury would be more noticeable on the defensive side, where a pair of miscues in the first game led to a Yankees rally. Marwin Gonzalez, C.J. Cron, and Max Kepler all had a tough time in the series having missed significant time in September due to nagging injuries. Kepler went 0-10 in the series, but did manage to reach base 3 times on walks.

Missed opportunities . . . 

While they weren't noticeably injured, they also had sub par showings in the post season. Sano and Garver went a combined 3-24 with 13 strikeouts. Jonathan Schoop only had 2 plate appearances, striking out both times. Nelson Cruz had a big home run in Game 1, but was held in check for the balance of the series by the Yankees' pitching staff.

Willians Astudillo was not on the postseason roster, but he still had a card in this set. I do enjoy adding Astudillo cards to my collection, but I would have liked to have a Randy Dobnak card, regardless of the outcome of his start.

Here are the card backs for those interested. I do have one more complaint - When these sets were first listed on the Topps website, the Twins were the only Division Champ that did not have an Autograph version of the set. I assumed after checking back a few days in a row that Topps was just going to do the non-Auto version of the Twins set, so I pulled the trigger early. I found out later that an Autograph version was offered, but I didn't want to pay for a whole 2nd set (at a higher price) to get the auto. Thanks Topps.

 It would be easy to complain about the injuries, the Pineda suspension, etc, but the fact is that the Yankees were the better team in that series from start to finish. If the Twins want to get this monkey off their back, they are going to have get more from their starting pitching and have more depth to weather the storm. It's not like the Yankees were all healthy...

It was a short postseason run for the Twins, but the season was still a ton of fun. I look forward to the off season with high hopes for some better starting pitching.

NOW You're Just Being Ridiculous

This card is one that I debated spending money on - the main reason I decided to get was that I attended this game in person. I don't know if I would have pulled trigger otherwise. I mean, the Twins have been on a lot of Topps NOW cards this season, especially in July / early August:

Is this what it feels like to collect Yankees?

I branched out a little bit from the Twins, adding the Steve Wilkerson Save game, and I picked one of the many Aristedes Aquino cards. I went with the throwback 70s Reds jersey card. The Vlad Jr card is a Throwback Thursday offering using the Stadium Club insert "Crystal Ball" design.

Also, shout out to Nelson Cruz, who had never hit 3 HRs in a game in his entire career - then did it twice in ten games!! The Opening Day set I bought from Topps once again resulted in bonus cards.

Last but not least, Throwback Thursday paid tribute to 2 sport stars like Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and... Joe Mauer?!? The #1 Overall Pick was also recruited by Florida State to play Quarterback and was the #1 rated high school QB his Senior Year. Who knows, the kid still has all 4 years of eligibility left! (He's, uh, not going to play College Football).

Kyler Murray had a less than stellar debut - and has picked it up in the 4th quarter. Should he have stayed with baseball, or will he flourish in Arizona?

NOW with Bonus Cards On Demand

I purchased a Topps Now "Road to Opening Day" set, and because of the Twins' successes on the field, it has yielded several bonus cards, including this one that just arrived in honor of Max Kepler's most recent 3 HR outburst.

There was more to celebrate in the month of July, including another bonus card for the team's 1st place 1st half.

Kepler earned a couple cards on his own, one for owning Trevor Bauer, one for a walk-off winner against Oakland. The Twins turned a pair of Triple plays in July, still waiting on the 2nd card to arrive.

The team was also featured on other On Demand Sets, including a new wave of Topps Total. Last wave was a trio of sluggers, and this time we have three pitchers. Mike Pineda might be team's most consistent starter in the second half, and Taylor Rogers has been the team's ONLY consistent reliever. Kyle Gibson is known as the unofficial "Team Dad," helping the team to stay in line on the road, staying on time for appearances in the community, and generally mentoring the team's younger players with anything they might need to navigate the big league life.

Jorge Polanco gets his 2nd #TBT card of 2019, in honor of his 1st All-Star appearance. His last card was a 1972 design, and this one of course uses the 1979 design.

The other On Demand set, celebrating 150 years of professional baseball, finally included a Twin, and they picked a good one. Artist Graig Kreindler has been providing several portraits of all-time greats for this set, with a sun-soaked Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN serving as the Killer backdrop.

The backs of these look a bit like 1971 Topps, but are more or less generic. They have a little blurb about the player, so slightly more effort than the #TBT issues.

Is your team getting a fair number of these on demand sets? What do you think of the designs?

NOW, to be On Demand is to be In Demand

We've just passed the July 31st Trade deadline, and with no waiver deadline this year, that means that teams are now fairly set. The Minnesota Twins have an historic campaign, with franchise highs in Homers and Wins through the first half of the season.

While the bullpen hasn't been a Total disappointment, regression by Trevor Hildenberger (and his subsequent injury) has thinned an already light corps of relievers. Jake Odorizzi has had one of the best seasons of his career, and Max Kepler has taken off this year.

Serving as the Twins' lead-off hitter, Kepler has also found success at the end of games, providing fireworks at the end of this mid-June Marathon against the Red Sox.

Can't forget the bat flip!

It won't always be Twins On Demand in my collection - I do make room for signature / iconic moments throughout the season. Scherzer smashed his face while taking batting practice, but still made his scheduled start with a broken nose and a nasty shiner that made for some extra spice to the legend of his toughness.

This view is a pretty common progression for the 2019 Twins - see ball, hit ball, see ball go. Wave #3 of Topps Total featured a trio of Twins that can all crush the baseball.

The AL's Starting Short Stop was bumped from the Topps NOW All-Star set in favor of home town rep Francisco Lindor, but he did find his way into this Throwback Thursday set.

Are you keeping up with your team's On Demand offerings? Have you picked up any Topps NOW cards recently?

NOW That's What I Call Dominant

More Topps NOW cards - there is variety on the horizon, I promise. I couldn't pass up Thor's complete game from May 2nd. Not only did he go the distance and strikeout 10 batters, he was also the only guy to cross home plate, crushing a solo homer for the Mets. A real do-it-yourself masterpiece!

I wanted to know who the 1983 fella was that was the last pitcher to toss a CG and hit a homer, so now you reap those benefits as well. It was Dodgers hurler Bob Welch, who also beat up on Cincinnati. The Reds have guys on their team that could return the favor- Michael Lorenzen comes to mind, though I guess he's a bullpen guy now. He certainly has the home run power, hitting 6 homers in his career, including 4 last season alone. Luis Castillo is a good candidate to shut another team out, not sure if he can muscle up on a pitch to hit it out, but anything's possible!

Ed-die!

ED-die!

ED-DIE, ED-DIE! Rosario broke out in a big way last season, and he's right back on top the HR leaderboard in 2019. He has 17 homers, tops among AL outfielders- and that's with him still trying to snap out of a bit of a slump in May. April was a record setting month for him, becoming the first Twin to hit 10 or more homers in the first month of the season (it's hard to do in the snow!). Of course, he's not the only one mashing taters for the Twins. The whole team has been killing the ball since the start of the season, and they don't seem to be slowing down. Nelson Cruz and Mitch Garver went on the IL, just in time for Miguel Sano to return. Jason Castro was meant to be the primary catcher anyway, and he's picked up right where Garver left off. Castro has 7 homers in just 27 games, which is pretty impressive given his career high is 18.  They became just the 2nd team in MLB history with over 100 homers in their first 50 games.

NOW That's What I Call A Milestone

I am pretty good at keeping up with the Twins' new cards from Topps NOW, but every once in a while I make an exception for other teams or players. To be honest, I've never been a fan of C.C., since he's been with Cleveland and after a brief stint in Milwaukee with the Yankees. Tough position for a Twins fan to be in - but I have to say I have great respect for Sabathia, as much as I have wanted him to have a bad night when he's pitching against my favorite team.

3,000 strikeouts is quite the feat. More exclusive than 3,000 hits, with Sabathia being just the 17th pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone. Even more exclusive, he's just the 3rd lefty - Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton being the others.

Speaking of 3rd - Albert Pujols is now ranked 3rd* on the RBI list. He's not exactly the Machine he once was, but 2,000 RBI is nothing to sneeze at. I really like this photo, which captures Albert flipping his bat in ... relief? Having blasted a home run to pass 2,000.

The list of course is missing Babe Ruth - (and Cap Anson), who also drove in more than 2,000 runs in his career. Before 1920, the Runs Batted In statistic was not counted in a consistent way from game to game, so the RBI the Sultan of Swat accumulated prior to 1920 are not included on this list. Pujols is likely going to pass A-Rod for 2nd overall some time next season (if he doesn't retire first). Pujols is another guy, like Sabathia, that I've never been a big fan of the teams he's played for. But, 2,000 RBI is great, and not likely to be repeated.

NOW the Cycle Comes Full Circle

In an otherwise forgettable game (for Twins fans), Jorge Polanco had himself a ballgame in a rain-soaked series opener against the Phillies. Topps commemorated the event for the Twins' first (and so far only) Topps NOW card.

The back gives a quick rundown of Polanco's cycle, the first of 2019 in MLB. Polanco has continued to high well in 2019, his average just dipping below .400 for the first time this weekend.

In the mail yesterday, I finally received the Topps NOW Road to Opening Day Twins team set! All the new position players were included, even Marwin Gonzalez, who signed later on during Spring Training. Only 115 sets were made of the Twins' team cards, I wanted to get these as I missed the set the first time it was offered in 2017. (Don't worry, I bought the 2017 Kennys Vargas card from that set as a single on eBay!)

Last year, the backs all had exactly the same text, not even mentioning the player's name. This year, Topps made the minimum additional effort by adding a little blurb about each player.

The team's young nucleus was all represented, too.

Jorge Polanco's card is foreshadowing (aft-shadowing, since the card just showed up?) how Polanco's on base skills would be put to work on April 5th in Philadelphia.

Like I said in the title - the Cycle comes Full Circle! Topps adds bonus cards throughout the year if there's a no-hitter, or a player hits for the cycle, a 3-HR game, or a 15+ strikeout game. They are also giving out a bonus card if the team is in 1st place at the All-Star Break.

Last year I paid the premium for the autograph version of this set, but this year Topps only offered the auto for the popular teams, a bit of a bummer since last year I received a Dozier autograph and I was all ready to roll the dice again. 

Big In Japan

Retirement comes for all athletes eventually, and Ichiro had already flirted with the concept a couple times before. Once when his Marlins contract expired, then again after a short reunion in Seattle. But this time everything aligned just right, playing his final MLB game in Japan.

I had to pick up at least one of the Topps NOW Ichiro cards (I think there were three different ones made during the 2-game series), so it's a chance to check out how the design has evolved. Not much to it, but the simplicity allows a good photo to shine.