whoopSS

 

When you are a die-hard fan of a specific team, the urge to jump in with two feet collecting "the new guy" can be hard to resist. The Twins had a pretty glaring need this off-season to add a shortstop. Their 2021 option, Andrelton Simmons, brought the glove, but also had a career worst season at the plate. He signed with the Cubs as soon as the lockout ended, so that plan was out. The Twins made a tough decision to part with Mitch Garver, one of the best hitting catchers in the majors over the last 3 seasons, to get their guy. So, of course, I was happy that the Twins found someone to play SS and went right to eBay to stock up on the Isiah Kiner-Falefa hiiiiits!

Get used to this clean shaven look, kid, you're headed to the Yankees!

Let's talk about IKF's Twins career. 

Ok, now that's out of the way.

Of course, Kiner-Falefa was here for just a short time, but without him, the Twins likely would not have been able to trade Donaldson to free up the necessary capital to sign Carlos Correa. Wait, the Twins signed Carlos Correa?!? I better get over to eBay!

pic.twitter.com/nQ7A89FQVA

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 19, 2022

Byron O'Buxton and the Luck of the Irish

 

Major League Baseball is back - Spring Training games started today, and the first at bat of the first game was by Byron Buxton. A single and a stolen base in today's game against Boston, and it came on Saint Patrick's Day! If anyone is due for a little luck, it's Buxton - he's been snakebitten by a series of hard-luck injuries in his career. I'm glad Topps chose Buxton for this instead of Josh Donaldson for this Twins card.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day and happy first day of Spring (Training)!

Everything's Coming Up Rosie!

Now's your inning, set the World (Series) on its ear! Set it spinning! That'll be just the beginning!

No disrespect to the 2021 Comeback Players of the Year, but it feels like Eddie Rosario would have won comeback player of the 2nd half, if there was such a thing. Dumped by the Twins (who by the way, could have used another decent outfielder for most of the year), then injured in Cleveland, a trade deadline deal sent him to the Braves for the right to release Pablo Sandoval, the expectations for the balance of the season were not high. Could Rosie rise to meet the moment?

Even before Topps NOW, Rosie was making "NOW-worthy" moments. Hitting a homer on the very first pitch he saw from an MLB pitcher, in front of his family who cam from Puerto Rico to see his debut? Yeah, he can meet the moment.

 

How about the 2017 World Baseball Classic? It was Rosie's walk off sac fly that propelled Puerto Rico to the Finals against the U.S.

The big moments would carry over into the 2017 regular season, blasting a walk off in 2017 that helped the Twins stay ahead in the Wild Card race so the Yankees could crush my spirit again. Just kidding, I am Vikings fan too, so I've been dead inside for decades.

His family was back in town in June of 2018 (the Twins should have bought them a house), and he responded by launching 3 homers, including the game winner.

2019 of course saw Rosie reach career highs in homers and 2020 was a lost season for a lot of players. 2021 was looking like another lost year for Rosario, but once the Braves added him to the lineup it was sunshine and Santa Claus - it was Roses and daffodils! Hitting for the cycle (only seeing 5 pitches to do it, by the way, vintage Rosario), then winning the NLCS MVP was a great comeback. 

He's a free agent again now, so everything's coming up Rosie!

In Rod We Trust

Rod Carew is an All-Star's All-Star. In 19 MLB seasons, Carew was an All-Star 18 times.

Topps made Carew an All-Star Rookie, but he was also an All-Star for the American League, and the AL Rookie of the Year. Carew's hitting really started to take off in 1969, when he hit .332 for the season to win the AL batting title. He'd win 6 more batting titles before his retirement in 1985, including 4 straight from 1972 thru 1975. 

Carew was traded before the 1979 season began. People point to the notoriously cheap Calvin Griffith for trading Carew before he had to pay him a free agent's salary, but the fact was that Carew already wanted to be traded. Articles at the time talk about Carew being comfortable in Minnesota, but contract negotiations going poorly between the two parties. What the vast majority of the articles do not bring up is Calvin Griffith's appearance at The Lions Club in Waseca, MN in 1978 when he said "I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when we found out you only had 15,000 Blacks here. Black people don't go to baseball games, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. We came here because you've got good, hardworking White people here." A bit of context here - Calvin is the adopted son of Clark Griffith, who ran the Washington Senators for decades before turning over operations to Calvin. One of the main tenants of Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.? The Homestead Grays, a Negro National League franchise that often outdrew the MLB Senators/Nats in the 1940s. Clark Griffith was opposed to integration mostly because it directly impacted him financially. Integration would cost him a profitable tenant. As a lifelong fan of Twins baseball, I have come to terms with how they arrived in Minnesota, knowing that their existence is a product of some warped thinking. That same warped thinking cost the Franchise several seasons of one of their best players. Carew knew about the comments, as a reporter attending the dinner recounted those comments, along with Griffith specifically calling Carew "a damned fool" for playing in 1978 for just $170,000. After reading this in the paper, Carew's response was "The days of Kunta Kinte are over" as well as "I refuse to be a slave on his plantation and play for a bigot."

Carew would appear in six more All-Star games after that trade, collected his 3,000th career hit against the Twins, and helped the Angels reach the post season in 1979 and 1982. In the 1983 All-Star Game, Carew started and hit lead-off. He collected his final 2 All-Star hits, going 2-3 with a walk, 2 runs scored, and an RBI in a 13-3 American League romp. For his career, Carew ranks behind just Aaron, Mays, and Musial for most All-Star games played. He set a record with 2 triples (1978) in the same game, and ranks 4th in runs scored, 3rd in stolen bases, and 4th in walks all-time in All-Star game history. 

Topps NOW 2020 Post-Season Minnesota Twins Team Set

 

The Topps NOW post season set arrived today in the mail, let's catch up and see how the Twins did!

oh. oh no. They did not do well.

The bad news started before the games even began, with Josh Donaldson aggravating his calf injury during the final week, and not being named to the post season roster.

Byron Buxton played Game 1 despite lingering issues from a concussion suffered during the final weekend of games, then missed most of Game 2 save for a pinch running appearance where he looked visibly groggy. He was picked off first to end a possible scoring chance late.

The good news? Well, the Twins did have a much better starting rotation in 2020, allowing the 2nd fewest runs in the AL during the shortened season. The only problem? The starters don't pitch all nine innings, and they don't field every position either. Maeda and Berrios combined for 10 innings and just 1 run allowed. The bullpen, on the other hand, gave up 6 runs in 8 innings.

Game 1 was a very close contest until Jorge Polanco's error - he fielded a ground ball cleanly, but his throw to Luis Arraez at second pulled him off the bag, resulting in no outs. Houston took advantage and once they saw a small crack of daylight, they pounded down the door on the bullpen, some of the damage was self inflicted (a bases loaded walk by Sergio Romo). 

Luis Arraez was playing on a bad knee, just like 2019 nursing an injury that came late in the season at the worst possible time. He went 0-6 with a pair of walks. Sano, Kepler and Rosario went a combined 1-19, with the icing on the cake coming with Rosario getting himself ejected from Game 2 arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire.

The Twins set a record for futility by failing to win a game, extending their streak to 18 games lost, which is almost beyond comprehension. 

A "sign" that things were not to be this year? Topps did not offer an autograph version of the Twins team set, despite offering auto versions of most of the other 16 post season teams. That's fine, I saved a little money. 

Did your team make the playoffs this year? Would you like to see 16 teams again in 2021, or should it be returned to just the division winners and a pair of Wild Card teams? 

Breakin' Series 2 Twins Boogaloo

I haven't been to a store that sells baseball cards in a few months, so getting Series 2 Topps was a tall order. Thankfully, we still have the Internet, so I went to the "electronic Bay" which is an online marketplace of sorts... and bid on a Case Break of Series 2 Topps Jumbo Boxes.

My goal was to try to cash in a lottery ticket for some of the more rare Eddie Rosario parallels so I could build my Rosie Rainbow, but I struck out there. 

Series 2 is a great place to catch up with the new kids on the block - Homer Bailey is still wearing his Royal blue cleats, Yadi Molina is making a cameo on Josh Donaldson's card, most likely with Donaldson still playing for Atlanta on this card. Dick Mountain is more than likely in a Dodgers uniform here.

There sure are a ton of horizontal cards in the Twins Series 2 set - and these aren't even the alternate / short printed variations! The only Rosario I pulled from the break was the base card, but that was good, I still needed it! 

This was a fun one, I like that the more recent issues are continuing the 50s / 60s combo card craze. 

Finally the rookie base cards - there's a Dobnak photo variation too - I'll be on the lookout for a cheap copy of it. Dobnak, you may recall, was famous for being an Uber Driver before getting the call from the Twins to be a minor league signee. 

Inserts include "Decades' Best" and a tribute to the 1985 set, which I think is just fine. Rod Carew has been getting some more love the last couple years, which is much deserved!

There were some good cards in the silver bonus packs that came with the Jumbo case - including chrome variations of Decades' Best. Pulled a couple parallels too!

Two cards could be called "hits" - first a Joe Mauer Gold Parallel numbered to 50. Mauer won three batting titles in the 2000s, and was a video game cover guy. The Twins weren't able to reach the World Series in the Decade, but they were AL Central Division Champs 6 times between 2000 and 2010. 

And finally this card made the break worth what I spent to win it - a cool 1985 design autograph of the hitting machine Luis Arraez. He hit .334 last year as a mid season call-up, subbing in for and overtaking Jonathan Schoop as the Twins' everyday second baseman. Arraez has been compared to Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn in terms of his batting stance and willingness to spray line drives all over the field. 

Have you tried a Group Break before? What did you think of it? Thanks for reading!

Buying Online Every NOW and Then

Well, it sounds like the MLB season might happen after all, with a scheduled start date at the end of July (Assuming they don't have to delay further due to COVID-19). In the meantime, Topps has been determined to get a few dollars more out of us in the form of Topps NOW "Turn Back the Clock."

What can I say, I am simple man - I see a great card of Ichiro on Opening Day and my home(opener)sickness is too great to resist. I mean come on, there's balloons and everything!

Once you get a person started on Topps NOW, it can be nearly impossible to stop them completely. How could I be expected to pass up a Jackie Robinson bat rack card? Of course it also is a commemoration of Jackie's first MLB game, so it's a no-brainer why I would want it. At this point, I'm invested! Twins cards will pretty much seal the deal. Francisco Liriano tosses one of the least efficient no hitters in MLB history. It was also one of the more exciting ones! 

Rod Carew was still hitting .432 by the end of May in 1970 - Dave Winfield passed him on the All-Time hit list a few days (and 24 years) later. 

Of course the online exclusives don't end there - Topps Total is back again and there is no shortage of new Twins this year (in theory). Rich Hill was expected to miss the first 2-3 months of the season recovering from surgery, but now everyone has, so he might be close to ready to go when games begin. 

Josh Donaldson was the big free agent splash, and it's fun to see the new guy in the "right" uniform. Jose Berrios is of course not a new Twin, and he's hopefully going to get 10-12 starts this season out of the team's 60 regular season games. Here's hoping he ends the year with even a few more than that, if you catch my meaning. 

Have you been checking in on the Topps NOW Turn Back The Clock offerings? There have been some fun ones in there!

Cards on Cards with Stickers

Kerry from Cards on Cards emailed me to let me know he had some cards to send me in PWE, little did I know there would be stickers, too!

Just in case you thought I only collect Twins, here's Barry Bonds, whose 2001 season could have been the combined production of two identical players. 

Another sticker! And I tried to find these Rosies on TCDB, but I couldn't place them. There's Panini Prizm, Donruss Optic, Donruss Holo... But these are 2019 Donruss Optic Prizms, which I can't seem to find an entry for... I was going to start being really vigilant about logging my cards into TCDB as soon as I acquire them, but I've already fallen behind.

Oh well, whatever they are, they are awesome. Thanks Kerry!

I Love The 80s - 1982 Minnesota Twins

This is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

The 1982 Minnesota Twins broke records. The only problem? They were records for most losses in Franchise history since moving to MN. They had the lowest attendance in the American League, drawing fewer than 1 Million fans, despite opening a new facility (to call the Metrodome a "ballpark" is an insult to ballparks). The 82 team finished with the worst record in baseball with just 60 wins against 102 losses. 

Despite the terrible win-loss record and sagging attendance, hindsight would prove that the 1982 season was the spark that started the team's two championship runs in '87 and '91. It would be the first full seasons for catcher Tim Laudner, third baseman Gary Gaetti, as well as the first year in a Twins uniform for Tom Brunansky and a breakout season for Kent Hrbek. In January, the team drafted a Junior College outfielder by the name of Kirby Puckett.

1982 was exactly the kind of season one would expect to see from a team in the midst of a rebuild.

The Cards:
Donruss #228 Hosken Powell - Powell was the Twins' first round pick (3rd Overall) in 1975, and was named to the 1978 Topps All-Star Rookie team. He would have his best season for the Twins in 1980, playing in a career high 137 games and stealing 14 bases. Powell would spend 1982 with the Toronto Blue Jays, and played one season in Mexico in 1985. 

Fleer #548 Sal Butera - One of the few highlights for the Twins in 1982 came in May. Butera set a team record by throwing out 4 base stealers in a single game. Later that same month, he would start a triple play. Former Twin Roy Smalley struck out, then Butera threw to Gaetti at 3rd base, who ran the lead runner back to second, where Graig Nettles was already standing. Nettles retreated to first, and Gaetti rifled the ball to Hrbek. Then the lead runner Bobby Murcer again tried to take 3rd base, but Hrbek fired back across the diamond, beating Murcer's slide. It was a fairly eventful season for the team's backup catcher, as Butera would appear in just 54 games for the Twins. His son Drew would also become a journeyman backup backstop, currently on the Rockies roster for a 3rd straight season.

Topps #222 Butch Wynegar - Wynegar was one of the Twins' better players in the late 70s and had been developing into a very good hitting catcher. This made him a very appealing trade chip for the Twins, and he would go to the Yankees with Roger Erickson for a trio of prospects and cash. The switch hitting Wynegar was a two time all-star in MN, making the squad as a 20 and 21 year old. After leading the league in stolen bases allowed in his rookie season, he would turn the tables and lead the AL in caught stealing the next two years. Injuries would limit his effectiveness in New York, though he did post a career high 3.6 WAR and 133 OPS+ in 1983. 

Fleer #562 Gary Ward - In just his 14th major league game, Gary Ward hit for the cycle, the earliest cycle for any player in MLB history. His son Daryle would also hit for the cycle, making them the first father-son duo to both achieve the feat. Ward the elder had a breakout season in 1982, hitting a career high 28 homers and even garnered an MVP vote. He would make his first All-Star team in 1983, and was promptly traded away by the Twins in the offseason to Texas. He would make another All-Star squad in 1985 when he would steal a career high 26 bases. Ward has been a hitting coach in the White Sox organization since 1999. 

Topps Traded #44T Kent Hrbek - Born in Bloomington, MN, Hrbek was a hometown hero. He grew up playing baseball on tiny fields in the shadow of Metropolitan Stadium, and was a 17th round pick by the Twins in 1978. Hrbek would finish second in the 1982 AL ROY voting, hitting 26 homers and driving in 92 runs. He was named to his first All-Star Squad. In 1984 he was the runner up for AL MVP, after a season in which the Twins would shake off the early 80s losing in favor of a fierce battle for the AL West division crown. Hrbek retired as the All-Time MLB leader for indoor homers, and as a 2-time World Series Champ. Hrbek has had many roles following his playing career, as a goodwill ambassador for the Twins, and as an avid hunter and fisherman even hosted his own outdoor TV show.

Donruss #179 Darrell Jackson - Jackson's first professional game after being drafted was a gem. He tossed 9 no hit innings in AA Orlando, and was called up to pitch for the major league team before the end of his first pro season. Jackson won 20 MLB games, all with the Twins. He scuffled a bit in 1982, going 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA pitching through shoulder issues. He was recently featured on a podcast talking about his time in High School with Ozzie Smith and Eddie Murray, his 1977 College World Series championship with Arizona State, and his work post playing career with a youth outreach program in Los Angeles.

Topps Traded #13T Tom Brunansky - In 1982, Brunansky set a career high with a 129 OPS+, hitting 20 homers and 30 doubles. An All-Star in 1985, Brunansky had over 1,500 career hits and scored 804 runs. Against the Tigers in the 1987 ALCS, he hit .412 with a pair of homers. "Bruno" was a big part of the Twins offense in the early to mid 80s, and the trade sending him to Saint Louis for Tommy Herr remains one of the least popular moves in Minnesota sports history (2nd place, of course, to the North Stars moving to Dallas). 

Donruss #130 Rob Wilfong - To acquire the aforementioned Brunansky, the Twins had to part with Rob Wilfong, who had been the team's starting 2nd baseman since 1978. Wilfong had a great season in 1979, leading the AL in range factor as a 2nd baseman, as well as sacrifice hits. The Twins had called up Gary Gaetti to play 3rd base, and moved John Castino to 2nd base, making Wilfong the odd man out. Wilfong would have success in California as well, playing in the 1986 ALCS and hitting .308 over 4 games. Wilfong was known as defensive whiz, leading the AL in fielding pct in 1980, and also was a regular on the Total Zone Runs leaderboard. 

Fleer #549 John Castino - Here's Johnny - for the 3rd time in 4 posts! Castino was the team's star in 1980 and 81, after being named the AL Rookie of the Year in 1979. He hit a career high .302 in 1980, and was the AL leader in Triples in 1981. He made the move from 3rd Base to 2nd to make room for rookie Gary Gaetti, and Castino outdid himself, leading the AL in Fielding pct. at his new position in 1982. His career was cut short at just the age of 29 due to a fused disc in his back. He was limited to just 8 games in 1984. It was a rough end to a promising career. And given the team's resurgence in 1984, it was another case of "What if?" How far would they have gone in 1984 if the team had had Castino as an everyday player? 

Many Happy Returns

In addition to the stack of 2020 Heritage, there was another stack of cards from Nick when he sent me a mailer last week. As is his usual method, there was a great variety of eras and oddballs!

Even though MLB is continuing to hold out hope for a partial 2020 season, I can't help but think of the things we've already lost - Luis Arraez was going to start his 2nd full season in Minnesota, and Nelson Cruz was looking at the final year of his Twins contract. Will Cruz retire after the 2020 season? Does this lost season change the decision making process at all? Yadier Molina has already said he wants to play in 2021, even if the Cardinals choose to not bring him back.

Some of the lesser seen releases from Topps, including National Baseball Card Day exclusives, the Home Run Challenge insert (Max Kepler was probably not going to hit as many this year, now that Trevor Bauer is in the National League), and a couple of Topps Stickers.

I flipped over the Nelson Cruz sticker for a surprise! I have added Aquino as a player I collect, will be interesting to see what his career trajectory will be.

Nick always includes some fun odd releases - Brian Harper is part of a set of All-Stars, and the two Orlando Rays were future Twins. Sorrento was one of a long line of potential Kent Hrbek replacements.

Some sweet Harmons and a Donruss pop up All-Star insert of Manager Tom Kelly.

These manufactured patches are fun. I was hoping the player's Players' Weekend Nickname would be on the card, but the patch itself is a neat addition. John Castino was probably the Twins' best player in 1981, and he was the guy added to the mix whenever Topps was looking for even representation of the teams. The 1981 Topps Scratchoff game came in Panels. There were 108 total panels, Castino was one of 3 Twins in the checklist.

Thanks again Nick, always fun to see what you've put together! Everyone, go vote for the 2nd Dimebox Champ!

baseball's back (on the other side of the world) - pack a lunch!

Baseball is back in South Korea, as the KBO is playing games in empty stadiums. I recently received an awesome mailer from Jim of cards as i see them and gcrl fame. It arrived right as I would have been going to a monthly card show, so it was a very welcome sight indeed. Park Byung-ho has been one of the biggest stars of the KBO, and he briefly played for the Twins, but adjusting MLB pitching combined with a nagging wrist issue resulted in a short tenure for the prodigious slugger.

Jim also tossed in a Tiny Joe Mauer!

This Upper Deck Flyball set was a new one to me, it combines some of the game elements of the sets like Victory on the back and a more traditional card design on the front.

A Rat!

It's a Smalley World after all.

I didn't have this Shane Rawley O-Pee-Chee, but do I call it a Twins card, or a Red Sox card?

Fan Favorite Mickey Hatcher was well represented as well.

As I continue to work on the Topps Heritage set, these two were needs - and these two bat rack (or bat rack adjacent) cards will find a nice home in my collection.

Vintage Harmon Killebrew is always a welcome addition!

In Rod We Trust - This 1978 Gino's Disc was a new one to me!

All of these cards came packaged in a unique way - this lunchbox is branded with Target's name, but it predates Target Field. The players are all Metrodome-Era Twins stars.

Thanks very much Jim, hopefully we'll get to run into each other at a card show again sometime soon. 

Thanks for reading!