2015 All-Star Stitches #55: Brandon Crawford

As a reminder, I went to the All-Star game & Home Run Derby in Cincinnati in 2015.  So I’m collecting this All-Star Stitches set from Topps Update 2015!  These cards have swatches from the Monday practice festivities.

This is the 55th card toward this set.  I bought this from COMC when I did a whole big purchase of a bunch of cards I needed in the fall.  I think it showed up in early October.

Card number:  STIT-BC

Player:  Brandon Crawford

How I got the card:  COMC purchase in October 2023

Position:  Shortstop

How he made the roster:  Crawford was voted in by the players as the shortstop reserve.

This was his 1st All-Star selection.

First half stat line:  .263/12/52, 42 R

All-Star game:  Crawford pinch ran for NL SS starter Jhonny Peralta in the 5th inning and then stayed in defensively.  He grounded out in 7th and had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th to score Ryan Braun for the last out of the game.  It was fairly meaningless – as the AL won, 6-2.  He had one assist at short defensively.

*********************

STIT-AB A.J. Burnett – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-AC Aroldis Chapman – Cincinnati Reds
STIT-AE Alcides Escobar – Kansas City Royals
STIT-AGN Adrian Gonzalez – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-AJ Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-AM Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-APO A.J. Pollock – Arizona Diamondbacks
STIT-APU Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels
STIT-AR Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs
STIT-BB Brad Boxberger – Tampa Bay Rays
STIT-BC Brandon Crawford – San Francisco Giants
STIT-BD Brian Dozier – Minnesota Twins
STIT-BG Brett Gardner – New York Yankees
STIT-BHA Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals
STIT-BHO Brock Holt – Boston Red Sox
STIT-BP Buster Posey – San Francisco Giants
STIT-CA Chris Archer – Tampa Bay Rays
STIT-CK Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-CM Carlos Martinez – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-CS Chris Sale – Chicago White Sox
STIT-DB Dellin Betances – New York Yankees
STIT-DK Dallas Keuchel – Houston Astros
STIT-DL DJ LeMahieu – Colorado Rockies
STIT-DO Darren O’Day – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-DP David Price – Detroit Tigers
STIT-FH Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
STIT-GC Gerrit Cole – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-GP Glen Perkins – Minnesota Twins
STIT-JA Jose Altuve – Houston Astros
STIT-JDE Jacob deGrom – New York Mets

STIT-JDO Josh Donaldson – Toronto Blue Jays
STIT-JK Jason Kipnis – Cleveland Indians
STIT-JM J.D. Martinez – Detroit Tigers
STIT-JPA Joe Panik – San Francisco Giants
STIT-JPD Joc Pederson – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-JPE Jhonny Peralta – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-JU Justin Upton – San Diego Padres
STIT-KB Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs
STIT-KH Kelvin Herrera – Kansas City Royals
STIT-LC Lorenzo Cain – Kansas City Royals
STIT-MB Madison Bumgarner – San Francisco Giants
STIT-MMA Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-MME Mark Melancon – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-MTE Mark Teixeira – New York Yankees
STIT-MTR Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels
STIT-NA Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies
STIT-NC Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners
STIT-PF Prince Fielder – Texas Rangers
STIT-PG Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks
STIT-RM Russell Martin – Toronto Blue Jays
STIT-SM Shelby Miller – Atlanta Braves
STIT-SP Salvador Perez – Kansas City Royals
STIT-SV Stephen Vogt – Oakland Athletics
STIT-TF Todd Frazier – Cincinnati Reds
STIT-TT Troy Tulowitzki – Colorado Rockies
STIT-WD Wade Davis – Kansas City Royals
STIT-YG Yasmani Grandal – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-YM Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-ZB Zach Britton – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-ZG Zack Greinke – Los Angeles Dodgers

Completed insert set – 2002 Topps All-World

Another set completed from COMC – this was a 2002 Topps flagship insert set that I really like.  And it’s actually the last insert set but – I haven’t finished the main set (as of this post) or the Traded set (which will take forever).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about the set:

Set description:  All-World was was a new (and ultimately one-time) insert set that was in 2002 Topps Series 2.  Here was my comment 8.5 years ago when I was posting about the 2002 Topps product:

“The only insert set specific to series 2 was the All-World Team.  Someday when I complete this set, I’ll figure out what the point is for it.  Since Todd Helton from Knoxville, Tennessee is in the set – it can’t be an international theme.”

Well, here I am and it’s almost 2024.  Apologies to my mid-2015 self, but I never figured this out.  It definitely has an international tilt – but there’s plenty of U.S. born players.  But not anywhere close enough to where they are setting up a Ryder Cup type matchup.  There’s every position, only because Albert Pujols played third base that one year.  So I don’t know.  Like I said, there’s an international tilt and the wording on the back sort of gets into where the player is from.

Set composition:  25 cards, 1:12 (2002 Topps series 2)

Hall of Famers:  9. Pedro Martine, Larry Walker, Mariano Rivera, Vladimir Guerrero, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza, Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez

How I put the set together:

• 3 cards from my series 2 Hobby box
• 2 cards from card shows (1 from the 2015 NSCC)
• 2 cards from a trade
• 9 cards from Sportlots
• 3 cards from Beckett
• 6 cards from COMC

Thoughts on the set:  It may be challenging to tell from my comments above – but I actually like this card set.  Quite a bit.  If Topps had just set the terms a bit better – I’d love it.  The set does have, in my opinion, a cool design.  It’s super thick, and the write-ups on the back are fun.

Card that completed my set: #AW2 – Barry Bonds, AW18 – Roger Clemens

Got both of these from COMC recently.  Usually pick a last card in that situation, but since these guys are always gonna be linked – I’ll keep it that way in this post.

Best card (my opinion): #AW22 – Hideo Nomo, AW25 – Chan Ho Park

But either way, it’s a sort-of International themed set and if you can get Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo into an insert set in 2002 – I’m good.  Both players were big impacted to my card hobby appreciation as a teenager – particularly Park – so I’m all in on this part and these 2 cards.  I also really like the Bonds picture above.  If I had to pick one – I’d go with Chan Ho Park.

Best Reds card (my opinion): #AW12 – Ken Griffey Jr.

As was the case sometimes around this timeframe – the only one.

Here’s the whole set.

Any other tidbits:  By where they were born, which is on the back of the card, here’s the breakdown.

• 11 – U.S.A.
• 5 – Dominican Republic
• 3 – Japan
• 2 – Puerto Rico
• 1 – Canada
• 1 – Venezuela
• 1 – Panama
• 1 – S. Korea

Completed set – 2012 Allen & Ginter

I finished up the 2012 Ginter set with the COMC purchase I made about 3 months ago (that came about 1 month ago).  I only collected Ginter for 2 years, and now I’ve finished both base sets.  I like this design a little better than 2011, but I think I liked the insert themes in 2011 a little more.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my set:

How I put the set (non-SP / then SP) together:

• 138 (126/12) cards from my first hobby box
• 9 (5/4) cards from retail packs
• 61 (59/2) cards from a case break by Nachos Grande
• 99 (89/10) cards from trades
• 7 regular cards from Beckett Marketplace
• 31 (14/17) cards from Sportlots
• 5 SP cards from Check Out My Cards

Card that completed my set: #345 – Nolan Ryan

One of 2 cards from COMC I got recently, this is the one I like best!

General Set Info:

Set composition: 350 cards (287 current players, 30 retired players, 1 retired umpire, 32 popular figures / other sports)

Earliest active player from this set: #197 – Ty Cobb (retired players), #204 – Jim Thome (active players)

There’s two answers to this – Thome is the earliest active player from this timeframe – he made his debut of September 4, 1991.  But Ty Cobb is the earliest retired player – debuting August 30, 1905.  In 2012, Topps went from only having Mickey Mantle in the set to having 30 retired players.

Player with the most cards in the set: every player has just 1

First Card and the Hundreds: #1 – Albert Pujols, #100 – Troy Tulowitzki, #200 – Matt Kemp, #300 – Roberto Clemente

Highest book value: #140 – Mike Trout

This card does not look like Trout at all.  It’s a little more than the Harper RC as far as Beckett says.

Most notable card: #157 – Roger Federer

Best card (my opinion): #157 – Roger Federer

In 2011 it was Manny Pacquiao – in 2012 the big Champion was Roger Federer.  I’m a big Federer fan, and while I think this wouldn’t be nearly as big of a deal today – in 2012 having the G.O.A.T. (who has now probably been surpassed) was just that.

I love having this card in this set, regardless!

Second best card (also my opinion): #75 – Erin Andrews

11 years ago I was way too stoked about Erin Andrews having a card in Allen & Ginter.  Still pretty cool, and I wish the old Gameday crew would still be around.

Best subset card: N/A

Favorite action photo: #229 – Ichiro Suzuki

A&G isn’t really made for action shots – this one is pretty cool though.

Favorite non-action photo: #254 – Rickey Henderson

Fits well with the card set, a photo of a younger Rickey that wasn’t too heavily used (at least at the time).

My Favorite Reds card: #74 – Johnny Cueto

The Reds were so good in 2012.  Cueto always reminds me of that.  I think if he hadn’t gotten injured in game 1 of the opening series, we beat the eventual champion Giants and then … who knows?

Other Notable Cards:  Justin Verlander and Kate Upton did not start dating until 2014 – but they both made the Allen & Ginter 2012 set!

UPDATED Old Post – The Ghost of 3,000 Hits Past

Just going back to update all the 3,000 hit dates!  This was a post I did back in 2011 when the Yankee Captain reached 3,000 hits.  At the time there were a bunch of guys who seemed like they could (and some did) reach 3,000 hits.

Now we’re in an in-between timeframe for this.  There are no more current players with 3,000 hits.  Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve seem like the guys with the best chance, but they are very far away.

So here we go:

********************

#1 – Cap Anson – 1894 or 1897*.  (between 3,045 and 3,011*)

* – depending on what you count.  Anson played in the National Association (NA) from 1871-1875, which was a pre-cursor to the National League.  If you count his hits from then, he’s around 3,400 hits. If you don’t count them, he’s either at 3,012 or 3,018.  1897 assumes you don’t count the NA hits.

#2 –  Honus Wagner – June 9, 1914.  Double off Erskine Mayer, Philadelphia Phillies.  Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, PA.  (3,415)

#3 – Nap Lajoie – September 27, 1914.  Double off Marty McHale, New York Yankees.  League Park, Cleveland, OH.  (3,242)

#4 – Ty Cobb – August 19, 1921.  Single off Elmer Myers, Boston Red Sox.  Navin Field, Detroit.  (4,191**)

** – Listed as either 4,189 or 4,191 due to a possible double-counted game in 1910.  Cobb is still the youngest player to reach this mark.

#5 – Tris Speaker – May 17, 1925.  Single off Tom Zachary, Washington Senators.  League Park, Cleveland, OH.  (3,514)

Zachary also gave up Babe Ruth’s 60th home run in 1927.

#6 – Eddie Collins – June 3, 1925.  Single off Rip Collins, Detroit Tigers.  Navin Field, Detroit, MI.  (3,315)

Ty Cobb was the opposing player-manager against Chicago that day – the first time a fellow 3,000 hit member was present at another player’s 3,000th hit.

#7 – Paul Waner – June 19, 1942.  Single off Rip Sewell, Pittsburgh Pirates.  Braves Field, Boston, MA. (3,152)

#8 – Stan Musial – May 13, 1958.  Double off Moe Drabowsky, Chicago Cubs.  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL. (3,630)

#9 – Hank Aaron – May 17, 1970.  Single off Wayne Simpson, Cincinnati Reds.  Crosley Field, Cincinnati, OH.  (3,771)

Aaron also hit his 714th home run in Cincinnati.

#10 – Willie Mays – July 18, 1970.  Single off Mike Wegener, Montreal Expos.  Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA.  (3,283)

#11 – Roberto Clemente – September 30, 1972.  Double off Jon Matlack, New York Mets.  Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA.  (3,000)

If I was asked, what’s the most incredible story in the history of major league baseball, I’d have to say it’s the tale of Clemente, his 3,000th hit, and subsequent tragic death.

#12 – Al Kaline – September 24, 1972.  Double off Dave McNally, Baltimore Orioles.  Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD. (3,007)

#13 – Pete Rose – May 5, 1978.  Single off Steve Rogers, Montreal Expos.  Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH.  (4,256)

#14 – Lou Brock – August 13, 1979.  Single off Dennis Lamp, Chicago Cubs.  Busch Stadium (#2), St. Louis, MO.  (3,023)

#15 – Carl Yastrzemski – September 12, 1979.  Single off Jim Beattie, New York Yankees.  Fenway Park, Boston, MA.  (3,419)

#16 – Rod Carew – August 4, 1985.  Single off Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins.  Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CA.  (3,053)

#17 – Robin Yount – September 9, 1992.  Single off Jose Mesa, Cleveland Indians.  County Stadium, Milwaukee, WI.  (3,142)

#18 – George Brett – September 30, 1992.  Single off Tim Fortugno, California Angels.  Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CA.  (3,154)

#19 – Dave Winfield – September 16, 1993.  Single off Dennis Eckersley, Oakland Athletics.  Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN.  (3,110)

Winfield was picked 2nd overall in the 1972 MLB Amateur Player Draft, one spot ahead of fellow member Yount.

#20 – Eddie Murray – June 30, 1995.  Single off Mike Trombley, Minnesota Twins.  Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN.  (3,255)

3,000 hit member Winfield was Murray’s teammate in 1995.  Though he was on the DL at the time Murray recorded his 3,000th hit, he was one of the first players out of the dugout to congratulate his teammate.

#21 – Paul Molitor – September 16, 1996.  Triple off Jose Rosado, Kansas City Royals.  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO.  (3,319)

Molitor and Winfield got their 3,000th hit exactly 3 years apart while playing for their team from their hometown Minnesota Twins.

#22 – Tony Gwynn – August 6, 1999.  Single off Dan Smith, Montreal Expos.  Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.   (3,141)

Like Molitor (University of Minnesota), Gwynn (San Diego St.) played college ball in the same city as the team he got his 3,000th hit for.

#23 – Wade Boggs – August 7, 1999.  Home run off Chris Haney, Cleveland Indians.  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL.  (3,010)

#24 – Cal Ripken – April 15, 2000.  Single off Hector Carrasco, Minnesota Twins.  Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN.  (3,184)

Eddie Murray, fellow 3,000 hit member, was the first to congratulate Cal – he was the first base coach for the Orioles.

#25 – Rickey Henderson – October 7, 2001.  Double off John Thompson, Colorado Rockies.  Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA.  (3,055)

This was Rickey’s teammate and fellow 3,000 hit member Tony Gwynn’s last game.

#26 – Rafael Palmeiro – July 15, 2005.  Double off Joel Piniero, Seattle Mariners.  Safeco Field, Seattle, WA.  (3,020)

#27 – Craig Biggio – June 28, 2007.  Single off Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies.  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX.  (3,060)

#28 – Derek Jeter – July 9, 2011.  Home run off David Price.  Yankee Stadium (#2), New York, NY.  (3,465)

#29 – Alex Rodriguez – June 19, 2015.  Home run off Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers.  Yankee Stadium, New York, NY.  (3,115)

#30 – Ichiro Suzuki – August 7, 2016.  Triple off Chris Rusin, Colorado Rockies.  Coors Field, Denver, CO.  (3,089)

#31 – Adrian Beltre – August 30, 2017.  Double off Wade Miley, Baltimore Orioles.  Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX.  (3,166)

#32 – Albert Pujols – May 4, 2018.  Single off Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners.  Safeco Field, Seattle, WA.  (3,384)

#33 – Miguel Cabrera – April 23, 2022.  Single off Antonio Senzatela, Colorado Rockies.  Comerica Park, Detroit, MI.  (3,174)

 

Other info about the 28 players with 3,000 hits

Amazingly, 7 different seasons have seen 2 players reach 3,000 hits – 1914, 1925, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1992, and 1999.

Both the 1970’s and 1990’s saw 7 players reach the 3,000 hit plateau.

The longest stretch between members was the 17+ years between Collins and Waner.  The shortest was the one day between Gwynn and Boggs.

September is the most common month (8 entrants)

May 17, August 7th September 16th and September 30th have seen 2 hitters reach the milestone.

Both Clemente and Henderson got their 3,000th hit on the last game of the year.  Thus, you can find cards of them with “3,000” at the bottom of the hit total.

2 teams, (both expansion teams) the Twins and Expos, have both given up 3,000 hits on 3 separate occasions.

2 teams – the Indians/Guardians and the Tigers – have had 3 players reach the milestone in their uniform.

The Indians/Guardians, Twins and now the Tigers have the distinction of seeing the most games – 5 – with 3,000 hits.

Colorado has seen 4 players reach 3,000 – pretty amazing for a city that has only had a franchise for 30 years or so.

Waner, Brock, and Carew all reached the milestone against their former team.

Of the 3,000 hit club members, 18 players batted right, 13 batted left, and Murray and Pete Rose are the only switch-hitters with 3,000 hits.

As noted above, there have been 4 occasions when a current member of the club was in uniform at the game where the newest member reached the milestone – twice as teammates, once as a coach for the same team, and once as a player-manager for the other team.

No player has been on a World Series winning team (or even made the series) in the year he got his 3,000th hit.

Jeter and Craig Biggio had 5 hits the day they collected #3,000.

Lifetime batting averages range from .276 (Ripken) to .366 (Cobb – the all-time leader).

Home Run totals range from 47 (Collins) to 755 (Aaron).

Miguel Cabrera – 3,000 hits

Updating some previous posts I used to do – with Miguel Cabrera retiring this year, it reminded me I didn’t do a 3,000 hits post for him.

#33 – Miguel Cabrera – April 23, 2022.  Single off Antonio Senzatela, Colorado Rockies.  Comerica Park, Detroit, MI.  (3,174 when he hung up the cleats)

 

Updating for the 3,000 hits club is something I’ve done since the inception of this blog.  It seems like I should catch up on this one!  Early in the 2018 season, Albert Pujols stamped his place into that club as the 32nd member, and Cabrera followed him up a few years later.

3,000 hits was one of many milestones for Cabrera; he’s still the only player to collect a Batting Triple Crown since humans walked on the moon.  He finished with 511 homers (though his power was all but gone the final 4 of 5 years of his career) and 1,881 RBI.

Next up on this list is hard to predict.  It will be a long while, though I’d assume any odds based projections start with Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve.  For now, this Tiger will keep his status as the most recent member.

Completed set – 2012 Panini Golden Age

This is the last from my Beckett Marketplace completed sets.  I collected the first 2 years Panini did the Golden Age set, but had not quite gotten around to finishing off either of the base sets.  Cross this one off the list.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my set:

How I put the set together:

• 112 cards from my hobby box
• 27 cards from Sportlots
• 2 cards from a card show
• 5 cards from Beckett Marketplace

Card that completed my set: #59 – Bobby Thomson (1 of 5 cards I got from Beckett Marketplace)

General Set Info:

Set composition: 146 cards (115 athletes, 31 famous figures)

There are 115 athletes

• 78 Baseball
• 9 Horse Racing (5 horses, 4 jockeys, 1 owner)
• 6 Golf (5 men, 1 women)
• 6 Olympian (4 track & field, xx Gymnasts, 2 Swimming)
• 5 Basketball
• 3 Boxing
• 3 Football
• 3 Auto Racing
• 1 Chess
• 1 Ice Hockey

There are 31 non-athletes / “famous figures” in the set

• 15 Actors
• 7 Political Figures (6 U.S. Presidents)
• 3 Vehicles
• 2 Journalists
• 1 Businessmen
• 1 Musician (Jazz)
• 1 Author
• 1 Mythical Creature

Earliest active player from this set:

Baseball – #5 – Sam Crawford

Crawford has always been something of a favorite of mine in baseball history, so I think this is a good addition.  The all-time triples leader is the only MLB player who debuted in the 19th century from this set.  He played for the Red Stockings from 1899-1903 before really doing his main damage for the Tigers.  He made his MLB debut in September 1899.

All sports – #6 Battling Nelson

Nelson was one of the early Lightweight boxing champions.  He won the world title in 1904, but his first professional fight was in September 1896.

Overall – #1 Edgar Allen Poe

Poe’s writing career began in the 1830’s.  One of the nice things about this set – it generally goes chronologically so this stuff wasn’t too difficult to figure out!

Player with the most cards in the set:  The 3 stooges have one card each and a card with all 3 of them.

First Card and the Hundreds: Given the set size, this doesn’t make a ton of sense to do.  I’ll say – Poe is card #1 and Gene Tenace was card #100.

Most notable card: #9 – Joe Jackson

A big selling point on this set was the inclusion of all 8 members from the Black Sox scandal who were banned from baseball for life.  Of course, Shoeless Joe is the most notable of those 8.  Pete Rose is also in the set (see below), so having both of those 2 made for some headlines in the hobby at the time.

Best card (my opinion): #84 – Frank Robinson

Any time you find a Triple Crown shot, even if it came at the expense of the Reds, I’m all over it.

Second best card (also my opinion): #34 – Jimmie Foxx

I think of Foxx as a First baseman – but this is a good reminder he started as a catcher.  The old school catcher’s mask up-front and close is super cool.  The thing definitely makes me thing of prison in some fashion.  And – I question if the section for his eyes is actually wider than a baseball!

Best subset card: N/A

Favorite action photo: #67 – Al Kaline

This isn’t a set with a ton of action photos, and a set like this often will lend itself more to posed shots.  But this is one of the few ones and it’s really good – a lot of people watching to do in the background.

Favorite non-action photo: #34 – Jimmie Foxx

Going purely on the photo – the Foxx card is the best.

My Favorite Reds card: #118 – Pete Rose

Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez all have cards.  This is the best to me.

Other Notable Cards: I think I’ve covered quite a few above!  But here’s all the cards of the Eight Men Out.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #100 Terrapin – Pastime Pale Ale

I posted the Los Bravos beer a few weeks ago, now that the season’s over I’m circling back with the other baseball themed beer from Terrapin.

Brewery:  Terrapin Beer Co. in Athens, GA

Beer:  Terrapin Pastime Pale Ale

Description:  “From Boston, via Milwaukee, to Atlanta, Georgia, the Braves franchise has been playing professional baseball continuously for 150 years. To celebrate, we have created “Pastime Pale Ale” honoring this amazing milestone. Brewed with a blend of unique specialty malts plus traditional and Cryo hops for a home run of flavor, we encourage y’all to lift a pint and cheers to this momentous occasion!”

This beer must have come out in 2021 to coincide with the 150 year

I got a 6-pack of this one as well on my golf trip, it was better to have after the rounds as opposed to on the course.  A bit hoppy and bitter, which is up my alley!

Medium:  Draft, 16-oz and now 12-0z cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  Brewed by local Georgia brewery Terrapin in honor of the Braves franchise, and as described – to commemorate 150 years of them being a franchise.  Cheers to Harry Wright!

You can get this beer at Braves games, obviously.

2015 All-Star Stitches #54: Kris Bryant

As a reminder, I went to the All-Star game & Home Run Derby in Cincinnati in 2015.  So I’m collecting this All-Star Stitches set from Topps Update 2015!  These cards have swatches from the Monday practice festivities.

This is the 54th card toward this set.  It’s the one card I bought from my recent Beckett Marketplace splurge, though I think have a few more coming from COMC.

Card number:  STIT-KB

Player:  Kris Bryant

How I got the card:  Beckett Marketplace purchase in September 2023

Position:  3rd base / Left field

How he made the roster:  Bryant was selected as an injury placement reserve by Bruce Bochy for Giancarlo Stanton

As a rookie (controversially so back in 2015 due to the Cubs reluctance to call him up) – this was his 1st All-Star selection.

First half stat line:  .269/12/51, 47 R

All-Star game:  Bryant came in as a defensive replacement for fellow rookie Joc Pederson in the top of the 6th inning.  He walked in the 7th and flew out for the 2nd-to-last out of the game, with no action in the field.

*********************

STIT-AB A.J. Burnett – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-AC Aroldis Chapman – Cincinnati Reds
STIT-AE Alcides Escobar – Kansas City Royals
STIT-AGN Adrian Gonzalez – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-AJ Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-AM Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-APO A.J. Pollock – Arizona Diamondbacks
STIT-APU Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels
STIT-AR Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs
STIT-BB Brad Boxberger – Tampa Bay Rays
STIT-BC Brandon Crawford – San Francisco Giants
STIT-BD Brian Dozier – Minnesota Twins
STIT-BG Brett Gardner – New York Yankees
STIT-BHA Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals
STIT-BHO Brock Holt – Boston Red Sox
STIT-BP Buster Posey – San Francisco Giants
STIT-CA Chris Archer – Tampa Bay Rays
STIT-CK Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-CM Carlos Martinez – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-CS Chris Sale – Chicago White Sox
STIT-DB Dellin Betances – New York Yankees
STIT-DK Dallas Keuchel – Houston Astros
STIT-DL DJ LeMahieu – Colorado Rockies
STIT-DO Darren O’Day – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-DP David Price – Detroit Tigers
STIT-FH Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
STIT-GC Gerrit Cole – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-GP Glen Perkins – Minnesota Twins
STIT-JA Jose Altuve – Houston Astros
STIT-JDE Jacob deGrom – New York Mets

STIT-JDO Josh Donaldson – Toronto Blue Jays
STIT-JK Jason Kipnis – Cleveland Indians
STIT-JM J.D. Martinez – Detroit Tigers
STIT-JPA Joe Panik – San Francisco Giants
STIT-JPD Joc Pederson – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-JPE Jhonny Peralta – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-JU Justin Upton – San Diego Padres
STIT-KB Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs
STIT-KH Kelvin Herrera – Kansas City Royals
STIT-LC Lorenzo Cain – Kansas City Royals
STIT-MB Madison Bumgarner – San Francisco Giants
STIT-MMA Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-MME Mark Melancon – Pittsburgh Pirates
STIT-MTE Mark Teixeira – New York Yankees
STIT-MTR Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels
STIT-NA Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies
STIT-NC Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners
STIT-PF Prince Fielder – Texas Rangers
STIT-PG Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks
STIT-RM Russell Martin – Toronto Blue Jays
STIT-SM Shelby Miller – Atlanta Braves
STIT-SP Salvador Perez – Kansas City Royals
STIT-SV Stephen Vogt – Oakland Athletics
STIT-TF Todd Frazier – Cincinnati Reds
STIT-TT Troy Tulowitzki – Colorado Rockies
STIT-WD Wade Davis – Kansas City Royals
STIT-YG Yasmani Grandal – Los Angeles Dodgers
STIT-YM Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals
STIT-ZB Zach Britton – Baltimore Orioles
STIT-ZG Zack Greinke – Los Angeles Dodgers

Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Archives Classic Combinations

This is the last of the 2012 Archives insert sets for me to complete.  This one was based on a 1958 subset – I finished it last month (or this month if you factor in when I got around to cataloguing this stuff).

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about the set:

Set description:  10 Classic Combos honoring the 1958 subset – which was arguably the first subset in baseball card history – and the dual player cards in that set. Topps put a twist on that by matching a current player up with a star from today on the same team.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:32 (retail only)

Hall of Famers: 11 – George Brett, Al Kaline, Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ryne Sandberg, Whitey Ford, Mike Schmidt, Roy Halladay, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski

Doc Halladay with the nod as the only current player to be inducted, though that will go up.

How I put the set together:

• 1 card in a trade (Cardboard Catastrophes)
• 2 cards from the NSCC
• 3 cards from Sportlots
• 1 card from eBay
• 2 card from COMC
• 1 card from Beckett Marketplace

Thoughts on the set:  I like revisiting the design of older subsets, and staying mostly true to the original.  There are some other “Combos” subsets Topps has done as inserts.  2000 and 2001 Topps did an insert that was it’s own design.  The Heritage product usually mimics it’s tribute set – so for example, the same year as this, 2012 Heritage, has a subset that looks like the combos subset from 1963 Topps.

I kind of like what Topps did in 2000 and 2001 the best.  But this is cool, nonetheless.

Card that completed my set: #58-YE Yastrzemski & Ellsbury

I picked up this card from Beckett Marketplace last month.

Best card (my opinion):  #68-VB Votto & Bench

I think this is the best combination across teams.  You have 2 guys who are very singularly associated with their team who won an MVP there.  The others tend to be guys who were good players and either you have a pitcher with a hitter (Mays & Lincecum or Schmidt & Doc) that doesn’t really seem connected, or guys who didn’t quite pan out to the extent the old-time Hall of Famer did (Hosmer or Castro).

Kaline & Cabrera and Koufax / Kershaw were definitely the other ones I’d consider, with Ford and Sabathia pretty cool, too.

My Favorite Reds card: #68-VB Votto & Bench

Duh.

Here’s a scan of the whole set:

 

Any other tidbits:  Here’s a pretty fun post I did comparing old and new for these 2 retail subsets from 2012 Topps Archives:

Completed insert set – 2012 Allen & Ginter mini Man’s Best Friend

I collected Ginter in 2011 and 2012 (only) – so I’m trying to finish up some of the insert sets from those 2 years.  I knocked off the one remaining card from my recent Beckett purchases.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “20 cards celebrating some of the most popular breeds of man’s most popular companion.”  These are horizontally oriented mini cards with the doggie depicted on the front and a write-up on the breed on the back.

Set composition: 20 cards, 1:5 odds (2012 Allen & Ginter’s)

I only got one of these in my box – I think it’s that the insert minis are 1:5 in total

Hall of Famers: Not a sports set.

Card that completed my set: #MBF-8 Labrador Retriever

I got this card from Beckett Marketplace last month.

How I put the set together:

• 1 card from the Ginter hobby box I bought
• 1 card from a retail pack
• 1 card from a Ginter case break I did back in 2012
• 2 cards from a card show
• 5 cards from Sportlots
• 3 cards from Beckett Marketplace
• 7 cards from COMC

Thoughts on the set:  This is one of the many sets that makes Ginter unique, though it isn’t the most interesting one since there are a lot of sets that have various dogs on it. I do like that there’s some reading on the backs – sometimes Topps just puts a checklist.

Best card (my opinion): #MBF-6 Dachshund

Pretty easy choice – I’m a dachshund owner!  He’s a lot older these days than this picture from ~12 years ago.

Here’s the scan of the full set.

Any other tidbits:  There’s been a lot of sets about dogs, I learned looking into this that Upper Deck did a “Canine Collection” set.  Oh how the mighty have fallen.