Rating the Rookie Cups - 1988

I am feeling a little bit of (welcome) pressure this week on Feature Friday after the wonderful outpouring of support for last week's first edition of Rating the Rookie Cups.  I agree that this idea is one of my better ones and I hope I can do it some justice.  I will also be adding a weekly Rookie Cup trivia question (sorry, no prizes other than bragging rights and the thrill of victory) and a sneak peek at next week's team to be rated at the end of this post.

On the block this week is one of the great rookie teams of my youth, the 1987 Topps All Star Rookie Team as shown on 1988 Topps cards.  This is my all time favorite set for implementing the actual rookie cup into the design.  It is also the first Rookie Cup team to feature a future Rockie, two in fact.  There were definitely some memorable rookies in that year, so let's see if Topps got it right and how everything turned out.

Once again ratings will be on a 1-10 scale for both rookie year and career.

Matt Nokes - Detroit - C -                 (Rookie)  8    (Career)  4
Mark McGwire - Oakland - 1B -       (Rookie)  10  (Career)  9
Casey Candaele - Montreal - 2B -      (Rookie)  4    (Career)  3

Kevin Seitzer - Kansas City - 3B -     (Rookie)  10  (Career) 6
Al Pedrique - Pittsburgh - SS -           (Rookie)  2    (Career) 2

Ellis Burks - Boston - OF -                 (Rookie)  7  (Career) 7
Mike Greenwell - Boston - OF -         (Rookie)  6  (Career) 5
Devon White - California - OF -         (Rookie)  8  (Career) 7

Mike Dunne - Pittsburgh - RHP -           (Rookie)  6  (Career) 2
Jeff Musselman - Toronto - LHP -          (Rookie)  4  (Career) 2



Strongest Team Members (in 1987) - Mark McGwire, Kevin Seitzer, Matt Nokes

Strongest Team Members (Career) - Mark McGwire, Ellis Burks, Devon White

Weakest Team Members (in 1987) - Al Pedrique, Jeff Musselman, Casey Candaele

Weakest Team Members (Career) - Al Pedrique, Mike Dunne, Jeff Musselman

Rockies on the team (Present and future) - 2 - Matt Nokes, Ellis Burks

Overall Team Rating (1-10 compared to other RAST teams)   8
This was a very strong team in 1987 and, aside from the pitchers, put together some pretty good careers.  
Whether you like McGwire or not, it's nearly impossible to argue that his career shouldn't be at least in the discussion for the Hall of Fame.  Burks and White had over 2,000 career hits as well.  Seitzer, Greenwell, and Nokes each put together solid 10+ year careers as well.  Pitching and middle infield is the only thing holding this team down.

WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA

Here are the players I feel should have been on this Rookie All Star Team.  This is based on rookie year data only.

Catcher - Matt Nokes - Detroit

This is one of the toughest positions to decide with several strong candidates such as B.J. Surhoff, Terry Steinbach, and 1987 NL Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago.  Nokes was just too strong with his 32 homers.

First Base - Mark McGwire - Oakland

A no brainer with 1987 AL Rookie of the Year McGwire having one of the best rookie years of all time, power-wise.  The competition was slight as well with only half-seasons of Rafael Palmeiro and Fred McGriff.

Second Base - Jerry Browne - Texas

This is one of those instances where I have no idea what Topps was thinking.  Browne and Candaele had nearly identical stats with games played, at bats, and hits.  However, Browne had 15 more RBIs and 20 more steals.

Third Base - Kevin Seitzer - Kansas City

Seitzer was way too strong for partial seasons of Dave Magadan and Ken Caminiti.  Almost any other year would have seen a Rookie of the Year Award for Seitzer.

Shortstop - Al Pedrique - Pittsburgh

A very weak class of shortstops leads to Pedrique holding onto the win.  Matt Williams, his main competition and yes a SS in 1987, only hit .188 in a partial season.

Outfield - Devon White - California, Ellis Burks - Boston, Mike Greenwell - Boston

These positions were also very difficult to choose because of the immense competition involved.  Left out were Bo Jackson, Chris James, Bob Brower, and Tracy Jones...all of whom would have made it in many other years.

RHP - Mike Dunne - Pittsburgh

This was a close three way race between Dunne, Chris Bosio of the Brewers, and reliever Mike Henneman of the Tigers.  Bosio led in K's and Henneman in ERA, but Dunne was very close behind in both categories while leading in victories so he gets the nod.

LHP - Joe Magrane - St. Louis

Joe Magrane outpaced Musselman in ERA and strikeouts by a wide margin.  The only thing Musselman had was victories.  Relatively easy choice here.

TRIVIA QUESTION

Which two players selected for the Topps All Star Team (for all seasons) did not get a card in the set that should have featured their cup card? 

(answer to appear next week, but feel free to guess in the comments)

NEXT WEEK'S PREVIEW

The 1979 team appearing on 1980 Topps (well most of them anyway)


Thanx for reading.

Todd and the Todd-lers Thursdays #2

I will continue on the one card wonders theme that I have been exploring this week with the members that debuted during the Todd and the Todd-lers era of 2000-2005.  Actually, I will be splitting this era in half with the first half (A-H) being shown this week, because there are a lot of players from this era that fall into my one card wonder category.  Part two featuring players (J-W) will appear next week.  I was going to separate them based on year, but the overwhelming majority of these players debuted between 2000-2002.  Since this is Todd and the Todd-lers Thursday, I will also show off a single theme with Todd Helton to start things off.  I have three Rockies cards of Todd Helton that show him in different non-Rockies uniforms, so in a way they are each one card wonders.

Todd Helton

Total Cards Owned = 558

We start the journey with a 1995 SP Top Prospects card featuring the Asheville Tourists uniform.  This is the earliest Rockies Helton card that I possess, as of now.  The middle card features the uniform from the All Star Game that ruined All Star Games forever, the 2002 tie game that led to the silly home field advantage rule.  The final card is from the 2001 Twizzlers Big League Challenge, which was a skills contest helde before Spring Training that year.  I have absolutely no memory of this event, so I'm glad I have the card.

TODD-LER OF THE WEEK

The One Card Wonders (well half of them anyway)

Total cards owned = 1 each

The one set that probably come to mind when thinking of the 2000-2005 era is Topps Total.  That was the heyday of this almost universally missed set.  The inaugural 2002 edition provided me with 3 one card wonders.  Joe Davenport pitched in 7 games in 2001 and this is a true one cad wonder.  He is also a one card wonder for the White Sox, only appearing on 1999 Fleer Tradition Update in that uniform.  Mario Encarnacion played in 20 games for the 2001 Rockies after being acquired in a mid-season trade.  Unfortunately, he passed away in 2005.  Ross Gload has actually had a decent 10 year career in big league baseball.  He appeared in 26 games for the 2002 Rockies before moving to (slightly) more notoriety elsewhere.

Topps Total came out with three more years of wonderful sets and I got a single one card wonder from each of them.  The great thing about Topps Total is that it hit the flagship's three major weak spots: the back up catcher, the non-closing middle reliever, and non-rookie cup of coffee guys.  Bobby Estalella falls into the first category serving as the back up catcher in 2002-2003 for 84 games.  Adam Bernero fittingly is the middle category.  He pitched 47 games for the 2003-04 Rockies after being acquired from Detroit.  Alfredo Amezaga fits the last category, twice actually.  He had two different cup of coffee stints with the Rockies, in 2005 and in 2011, appearing in 22 games total.  This card goes along with his his first go-around.

Sometimes the one card wonder is a player that only got one quick taste of the majors and sometimes it is a veteran that only stayed for a short while .  These two cards symbolize the former.  Bubba Carpenter, shown on 2000 Bowman Draft, spent nine years in the Yankees minor league system before finally getting his lone chance at age 31 with the 2000 Rockies.  He lasted 15 games before moving on to Japan.  Tim Christman, shown on one of my least favorite sets ever 2001 Topps Fusion, was a somewhat highly-touted pitching prospect that had the injury bug.  He missed two complete minor league seasons, before getting his shot in the majors with the 2001 Rockies.  That shot lasted all of a single game and 2 innings total.  It's a shame, but he still made the bigs.

These two cards symbolize the latter category.  Jeff Frye, shown on a 2001 Topps card, spent several successful season with both Texas and Boston before arriving in Colorado.  He played a total of 37 games with the 2000 Rockies before moving on.  Sandy Alomar Jr., shown on a 2002 Topps Traded Gold card, had been a really good catcher on the 1990s Indians.  His 38 game stint with the 2002 Rockies probably began his transformation from star catcher into journeyman back up catcher.  As an aside, this card is a serial numbered gold card that is easier to acquire than the base card because Topps had the asinine idea to make the first 100 cards in 2002 Topps Traded short prints. 

Two more one card wonders that come from 2006 Upper Deck for a total of six from this one set.  Man, I really miss them as a full-fledged baseball card company.  Monopolies are never a good thing.  Anyway, Danny Ardoin is another example of the back up catcher with only one card.  He played in 115 combined games for the 2005-2006 Rockies.  David Cortes was a pretty good middle reliever for the 2005-2006 Rockies.  He pitched in 80 games and had a decent 4.17 ERA.  He went to the Mexican League for several years following the 2006 season.

This 2002 Donruss Rookies Mark Corey is interesting for one reason.  Mark Corey didn't join the Rockies until the last day of July, 2002 in the Jay Payton trade.  Until then he was a rookie pitcher for the Mets.  I guess this set didn't come out until very late 2002.  He pitched in 14 games for the Rockies before moving on to Pittsburgh.  Most people would incorrectly see this 2001 Fleer Platinum card as Josh Beckett's rookie card.  They would be wrong for two reasons.  One, Josh Beckett's true rookie card is in 1999 Fleer Tradition Update.  And two, this is a freaking Craig House card anyway.  House pitched in 16 games for the 2000 Rockies and, just like Jeff McCurry yesterday, was surpisingly born in Japan.  He qualified as the 17th Japanese-born player to hit the majors.



As I said earlier this is just 50% of the one card wonders from the Todd and the Todd-lers era.  Next week I will be back with the exciting conclusion of this look at the Rockies short timers.  Thanx for reading.

Wednesday Bombers #2

Yesterday I showed the modern Rockies of which I have only one card in a Rockies uniform.  I have christened them "one card wonders" after the famous music term.  Today I will be showing the one card wonders that debuted during the Blake Street Bombers era.  Most of these will be the guys you have long since forgotten about, if you ever knew them in the first place.  However, there are a couple of grizzled veterans and notable names on this list as well.  Let's take a look at the 20th century Rockies.

BOMBERS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The One Card Wonders

Total Cards Owned = 1 each

There are no Rockies that debuted in 1993 or 1994 on my one card wonder list, nor will there be according to my lists, so I'll start with 1995 debuts.  Jorge Brito, pictured on a 1995 Fleer Update card, was the first in a long line of "can't miss" prospect catchers.  They have all missed so far, but Brito did appear in 26 games for Colorado in 1995 and 1996.  One of the more notable names on this list is Craig Counsell, seen here on a 1996 Bowman.  He is remembered for being a Diamondback, a Brewer, and even a Marlin before being thought of as a Rockie, but he was a member of the very first Rockies draft class in 1992.  He made his major league debut for the Rox in 1995 and played a total of 4 games in Rockie purple before being traded to the Fish.

Moving onto 1996, we have a couple of oddity cards here.  Mike Farmer, the younger brother of Howard Farmer featured on Night Owl Cards yesterday, pitched in 7 games for the 1996 Rockies and never again in the big leagues.  The only card I have of him is this 1994 Upper Deck Minors in a Reading Phillies uniform, but he is listed as a Rockies Prospect so I consider it a Rockies card.  The other oddity is a bit different.  Mike DeJean is shown on a 2006 Upper Deck card.  The odd thing is that card showcases DeJean's 2nd less successful stint with the Rockies.  DeJean pitched in 264 games for the Rox with a stint from 1997-2000 and another from 2005-06.  You have to love the wonderful anonymity of middle relief.

Next up we have a pair of pitchers.  Jeff McCurry had his Rockies debut in 1997 and is shown on this 1998 Pacific Invincible Gems of the Diamond card.  He pitched 33 games in relief for the 1997 Rockies.  Fun fact about McCurry: Jeff was the 6th ever Japanese-born player to play in the majors.  I know the last name McCurry just gave that fact away.  Mark Brownson, shown on a 1999 Fleer Tradition card, made his Rockies debut in 1998.  He started 9 games for the Rockies in 1998-99 before ending his fledgling career in Philadelphia in 2000.

A pair of veterans that made their Rockies debut in 1998 are shown here.  First up is reliever Chuck McElroy shown here on a 1998 Pacific Online card.  An interesting factoid about McElroy is that he wore a different uniform number on each of the 9 big league teams he played for.  He was 23 for the Rockies.  Next up is speedy outfielder Curtis Goodwin.  The card in question is from the 1998 Score Rookies and Traded set, which featured mostly players that were neither rookies nor traded.  Goodwin also changed numbers for each of the 5 teams on which he played. 

The 2000 MLB Showdown set provides my collection with 3 one card wonders.  Kurt Abbott is one of those guys that SHOULD be on more than one oddball card for the Rockies.  He appeared in 138 games over two seasons and was the starting second baseman for much of the 1999 season, but this card is a true one card wonder for unknown reasons.  There is much less of an argument for Jeff Barry having more than one card.  He appeared in 89 games over the 1998 and 1999 seasons in his final major league stints.  Dave Veres pitched in 136 games for the Rockies in 1998 and 1999 mostly as the closer.  He is a one card wonder only because my collection in these years is severely lacking.  I will eventually end up with a couple dozen different Dave Veres cards, hopefully.

Finishing up the one card wonder for the Bombers era is two cards from the 2000 Pacific Crown Collection set.  One of the great things about Pacific was that they mostly focused on lesser known players of Hispanic descent that were overlooked by the bigger companies, such as these two.  Henry Blanco (English translation: Henry White) played in 88 games for the 1999 Rockies as the back up catcher.  He is still active in the big leagues with Arizona.  Juan Sosa (English translation: John Corked-Bat) played in 11 games for the 1999 Rockies mostly as a late inning defensive replacement.  He would only play 2 more games in the bigs, but lasted until 2006 in the minors.


Thanks for joining me on this little trip through the lesser known players of the Bombers era.  Come back next week for more tales of the pre-humidor Rockies.  Thanx for reading.

TuBalGo Tuesdays #2

In music terminology, there is a famous term known as the "one-hit wonder."  That is obviously when a singer or band has one major hit and then disappears forever.  Some of the one-hit wonders are more memorable than others, but if they made the charts once there is a record of them for music fans/historians in the future. 

My Rockies collection has something a bit similar that I am going to call the "one-card wonder."  Currently, there are 15 Rockies that debuted from 2006-Present that appear on a single card in my team collection.  Possibly there are others out there in most (but not all) cases, but for the time being these guys are one-card wonders in my collection.  Let's take a look.

TuBalGo PLAYER(S) OF THE WEEK

The One Card Wonders

Total Cards Owned = 1 each

The 2006 Upper Deck "never-ending" set provided me with 3 one card wonders.  Eli Marrero played 30 games with the Rockies in 2006 before being traded to the Mets for Kaz Matsui.  Miguel Ojeda played in 25 games at the beginning of the 2006 season before being sold to the Rangers in July of that year.  Well-traveled journeyman Jason Smith appeared in 49 games in 2006 before moving on as well.  The Miguel Ojeda card would probably qualify as the #1 card on a countdown of one card wonders.  What a great play-at-the-plate card.

 

The 2007 version of Topps '52 Rookies also gave me 3 one card wonders.  Sean Barker appeared in only 3 games in 2007, but he is still forever immortalized thanks to this set.  Edwin Bellorin appeared in 8 games over 3 seasons (2007-2009) as the emergency catcher for the Rockies.  Darren Clarke pitched in relief in 2 games during the 2007 season for Colorado.  A lot of people, including myself, did not like the '52 Rookies set, but without it these three guys would have never appeared on cardboard.  I'd like to see a Heritage Rookies set made each year in place of the minor league set, but that will probably never happen.

The 2007 Upper Deck set brought me 2 new veteran one card wonders.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched in 62 games for the Rockies in 2007 as one of his 9 stops (as of now) around the majors.  He is still pitching for the Angels at age 39 and could conceivably add to that total later on.  John Mabry appeared in 28 games for the 2007 Rockies.  Unlike Hawkins, this was Mabry's final stop in a 14 year major league career.

2008 sets added 2 veteran pitchers to my one card wonders.  2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers gave Glendon Rusch who pitched in 34 games over the 2008 and 2009 seasons to finish out his career.  2008 Topps Update showed Kip Wells who pitched in 15 games in the 2008 season for the Rox before being released and moving onto several more clubs.

The final "real" Upper Deck set in 2009 added two more pitchers to the one card wonders stack.  Jason Grilli fell into the category of successful middle reliever that Topps seems to be allergic to.  He pitched (somewhat successfully) in 73 games for Colorado over the 2008 and 2009 seasons before moving on.  He is currently in the Pirates bullpen.  Livan Hernandez pitched in 8 (very forgettable) games at the end of the 2008 season after getting picked up on waivers. Odd, but true, fact is that Hernandez and Grilli were traded for each other in 1999 in a Giants-Marlins deal.

2010 did not add a single one card wonder to my collection and 2011 only provided 1.  2011 Topps Heritage was the only set that featured 2011 offseason pickup Jose Lopez.  Lopez played (poorly) in 38 games for the Rockies in 2011 before being released.  He is currently on the Indians roster.

2012 has thus far given me two new one card wonders, although one will not be a single card for long.  The 2012 Rafael Betancourt is from the packaged team set, because I haven't picked up the Series 2 card yet, but for now he is a one card wonder.  As of today, Betancourt has pitched in 200 games over four seasons and has been a very productive reliever from day one with Colorado.  Tyler Chatwood, shown on 2012 Topps Heritage, made the Opening Day roster and pitched in 4 games before being sent to the minors for more seasoning. 



Betancourt has been the Rockies player I most wanted to get a card for the past two seasons, but he was a middle reliever and thus subject to Topps' allergy.  Now that he has a card, Matt Belisle becomes the Rockies I most want to see get a card.  He should have already had one considering he won 10 games in 2011, but once again the middle relief allergy strikes.

Thanx for reading.