#68 - Colby Rasmus

What’s that Turtle doin’? Bat Down! It has been 22 cards in this checklist since we have seen a baseball card with a baseball bat on it. Surely a record for a live action Topps Baseball checklist.

Though I will bet basically no baseball card collectors uttered those 2 words about this baseball card back in 2013. Writing here from the future, this has become a bit of an iconic baseball card baseball playing situation, thanks to the 2018 Series 2 Ronald Acuña short print RC that I both love & hate (hate because I hate artificial scarcity created by Topps, and my deep down knowledge that I will never own a copy of that card).

But now I have my own Bat Down card to enjoy and appreciate instead. I would also bet very few collectors in the 2020s wishing to afford the famous Bat Down card will instead simply enjoy other examples of it in the history of baseball cards. I have a feeling I will be trying to assemble 9 examples of them in my binder of miscellaneous baseball card fun that needs a far better name than that.

On this card, I like how the wrinkles on Colby's uniform draw the eye into the rotational force he has just released, leading the viewer all the way back around to the bat, OR to Colby's eyes now admiring the flight of the ball just like we do when able to see some live baseball action. 

And that bat...a 2 tone special. I used to collect cards with a black bat, just to see what would happen later, in terms of who all would end up on that checklist together. I should probably revive that little effort. The hieroglyphics on the bat do invite inspection, now that I can zoom in on the scan. The bat proves to be a Marucci, a brand new manufacturer in the 21st Century, and probably one of the forces in the game behind the ever stronger use of Maple bats. Their story can be found here.

This card is definitely re-awakening my interest in the lumber, and the mystery of who uses Ash, Maple, or Hickory. 

As for the over-arching mystery of this card — Fly Ball? Home Run? This card's not telling, but that's OK.

Uniform Hero? Clearly a No. But a little intriguing nonetheless, in that Rasmus clearly is #28, and is card #68 - is this a sly use of a hero # akin to the way even, say #35 was a better player than #34, in really old Topps sets? Topps isn't saying, and I basically doubt that possibility here, but I will be watching.

Where’d the egg hatch? Rasmus was a first rounder for the Cardinals originally, as the 24th pick in 2005; right out of high school, so

How about the migrations? he did not debut in St. Louis until 2009. Which wasn't a particularly remarkable Rookie campaign except to remark that playing 147 Games in a debut season is a strong accomplishment in and of itself.

He was then able to defeat the sophomore slump that hits so many Rookies (and keeps Topps making Rookie Cards), on the field of play at least. Things in the dugout & clubhouse weren't so good as Rasmus didn't get along with St. Louis or St. Louis didn't get along with Rasmus, probably depending on which party was asked about it all.

In mid-2011 Rasmus was traded to Toronto in a rare 4-for-4 swap of all active Major Leaguers, no prospects. Headed back to St. Louis were both my man Octavio Dotel _and_ Edwin Jackson, the latter being the player who would eventually break the former's record for Most Teams in a career. And to think they were both traded together at one point, huhh.

Like several Sea Turtles in this prestige filled checklist portion, Rasmus was headed towards the year of the Sea Turtle being the year of his career.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

This could be yet another example used to illustrate a baseball card textbook. Of course most baseball fans, or at least most long-time baseball card collectors, know than most baseball players experience an unusual achievement every single year, if you look for the unusual carefully enough. Like Topps does.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 76 home runs, Rasmus is 686 away from Barry Bonds' all-time record of 762.

Topps doesn't seem to have really gotten along with Barry Bonds all that well, and the instant Bonds' career ended, so did any and all Topps Baseball cards. So I have to wonder how often this particular comp will be pulled out as this set progresses. But then on the offensive side of the game, they also have difficulty using the Hit King here. Perhaps, Hank Aaron's RBI record will win out in total comparisons.

As for this comparison on this card, I guess that traces to 2010, when Rasmus had that .498 Slugging % and hit 23 Home Runs, as he had also just done in 2012. Way back then, i.e. before MLB changed the baseball manufacturer in Central America which in turn lowered the seams on the ball and in turn made every utility guy everywhere a 20 Homer masher, well, 23 Home Runs was more of a deal and a sign of optimism. And we do have that sweet bat down optimism on the front of the card.

Rasmus would play 6 more seasons; his stops included Houston, where he became the first player in MLB history to sign a "qualifying offer," but his career had a very ragged ending as he stepped away from the game during the season, twice, first with Tampa, and finally with Baltimore in 2018.

That final summer for Rasmus included hitting a Home Run off Max Scherzer in his first game back in pro baseball; he finished his career with 166 Home Runs.

Subspecies? Colby Rasmus probably (unwittingly, probably) provoked too many fans to then make it onto as many baseball card checklists as he might have; this is his only Sea Turtle designed card.

Bling That Shell Mmmm-mmm, anyone got some bubble gum? This card makes me fondly remember Maple flavored bubble gum, which like most Maple flavored items didn't last long on the American market place. But we all know a country where it probably can still be purchased.

#13 - Brett Lawrie

What’s that Turtle doin’? This is an interesting card, which looks good on a page of 9. It is the 4th Fielding card in the set, placing them currently ahead of the Hitters Hitting cards. That surely won't last. I prefer this card to other Lawrie cards, as his tattoos aren't as distracting here.

On this card, for some reason, it seems uncertain if Lawrie will actually throw the ball. Normally that would be part of what a Third Baseman does, imminently after fielding a ball. But something about the 'air' of the card leaves the viewer thinking Lawrie is staring down a runner on another base - "if you take one more step, I'm gonna throw this thing!"

I'm not sure why that is, that is just my reaction to the card. Has been since I first saw it. It is also the first card so far where the crowd can be seen, somewhat. They are all sitting, looking at Lawrie. I think they have the same question I do. 

Uniform Hero? Yes, though we don't have much of a Star power convergence here, as it turns out. In 2012, Lawrie had to wear #17 when Omar Vizquel came to Toronto for his final 60 Game swan-song. But he went back to #13 in 2013, probably indicating a personal choice, and it seems the correct choice for his basically star-crossed career.

Where’d the egg hatch? Lawrie was actually drafted by the Brewers in the 1st round (16th pick overall) in 2008. Toronto thought highly enough of him to send their #2 Starter at the time, Sean Marcum, to Milwaukee in a straight-up single player trade after the 2010 season. Lawrie's debut and official Rookie season then came in 2011.

How about the migrations? Brett hails from a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, so his early career in Toronto was looking to be a win-win for everyone as a Canadian player on the Blue Jays squad is always going to be popular.

After putting up largely ordinary numbers from 11-14 along with plenty of injury down-time, he was included in the package of players sent to Oakland for Josh Donaldson, after Donaldson was overheard bad-mouthing Billy Beane in the clubhouse. Beane promptly traded him, and Donaldson promptly won the 2015 AL MVP. This all seemed dramatic at the time but was probably largely a wash for both clubs, and was probably better for Oakland to have an extra handful of lottery tickets while mired in multiple 4th place finishes, which would have largely wasted the talents of Donaldson. Once the tickets were all scratched off, none of them are/were really key pieces of the, as I write in early 2019, newly contending again Oakland Athletics.

Lawrie was subsequently traded to the White Sox for one more try to beat what the analytics were saying, and the injury bug, in 2016, but has not returned to the Majors since.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

Sometimes, I am a little intrigued by Minor League stats. But without the context of which minor League is considered "hitter-friendly" or not, and without knowing when a player was playing at a younger age than the rest of that minor League, etc., I usually can't pull much out of reading them. "Prospectors" probably can, but they aren't interested in 2nd year MLB cards.

I mention all this because I don't see anything in his '09 & '10 MiLB stats that screams out - "trade away our #2 starter, we gotta have this guy!" But then I am not a Major League scout or General Manager, I just play one in my mind, with 20/20 hindsight too, while reading baseball cards.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 73 RBI, Lawrie is 2,154 away from Hank Aaron's all-time record of 2,227.

Lawrie produced exciting power #s in his 43 game Rookie campaign, before the AL pitching staffs could "write the book" about him, so RBI production seems an appropriate choice.

Brett eventually knocked in 253 'ribbies'.

Subspecies? Topps was certainly excited about Lawrie's potential, making him one of the "It" Rookies in 2012, placing him on plenty of checklists including the special 5 card pack issued in Factory Sets, along with Bryce Harper and Yu Darvish. The '12 card was his official RC logo card, the affixing of which is not an exact science, considering his official Rookie status ended in 2011.

Nevertheless, the checklist love continued on many products in 2013, when he also made the Opening Day checklist, but not the Chrome checklist, a somewhat unusual combination but the opposite of the previous card on this checklist, A.J. Pierzynski.

All of that flurry of Topps activity probably led to a Sea Turtle to show you; I am now happy to share with you the first card I have from the "Great Catch" series of photo variations / short prints:

With these cards, even more than most action image cards, the viewer is left with an immediate question: So, did he catch the ball?

Given the web resources at our fingertips today, particularly that ever handy website of Getty images, reveals that this photo was taken on April 29, 2012 when the Seattle Mariners were in Toronto. The only pop-fly in foul territory to Third Base was hit by Seattle Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, a player who managed 633 At Bats in the Major Leagues but never appeared in the Topps Baseball set, so I had never heard of him until .... just now.

In that game, Toronto was up 7-2 in the top of then 9th with one out already when Kawasaki came to the plate. Lawrie didn't hesitate to keep playing the game the right way, as they say, and made the catch.

Bling That Shell Here we have another temporary (I hope) blank spot in the proceedings, though I am cheered that I do have 2 cards shown in this post already. I am basically looking for a /50 Pink version of this card, or one other on this page. I will do a quick run-down of the possibilities after card #19.