#79 - Adam Eaton

What’s that Turtle doin’? Oh just runnin' one down out here by the warning track before a nice smooth landing for the 2nd Rookie Card to appear in the set.

Here, Eaton just makes this running catch look downright easy, but the distance he is airborne, and the bit of blur around his shoes indicate how fast he is running to make this catch — he might have got a late break on the ball, or had been playing a weaker hitter a bit shallow.

Not too many baseball cards show the warning track; usually a player photographed this deep in the outfield is closer to the wall, attempting to steal a Home Run away from a batter, and then photographed up in the air, from the ground, which in turn cuts the ground (& the warning track) from the picture. This card looks like it was shot by a drone camera, or a 2nd baseball sent out to follow the first one, or something. It does make the viewer feel like they are up in the air, too somehow, along with that fly ball.

The photo composition works very well. An odd thing about that is the way his right leg and shoe, extended back upwards in the running motion, help draw the eye to the top of the card, where the baseball appears just as it plunges into the glove. That then draws the eye downwards & following his left leg and the whole result conjures up that nice smooth landing idea I just mentioned. And yet the rotation of Eaton's body so he can see the ball perfectly presents himself to have his live action portrait taken.

Really one of the best motion capture cards in the set, and one more that would make a final countdown of my favorites in the set were I to compile one. Though I'm not sure I would really want to start picking one over another for such a list.

+Bonus points for one of the coolest sunglasses-on-baseball-card shots I can ever remember. How often do you ever get to see The Sun, on a baseball card?

Uniform Hero? Not even close. Though the image on this card might make you think that @ #79, that would make a great # for a Wide Receiver, those uniform #s don't actually start into the 80s range, and #79 is traditionally a defensive lineman so this whole thought now has absolutely nothing to do with this baseball card.

Where’d the egg hatch? Adam was drafted in the 19th round of the 2010 draft by the Diamondbacks.

How about the migrations? Eaton would then debut quickly in Arizona in September, 2012, only a few months before this card was composed. 

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

Here the card back text really kind of battles with the official Rookie Card© stat format with that refusal to acknowledge any MLB stat production before the magical logo was applied to the front of the magical Rookie Card. Which of course these days, is no longer quite a Rookie Card anyway considering how players can have a dozen or more base baseball cards created for them before they reach the Topps Baseball set.

All I can say on the single stat line here is that Mobile and Reno must have some mighty big ballparks for Eaton to have hit only 7 Home Runs with a .523 Slugging % - that, or he was really good at stretching out singles vs. minor league outfielders. I will go with the latter idea there I think. 

So I guess you can gleam something from that weird, one year, multi-team stat line officially created for all Rookies© on the back of their big card. But I will still never warm up to this ever so weird back-of-baseball-card format.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 2 stolen bases, Eaton is 1,404 away from Rickey Henderson's all-time record of 1,406.

It has been many, many cards since we have seen the Henderson record. I think Jesse Orosco is probably beating out Rickey on this card back line so far.

In the 2010s it is nice to consider players known for stealing bases, when The Data strictly controls the Go sign probably more than the Manager does at this point. So it is nice to see this comparison, but I am slowly realizing that the vast majority of players drafted out of College have lesser chance at baseball immortality in the record books or eventually Cooperstown, given the way counting stat comparisons and age and career length all work, particularly in this century.

Eaton would move on from Arizona to play in Chicago after a 3 team trade (can Arizona participate in a trade any other way? I sometimes wonder), and then in Washington after another high leverage trade, where he had a very nice performance in the 2019 World Series after a couple injury shortened campaigns in '17 and '18. He is signed with the Nationals through this coming (I hope) 2020 season, with a team option for 2021.

However in MLB action he has never stolen even half as many bases as he did in that 2012 minor league campaign. As games commence in 2020 (I hope), Adam Eaton has stolen 81 bases.

Subspecies? Fortunately for checklist completers everywhere, another Adam Eaton wrapped up an MLB career in 2009 so we have never had to deal with 2 Adam Eatons on one checklist. Topps more generally manages to do that with 2 cards of one player usually.

This is such a champion baseball card image I am a little surprised it does not appear on the Opening Day Checklist. But then the Diamondbacks aren't exactly a team with a long baseball card tradition, so I would expect their portion of the Opening Day checklist is rarely very long.

However given those exciting AA&AAA stats compiled on the back of this card, it is not surprising that this one was chosen for inclusion on the Topps Chrome checklist. And as a Rookie Card© there, that means there is an autographed version and that means there is an image variation for those cards. And that means I am collecting that checklist, although the Eaton card will have to be added here, someday.

Bling That Shell For such a sweet sunlit action card I wanted to go with maximum shiny; I suspect the Topps Chrome parallels of this would make a nice 'rainbow' effort. I am working on one of those for this card, though so far I only have the tough Black /62 parallel.

But given the varying tones and the strip of green grass, I picked up a Blue Sparkle copy of this card pretty early on:

#72 - Gerardo Parra

What’s that Turtle doin’? Those long arching flyballs sure are hypnotic, it appears.

This card has a bit of reverse motion, really. Parra's body has rotated all the way through the swing and now even the uniform lettering teams up with his left fore-arm to draw the eye down and almost off the card, until the bat knob is encountered. Which kind of reminds the viewer what just happened, and perhaps one should look up, up, and away, like Parra is — and then finally the gaze reaches his eyes, and the card collector too is lofted up, up, and away.

So I would have to say this is a nicely chosen photograph just for it's capture of live baseball playing action. The card has some other nice elements such as the strangely deserted Marlins dug-out in the background which makes for a nice dark background making the baseball player stand out even more, and also contributes to a miscellaneous set of horizontal image components that do the same for the vertical subject.

+Bonus points for the mysterious symbology of those wristbands. I got nothing, on those. But that is kind of cool as someday, somewhere else, I will see that oddly flag like red ball on a green & yellow stripe, and I will instantly think A-ha! Gerardo Parra!

Uniform Hero? Parra wore a lot of uniform #s in his career, but never #72.

Where’d the egg hatch? Gerardo is a Venezuelan national, so he was never drafted; rather he signed with the Diamondbacks when he was just 17, in 2004.

How about the migrations? And would debut with them in 2009, quickly becoming a regular in Arizona's outfield, as Topps picks up on...

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

I do like the seemingly relatively recent tread of just simply quoting the baseball player on the back of their baseball card. But then sports quotes, sports quotes - how often do you ever hear a sports quote you have never heard before? And then how often does that happen on the back of a baseball card? That does happen, but not on this card.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 462 hits, Parra is 3,794 away from the all-time record of 4,256.

I enjoy writing this blog so much that the other night I had a dream about this section of the card back. In the dream, I discovered a totally new all-time record that Topps started comparisons with. Except of course, they only did it on one card, and try as I might, I could not find that card in the binder. What was the elusive all-time record? I will have to await my next Sea Turtle dream, sorry.

On this card, Hits is certainly the category to expect possible notable results from Parra, who upon cruising into the middle years of his career as this card was pulled from packs, didn't seem to have exceptional power or base-running speed. And these cards have no defensive stats.

Parra would move on from Arizona to play in Milwaukee, Colorado, San Francisco and Washington; in the 2019 World Series he did see some action though largely as a defensive replacement in the late innings, despite putting up an OPS still above league average during the stretch run for the Nationals, who were already pretty stacked beyond the infield.

For the 2020 season, Parra signed a one year deal in Japan, which doesn't always preclude future MLB action, but in the Data Age of MLB, an 11 year career is now a fairly long one.

At the close of the 2019 regular season, Gerardo Parra had 1,312 Hits.

Subspecies? Parra was certainly established enough in the Arizona outfield to make a few more checklists, so this card does appear in Opening Day. But when it came time to cut a few players to make way for Rookies in the Topps Chrome release, Parra didn't make that checklist. There are no other variants.

Bling That Shell As I pulled this card out of the binder to scan, I had a touch of regret that I didn't try a Blue Sparkle here, rather than on the previous card. But these 'Opening Day Blue Foil' cards can really deliver a shiny punch sometimes, & this one did not disappoint:

#61 - Trevor Bauer

What’s that Turtle doin’? Demonstrating just exactly perfect pitching mechanics, I expect.

By that I mean, I sure hope Trevor Bauer likes his sophomore Topps Baseball card, as he is fairly well known for a deep study of all things Pitching. The lines of the image do seem to align correctly in every way, both for a good photo, and a good pitch. Having his right foot included in the frame makes for a particularly strong overall line all the way to the top of his cap; a line which doesn't carry the viewer to the plate with the ball but does make the viewer of the card easily hear the announcer saying "from the stretch" pretty clearly.

I always like the high socks look; it says to me 'baseball' far better than the pajama leg uniform look does. With the socks, the long sleeves, solid color uni, the red advertising on the outfield wall, the cap, the red Sea Turtle, and the red team logo — well, overall the white frame nicely offsets all that red very nicely. Would a 'full bleed' card design do the same, for this photo?

I suspect this is probably a Night Card; day games under a roof tend to have a different lighting I think. But indoor Night Cards aren't usually as noticeably night-timed. However the photographic effect of shooting it at night creates my favorite part of the card - the white orb just beyond Bauer's pitching hand. So calming, somehow.

Somehow, so far, this 2013 Topps Baseball set manages to only offer up a 100% complete image of a baseball player about once per binder page; this card is only a close, but no toes for that idea. The result of seeing 99% of Trevor Bauer is that we are a little less able to see the expression on Bauer's face, which, given his now well-known enjoyment of discussing the state of Major League Baseball very publicly - is not surprisingly a fair bit 'earnest.' If you wish to see that a little better, this same image is used on an insert card in the set, his "1972 mini."

Uniform Hero? Negatory. Although MLB regulars wearing uniform #s this high start to thin out some, Topps did still have some options here for players that would appear elsewhere in Sea Turtle land.

Where’d the egg hatch? Trevor Bauer was drafted by Arizona in the first round in 2011, as the 3rd pick, which is something that leads to the creation of a lot of baseball cards, such as being included on insert checklists despite appearing in only 4 MLB games so far.

How about the migrations? Like most successful college starters selected early in the draft, he debuted the next year, but the Diamondbacks elected to largely keep him in the minors after that brief July call-up.

Bauer was then one of an impressive set of chips moved in a 3-team trade in early December 2012 as this card was 'going to press,' as it were, which also included Shin-Shoo Choo and Didi Gregorius; Bauer ended up in Cleveland where he again pitched in only 4 games in 2013 before joining their rotation to stay in 2014.

At the 2019 trade deadline, Bauer was again on the move in a complex 3-team trade, this time changing leagues but not States of the Union as he moved just downstate to Cincinnati. As the 2020 season commences he has only a year of club control left for the Reds.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

One thing feels certain to me about Trevor Bauer — the Topps card back writer will never lack for subject matter in this assignment, something his Rookie Card foreshadows as well.

I do enjoy occasionally reading any active Major Leaguer's current take on Major League Baseball, but I do hope that Bauer someday shares a few thoughts on baseball cards. Though I can't say I am optimistic those will be sunny ones, I would still like to hear them.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 17 strikeouts, Bauer is 5,697 away from Nolan Ryan's all-time record 5,714.

This could be the greatest counting stat differential in the entire run of these stats, depending on how many Rookies Topps might subject to a Nolan Ryan comparison later in the set. This is surely the greatest differential so far.

As the 2020 season commences, Bauer has thrown 1,179 Strikeouts.

Subspecies? There will be more Trevor Bauer Sea Turtle cards in the set, but there are no variants of his Diamondbacks card.

Bling That Shell High print run parallels make this whole project possible; here I went with the Emerald parallel that might have fallen out of any pack of Sea Turtle cards, in every pack design:

#41 - Daniel Hudson

What’s that Turtle doin’? This card is the 10th sequential Pitcher in the checklist, and the 8th sequential right-hander. Daniel Hudson seems a little glum about it, too.

Contributing to that overall glumness is the way his left arm and the uniform piping on his left leg lead one right down to the ground. Even though he hasn't released the baseball yet, one can't help but think this pitch might hit the ground in front of the plate.

And a final piece of the downbeat nature of this card is the background. Arizona is on the road here, so the weather could be doing about anything, but it does not seem to be a sunny day in Philadelphia, here. Cincinnati, maybe? I do actually like the background of this card; it is a bit ominous almost, yet still somehow comforting.

+Bonus points for the perfect R logo on the glove there.

Uniform Hero? Yep, still chugging along just fine, though Arizona doesn't really help out with a uniform # on their 2012 road unis. That has changed these days, with a somewhat oddly colored # on their road uniforms. Look for that on a baseball card near you.

Where’d the egg hatch? Hudson was drafted in the 5th round by the White Sox in 2008. 

How about the migrations? Daniel would then debut late in 2009, earning a Win in his 2nd MLB start in Chicago in 2009, with a unique tagline. I will just paste it in here for you, direct from Wikipedia, so you can be ready for your next baseball trivia throw-down: "That victory completed the rare accomplishment, and perhaps unique in baseball history, of recording wins in five different levels of professional baseball, including the majors, in one season." I hope that is on the back of one of his other baseball cards.

However he never pitched all that much for the White Sox before they traded him to Arizona at the 2010 trade deadline. The piece moving to Chicago? Edwin Jackson. I can already tell I am not looking forward to unraveling Jackson's career when I reach his cards.

Hudson would then finally earn a rotation spot in Arizona and pitch very well in 2011 - I suspect that probably made him the brightest light available at #41 for Topps on this checklist. 

In 2012, however, the almost inevitable 21st Century MLB Pitcher experience arrived: injury. And for Hudson, Tommy John surgery during that season. He was expected to return in 2013, which was probably why this card was created; but that didn't work out. In his first post-surgery start, he tore that one tendon again, and had a 2nd Tommy John surgery during the 2013 season.

Afterwards, Hudson has worked as a reliever, generally of the "middle" type, which we do not always see on baseball cards. Post-Arizona stops included a season each with the Pirates and the Dodgers.

The dawn of the 2019 baseball season sees him in camp in Arizona with the Angels. Though only on a non-guaranteed "minor league" deal, I think he will probably throw some more innings in MLB in 2019.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

I guess as I discover all the hidden details of all the Sea Turtles, I will have to start considering if Topps always issues a card for a Pitcher's "Tommy John" year. Maybe I would have to consider a given player in the 2014, or 2012 set, instead, to determine that. Doing the surgery in mid-season is the one way a Pitcher can undergo the procedure and still pitch in consecutive seasons, though at different ends of each one.

Anyhow, I do like teammate quotes on a card back, but find it pretty puzzling that only the word "surgery" is used here, rather than the full 3 word term.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 28 wins, Hudson is 483 away from Cy Young's all-time record of 511.

Well, he did have that 16 Win season in 2011, so that's a start.

As the 2019 season commences, Daniel Hudson has reached 40 Wins.

Subspecies? Considering that Hudson was unlikely to appear in an MLB game until late in 2013, his inclusion in the Opening Day set makes for one of the more puzzling such entries in that short checklist. Maybe Arizona is just too far away for Brooklynites to keep track of the Diamondbacks very well. This card does not appear in '13 Chrome, nor has any variants.

Topps would figure out that Hudson didn't pitch in 2013 and then not issue a card for him in 2014, when he returned to play. And then maybe they decided to make something up to him by including him in the 2016 set, and then in the 2016 Update set, as an Arizona Diamondback on each card. Go figure.

Bling That Shell I keep telling y'all that I don't really want to use the /99 Camo cards in the All-Parallel set, and then I keep doing it anyway. I am particularly pleased to own this card, as it is # 01/99, which I am pretty sure is the first time I have ever owned a serial # 1 card. But then outside of this project, I never keep or collect serial #'d cards, anyway. I hope somewhere along the way, I luck into having a /x parallel where the serial number is = x.

But the Camos do help increase variety in the set, and they are pretty much _the_ team parallel for the D'backs: