#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:

#70 - Todd Frazier

What’s that Turtle doin’? Arching an eyebrow to admire a 'moon shot,' perhaps?

I mean, that is a pretty optimistic look, in the regard of - what is the baseball doing right now?

This is a classic baseball card not-pose, but live action point to snap a photo. It calls to mind the wrapper from 1977 Topps, which also calls to mind a famous baseball card from 2011 - #US175. But both of those examples include a pair of hands still visible. 

But over all, the various lines in the image easily lead the collector's eyes to Frazier's eyes, and lead the brain to wonder if Todd just hit a home run - which is always possible.

This card is perhaps an example of how some, seemingly including the Topps Baseball head honcho for many years now, may not care for a white bordered card. A classic home white uniform, as on this card, really creates a lot of white space on a white bordered card. However that it where design comes in. For the Cincinnati Reds in the 2013 Topps Baseball set, the design graphics I call the 'Sea Turtle' do have a nice synergy in that the base primary red color used in the design seems to perfectly match the color and tint the baseball club uses in their iconography and uniform detailing. Which is something that is not always true of the Sea Turtle colors and some other teams.

The appearance of the Rookie Cup here does illustrate one demerit in this baseball card design - no Position on the front of the card. The Rookie Cup is awarded on a one-per-Position basis, but in this set, one must turn the card over to confirm how that is working, for the players who didn't just win Rookie of the Year and/or aren't coming off that Rookie excitement process which 'The Hobby' makes their fame reach pretty high levels, for collectors.

So evidently, Todd Frazier was the best Rookie Third Baseman in the game in 2012.

Uniform Hero? Nowhere close now.

Where’d the egg hatch? Frazier was drafted twice, first by the Rockies in the 37th round in 2004, but he went off to college and then became a first round pick for the Reds, 34th overall, in 2007.

How about the migrations? For a college slugger, Frazier took a little longer to reach the Majors than most, debuting in Cincinnati in 2011.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

That slightly longer route to the Bigs seems to have given the Topps card back scribe a chance to take a quick break.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 25 home runs, Frazier is 737 away from Barry Bonds' all-time record of 762.

Todd Frazier's career certainly became associated with Home Runs as it has gone along, though his Slugging % actually had just hit a peak in his 4/5ths of a full Rookie season - which in turn makes his 19 Homers that year seem a little less remarkable.

2020 finds Frazier in camp with the Texas Rangers on a Major League deal as I compose this one, so he will see more MLB action in the season to come. He currently has 214 Home Runs on the back of his newest baseball card.

Subspecies? Topps is certainly not going to let a Rookie Cup selection go to waste and it is probably near automatic that that small set of players will be included in Opening Day and Chrome.

There is a Short Print photo variation of this card in the Series One "Great Catch" theme, however this post will have to be updated some day with a So, Did He Catch It? section — when I eventually catch a copy of that card.

Bling That Shell A classic red & white baseball card can certainly use a nice blue border:

#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.

#44 - Anthony Rizzo

What’s that Turtle doin’? This is a fittingly perfect pose on a perfect baseball card, though of course it is not actually a pose. Baseball card collectors near and far love a Topps Rookie Cup card. With what I have been seeing on the #27 - Mike Trout card, in terms of prices, I think this card is probably one of the sleeper cards in the set in terms of ultimate future value.

Although as I consider the card closely, I think the lack of a complete follow through probably indicates that Rizzo is just watching a simple fly ball Out, rather than a Home Run. It does take some thought to arrive at that conclusion. One shouldn't really over-think baseball cards like this one.

On my main blog, Base Set Calling, I have a series I call "What IS That?" I am a bit surprised I have never noticed whatever it is that is sticking out of Rizzo's back pocket - What IS That?

Uniform Hero? Most definitely. There will never be much debate on who the All-Time best player to ever wear #44 was - that would be Hank Aaron. Because of that, certain other players have selected it; most notably Reggie Jackson and Willie McCovey.

So far, Anthony Rizzo seems to have selected his uniform # very well.

Where’d the egg hatch? Rizzo was actually drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2007, and only in the 6th round. I write 'only' because that feels a little surprising to me, considering his franchise moves. He earned his trade value through post-draft play and then high prospect rankings.

How about the migrations? Considering how his career has developed in Chicago, his early career moves are fairly well known. The Red Sox traded him to San Diego, with 3 other prospects, in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez.

That one seems about equal, as these things go. After his 2011 MLB debut, where he seemed a touch overmatched, San Diego in turn traded him to Chicago. The Padres received starting Pitcher Andrew Cashner in return; I would say they did not do as well as the Red Sox.

All of these roster decisions involved baseball executive Jed Hoyer, who scouted him with the Red Sox and then ended up working in both San Diego and then Chicago at the points these trades were made.

Rizzo is signed with the Cubs through the 2019 season, however the Cubs have a team option for 2020 and 2021, which they will almost certainly use.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

When Topps notes Complete Major and Minor League Batting Record, they mean it, and it is handy to see all of Rizzo's professional stats here, which dovetails nicely with the simple, direct, efficient, and informative text.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 57 RBI, Rizzo is 2,240 away from Hank Aaron's all-time record of 2,297.

This is a nice touch by the Topps card back writer, picking the Hank Aaron RBI record for a young player wearing #44, rather than that Home Run record which would not reference Hammerin' Hank any more.

After the 2019 season, Rizzo has hit 729 RBI.

Subspecies? This beautiful card would also appear in Opening Day and Chrome. It does have a "Great Catch" variation which we will see shortly.

But a baseball card blog post can't have too many baseball cards in it, so I thought I would show off one of my favorite "pulls" from 2013 Topps Baseball. I have always managed to hit rare Anthony Rizzo cards for some reason, starting with a /60 version of his RC in 2011, which will probably fund some expensive dental work later this year. Thanks, Topps. And that trend has continued on past 2013 as well. Although I don't buy baseball cards looking for a financial return or the ooh-ahh factor of owning someone's autograph, I can't say I am displeased when I pull a card like this:

So, did he catch it? First, an image from Getty:

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) catches a foul ball for an out that is hit by Houston Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie (4) in the first inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Cubs beat the Houston Astros 3-0. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images)

Now, the Topps version:

Though the baseball didn't make the framing cut here, the original newspaper caption says "catches."

Bling That Shell This is yet another card that contributed a fair bit to the genesis of this project. I pulled this parallel from a pack, and knew it was a just exactly perfect baseball card combination of red, white, & blue. But how could I "collect" it, in it's all-by-itselfness perfection? It would need some qualified neighbors, I figured.

This is one of my favorite parallels in the project:

...and, we're back. I have missed y'all, and missed my beloved Sea Turtle cards. I recently finished a minor remodeling project that moved the key piece of baseball card blogging equipment: the scanner. That will make blogging a lot, lot easier.

Though I don't know how many turtles I will be able to hatch for this run as I might be back on the road in a few weeks, I am really looking forward to writing a new batch. It did turn out to be a little strange writing up set blog entries for players that are still playing - after all, a player featured just 3 entries before this one ended up closing down Game 7 of the 2019 World Series not long ago. Thankfully, I did OK on predicting his future on that one.

When I came to a stop on these last year, I was also not looking forward to writing about a soon upcoming player - Craig Kimbrel - who hadn't even signed for the 2019 season yet.

But at this point, not very many Sea Turtles are still playing Major League Baseball, so those sorts of concerns will largely fade, going forward. It will still require several years to write about all of the Sea Turtles, but it will be my pleasure to do so. Thanks for reading!

#28 - Prince Fielder

What’s that Turtle doin’? Sluggers gotta slugg, particularly when they are the cover boy on a Topps product. Prince Fielder served as the face of 2013 Series One, appearing on all the wrappers, boxes, etc. Topps already had a bit of a thing for Fielder, making him card #1 in the 2010 set. Perhaps that somewhat helps explain passing over a slightly more obvious choice, as one of Fielder's team-mates had just won the first Triple Crown in 45 years.

Although the Tigers had just been swept in the previous World Series, they were keeping the band together to a large degree and much was expected for the 2013 club once again. This remains the only Topps wrapper I can recall to feature a Detroit Tiger as the sole face of a set of cards, something likely to remain true for a quite a while to come as I write early in 2019. 2013, however, was an exciting time to be a Tigers fan collecting baseball cards, and is perhaps one reason I took to this set so quickly upon it's release.

I like to think of this card as The Slugger With The Far-Away Eyes. This is the fifth such card in the set, a post-swing photo where a Hitter has clearly just made contact. On this one, I think, Fielder's eyes have the best launch angle so far. If only Alexa or Siri could just instantly measure that for me, we could know that for sure. Though a launch angle that is too high is just a pop-up. But what fun would it be to imagine that?

On all such cards, I can't help but look for signs that the batter is beginning to initiate running to First Base; although that is likely a pretty vain hope as the photographer is not trying to capture that and most such cards are a snapshot in time just before that starts. Although card #1 - Bryce Harper, does manage to combine the Hitter checking the flight of the ball he just hit, and evidence of running.

Still, seeing the Hitter checking out what the ball is doing, rather than running, seems somewhat wrong to me, as a fan. That is totally unfair on my part, as I am looking at a fixed point in time, rather than a continual segment of time. I bring all this up because as with the previous card for Mike Trout this card supplies a bit of a premonition, though with this card regarding how Fielder would end up leaving Detroit, just a year after this card was produced.

Uniform Hero? Oh yes. Long-time collectors know well how fallible Topps can be on the little things, but they are hardly going to drop the ball on handing out a premium checklist spot for the guy on the wrapper.

Where’d the egg hatch? Milwaukee drafted Fielder in the 1st round in 2002, as the 7th pick. He debuted with the Brewers in 2005.

How about the migrations? Fielder's career really took off in 2007, when he became the youngest player to hit 50 Home Runs. When his initial contract ended in Milwaukee after the 2011 season, there was much wailing and lamentation - Fielder was very popular there, playing for a club and a fanbase that felt reaching the final step of appearing in a World Series was in it's grasp. A few weeks prior, Albert Pujols had finally ended a similar drama in St. Louis by taking a huge(r) offer from the California Angels. Brewers fans at the time liked to note that Pujols was 32 years old already, whereas Fielder was only 27 - perhaps the following saga is on the minds of baseball GMs with money to spend, this offseason.

The Brewers' final re-sign offer was said to be 6 years, $120 Million. Scott Boras turned this down flat. Instead, Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch swept in with a 9 year, $214 Million offer (4th largest in MLB history to that point) in the 3rd week of January, 2012 - considered a bit of a late signing at the time, which makes for another interesting comparison to the 2019 offseason. A classic baseball tale that often makes one wonder - do we root for the actual teams, or the different owner / ownership groups? What if Mike Illitch had been born in Wisconsin?

Initial results were wonderful in Motown for Fielder - no one quibbles with a team that appears in a World Series. But for a team that loses the World Series? Oh, yes. Though perhaps not right away.

2013 was another bang-up year in Detroit, with a first place finish and a trip to the ALCS - but a lost ALCS. Immediately afterward, everything unraveled for Fielder and the Detroit Tigers fans, an increasingly public baseball phenomena in the 21st Century. Fielder only hit 25 Home Runs in 2013 - were the Tigers expected to pay $1 Million for each one? More astute fans noted a 120 point drop in his OPS.

But stats don't light up Social Media complaints like video clips and interview soundbites do. Fielder was caught on the basepaths during an ALCS loss in Boston, and that summarized much for the angry fans, despite Fielder's long career of proving his hustle - a career that included not 1 but 2 inside-the-park Home Runs. Worse was to come when a post-season interview seemed to indicate a bit of apathy about the playoff exit on Fielder's part; then the fury really mounted amongst the ever increasing binary fanbase public view of all sports results being Championship OR Suck. I often think pro athletes truly earn their money spouting endlessly repetitive sports cliches in interviews for years on end - but woe to the athlete that breaks the unwritten rules of those largely pointless affairs, as Manny Machado is discovering currently.

But the most important view was held by the man who agreed to give Prince Fielder the $214 Million - Mike Illitch. He let his displeasure be known, somewhat, and his all-timer type GM, Dave Dombrowski, was ordered to work his magic. This soon resulted in an astounding trade of the massive contract with the Tigers receiving Ian Kinsler from the Rangers while agreeing to pay some 25-ish% of Fielder's salary in Texas for the remaining 7 years on his contract.

Fielder's career in Texas was a stop.start.stop affair, with an injury (neck) shortened season in 2014, followed by one of his normal iron man type seasons in 2015, and then finally grinding to a tragic halt in 2016 with a neck/spinal cord injury that prevented further playing. Fielder announced this with a tearful final press conference during the season, wearing a neck brace at the time.

There are several angles to the whole Fielder/Detroit/Texas experience not widely known to observers outside of the Tiger fan base, and some of these partially shaped the club for several seasons to come. One was greatly explained by a trade in July, 2013, though some reasons behind it weren't known until not long after the Fielder trade in November, 2013.

The July trade shipped rising Outfield prospect Avisail Garcia to the White Sox - we will see the results of this trade with a post here for a Tigers card in Update, many years from now. It was widely rumored that a major downer for Fielder, in 2013, was off-field marital problems involving one of his own team-mates. This culminated in a clubhouse fight between him and Garcia, which also dragged in Miguel Cabrera, and led immediately to the Garcia trade. The saddest part of the affair by far was the potential that it contributed to the beginnings of injury trouble for Fielder, and also for surefire future Hall of Famer Cabrera. This is the type of what-happens-in-the-clubhouse-stays-in-the-clubhouse incident that usually only comes out decades later in baseball books, which are usually only written about the greatest All-Timers of the game; it remains a little unclear to me if Miguel Cabrera will some day rate such a tome in the tl;dr century. If only he could have won a World Series in Detroit, too...

As all that salaciousness only slowly became known in the sad post-ALCS loss for the Tiger fanbase, they found a large ray of hope in the Fielder trade. Prince's move would allow Miguel Cabrera to return to First Base, something hopefully good for his playing time longevity, as the Tigers had a hot young hitter available to take over at Third - Nick Castellanos. With the exit of the now unpopular Fielder, the trade largely appeared to be an addition by subtraction effort for many Tigers fans.

A final bit of mysteriousness surrounds the financial impact facing the Tigers for paying all that money ( > $40 Million) for him to play in Texas. This probably became a bit of a wash for Detroit, due to Fielder's career ending injury, as there was surely injury insurance on a guaranteed contract that large. However no one really knows how the Fielder and Kinsler contracts were composed in that regard, and which team ultimately paid out how much in the situation.

All of this was hardly a storybook season of triumphs Topps likely had in mind when they selected Prince Fielder to appear on so much baseball card packaging. I would like to see another Detroit Tiger on a Topps wrapper some day, I guess.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

This card back perhaps reveals a selection factor for just why Topps went all-out with Fielder and their 2013 Series One baseball cards, something so unique in the history of the Detroit Tigers. Fans love the long ball, and so does Topps - win the Home Run Derby, and you will appear on a whole lot of baseball cards.

The 7 Lead Leader in Italics recorded here tie Fielder with his former teammate Ryan Braun, and Ryan Howard as well, for a lead among card backs in this set. Not recorded by Topps is the probable League Lead in "Wt" where Fielder bests Howard by 35. Perhaps that could serve as a tie-breaker.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 260 home runs, Fielder is 502 away from Barry Bonds' all-time record of 762.

Plenty of fans (well, aside from a few in Detroit) would have rooted for the usually affable Prince Fielder to win this particular race, and this is the only likely comparison in a baseball card back trivia contest like this one.

Fielder would finish his career with 319 Home Runs.

Subspecies? Though I would like to see a baseball card of Prince Fielder about to crush the fans along the rail while chasing a foul ball for a potential "Great Catch" short print, such was not to be.

But a 'wrapper man' is surely going to receive other such photo variation efforts in 2010s style Topps Baseball cards, and this same card does appear in Opening Day and Chrome. For his Chrome card, a truly unique card exists that I wish I could honestly show you from my own collection. This will likely arrive at Sea Turtle HQ some day, as after the sad end to his now non-Hall-of-Fame career track, his rare cards are generally available on collector markets.

That will also probably become the case for the "Sunglasses" variant inserted in Series 2 packs, but will remain a challenge for the "Postseason" variant to his Opening Day card, which are made in very limited quantities.

2013 Opening Day does supply the 2 cards that I like the most as a memento of his time in Detroit, beyond all the Series One ephemera at least. I was surprised this far more memorable "moon shot" style image wasn't used on this checklist:

I also like this card quite a bit for a nice memory of Prince Fielder -

This dynamic duo would also appear on 2 more cards in '13 Opening Day in the 'Superstar Celebration' inserts, but that type of checklist could well supply the most scarce (for a non 1/1 at least) baseball card of Prince Fielder, ever. For some reason, the "Play Hard" inserts created for Fielder and Cabrera had to be pulled from the product shortly after production began. The few cards already manufactured were immediately punched with a large hole in them - but a few escaped into the wild nonetheless.

The Play Hard inserts do manage to capture Fielder on another card, a Buster Posey card:

That card probably illustrates the true beginnings of the disenchantment with Prince Fielder among so many Tigers fans, as it shows him being tagged out in Game 2 of the 2012 World Series, with his foot probably about a foot away from Home Plate when the tag was applied. Baseball fans are legendary Captain Hindsights however, and this sin was unforgivable in a World Series. (It also supplied a long-held grudge for such fans against Third Base coach Gene LaMont, who waved him Home on the play; 3B coaches are only ever remembered for each and every mistake they make in such decisions.)

I would also be remiss in this post in not considering the most common 2013 Topps Baseball 'Sea Turtle' image of Prince Fielder of all of them:

Note that for some reason, this is not the same image as used on card #28. We have the same far-away eyes view after a ball was probably hit a very long ways, but here Fielder is wearing his road uniform, and full long sleeves. The additional follow-through might well make for a farther hit ball, who knows.

Perhaps some other baseball card blog could take up the mysteries of who appears on each Series of Topps Baseball each year, and the image used, etc., and whether that bodes good or bad for that player, that year. It worked out much better for the Series 2 cover boy, that I can tell you; we'll take a look at that some 300 or so posts from now.

And lastly, I also must share another bit of Sea Turtle baseball card history that I will probably literally never have enough physical space under my control to ever own:

This promotional event for the 2013 Topps Baseball cards created the largest baseball card the world has ever seen, and likely ever will see, at 84 feet x 60 feet.

Here is one more image of it, for a tiny bit of perspective here -

At press time here at Sea Turtle HQ, no word can be found on the fate of this 3,240 pound creation. Can you find the largest Sea Turtle card ever made? Don't try and bring it over to my house. Though perhaps it would be kind of cool to have the 10' x 30' panel of just the Sea Turtle.

Bling That Shell A card for the player on the wrapper surely deserves an epic parallel in the all-parallel set, you might suggest? Yes, I would say it does. For now, I only have the Toys R Us Purple parallel to show you, which scans a little better than it appears in hand. As you can probably tell by now I drive the project on the parallel color / Sea Turtle contrast created, so I would like to upgrade. The 2013 Factory Set Orange would be quite a bit more apropos here, some day, and a Pink wouldn't bother me, neither...

This card completes a binder page, so it is time to take a look at that. A few more Turtles have arrived here at HQ to assume their positions in the project, so look for a few updated links for the Page 2 cards in a blog post coming soon.

Until then, here are the Page 3 results:

Blog Update Highlight So, what will I display these colorful pages in? Naturally for all my cool picture trading card product needs, I would first consider What Would Topps Do? And this is surely the perfect card page in this set to share this handy 2013 Topps creation, a product they made for several sets for several years, but one I have not kept up with as to current availabilities / existence. For my 2013 All-Parallel set, this 3-ring binder will some day be the perfect Home: