#66 - Daniel Nava

What’s that Turtle doin’? Hopin' it drops in for a hit, I reckon.

This card is kind of stuck in a bit of a neutral zone between being a Hitting card or a Base Running card — at first it sure doesn't look like Nava is running, yet.

But upon closer inspection, there is a definite amount of bright white there between Daniel's legs, which would have to be the bottom of his left leg. Which finally settles it for me — this is a Base Running card.

Further bits of confirmation of the true amount of kinetic activity here is the blurring of his right hand, and even some bits of, something, flying off his left hand. I scanned this card twice, thinking that was dust sticking to the card. Instead, it is dust now not sticking to Nava.

The only other realization that can be had about this card is that the photo was taken at night, given all the reflections on the batting helmet. It isn't all that exciting of a 'Night Card', but the card is still very workman-like and well done in that it shows the collector what Daniel Nava looks like, and most specifically, what he looks like while he is playing baseball.

Uniform Hero? Oh yes; again a bit of an accomplishment to work this trick this high in the uniform digits.

Where’d the egg hatch? Nava was a quite rare type of player in Major League Baseball today - an American player, who was never drafted. At all. As in, not even in the 49th round.

How about the migrations? Well, we are about to get some of the details here shortly. I will just borrow a bit from Nava's Wikipedia page: "...and signed with the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League. The Outlaws cut him after a tryout, only to bring him back a year later to fill a void." Which was Nava's experience with the very first baseball club that ever signed him, and a player/club dynamic that would follow Nava all the way through his career.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

I love the detail that Nava did go to college before playing baseball for money, but at a junior college. Which is just exactly perfect as one begins learning the full story of Nava's career.

What is slightly surprising is that the card back writer doesn't bring up the easy money story of Nava; I will borrow another sentence from the Wiki writer here: "Nava is only the fourth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first major league at bat and the second to do it on the first pitch."

This is actually only Nava's 2nd Topps Baseball card, and fortunately for all that is well and good and to be expected of perfect Topps Baseball card backs, his Rookie Card in 2010 Update does get to use that bit of Rookie glory on the back.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 104 hits, Nava is 4,152 from the all-time record of 4,256.

It has been awhile in this set since we have forgotten all about Pete Rose all over again, thanks to all those Pitcher cards. This was a prophetic pick, sort of, for Daniel Nava and the 2013 MLB season. No, Nava never entered any All-Time lists for most Hits by any category you wish, probably not even short-term Fan Favorite in Boston, which always has 1-2 such players at all times given the enthusiastic fan base.

2013 would be Nava's best in the Majors, turning in a .303 AVG (good for 8th in the AL), and a .385 OBP (good for 5th). But as can already be seen in the results on the card back above, Nava could just never seem to string together 2 consecutive good seasons. His 2nd-best year in the Majors, with Philly in 2017, was also his last year in the Majors as he could not crack the 25 Man roster the next year with Pittsburgh.

In 2019, Nava went back to Independent League play with the Kansas City T-Bones.

He finished his MLB career with 452 Hits across 7 seasons with 5 teams.

Subspecies? If Daniel Nava could have strung together consecutive starting seasons with the Red Sox, he probably would have been an easy pick for the Opening Day checklist, given his spectacular baseball 'origin story', as it were. However this was his first card in 3 years and that bit of non-career-continuity kept him off the other entry level checklists in 2013.

But I think Topps has always liked the Fan Favorites in Boston more than elsewhere, probably because Topps is from Mets country, bottom line. And thus Daniel Nava does appear in another Sea Turtle set: Update! Probably only a never-drafted American player can also pull off that feat of having a card in the Topps Baseball set _and_ the Update set, without ever changing teams. So this blog will see Daniel Nava again, many, many years from now.

The enigmatic luck results of Daniel Nava and Baseball (I really want to go on a deeper dive with his BABIP stats now; I suspect they might be pretty odd) continued right to the end - he also managed to appear on a card in the 2018 Topps Baseball set as a Pittsburgh Pirate, without ever appearing in a game for them.

Bling That Shell Hitting a Grand Slam on your first Major League Pitch — that certainly seems worthy of probably the premiere parallels in Topps Baseball sets of the 2010s: the Topps Black. Perfect for a Night Card, too:

#64 - Will Middlebrooks

What’s that Turtle doin’? It's a bird, it's a plane, it's - an impossible camera angle? I mean, is the photographer allowed out on the field, now?

This is one card where I particularly wish the player's position was noted on the front of the card. I already knew Middlebrooks played Third Base, but knowing that is a big part of what makes this photo even more dramatic. I'm thinking the photographer (Jim Davis, Boston Globe) must have been at least a bit beyond First, to capture Middlebrook's face coming towards us like this. So let's once again see what the Internet might have on this one:

BOSTON - JUNE 26: Red Sox 3B Will Middlebrooks dives, but can't get to a sixth inning ball hit by Toronto's Rajai Davis, not pictured, but the ball went to SS Mike Aviles, who threw to secondbase for a force out to end the inning. The Boston Red Sox hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in a major league baseball game at Fenway Park. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Knowing all that mentally drags the image even farther into the middle of the diamond, making this an even more impressive display of camera wizardry. I also like how this photo & baseball card comparison illustrates that sometimes, the crowd is already blurred in the photo, before the Topps wizards go to work.

As for the wizards' decisions here, the card does crop out the baseball zinging past, but that is quite alright in this case.

I have a nice, specific 2013 memory about this card, though not about acquiring the card. I completed Series One fairly early in it's release that winter. A month or so later, with Opening Day quite close, I was delighted to be baseball card shopping in eastern North Carolina one rainy day and the Local Card Shop owner proved to be a Red Sox fan. Naturally, conversation turned to coming season outlooks, and I imparted my base optimism for the Sox' chances that year - "Looks like they have a great new third baseman," I said. "Yeah, did you see that new Middlebrooks card?" replied the owner. "That's one of my favorites. I think the Sox will be back in the playoffs this year." This drew a shrug - the correct pessimistic New Englander response.

I also like how this card foreshadows Middlebrooks famously diving for a ball in the World Series some 7 months later.

There is no question that if I had to pick 9 favorite cards from the 2013 set, this card would make that cut.

Uniform Hero? For such a heroic photograph selection, I would hope the card # would match even though it is not visible. Middlebrooks did wear #64 with the Red Sox in 2012, a number more likely to seen on a Rookie than a veteran.

One other heroic thing about this card is that it finally ends what I have been calling the 'Pitcher Parade' in this set - 16 sequential cards for Pitchers. I have to wonder if that has ever happened on any other Topps Baseball checklist.

Where’d the egg hatch? The Red Sox drafted Middlebrooks in the 5th round of the 2007 draft.

How about the migrations? This is Will's card for his sophomore season in MLB; his Rookie campaign in Boston had this particular baseball card collector already pondering what might happen...

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

That is such a nice looking Rookie stat line. But what those #s, nor the bit-of-a-stretch pun in the card back text, can relate is a certain shadow already routinely falling over the career of Will Middlebrooks: injury; his 2012 campaign actually ended in August.

His 2013 season would include only 93 games and Boston had to work around yet more injuries for Middlebrooks by bringing up another infielder a little earlier than planned, but that ultimately worked out just fine as that younger prospect's name was Xander Bogaerts.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 54 RBI, Middlebrooks is 2,243 away from Hank Aaron's all-time record of 2,297.

A different stat clipping from his call-up informs this one: in his first 41 games for the Sox, Middlebrooks had 34 RBI. A slugging % > .500 for a Rookie will also bring on such thoughts of a key batting order spot and steady production.

Will Middlebrooks seemed to perpetually battle injury in his career, which probably peaked on this card, really. Subsequent stops included San Diego, Milwaukee, and Texas. A broken leg playing in Spring Training for Philadelphia in 2018 was his final entry on the IL. As the front of this card shows, it seems he always played hard.

Middlebrooks finished his career with 155 RBI.

Subspecies? Recall here that the original photo shows this great attempt at diving for the ball didn't work; perhaps that would disqualify including this great photo in the "Great Catch" series of photo variations in Series One. 

But Topps would hardly let a card this good go to waste, and it is included in both Opening Day and Chrome.

Bling That Shell Like many of my favorite cards in this set, I am a little tempted to collect a rainbow of this card. However it is such a popular card that I can't recall often seeing any of the limited /x parallels of it for sale. The photo is shot at night and the only real feature of the card is Will Middlebrooks himself, so I think any parallel of this would look pretty good; really this is another one for which the base "white" version is hard to improve on as photography clearly trumps design here.

I went with the Opening Day Blue version, probably because I pulled it from a pack but did not hit the OD version of the preceding Masterson card. I believe these parallels are very similar to what are called "foilboards" in the 2020 baseball card collecting world; what is more dramatic here is the nice dark blue frame rather than the background 'foil' effects.

Another great thing about this spot in the checklist is that we have reached the end of a binder page again, and can move on into the checklist and away from the Pitcher Parade via the best way possible in a baseball card binder: by turning the page.

#32 - Craig Breslow

What’s that Turtle doin’? This is probably technically a live game photo from the field of play. There would be no way or much reason to worry about knowing for sure. I am going to Blogger label it a "Candid" as it does contribute nicely to some baseball card variety in this set.

The only action on the card is the standard habit of a Pitcher rubbing the baseball vigorously to improve his grip on it. Though only, probably - the viewer can't confirm that a baseball is actually present in Breslow's hands. But I bet it would take a little while to find another baseball card depicting this particular baseball playing activity, so that makes me like this card.

Given the overall relaxed nature of the image, I like the torso-only approach here, which is perfectly framed/composed.

The other items of interest in the image are no less than 3 shoulder accessories to consider. For the classic red socks the Red Sox wear on their left shoulder, on the road uniform only, this is probably the best card in the set for showing them off. And probably one of the best examples of them on a baseball card I can think of. Sometimes using a from-the-uniform logo in the design of a baseball card can result in duplicative or even triplicate usage of the logo, sometimes in close proximity on the card design and the player photo, and that can get a little nutty on some cards. Two pairs of Sox, as on this card, feels just fine though.

Also interesting are the 2 items on Breslow's right shoulder. The "Fenway 100 Years" patch was worn by the Red Sox in 2012 and the best on-card example of it could be (we'll see...) a 'manufactured patch' card I included in the post for the first Red Sox card in the set, #15 - Dustin Pedroia.

What do I mean about a 2nd item on his right shoulder? There is also a black armband being worn, something easy to miss on a baseball card. This is a memorial effort for Boston Red Sox all-around everyman with the club, Johnny Pesky. He died on Aug. 12, 2012 after a near complete lifetime in a Red Sox uniform, as a player (debuted in 1940), manager, coach, broadcaster, front office employee, roving instructor, and general historical lodestar for decades; he was sometimes referred to as "Mr. Red Sox." 

The black armband was only worn on the road uniform for the balance of the 2012 season, due to the use of the red socks patch on the left shoulder. On home uniforms at that time, a more traditional round uniform # (6) patch was worn on the left shoulder. I can't recall seeing a clear image of that on any Topps Baseball card, but I will certainly be watching for even traces of it on all my 2013 Boston Red Sox baseball cards.

Uniform Hero? As with the previous card, another technical "yes." Placing a basic journeyman reliever amidst all the star power in this checklist sequence is basically the third wtf? on this idea.

I suspect that here again, a player team change may have resulted in just an ordinary player assuming this card #. The most famous player to wear #32 in 2012 was Josh Hamilton, who's star was still burning it's way brightly onto many Topps cards in 2013 releases. However he had signed with the California Angels in mid-December 2012 as this set was being assembled; he would appear on a couple insert cards in Series One as a Texas Ranger and in Series Two as a California Angel, and more importantly, his base card was issued in Series 2.

Quite likely, it was simpler to just plug in any other random Uni #32 player right here and keep on makin' more baseball cards.

Where’d the egg hatch? Craig Breslow was originally drafted by the Brewers in the 26th round in 2002, making him the highest draft round selection in the set so far.

How about the migrations? He eventually debuted in MLB action with the Padres, commencing a fairly normal career arc for a reliever that included pitching for 7 teams, and 3 of them twice. Across his career, he would appear on only 4 Topps Baseball cards, this one being his third.

Perhaps being placed in this checklist spot created excellent luck for Breslow as his 2013 season was probably his best, statistically, and he was able to enjoy being a key cog in a bullpen for a World Series winning team.

Breslow would remain in Boston through the 2015 season and retire after the 2017 season, his 12th. In the winter of 2019 he was hired to work in the Chicago Cubs organization on the strength of his reputation in the game as being one of the smartest players around, a rep slightly fore-shadowed on the back of this very baseball card...

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

Now that is the kind of just exactly perfect uselessly entertaining / entertainingly useless information one enjoys reading on the back of a Topps Baseball card, particularly for one featuring a player in New England.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 358 games pitched, Breslow is 894 away from Jesse Orosco's all-time record of 1,252.

This is a new record chase to consider, although this is still only the fourth Pitcher card in the set. Still I doubt anyone having already read a passel of these nerdy little baseball card back lines expected to consider a Jesse Orosco All-Time record on the back of this one, or already knew that Jesse Orosco held an All-Time record. Topps, keeping you connected to The Game.

For a middle reliever, this is of course the perfect record to consider. I expect we won't see this Career Chase very much until we reach the Update cards, several baseball seasons from now.

Craig Breslow pitched in 576 Major League Baseball games in his career.

Subspecies? Nope.

Bling That Shell Given the Hall of Fame future of this particular page of 9 Topps Baseball cards, I am always surprised when I look at this page at how things worked out for this card in particular. That probably traces back to a mixed lot purchase of some of these parallels, which supplied the next card in the checklist and in turn probably made using one of the parallels with the 2 highest prints (unknown in total) for one of the 2 most common players on the page -- a bit of a fait accompli here:

#15 - Dustin Pedroia

What’s that Turtle doin’? This card illustrates a not uncommon minor problem on the checklist, at least when cards are viewed as part of a set, rather than just singles in a Team or Player Collection: it is nearly identical to the card preceding it.

I would say this card is better than the Konerko card however, for two reasons - the wrinkles, and the eyes. The wrinkles of Pedroia's uniform supply the viewer with a perception that he just leaned in towards the Plate, and set his bat in preparation for the pitch. There is a sense of motion for the whole thing.

The image is also cropped/zoomed in a fair bit farther than the previous one, though still not quite as much as the Jeter card on the previous page; we can see the belt, but just barely. One result is Pedroia's left hand is sliced by the frame edge, but that is worthwhile because with the tighter zoom, we are able to see Dustin's eyes, focused on the pitcher, completely clearly. I only sometimes would be willing to trade in a view of a baseball players eyes on his card for a better action shot - it had better be a darn good action shot. Pedroia's eyes, combined with the line of his eye black and the brim of his batting helmet, lead us, also, off the side of the card and out towards the soon-to-be-released baseball. We are ready for the pitch, too.

At first glance, this card shares another similarity with Konerko's - some sort of bonus gear on Pedroia's left elbow. Is he nursing a minor arm injury back to 100%? This makes me turn the card over, hmm, he played in 141 games in 2012, so, perhaps, perhaps not. However the black piece of athletic gear there is not an actual brace intended to support the arm muscles, but rather is simply a pad some batters wear on the elbow that faces the pitcher. Probably a good idea for a batter that has a stance with as much 'lean in' as Pedroia is displaying here.

+Bonus points for the shiny sunshine spot on the top of the batting helmet, and the way blurry fans with the blue shirts contribute to the image behind the helmet. This almost gives Pedroia a halo effect, which seems fitting for such a popular player.

Uniform Hero? Yes. Pedroia claimed #15 in his Rookie season, although he had to wear #64 during a brief call-up the season before, illustrating a bit of how uniform #s work in MLB.

Where’d the egg hatch? Dustin was drafted in the 2nd round by the Red Sox in 2004 and debuted in 2006, though his official Rookie year was 2007 - when he won Rookie of the Year.

How about the migrations? There have been none. In his sophomore campaign in 2008, Pedroia won an AL MVP, neither fact all that surprising given his neighbors on this checklist. Unfortunately, his entire career has been intertwined with cycles of injury with more 'shortened' seasons than 'everyday starter' seasons. 2018 saw his lowest point yet - only 11 At Bats when another injury comeback process did not work out.

Nevertheless he has had an excellent career in MLB with plenty of postseason success to enjoy as well. He is signed through 2021 and will surely see more MLB action in his future as I write, just before 2019 Spring Training.

Don’t flip over real Turtles.

Another this-is-what-you-want-to-see-on-the-back-of-a-baseball-card baseball card back. Topps adds a nice tip o' the glove to the offensive highlights displayed in the stat columns, with the text comment. The only downer is in the G column, which leads one to wonder how many League Leader in Italics there could have been on the card with more full seasons of play, rather than the 4 we do find.

Can the Turtle Catch the Rabbit?

CAREER CHASE: With 560 runs, Pedroia is 1,735 away from Rickey Henderson's all-time record of 2,295.

Here we have a new record to consider, though it is the second from All-Time Great Rickey Henderson. Pedroia has largely batted 2nd in his career, fitting for such an excellent hitter. Early in his career he was productive at stealing bases and has one 20-20 season. Top-of-the-order guys are going to score more Runs; Pedroia has also led-off and batted 3rd a fair bit each, as well.

But as we have seen, injuries tell the tale and to break an All-Time record, good luck with health is very important. In 2018, Pedroia scored one Run, bringing his career total to 921.

Subspecies? As one would expect for such a shining light of MLB, Pedroia appears in both Opening Day and Chrome, though with this same basic image each time. There are no other variations of this card. But since we all like looking at cards more than reading about them, let's take a short break from the Sea Turtles and check out some of his other cards issued in the 2013 Sea Turtle sets - because I really liked each of these:

How's that for a 'Superman' card?

Yes, I like stadiums on my baseball cards. One of Pedroia's 2012 teammates has a very good one later on in the set. And speaking of stadiums -

This is one of the few "Patch" cards I have ever kept for my Permanent, Personal Collection, though it looks like I will have to assemble a 9 card Pedroia Player Collection now too. Before I moved to Michigan and became primarily a Tigers fan, I was a Red Sox fan thanks to a Massachusetts-bred neighbor when I was very young, which combined well with watching the 1975 World Series, including seeing all of Game Six, live. That left a mark.

I have been in awe of Fenway Park ever since and it is one of my life goals to see a game there. Once upon a time I was in Boston, during baseball season, with the Red Sox on a home stand right then, and staying with a friend across the street from Fenway, even - all to see this All-Time Great rock band I love probably more than Baseball. There were even day games going on - I could double dip, I hoped, game in the daytime, rock concert in the night time. Fenway at last! Unfortunately, this was in late September during a Pennant Chase, and there was no get-up-early-and-wait-in-line-for-a-Day-Of-bleacher-ticket as at many MLB stadiums. All the Red Sox tickets had been sold in advance and were quite more expensive than just sticking to the plan of seeing my boys from San Francisco in the Boston Garden. Sigh.

2012 was the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park and the Red Sox wore the patch replicated on the above card. I also picked up the 2012 Factory Set Special Fenway Edition with a little packet of authentic dirt from Fenway affixed to a card. Maybe when I finally take in a game at Fenway some day, I hope, I won't look at cards showing Fenway stadium quite as wistfully.

Bling That Shell With all the star power on this early portion of the checklist, there are still multiple cards to pick from on this 2nd page that appear in Opening Day. I went with the Pedroia card, once again likely because it is the one I pulled from a pack: