2016 Topps Heritage Minors recaps

I picked up a couple of pre-sell boxes from Blowout Cards and got them the same day the product officially hit the streets - from two boxes, it looks like I was able to complete a 200-card base set, which was a relief since I didn't want to worry about looking for any missing set cards.

I listed the contents of my breaks in a Google Sheets file to see how many cards towards the base set were in each box - the count was 124/200 in the first box and 125/200 in the second box with no apparent dupes.

The following cards listed are the various inserts / parallels and short prints I pulled from the boxes.

#1 Brendan Rodgers / Asheville Tourists - Sticker

#11 Andrew Benintendi / Portland Sea Dogs - Sticker
#16 Amir Garrett / Pensacola Blue Wahoos - Sticker
#17 Billy McKinney / Tennessee Smokies - Sticker
#22 Andrew Stevenson / Potomac Nationals - Sticker
#28 Hunter Harvey / Frederick Keys - Sticker
#32 Taylor Ward / Inland Empire 66ers - Sticker
#35 Ted E. Tourist / Asheville Tourists - Sticker
#38 Phinley / Clearwater Threshers - Sticker
#45 Reedy Rip’It / Greenville Drive - Sticker
#50 Rally Shark / Myrtle Beach Pelicans - Sticker
#6 Kyle Zimmer / NW Arkansas Naturals - Sticker
#CCR-RN Renato Nunez - Clubhouse Collection relic
#CCR-RT Raimel Tapia - Clubhouse Collection relic
#MM-10 Mike Hessman - Minor Miracles insert
#MM-12 Lucas Giolito - Minor Miracles insert
#MM-15 Ariel Jurado - Minor Miracles insert
#MM-3 Derek Fisher - Minor Miracles insert
#MM-5 A.J. Reed - Minor Miracles insert
#MM-8 Louisville Bats - Minor Miracles insert
#ROA-AE Anderson Espinoza - Real One autograph

#ROA-DJ Drew Jackson - Real One autograph
#147 Mauricio Dubon - blue border serial #’d 35/99
#15 Renato Nunez - blue border serial #’d 83/99

#150 Sean Newcomb - peach border serial #’d 14/25
#179 Victor Robles - blue border serial #’d 89/99
#86 Ryan Williams - blue border serial #’d 94/99
#201 Christin Stewart - short print
#202 Brendan Rodgers - short print
#205 Drew Jackson - short print
#207 Rafael Devers - short print
#211 Alex Reyes - short print

#215 Yoan Moncada - short print

Jose Fernandez - when it's it, it's it

I only knew of him as a star pitcher who had a God given right arm, so my big takeaway from Fernandez' death last Sunday is that you have to enjoy the run - because even for guys we put on a pedestal, watch on TV and have on fantasy teams, life can be fragile and unforgiving.

Fernandez was a 24-year old who had already endured and survived to be one of the world's best baseball players - he wasn't a guy who would have taken anything for granted, though it was still a somber moment for me to see the headline that he'd passed.

Besides the legacy he leaves as a big league player maybe his personality, his bravado and love for the game is what is going to be missed - if you didn't know much about the guy, I think those qualities is what will stand the test of time, combing through the highlights and the accounts of Fernandez's relatively short life.

Autograph request through the mail received: Ryne Sandberg

The Hall of Fame second baseman signed my two cards in blue Sharpie and sent them back in about a couple of weeks c/o a working address in Illinois - after seeing a fairly consistent stream of successes posted with Ryno, I finally put together a request on my own with a small fee and sent it out.

Featured autograph - Cody Ege

When he popped up on the Angels' active roster, Ege sounded like the most random guy ever - a 15th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 2013, the 25-year old lefty was traded to the Miami Marlins a couple years ago and then picked up on waivers by the Angels

Ege fits a profile of guy who may put in a couple of years playing at the big league level before fading out - I wondered how I was going to add his autograph to my Angels collection, but I picked up signed minor league card through the SCN message boards.

Andrew Benintendi Topps Now #385

Benintendi zoomed to the big leagues in his full professional season and I'd wanted to grab his MLB debut Topps Now card - so I had a MLB/MLBPA issued rookie year card that is kind of an oddball, since Benintendi's actually rookie cards were held back for next year.

However, I ended up getting Benintendi's second 2016 Topps Now instead - I had a feeling there would be a Topps card of Benintendi crashing into the left field railing to rob a Tampa Bay Rays batter [Steven Souza Jr.] of a home run.

Who knows if Benintendi will do at least a few more things this year that will warrant another Topps Now cards made - but the home run robbing card [846 printed] is a keeper.

Before getting injured in August and being out a little bit of time, Benintendi was really getting comfortable hitting in the big leagues - he just came back on Sept. 15 and was 2-for-6 combined with two doubles in his last two games played.

Featured autograph - Ryan Schimpf

Originally property of the Toronto Blue Jays, the 28-year old rookie has been one of the few highlights in a long season for the San Diego Padres - despite a .229 batting average, the lefty hitting Schimpf has tallied up 39 extra base hits in just 236 at-bats, including 19 home runs, 15 doubles and 5 triples.

At the very least, his impressive rookie season gives him at least a couple of more years to stick it out in the big leagues - when perhaps he was destined to be a career minor leaguer or someone who ends up playing overseas.

I got this 2010 Midwest League card signed earlier in the year during a trip to Las Vegas to graph the visiting Padres' AAA team - when I was pulling cards for the team, I knew I had the one Schimpf, though he was just another guy I had to track down for a scribble.

Featured autograph - Danny Goodwin

For a guy who was selected No. 1 overall in the nation twice, Goodwin was a bust - he's been pretty much obscured by history, but the one-time Angel was named to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

I picked up a certified autograph of his and then ended up with this stamped Topps buyback - I find it funny that Goodwin is posing with a glove when the position listed on the card is 'DH.'

2016 Bowman Platinum blaster box

This Walmart exclusive product seem to be flooding into various locations now and I grabbed a blaster and two 12-card packs - while I consider these cards a secondary, 'lesser' product, the foil board cards are a change of pace from the regular Bowman / Bowman Chrome products, which gets repetitive and boring.

Bonus pack
#93 Byron Buxton
#81 Eddie Rosario
#TP-DC Daz Cameron

#TP-DD David Dahl

Pack one
#41 Matt Harvey
#21 Nolan Arenado

#NG-18 Jacob deGrom - Next Generation insert green parallel serial #’d 79/99

#TP-WC Willson Contreras

Pack two
#23 Yoenis Cespedes
#59 Blake Snell

#NG-14 Kenta Maeda - Next Generation insert
#TP-RD Rafael Devers

Pack three

#26 Julio Urias
#5 Kris Bryant
#52 David Wright
AFL promotion info card
#TP-DA Domingo Acevedo

Pack four
#97 Carlos Correa
#71 Brian Dozier
#69 Michael Conforto
#TP-DA Orlando Arcia

Pack five
#22 Byung-Ho Park
#47 Jorge Soler

#NG-4 Kris Bryant - Next Generation insert
#TP-ABE Andrew Benintendi

Pack six

#1 Mike Trout
#8 Paul Goldschmidt
#46 Tyler Naquin
#TP-VG Vladimir Guerrero

Pack seven

#11 Michael Fulmer
#96 David Price

#NGP-3 Dansby Swanson - Next Generation Prospects insert
#TP-TC Trent Clark 

Angels Topps stamped buyback cards

These dingy old Topps cards add wrinkles to my Opening Day collection - the Topps buyback stamps make the cards a curiosity of sorts [even if the cards are literally fillers] and depending on a specific card or player, I might seek them out on impulse.

1965 Topps Bob Rodgers #342

1966 Topps Jim Fregosi #5

1966 Topps Bobby Knoop #280

1974 Topps Bob Oliver #243

1974 Topps Sandy Alomar #347

1977 Topps Orlando Ramirez #131

1978 Topps Joe Rudi #635

Featured autograph - Ryan Jackson

The journeyman infielder had played a little bit with the Angels AAA team the past couple of years and appeared in 22 games with the big league team in 2015 - primarily a second baseman, Jackson didn't do much as he was hitless in 9 at-bats with a walk and 5 strikeouts.

2016 Topps Archives Mike Trout Super

Inspired by a stand alone Topps oddball set from 1969, this is a cutesy Topps insert from 2016 Archives - I like the minimalist design with the rounded corners and facsimile autograph, so I added the card on the cheap.

Trout has to be 'the guy' among my list of players to collect, but Topps and whomever else can make baseball cards picturing big leaguers will be making up Trout inserts for a long time - so there may not be any real rush to add any new Trout cards unless I stumble upon them.

Loose card finds - Opening Day collection

To feel like I'm making progress with my Opening Day collection, I got 20 different common Angels cards from some quarter boxes - maybe the cards I picked up on a scavenger hunt of sorts were redundant, but it gave me some peace of mind to knock out these players' cards.

2016 Topps Heritage Yunel Escobar #306
2016 Topps Archives Sandy Alomar Sr. and Jr. - Father / Son insert; I was vaguely aware of this card and I thought I maybe able to use it.
2014 Topps Gypsy Queen Raul Ibanez #148
2007 Topps Heritage Shea Hillenbrand #220
1992 Upper Deck Hubie Brooks #709
1988 Topps Butch Wynegar #737
1988 Fleer Dick Schofield #504
1987 Topps Dick Schofield #502

The 1970s old-school / vintage cards were probably in ‘vg-ex’ or worse condition - I actually had two or three of them, though I don't mind using duplicates of a card to represent a different year.

1973 Topps Jim Spencer #319 - this one ends up being a dupe in my Opening Day collection.

1974 Topps Leroy Stanton #594
1976 Topps Jerry Remy #229

1976 Topps Dave Collins #363

1976 Topps Bruce Bochte #637 - this one ends up being a dupe in my Opening Day collection.
1977 Topps Jerry Remy #342
1981 Topps Rick Miller #239
1981 Topps Dave Frost #286
1981 Topps Bob Clark #288
1984 Fleer Bob Boone #509
1984 Fleer Brian Downing #515 - this one ends up being a dupe in my Opening Day collection.
1985 Fleer Bob Boone #295

Featured autograph - Jett Bandy

I got Bandy's autograph when he was in the minor leagues - he was a 31st round pick by the Angels 2011 and at 26 is only getting his first prolonged experience playing in the big leagues.

As is, he is a catcher and they take a little while to develop as opposed to another position player on the field - if Bandy could just continue to hit a little bit and presumably do what he has to satisfy manager's Mike Scioscia's demands for his backstops, then Bandy maybe the Angels No. 1 guy at catcher for at least the next few seasons.

Featured autograph - Jefry Marte

I give myself a part on the back whenever I've gotten some random player's autograph and he is picked up and plays at some point for the Angels - I got Marte to sign this card back when he was a prospect in the New York Mets organization.

Marte has put in time with the Angels this year, has some pop in his bat and is only 25 - at this point however, Marte is nothing to get too excited about since he's an unproven guy playing on a dead end team.

Some miscellaneous Angels finds

I picked up a small lot of Angels cards for about $3 - primarily for the 2016 Topps Stadium Club cards of Mike Trout [#280], Albert Pujols [#152], Nolan Ryan [#80], C.J. Wilson [#93], Huston Street [#2] and Garrett Richards [#80].

There was also 2016 Topps Allen and Ginter cards of Pujols [#211] and Street [#193] included - I'll probably see if I can pick up a regular set [1-350] at some point though haven't touched any loose packs or blasters.

Old Man Pujols is inking it up after a spring training workout - his numbers have dipped and while he nearly 100 RBIs on the year, the last time someone cared about that stat [which Fangraphs would say is more of a result of the players getting on-base infront of you than any particular skill attributed to a batter] was 20 years ago.

This is more of a traditional baseball image - though it shows Ryan in his mid 1970s Angels prime.

Wilson is goofing off for the photographer and I guess I appreciate the silliness - though I don't know what Wilson is doing and the image seems a little too orchestrated and unnatural.

After hearing an apparent change, I wanted to see what the card stock was like for this year's Allen and Ginter set - this year's cards are thicker and sturdier, but the card stock used before seemed a little more fancy, a little more classy.

Featured autograph - Prince Fielder

Longevity seemed like it was always going to be an issue with Prince's body type and while an iron man of sorts for the bulk of his career, he'd already been in decline - his slugging percentage had dropped from 2011-2013 while he was limited to 42 games in 2014.

Prince had sort of a bounce back bounceback year in 2015 and while I hoped he would continue slugging his way back into prominence - he labored for much of this year and a neck injury cuts his big league career short at 32.

While there should is a little mourning over the apparent end, Prince maxed out his talents - ever since he tagged along with his big league father and hit home runs at old Tiger Stadium as a chubby 12-year old, Prince was expected to be like his dad.

Unlike his father, Prince swung the bat from the left side and while the body type was similar, Prince was a bit shorter than Fielder the elder - while father and son each hit 319 home runs for their careers, Prince seemed to be a better all-around hitter, with four seasons of 150 OPS+, compared to one for 'Big Daddy.'

Farewell Mark Teixeira - a pro all the way

Though Teixeira has had a fine career, it looks like his body is beat up and is apparently retiring at the end of the 2016 season - his year-to-year numbers have generally been in decline for the past five years.

A one-time Angel in 2008, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 193 at-bats in a 54-game stint after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves near the trade deadline - he provided such a boost with a bat, that it was disappointing [even if any sort of long-term deal wasn't really meant to be] not to see him back with the Angels.

Losing Teixeira through free agency meant the Angels were compensated with a 2009 first-round draft pick - the team used the pick to select Mike Trout, who at 25, continues to build on a monumental career.

The circumstances that gifted the Angels with Trout was something that happened because Teixeira bolted for New York - so there maybe indifference but no real ill will towards 'Tex' after the fact.

After leaving the Angels, I probably hoped Teixeira would be more of an albatross as the years passed by - but in his first season with the Yankees, Teixeira got what he came for when he had another big season and helped the team win a World Series championship in 2009.

Teixeira was a polished college player when the Texas Rangers drafted him in 2001 and was a ready made big leaguer when he made his big league debut in 2003 - he really had some big seasons with the Texas Rangers and I thought he was going to be a superstar for years to come.