1994 Topps Stadium Club #109 Gregg Jefferies (Cubs Cameo)

I've sporadically done a couple of post series on the blog over the years.

Por Que No Los Dos covers horiztonal Ivy cards, because I collect both of those categories individually and I think it's kind of neat when they overlap.

If a Cubs player shows up in the background of a non-Cubs card, I'll usually set it aside as well and do a "Cubs Cameo" post.

I enjoy finding the source photos of newer cards, but I also really enjoy when I can nail down a game on an older card.

This Gregg Jefferies card out of 1994 Topps Stadium Club hits all of these categories and I was pretty excited when I came across it. It's got some white speckles along the edges as I imagine it was part of a brick of cards at some point. But since it is a non-Cubs card, I will just passively keep an eye out for a better looking copy.

With that said, let's see if we can game date the photo. It looks like a stolen base attempt. I feel like if it was a double, the Cubs player would be in a different position to field the throw from the outfield/cutoff man.

So heading over to Gregg Jefferies' Baseball-Reference page, I'm looking for a 1993 game at Wrigley Field between the Cardinals and Cubs where Gregg Jefferies has a stolen base or a caught stealing.

Jefferies was 2/4 on attempts at Wrigley Field in 1993.

On June 18th, Jefferies reached on an error in the top of the 1st but was thrown out as part of a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. The receiving fielder is listed as the shortstop, Rey Sanchez. Though Sanchez wore #6 in 1992*, he wore #11 in 1993, which does not seem to match what can be seen on the back of the mystery Cubs player. So either way, the photo does not seem to match this play.

That didn't deter Jefferies as he stole two bases the next day, June 19th.

In the top of the 5th inning, Jefferies singled and eventually stole 2nd base cleanly. The 2nd baseman was #20, Eric Yelding. Again, not a clean match based on what we can see on the back of the Cubs jersey. Rey Sanchez was again at shortstop. Hmmm.

The other successful stolen base that day was of third, which does have any bearing here.

Let's fast forward to September 22 when Jefferies was thrown out for the second time.

In the top of the 4th inning, Jefferies had an RBI single but was thrown out trying to steal second. The shortstop was again the recipient of the catcher's throw.

This was a high scoring game (11-9 in the Cubs favor) so there were a lot of substitutions. Jose Vizcaino started the game at shortstop and bumped over to second base as part of a double switch-pitching change in the 6th inning. So Vizcaino was the shortstop of record in the 4th inning when this play happened. Vizcaino's jersey number in 1993?

16! I think we have a winner! I can easily see the "1" wrapping around to the unseen side of the fielder in the card photo.

Here is Vizcaino's card from the same set. You can see he is wearing the same kind of high-top Nike cleats in both photos. 

And for good measure, here is the back of the Jefferies card.

* Sanchez switched from #6 when Willie Wilson joined the Cubs prior to the 1993 season. Wilson had worn #6 during most of his tenure with the Royals and A's.



Cubs Cameo: 2018 Topps #189 Jedd Gyorko

A few weeks ago, I had a post about the 2018 Topps Starlin Castro card. It featured a nice moment, Castro tipping his cap to the Cubs dugout in his first trip back to Wrigley Field after being traded to the Yankees. But one of the things that made it a keeper was the Willson Contreras cameo in the background.

Fast forward to this past weekend and I picked up a few packs at Toys R Us. I haven't been to one of these in a while, I've got a high school junior and a college freshman. But after seeing what purple parallels go for, I thought I'd give them a try. I didn't pull a single purple Cub, but after sorting my base cards I did come across the Jedd Gyorko card.

There are only two good reasons I would keep a Cardinals card for my collection. Ivy in the background or a Cubs cameo.

In this case, we have another Willson Contreras sighting! And like the Castro card, we also see another umpire (Bill Welke). Umpires seem to be popping up on cards again after having been edited out or avoided for a long time. And to complete the quartet, we get a glimpse of the pitcher Jon Lester. A two-fer in terms of Cubs cameos!

Heading over to Getty Images, I searched "gyorko cubs 2017" which provided me with just 21 results. Easy Peasy.

With the full photo, there is one aspect that sticks out that eluded me with just the card. The bat is pink, as are the uniform number and undershirt sleeve on Lester. This photo was from Mother's Day weekend, when the MLB makes tweaks to uniforms and gear.

ST. LOUIS, MO - MAY 13: St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Jedd Gyorko (3) hits a home run in the bottom of the 4th inning during a MLB baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs on May 13, 2017 at the Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, MO. (Photo by Jimmy Simmons/Icon Sportwire)

According to the caption, this was on May 13th, the Saturday before Mother's Day. And unfortunately, it says the photo shows a Gyorko home run. There's no final score so let's head over to Baseball-Reference for the boxscore.

Well, that's not optimal.

According the BaseballReference chart, Gyorko's home run was the #2 play influencing win expectancy, increasing the Cardinals chances of winning by 13%.

Up until this home run, the game was tied 1-1. And interestingly, both runs were driven in by the starting pitchers (plays 3 & 4). The Cardinals would tack on three more to make it 5-1 before Ian Happ, who was making his MLB debut, homered in the 8th (the 5th play). It was his first Major League hit, though he was on base three of his four plate appearances.

I couldn't figure out how to embed the video but here is a link to the Gyorko home run.

And here's one to the Ian Happ home run.

As for the top play, here's another interesting video from this game, a slide intereference call against Happ on a double play ball. That's one of those plays where you have to hate the rule, not the umpires but it sure was a rally killer.

After watching that last video, I clearly remember watching that game live on TV for Happ's debut but nothing about the Gyorko home run.

Cubs Cameo: 2018 Topps #109 Starlin Castro

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I stopped off on my way to work and picked up a hanger box of 2018 Topps. I waited until my lunch break to crack it open and posted some photos and thoughts on Twitter.

I heard some grumblings about the design the past few weeks and thought I was in the minority of those who liked it. But it seemed like a lot of people were excited to rip into it yesterday. One of the things that jumped out at me was a sharp uptick in the number of quality photographs used on these cards, today's card included.

My hanger box was a bit of a dud in terms of cards I'll keep for my collection but it was still an enjoyable experience. My only regret was picking up the Target version (Derek Jeter exclusive) as opposed to the Walmart one (Kris Bryant exclsuive). I knew about it, but Target was on my way to work and my Walmart is hit or miss with cards.

So two guaranteed Cubs cards would have been nice because it turns out there weren't any in the box I chose. And no Ivy cards. But I did manage to pull one card I'll be keeping for my burdgeoning Cubs Cameo collection.

The Cubs traded Starlin Castro to the Yankees following the 2015 season and this was his first trip back to the North Side because the Cubs only play the Yankees every three years and at Wrigley Field every six. Castro appears to be tipping his cap to the Cubs dugout which is on the third base side at Wrigley.

It was nice that he was able to show that kind of respect to his former teammates. He had the terrible luck of being the face of some really terrible teams, only to be traded in the offseason right before the World Series drought ended.

But by Cubs cameo, I don't mean a former Cubs player. I'm talking about the lurking Cubs catcher, Willson Contreras on the left side of the card. Most of this little collection is dupicate Ivy cards that have sliding Cubs in double play situations, so this makes a fine addition.

Here we have the source photo courtesy of Getty Images. According to the caption:

The New York Yankees' Starlin Castro gestures to the Chicago Cubs' dugout in his first bat appearance in the first inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Friday, May 5, 2017. The Yankees won, 3-2. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)

The Cubs played his old walk up music that got the crowd pumped. I found a nice little video from that moment:

And a video montage the Cubs played on the jumbotron to summarize his time in Chicago:

The only bad thing about this card is that the Yankees would win this game 3-2 on a 9th inning, 3-run home run off the bat of Brett Gardner. This feat earned Gardner a Topps Now card that sits in the Ivy collection.

From the back I learned his first home run of 2018 will be the 100th of his career.

Here we are, one day into the baseball card season and I have a contender for one of my favorite non-Cubs cards of the year already in hand. This one will make my year end countdown, I'm sure.