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Topps Card Of The Day Archive, January 2018
COTD Archive 2014: May June/July August/September October November December
COTD Archive 2015: January/February March April May June July August September/October November/December
COTD Archive 2016: January February/March April/May June July August September October November December
COTD Archive 2017: January February/March April May June July August September October November December
COTD Archive 2018: January Current Month
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1/30/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 2017 Topps #225 Wade Davis, Royals
More Wade Davis Topps Cards: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Wade Davis makes his second appearance in COTD; we broke down his 2012 Topps card back in July 2015.
Davis' career has changed dramatically since that 2012 card; after joining KC, he teamed with Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera as one of the best bullpen trios in recent memory for the 2014 pennant winners. Seriously—dude was filthy with the Royals, pitching to a sub-1.00 ERA in 2014-15.
My lasting Davis memory, however, is from Game 6 of the 2014 WS—light-hitting Giants OF Juan Perez, who lost his friend Oscar Taveras (of the Cardinals) in a car crash that morning, channeled his grief and nearly took Davis deep to center field (settling for a long double + base on error).
You have to understand, Perez was not an offensive threat, and nobody was hitting Davis that year.
When Holland blew out his arm in late 2015, Davis ascended to closer, a role he held through the 2016 season represented on this card. That is, when healthy—the veteran was disabled twice with a flexor strain originally suffered in the '15 postseason. He still earned an All-Star nod, having converted 27 of 30 save ops and allowed zero homers all year (45 games).
THIS CARD: We pop the cherry on the new-look 2017 Topps set. The graphics resemble the bastard child of a level and a foldable yardstick—they're certainly not bad, and the faux 3D is pretty cool. I'd have slimmed down the vertical bar, however.
I can't remember the last Royal we featured in COTD. (And I'm scared to look since, given my luck, we probably featured one three weeks ago.) While it's not 100% clear what Davis is doing, I can tell you that is not his pitching motion—perhaps he's fielded a comebacker and is preparing for the assist.
THE REVERSE: Long live Donruss! For decades, Topps printed full career stats for every player, even all 27 of Nolan Ryan's seasons on his 1994 Topps card. This year, they're dialing it back to a max of the past five seasons (and often less), as Donruss used to do during my youth. Presently, I don't dig it—but I'm more open-minded than I used to be. (A reverse pic should be where that logo is, IMHO.)
Twitter/Instagram handles apparently aren't a one-year gimmick; just confirmed they appear in 2018 Topps as well. In the case of players such as Davis, who apparently don't use either, you'll see the "Topps Baseball" handle.
In the blurbed win (9/17/09), Davis shut out the Orioles on 124 pitches, allowing four hits and striking out 10 in his third MLB start. He received three and ten Cy votes in 2014-15, FYI.
The Trade With Rays sent young Wil Myers and then-prospects Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery to Tampa Bay—which lies just 56 miles west of Davis' hometown of Lake Wales. Wonder if that had any effect on the Rays' morbid attendance figures.
AFTER THIS CARD: With the younger, cheaper Herrera in the wings and the Royals playing below expectations, many felt Davis would be moved at the '16 deadline—but KC waited until after the season to swap him to the Cubs for OF Jorge Soler (who proved a colossal bust). The move reunited him with his old Rays skipper Joe Maddon.
How did it work out for Davis in Chicago? Not until his final save op did he blow one, nailing down 32 straight leading up to his memorable seven-out save in the NLDS clincher against Washington. Davis signed a 3Y/$52M deal with Colorado for '18, replacing his old teammate Holland as closer.
Wade Davis has appeared annually in Topps since 2010.
CATEGORIES: 2017 Topps, Kansas City Royals
1/19/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 1990 Topps #431 Randy Johnson, Mariners
More Randy Johnson Topps Cards: 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The Big Unit, 2015 Hall-of-Fame inductee, is little more than an enticing mystery at this point in his career—would he develop into the 1988 version of Randy Johnson that went 3-0 in four starts and averaged just under nine IP per start, or the one who walked nearly a man per inning and went winless in six starts to open 1989?
The 6'10" San Francisco Bay Area native starred in baseball and basketball, naturally, at USC before being Montreal's second-round pick in 1985. As a prospect, he was tough to hit—partially because of his stuff, partially because he had the command of a first-grader, as the stats on this card's reverse prove.
Johnson, along with fellow hurlers Gene Harris and Brian Holman, joined the Mariners in a deal for another power lefty with command issues as a youngster: Mark Langston. Seattle's new addition won his first three American League starts, allowing a total of three ER.
THIS CARD: Even as a 25-year-old, Johnson looked about 45. Besides Daniel Mengden, there's just not enough mustaches in MLB these days.
Orange for the Mariners, Topps? I know I keep harping on 1989-90 Topps mismatching graphics, and I also know I don't intend to stop.
Wherever this image is taken, it's almost definitely not the Kingdome, which had predominantly red seats during my time. I don't know about 1989.
THE REVERSE: Look at Johnson's 1987 BB/IP ratio—it's a testament to his stuff and batters' discomfort in the box that he still managed a 3.73 ERA in spite of such extreme wildness.
Both of Johnson's 1989 complete games occurred in July—one won, one lost.
The legalese is way too close to the stats. That belongs under the monthly scoreboard.
Walnut Creek is about 20 minutes northeast of Oakland in good traffic.
Johnson was originally drafted by the Braves out of high school in 1982; at the time they already had an infielder named Randy Johnson—fortunately, the pitcher chose to attend USC.
AFTER THIS CARD: Let's see: 1990 no-hitter, four straight K titles, 1995 Cy Young award, 1996 back surgery, 1998 trade demand and dominance in Houston, four straight Cy Young awards with the Diamondbacks, 2001 exploded bird, 2001 World Series relief on one day's rest, 2003 home run, 2004 perfect game, 2005 New York cameraman shove preceding two Yankee seasons, return to Arizona, 300th win with the 2009 Giants including awesome diving assist, 2015 Cooperstown election.
Randy Johnson appeared annually in Topps 1989-2010, even receiving a Complete Stats final card in the 2010 set despite his pending retirement being pretty much a given.
CATEGORIES: 1990 Topps, Seattle Mariners
1/2/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 1987 Topps #37 Marvell Wynne, Padres
More Marvell Wynne Topps Cards: 1988 1989 1990 1991
If you thought Mike Piazza was a longshot to reach MLB, just wait til you hear Marvell Wynne's story. This guy went undrafted out of high school in 1977, but rather than join the family business or lock himself in his room sobbing for a year, Wynne showed up at a Chicago tryout for the Kansas City Royals.
And like KC did with SS U.L. Washington a decade or so earlier, they signed the speedy Wynne right off the street (albeit as a left-handed pitcher.) True, the beaten odds weren't quite Jim Morris-level, but still...impressive.
Like Washington, Wynne went on to a more-than-decent career playing for three MLB teams. None of them would be the Royals, who dealt Wynne (now a minor league OF) to the Mets in 1981 for Juan Berenguer. After Pittsburgh acquired Wynne in June 1983, manager Chuck Tanner added him to the starting lineup—putting incumbent CF Lee Mazzilli on the bench—and left him there until injuries and a major slump forced his hand in mid-1985. By that season's end, the now-26-year-old was a forgotten man on the 104-loss Pirates.
Here, Wynne has finished up a surprising first year with the San Diego Padres, who acquired him just before the 1986 season opener. The team intended to use Wynne as speed and a lefty bat off the bench, but he played himself into a larger role and wound up getting in 137 games!
THIS CARD: A true action shot; Wynne got his top hand over well on this swing. The initials on Wynne's sleeve: RAK, for late Padres owner Raymond Albert Kroc, who owned the team from 1974 until his death in 1984. His purchase kept the team from moving to Washington D.C.—causing Topps some hassle—and in response he was honored with the patch through the 1986 season.
For the record, it is pronounced Mar-VELL Win. He IS related to the soccer star of the same name...that's his son.
We got an ink bleed on the "E" in Wynne.
THE REVERSE: Forget the ink bleed; check out the bubble gum stain on the back. And I didn't even get this from a wax pack!
At first glance, Wynne seems a capable basestealer based on those stats. But what you don't know: those 57 lifetime steals thru '86 came in 102 attempts—a ghastly 56%. He'd finish his career at 58%.
That 1986 trade (with the Pirates) was for pitching prospect Bob Patterson, who'd spend several years in the Pirates bullpen. It's always good when both teams win a trade.
DeCinces actually hit three HR in a game for the second time that week, having also done so on 8/3/82. Best known for his time with the O's and Angels, he went down for insider trading last year and faces prison.
AFTER THIS CARD: Wynne remained with San Diego into the 1989 season, though it wasn't always rosy—he lost a clubhouse fight in '88 and got caught by the hidden ball trick in '89. The contending Cubs nabbed him in a mid-1989 trade, and he finished his career as Chicago's 4th outfielder through the 1990 season. Wynne's retirement left Dave Henderson as MLB's tooth gap leader (I can say it; I've got a notable gap myself, people!)
Marvell Wynne appeared in Topps annually 1983-90.
CATEGORIES: 1987 Topps, San Diego Padres
1/22/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 1996 Topps #309 Moises Alou, Expos
More Moises Alou Topps Cards: 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
What is up with all the old Expos passing through COTD? Mike Fitzgerald, Rondell White and now Mosies Alou. (Not to mention Randy Johnson, who'd just been traded from the Expos when his recently selected 1990 Topps card was produced.)
This on the heels of an all-time great Expo, Vladimir Guerrero, reaching Cooperstown and MLB Network running a special about the old Montreal franchise...this might be annoying if I didn't like and miss Expo baseball.
Alou could hit with anybody, when healthy. But like so many others, Alou couldn't stay on the field long enough for sustained superstardom. He missed two full seasons and at least 20% of six others with myriad injuries—given that time, he'd have approached 450 homers and 3,000 hits.
If you were a 1960's baseball fan, you're familiar with his dad and uncles Felipe, Jesus and Matty—a solid trio that combined for over 5,000 major league hits between them. With that lineage, Mo was predestined for MLB—Pittsburgh took him #2 overall in 1986, but parted with him in a 1990 trade to Montreal for P Zane Smith three weeks after his MLB debut.
Though he lost the 1991 season after shoulder surgery (detailed below), Alou—now playing for his father—rebounded as Montreal's primary LF for much of '92, finishing second to Eric Karros in NL Rookie Of The Year voting. His solid 1993 season was shorted by an infamous broken leg suffered running the bases—it's not for the faint of heart, friends.
28-year-old Alou busted out in 1994 as a legit MVP candidate for the juggernaut Expos, but here, he's coming off a '95 season wrecked by biceps and shoulder injuries suffered in June and July, respectively. Alou tried to gut his way through, but ultimately hit the DL 8/19 and didn't play again (except for a PH IBB in September.)
THIS CARD: This has to be Dodger Stadium or Joe Robbie Stadium.
Alou wore #52 as a Pirate, then switched to #18 for the rest of his career. Orlando Cabrera took it over in Montreal for 1999, but it hasn't gained much traction in the Washington era.
I never thought I'd say this about 1996 Topps, but with two selections out of three (teammates, no less), the set is going on hiatus.
THE REVERSE: Note Alou's manos; known for having strong, fast wrists and hands, he did not use batting gloves.
Why did Alou need shoulder surgery? Diving back to 1B in 1990 winter ball, he managed to tear both his labrum and rotator cuff.
Alou's 78 RBI in 1994 was not the third-highest by the Alou quartet. Felipe had 98 and 82 in 1962-63, respectively, while Moises himself put up 85 in 1993...how did Topps miss that?! Ultimately, the four listed Alous played 64 seasons, with Moises' 124 RBI in 1998 claiming the #1 spot.
AFTER THIS CARD: After a final year in Montreal, Alou inked a 5Y/$25M free-agent deal with the cash-chucking Marlins—desperate to end their championship drought for their long-suffering fans. Alou helped them do just that—then like practically all of his veteran teammates, was traded off in a radical fire sale that winter.
Now a 32-year-old Houston Astro, Alou's 38 HR, 124 RBI and 159 games set career highs—but a freak spring treadmill accident blew out his left ACL and shelved him for all of 1999. Back healthy in 2000, Alou continued to rake for the 'Stros and signed a 3Y/$27M free-agent deal with the Cubs for '02.
It was as a Cub that Alou joined the land of infamy—he was the left fielder on the Steve Bartman play during Game 6 of the '03 NLCS. (Alou has said at different times that he both would have and wouldn't have caught the notorious foul ball.) After '04, the veteran joined a team very closely tied to the Alou family: San Francisco.
Despite moving to RF, Alou—again playing for his dad—continued to rake when healthy during his two SF seasons. He closed his career with two seasons as a New York Met, registering a 30-game hit streak in the former (2007) but enduring serious calf and hamstring injuries in the latter, amassing just 54 PA. He retired at 42 after repping the D.R. in the '09 WBC.
Moises Alou appeared annually in Topps 1991-2008. He also has a 1991 Topps Major League Debut card as a Pirate.
CATEGORIES: 1996 Topps, Montreal Expos
1/10/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 1996 Topps #382 Rondell White, Expos
More Rondell White Topps Cards: 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
It's fitting that as MLB Network is running a special on the now-relocated Montreal franchise, we shine the light on one of the better Expos of the post-strike era. White was fast and powerful, but unfortunately he was markedly brittle—he spent (often extensive) time on the disabled list in eight of his 12 full major league seasons and suffered DL-worthy injuries in two of the others.
The #24 overall pick in 1990—Montreal's compensation for losing FA pitcher Mark Langston—White reached MLB as a 21-year-old in 1993 on the strength of a .343/.390/.544 showing at two MiLB levels that year. But even a talent like White wasn't about to crack a Moises Alou/Marquis Grissom/Larry Walker outfield.
It wasn't until the latter two were traded after the '94 season that White got his shot, starting 110 times in center field (and another eight in left) for the 1995 squad.
THIS CARD: Swing follow-through images don't usually do it for me, but this one does. I dig White's calm, focused expression, and you can tell that swing packs plenty of punch.
Though this card represents his first full season, White was no stranger to Topps, having already received two other Topps cards by this time.
#22 wasn't all that meaningful for the Expos. The most notable wearer other than White? Ivan Calderon in 1991-92. (In an odd coincidence, White, Pedro Martinez and Jose Vidro all wore #37 before switching to their more famous Expo digits.)
THE REVERSE: White finished up at .294 in 1995; after that six-hit game (which went 13 innings; Montreal won 10-8) he was at .373. He then hit .193 in his next 43 games, then raked .351 from August 1 until taking an 0-for-8 in the last two games. In summary: when White was hot, watch out.
Those six hits remain an ExpoNats record, and the five runs White scored that day are tied for franchise tops. Registering the first six-hit cycle combo since Bobby Veach in 1920 helped earn White NL Player of the Week.
I'd never heard of Sumter (A), largely because this incarnation of the affiliate only lasted that 1991 season before relocating twice. It was a replacement for the Sumter team affililated with Atlanta 1985-90 that relocated to Macon.
Millidgeville, Georgia rests about 98 miles SE of Atlanta, nestled near the center of a triangle between Atlanta, Macon and Augusta.
AFTER THIS CARD: As mentioned, White was plagued by injuries throughout his career and only reached 150 games once in his 14-year career (1997). He remained with the Expos until the 2000 trade deadline, at which time he was traded to the Cubs (two years after originally requesting a trade out of downtrodden Montreal.)
White went on to journey across the nation, bringing hard hitting and speed to the new-look 2002 Yankees, Detroit, San Diego, Minnesota and others through 2007 (when healthy). That year, he was barely on the radar thanks to calf and knee woes, and retired at season's end—rendering his mention in the Mitchell report moot. White finished with 198 home runs and a .284 average.
Rondell White appeared annually in Topps 1994-2007.
CATEGORIES: 1996 Topps, Montreal Expos
1/6/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 2001 Topps Traded #108 1974 Topps Traded Lou Piniella Reprint
More Topps Traded Reprints: n/a
The 2001 Topps Traded set is difficult to find these days, at least at my usual haunts. But in 2017, having long ago suspended hope of tracking the elusive set down—POOF! There it was on EBay. Four days later, it was in my mailbox.
I tell you this because when I opened the box, outside of the infamous Albert Pujols/Ichiro Suzuki rookie combo, I didn't know what I'd find—MUCH time had passed since I'd last studied the checklist, as I typically do prior to a set purchase.
So imagine my confusion when sifting through the 2001 Traded players and stumbling upon...1990's traded players. And 1980's. And 1970's. This set featured dozens of classic Traded reprints, from Reggie Jackson the new Angel to Nolan Ryan the new Ranger.
Here, the spotlight shines upon 18-year major league outfielder Lou Piniella—before he became a star manager with the Reds and Mariners, he occupied his time banging out over 1,700 MLB hits, winning a Rookie Of The Year award and making an All-Star team. Still, when his 1973 BA dropped 62 points, Kansas City surrendered Piniella to improve its mediocre bullpen.
THIS CARD: Lou certainly did not look like that before joining the Yankees. It's surprising George Steinbrenner allowed him to keep the sideburns.
This marks Topps first Traded set, though it differed greatly from the sets we'd become accustomed to in the 1980s—aside from the obvious cosmetic differences, it was only 44 cards deep rather than the later-established 132.
Topps put out another Traded set in 1976, in similar style to this one, but annual releases wouldn't commence until 1981.
In all, 2001 Topps Traded features 45 reprints—at least one from all previous Traded sets except 1994 and 2000.
THE REVERSE: Lindy McDaniel was a true throwback—in 1973 (just before the trade) the guy threw 160 innings while making THREE starts. Ken Wright was a middling righty who threw too few strikes while bouncing between starting and relieving.
You know who Tony LaRussa is; Ken Suarez was a catcher who hit .227 over parts of seven seasons split between the A's, Indians and Royals 1966-73.
The reprint card number is in the fine print; 390T was the original card number—1974 Traded numbers paralled the base set's numbers. Lou Piniella's 1974 Topps base number was 390, so his Traded number was also 390. Couldn't work today; too many base set excludees.
Look closely; you'll see the card's graphics are crooked (by design), not my scan.
AFTER THIS CARD: Piniella finished his playing career with the Yankees in 1984, contributing to two World Series winners and two other AL pennant winners along the way.
How was Piniella's former club affected by the trade? A 5th-place team at the time, it was the Royals who Piniella's Yankees had to defeat in the 1976, 1977 and 1978 ALCS to reach the Fall Classic (though McDaniel had retired by then). Obviously, 10/10 would do again.
CATEGORIES: 2001 Topps Traded, Subsets
1/4/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 2014 Topps #558 Nolan Reimold, Orioles
More Nolan Reimold Topps Cards: 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2016
Cards are not the only baseball collectibles decorating the Skillz household—not by a longshot. Look to your left upon entry and you'll spot my shelf of bobbleheads, a collection now 15 strong.
I did not set out to start a collection—my buddy and I lucked upon tickets for Bengie Molina Bobblehead Night at AT&T Park, and so it began.
A few years later (2010), I was in the Baltimore area for a while, and naturally I had to take in Camden Yards. It just so happened the only game my group and I could fit in was Nolan Reimold Bobblehead Night. I know in 2018 those last few words are hard to process, especially since Reimold stunk it up so bad as a sophomore he'd long been demoted to AAA when the giveaway took place.
But you must understand—pre-Showalter, the O's had precious little to celebrate. Reimold's decent '09 rookie season made him Bobble-worthy by Baltimore's standards. Just like that, I owned Bobblehead #2—and a collector was birthed.
In 2011, Reimold somewhat rebounded from his miserable '10; on the very last day of the season, his double off Jon Papelbon keyed the infamous 9th-inning rally that knocked Boston and all their fried chicken out of a once-certain playoff spot.
Here, Reimold's closed his second straight year essentially lost to spinal surgeries. Originally sliced in June 2012, Reimold returned healthy in '13—but shortly after recovering from a hamstring issue, his familiar neck pain recurred and he went under the knife once more in July.
THIS CARD: Reimold's got his hustle on here. Hope this isn't the play he hurt his hamstring.
For such a marginal player, Reimold has great Topps cards. He's shown twice burning up the basepaths, twice in post-score celebration, once making a sliding catch, and once leaping at the wall to steal one.
Sorry, but the cartoon bird from the 1960's just doesn't fit in with these 21st century graphics. It's like Fred Flinstone on a Microsoft ad.
THE REVERSE: There is no other sports card, past, present or future, featuring the words "Trabecular" and "Buttress" individually or together. I've read this blurb many times trying to understand what "thing" of Reimold's we could now drive a Mack Truck through...certainly not his spinal column? (The rest of the blurb is covered above.)
I was about to comment on Reimold's rookie year not really qualifying as "outstanding"...until reading the rookie fact. A rookie reaching in 85 out of 104 games (82%) is fairly impressive—for some contrast, '09 AL Rookie Of The Year runner-up Elvis Andrus reached in 75% of his games.
Reimold spent much of 2010 and about seven weeks of 2011 in the minors, hence the dip in games played.
Greenvile is located about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh, just east of the Ohio border.
AFTER THIS CARD: Sadly, Reimold was not able to regain his MLB footing since his surgeries. He opened 2014 on the 60-day DL, was cut after his July activation, and split what was left of the season with Toronto and Arizona.
Obviously still Reimold fans, the Orioles brought him back that winter, and he spent most of the next two seasons as an Orioles reserve—even topping 100 games in 2016! Unfortunately, playing often doesn't necessarily mean playing well; Reimold's offensive woes (.222 average, .300 OBP) and advancing age (33) led to a second divorce from Baltimore after the '16 season. He spent early '17 in Independent ball before retiring in May.
Nolan Reimold appeared annually in Topps or Topps Update 2009-16, except 2015.
CATEGORIES: 2014 Topps, Baltimore Orioles
1/25/18 Topps Baseball Card Of The Day: 2015 Topps Update #272 Matt Duffy, Giants
More Matt Duffy Topps Cards: 2016 2017
While the Game 5 heroics of Travis Ishikawa and Mike Morse deservedly go down as THE top scream-inducing moments of the 2014 NLCS—for Giants fans, anyway—rookie Matt Duffy scoring the tying run from second base on a wild pitch in the 9th inning of Game 2 won't be forgotten anytime soon, even though San Francisco ultimately suffered their lone series loss that night.
Nobody really knew what we had in Duffy at the time; he was a skinny, 23-year-old infielder who'd jumped to the Giants from AA on the strength of a league-leading .332 performance for Richmond—no way he could be any worse than the man he replaced on the roster, Dan Uggla.
Duffy lasted a week, but was quickly recalled after Brandon Belt's concussion symptoms returned; he made the Giants playoff roster as well as their 2015 Opening Day roster.
Here, the rookie has hit his way into the Giants starting 3B job—veteran FA import Casey McGehee simply wasn't cutting it, and Duffy took over about six weeks in.
THIS CARD: Most likely Mother's Day as the date of this photo because of the batting gloves—Duffy did play at home that day; more on that below. (Upon further research, I was right. Thanks, GettyImages.com)
Duffy receives the Future Stars designation, which Topps gave away like Halloween candy that year. They dialed it back in '16, omitted it entirely in '17, but has restored it for 2018.
Duffy is correctly listed as a 3B; he was exclusively a SS before and after his Giants tenure (except when Rays 3B Evan Longoria left a September game after being drilled.)
THE REVERSE: May 10 just so happened to be...you guessed it, Mother's Day; Topps may well have used the image of Duffy's walk-off heroics. (For the record, Miami went down 3-2 in 10 innings.)
Yes, the Matt Duffy we've watched the past few years is the bulked-up version. (I need to quit; I'd trade bodies with him any day.)
I'd never seen a 0.0 WAR before. And is there no way to calculate minor-league WAR? I don't really care, just hate the empty columns.
To date, no one else from Duffy's draft round has reached MLB.
AFTER THIS CARD: Despite being thrown into the fire for a defending world champion, Duffy continued to hit and play damn near every inning until finally cooling off in September. After a slow start to 2016, Duffy had finally heated up in June when his Achilles put him on the DL. While rehabbing, the Giants stunned the region by trading him to Tampa Bay—where, oddly, he'd originally injured the Achilles—in exchange for veteran P Matt Moore in late July.
Duffy returned to SS for the Rays, and literally hit the cover off the ball early on (.357 in his first 11 games), only for the Achilles to put him down again. Subsequent surgery and ensuing setbacks disabled him for the entire 2017 season, save for three minor league games. Duffy's 2018 status is uncertain—Tampa has since acquired ex-Marlin Adeiny Hechevarria to play SS.
Matt Duffy has appeared in 2015 Topps Update, and 2016-17 Topps base.
CATEGORIES: 2015 Topps Update, San Francisco Giants, Not Related
