As the baseball card industry continues
to evolve, Topps Trading Cards has taken it to a new level by introducing this “Touched by Greatness” hand print card. Using a batting glove, sponge, and a little black
ink, Cal helped to create a truly one-of-a-kind piece of memorabilia! You can
look for these “Touched by Greatness” cards in Topps 2012 Update Series.
Click the link below to see an exclusive behind the scenes video of Cal "Hand-Printing" these cards yesterday!
One of the greatest surprises of the 2012 baseball season
has been the Baltimore Orioles 24-14
record. Although it’s early in the season, it makes you start to wonder if this
team could actually contend after 14 straight losing seasons.
One of the main reasons for the team’s hot start is center
fielder Adam
Jones. Hitting in the middle of the Orioles lineup between Nick
Markakis and Matt Wieters, Jones
seems to be playing to his full potential. Jones currently leads the Birds in all
major offensive categories and is among the league leaders in both Runs and
Home runs
Another big part of the turnaround is the Orioles bullpen. Led
by closer Jim Johnson and his league leading 13 saves, Johnson has finally given the Orioles the stability at the
back end of the pen’ they desperately needed. Other additions such as Pedro Strop, Darren O’Day, and Luis Ayala
have played major roles in getting the ball to Johnson in close games.
Many Orioles fans may remember a similar season in which the Orioles went from worst to first. The year was 1989 and the slogan was "Why Not?" For those of you who are not familiar with that season, check out the video posted below:
Here's a neat story I came across the other day. Dennis
Schrader of St. Petersburg, Florida currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection
of autographed baseballs in the world! His collection is in currently in the process of becoming a new exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History! Looks like Spring Training baseball fans will soon have a new stop on their Florida vacations!
As history has shown us, one of the most difficult
achievements in baseball is winning the Triple Crown. Since 1878 only 15
batters have won it, with the most recent winner being Carl Yastrzemski in
1967. Could 2012 be the year another hitter FINALLY takes the Triple Crown title?
Well one month into the season, two of the game’s best hitters are off to great
starts!
Coming into today Josh
Hamilton of the Texas Rangers leads the American League in Homeruns, RBIs,
and Batting AVG. Hamilton is also coming off a recent 4 HR game performance, in
which he is only the 16th player ever to do so in Major League history.
Matt Kemp
of the Dodgers also has a great shot as he comes into today leading the NL in
Homeruns and Batting Average. He only trials his teammate Andre Eithier by a
few. The fact that Kemp has such a high on base percentage and that Eithier
hits behind him, Kemp could be working against himself for the Triple Crown!
It’s only May and I know it may seem a bit premature to
think that a Triple Crown could actually happen (I think back to the Votto/Pujols
race from 2010 on this one), but its fun to think about. One thing’s for
sure, these two players are putting on a showing that they are both legitimate
MVP candidates. If one does come away with the Triple Crown, the question is
what else could this lead to in their careers? Of the 15 Triple Crown winners,
13 are in the baseball Hall of Fame. If Cooperstown is the case for Hamilton
and Kemp, memorabilia collectors who grab their
items now will be happy they did!
