Tag Archives: trout

Sports Illustrated, Topps Team for a 70th Anniversary Card Set Featuring Classic Baseball Covers

Sports industry titans, Sports Illustrated and Topps, come together to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first Topps baseball cards with a new series launching March 16. With a total of 70 cards in the special edition set, each one will depict one of the most memorable Sports Illustratedbaseball covers ever printed. Two new cards will be offered per week, printed on demand and available for only seven days. Following a similar way in which TOPPS NOW products are made available, the 70th Anniversary cards will be printed exclusively to meet demand. Fans and collectors will be able to view and purchase the cards as they are released week to week on https://www.topps.com/cards-collectibles/online-brands/sports-illustrated.html.

Among the initial card offerings are legendary covers featuring Mike Trout (August 27, 2012), Duke Snider (June 27, 1955), Larry Walker (June 11, 2001), Kirby Puckett (April 6, 1992), Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (May 1, 2000), Boston Red Sox (November 10, 2004), Greg Maddux (August 14, 1995), Mookie Betts (October 28, 2020), Derek Jeter (June 21, 1999), and Stan Musial/Ted Williams (July 8, 1957).

“Millions of baseball fans know and love both Topps and Sports Illustrated, and we’re proud to be able to bring these two iconic names together in this highly collectible product,” said Jeff Heckman, Global Director of E-commerce, Topps. “The amazing photography from nearly seven decades ofSports Illustrated covers has provided works of art that can also be cherished as collectible cards to help relive great memories.”

“For both baseball fans and collectors, Topps and Sports Illustrated rank as two of the most venerable brands in sports,” said Michael Sherman, VP Media Brands, Authentic Brands Group, owner of Sports Illustrated. “We’re thrilled to continue building the brand’s legacy in the booming collectibles space and help commemorate Topps’ 70th anniversary with so many of Sports Illustrated’s historic covers.”

Strat-O-Matic Baseball Simulation: Trout, Freeman, Morton, Scherzer Earn June Awards

Mike Trout (Credit: Keith Allison)

As Strat-O-Matic’s (www.strat-o-matic.com) simulation of the 2020 baseball season moves past the halfway point and with the All-Star Game less than two weeks away, award winners for June were announced today. Mike Trout of Los Angeles and Freddie Freeman of Atlanta were selected as A.L. and N.L. Players of the Month, respectively, while Charlie Morton of Tampa Bay and Max Scherzer of Washington earned League Pitcher of the Month honors.

Tampa Bay (53-34, 9.5 game lead over New York), Cleveland (54-32, nine games ahead of MInnesota), Houston (MLB-best 56-28, six games ahead of Oakland), Washington (51-35, six games better than Atlanta) and Los Angeles (57-29, 8.5 lengths past San Diego) remain atop their respective divisions, while Milwaukee (45-39) moved into the N.L. Central lead with a 14-11 month, percentage points ahead of Chicago (46-40), a game ahead of St. Louis and four better than Cincinnati in the tightest division race to date. Strat-O-Matic updates results and standings daily at www.strat-o-matic.com/2020-season-simulation/.

Trout earned the A.L. honors by hitting .327 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in the month, while posting a 1.136 OPS. Freeman was even better, slashing .378/.461/.724 for a 1.185 OPS in June. Morton won all four of his decisions, pitching to a 1.06 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, fanning 36 across 34 innings, while Scherzer went 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, whiffing 53 in 38 innings in the month.

The wild card races are very tight in both leagues, with Oakland (51-35) in first place in the A.L., Minnesota (45-41) one game up on Kansas City (44-42) for the second spot, two ahead of New York (43-43), 2.5 up on Los Angeles (42-43) and three ahead of Boston (42-44). In the Senior Circuit, San Diego (48-37) sets the pace, with Central-leading Milwaukee (45-39) and Chicago (46-40) a game better than St. Louis and Atlanta (45-41) and three ahead of Arizona (43-43) for the second slot.

Some of the individual league leaders through June 30 include:

  • Shogo Akiyama, Cincinnati, N.L. batting (.349);
  • Nick Madrigal, Chicago, A.L. batting (.342)
  • Trevor Story, Colorado, N.L. home runs (31); runs (75)
  • Jorge Soler, Kansas City, A.L. home runs (31); RBI (91)
  • Keston Hiura, Milwaukee, N.L. RBI (73)
  • Mike Trout, Los Angeles, A.L. runs (77)
  • Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles, N.L. victories (12); ERA (2.25)
  • Danny Duffy, Kansas City, A.L. victories (10)
  • Gerrit Cole, New York, A.L. victories (10); strikeouts (158)
  • Blake Snell, Tampa Bay, A.L. ERA (2.18)
  • Jacob deGrom, New York, N.L. strikeouts (153)

“Just like on the field, the teams have started to separate themselves at the top of each division, but there are still close races and unexpected results in the Strat-O-Matic simulation of the season,” said Hal Richman, Strat-O-Matic founder. “With some of the league’s superstars like Mike Trout, Max Scherzer and Clayon Kershaw among the leaders along with newer faces in Shogo Akiyama, Nick Madrigal and Keston Hiura, the last three months of the season should be as exciting and interesting as the first three have been.”

Monthly winners to date:

  • A.L. Player: Jorge Soler (April), Jorge Soler (May), Mike Trout (June)
  • N.L. Player: Trevor Story (April), Daniel Murphy (May), Freddie Freeman (June)
  • A.L. Pitcher: Blake Snell (April), Kenta Maeda (May), Charlie Morton (June)
  • N.L. Pitcher: Stephen Strasburg (April), Luke Weaver (May), Max Scherzer (June)

About Strat-O-Matic

Strat-O-Matic was invented by 11-year-old Hal Richman in his bedroom in Great Neck, N.Y. in 1948 as a result of his frustration with the statistical randomness of other baseball board games. He discovered that the statistical predictability of dice would give his game the realism he craved.

Pop Artists Reimagine Classic Cards As TOPPS Unveils ‘Project 2020′

The Topps Company and its fast-growing on-demand platform TOPPS NOW™ today announced one of the most unique, transformative and eclectic offerings in company history: “Project 2020,” a first of its kind effort that combines some of the most iconic cross-generational cards in the company’s nearly 70 year history with baseball, re-imagined by some of the world’s most influential, creative and eclectic artists, cartooners and pop culture influencers.

Some of the notable artists on the list include celebrity jewelry designer Ben Yang…aka Ben Baller; Chicago based designed Just Don, who has worked with Kanye West and Nike on major projects; Mexican American tattoo and graffiti artist Mark Machado, known as Mister Cartoon; Australian Tyson Beck, whose recent resign of the NBA logo in the image of Kobe Bryant became an international cause célèbre; New York native and design artist Sophia Chang and L.A. Based streetwear artist Joshua Vides.

The first two cards, issuing today, include Ben Baller’s Ichiro (2001) and Jacob Rochester’s Sandy Koufax (1955).

Each of the 20 artists will reinterpret 20 cards, representing baseball’s greatest stars from the 1950s to the present day. The cards will only be available for a 48-hour period from the time each is introduced.

“When we think of the collectible world and where it has evolved today, sports and pop culture continue to collide,” said Jeff Heckman, Global Director of Ecommerce. “We could not think of a better way to expose trading cards to a new audience than working to reinvent some of the classic baseball cards and personalities of the game of baseball through the eyes and hands of many of the world’s greatest pop culture figures of today. ‘Project 2020’ will be a must have for core and casual baseball fans, and will more importantly showcase the names and stories of the artists and the players on the cards to a global audience whose interests lie well beyond the sport. It is a transformative move we are very excited about.”

“Roberto Clemente and his story have always been inspirational to me,” said Mister Cartoon, whose hometown high school mascot was the Pirates, adding to his longtime connection to the Pittsburgh slugger and made working on the Clemente card extra special. “I want to take each of these classic cards and supercharge them!”