Topps Delivery! Part One:

I decided to go ahead and have my Diamond Giveaway cards shipped having stopped purchasing rack packs of 2011 Topps Series 1 once I wound up with a six inch stack of doubles. (Let me know if you're still looking for cards to complete your set. I'd be happy to get rid of them.) Here's what I finished up with:

1987 George Brett

In 1976, Brett won his first batting title in a remarkable fashion. In the last game of the season, the Royals took on the Twins. Four players in that game were competing against each other for the title. Royals teammates George Brett and Hal McRae and Twins teammates Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock. Brett edged out McRae with his last at-bat, hitting a blooper that landed in front of left fielder Steve Brye and bounced over his head resulting in an inside-the-park home run. He ended the season with a .333 average, winning the title by .001.

However, he may not only be remembered by his talent at the plate, but also by the infamous Pine Tar Incident of 1983. The Royals were down one run against the Yankees. With two outs in the ninth inning, Brett hit a two run home run putting them ahead 5-4. That is, until Yankee manager Billy Martin pointed out the the pine tar on Brett's bat extended past the 18 inch rule. Umpires measured it to extend 24 inches from the knob of the bat. Brett was called out and the game was ruled as a Yankees win. The Royals appealed the ruling and won. The game was resumed weeks later and this time the Royals came out on top.

Silver Slugger - 1980, 1985, 1988

1986 Dale Murphy

Dale Murphy began his career riding the bench as a catcher for the Braves. He played in a combined 37 games during his first two seasons. He then switched to first base in 1978 where he hit .226 and led all NL first basemen in errors. In 1980, he was moved to the outfield and his career took a turn for the better. He won numerous awards including being named the NL MVP twice. Unfortunately, his career came full circle when he hit a mere .226 in 1988. He was traded to the Phillies in 1990 and in 1993, his last season in the Majors, he joined the Rockies where he appeared in just 26 games hitting .143.

Silver Slugger - 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985

1986 Steve Yeager

I knew that Yeager was the reason the throat protector was invented for catchers, but what I did not know was that he wasn't catching when the incident happened. He was actually standing in the on-deck circle when teammate Bill Russell's bat shattered and nine pieces of it became lodged in Yeager's throat. I picked up this card for a special project I will reveal sometime later.

Some additional interesting facts about Mr. Yeager:

- Appeared in October 1982 issue of Playgirl.

- Part-owner of Jersey Mike's franchise.

- Got married on the steps of LA's City Hall with mayor Tom Bradley as his best man.

- Coach Duke Temple in the Major League movies.

- Appeared on Family Feud with his family in 1979.

- Converted to Judaism.

1982 Jack Morris

Morris was the starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series against the Atlanta Braves. He threw 10 shut-out innings to clinch the title for the Twins. For this, he was named the MVP of the World Series.

1978 Cecil Cooper

Silver Slugger - 1980, 1981, 1982

1975 Tony Muser

To be absolutely honest, I had never heard of Tony Muser until I did a little research. I think this is reasonable considering he retired ten years before I was born and that in his nine seasons in the Majors, he hit .259 with 7 HR and 117 RBI. Not exactly Silver Slugger material. Then again, he played in the Majors...I didn't.

1973 Ray Fosse

In the last play of the 1970 World Series, Pete Rose scored the winning run by pummeling Ray Fosse at the plate. Fosse suffered an AC sprain which some blame for the decline in his career. This stirred up controversy with people arguing that Rose should not have been so aggressive in a game that really had no importance. It wasn't until 2003 that the winner of the All-Star Game was first awarded home-field advantage in the World Series.

This topic was brought up more recently when Marlins' outfielder Scott Cousins scored the go ahead run in the 12th inning by bowling over Giants' catcher Buster Posey, fracturing his fibula.

While I am all about playing the game hard, even during exhibition games, I do not believe it is necessary to essentially tackle the catcher. This isn't football. To me, baseball is a game of class and respect. There is a fine line between playing hard and playing dirty. (I've heard both sides, this is merely my opinion.) I've even heard announcers say that catchers should catch the ball out in front of the plate and put a sweep tag on the runner instead of blocking the plate with their body. That's absurd as well. A catcher's job is to protect the plate, not protect themselves. It's the risk you take by becoming a catcher. Baseball is also a game full of sacrifice, this is just one example of the things you have to do to help your team win. Let's see what Fosse has to say on the subject:

“The game has been around more than 100 years, and now they’re going to start protecting catchers? I can’t see anything that can be changed. In high school, you can’t run over a catcher. But that’s high school. This is professional baseball. The idea is to score runs. If the catcher has the ball and he’s standing there, the runner has to stop? Is that the protection? I can’t believe anything can be done, and I don’t see how you could regulate something like that.” -Ray Fosse

Any thoughts? Whether it's on the cards or the play at the plate situation, I would love to hear them.