MLB Showdown Cards

Time Machine Catchers

Joe Mauer 09- First 11 On-base not to have 1B eligibility? Easy question now with the into but it is none other than Joe Mauer. In 2009 there were 4 eligible 11 OB players (Giambi 01, Delgado 01, Pujols 09) and only Mauer played a position other than 1B. That meant if you really did want to have more than 1 you needed to have Mauer. He would sport a 19-20 HR, 17-18 2B, 9-16 1B with speed B(14) +5 arm all for 570 points. He clubbed 28 homers and 30 triples that year while winning the batting title as a catcher with a .365 average. With more and more players being added to the mix he has lost some luster but he still is in the elite offensive catcher class.

Brent Mayne 00P- One of the bigger broken strategy card loops in the Showdown is the Brent Mayne/Power Hitter combo. Brent looks harmless enough 350 points for a 10, speed B 16-20 HR catcher with a +6 arm. Maybe he is even a moneyball players dream. What if I told you that with 1 strategy card he would turn into a speed B Mark McGwire at catcher for 350 points? Play Power Hitter on him and every time he doubles discard 2 cards (small price to pay for a run) and ta da. That is why we changed how our leave on the player cards worked.

Eli Marrero 00P- Some cards are just so odd that they stand out to you forever. Eli Marrero was always one I wanted to like. In 1999 he batted under .200 in over 300 AB’s with 6 homers and triple but also mustered 12 steals. He earned himself a 4 On-base but a speed A as a catcher with a +8 arm. Mix that with a 16-20 HR, 14-15 2B, 7-13 1B+ (that is all correct by the way) for 100 points and I couldn’t help myself. I have had him on many teams. He never was worth the 100 points but I loved having him all the same.

Jason Varitek 00- First of all if you have a collection of old cards go look at this one and just marvel at how young he looked. There are some players that just don’t translate to MLB Showdown. The sabermetric people will tell me that it is some sort of bias I have that makes me value unquantifiable qualities over actual production. Jason Varitek is one of those players. He would earn a career high OB of 8 (01), a career best arm of +5 (00), all 5 cards are speed C. He would have nice charts but on such low on-base what is the point. Having made his cards myself it is tough to tell how we should have boosted him (or if we should have at all). He was a speed C but he always hustled. He was a great defensive catcher but always would throw so few runners out. He looked like a fish out of water at the plate at times.  Your children will ask you why everyone raves about this catcher who has less than 200 career home runs and you will have to tell them “you had to see him play for years and then you would get it”.

2001 Henry Blanco- The anti-thesis of Jason Varitek? Try Henry Blanco. Everything this guy does translates directly to showdown in a great way. First he throws the ball as good as anyone from home plate to second base. Second he usually gets on base enough (vitally important). Third he really only hits home runs and singles. Fourth he is deathly slow which keeps his points down. 2001 is the best because the arm is the best and completely shuts down the running game for most players. This guy can win series by himself for you. He has a 7, speed C, 19-20 HR, 16-18 2B (big year for him) with the coveted +11 arm at catcher. No disrespect to Mike Matheny and Alberto Castillo but this is the punt for the ages in the old cards. 

Last year's Time Machine Jason Kendall 00, Mike Piazza 00/01, Ivan Rodriguez 00/01

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