Righting Wrongs - 1999 Orioles and Red Sox
I learned a thing while setting up todays update. 1) The Orioles feel like they should have more bad players in the 2000 set, but this was the early stages of their collapse into obscurity after a decent run in the previous seasons. Ripken retiring was the sign on the end with no heir ready to lead...and 2) Boston was on their way to the same fate it seemed, with various players on their roster at the end of their careers, but Boston would keep competitive with a-Martinez pitching, b-throwing millions and millions of dollars on free agents and c-embracing the steroids with Ortiz and Ramirez to prevent the same fate that Baltimore headed to.
The late Rod Beck was a meh reliever if you only knew him from the Showdown days. Before that, way back in the day by todays standards, he was one of the most premier closers in baseball. If the Bot gave an option to give cards holographic status, Beck here would definitely qualify. Strikes out a ton and you better roll a natural 20 if you hope to get on against his advantage.
Jeff here in '99 was a garbage offensive card with a 7 on-base and a useless chart. Hs saving grace was he was a super-rare +5 defense at 2B, plus a perfect +3 at 3B to boot. Here his defensive skills take a big hit, but he brings a 9 on-base and a chart that actually does something with the advantage.
If you had a '00 Amaral card, it was purely as a pinch runner option. Amaral a few seasons prior would be even faster, and a shift to the infield (as opposed to OF where it's harder to justify an 8 on-base with no homers). A solid defensive player for half the infield with an 11 on-base will find more uses for your team, even if you only want him as a runner.
Lewis was another "bench only" option for a lot of people in his '00 card. perfect defense and an A speed was nice, but here he's even faster and sports a 10 on-base that would convince many to start him and have him as the lead off hitter. Defense takes a hit and he still can't hit homers, but his singles can lead to easy stolen bases.
Mike Stanley in his '00 card was at 1st base because the Red Sox didn't really want him catching at that stage of his career. Before Boston, New York turned him into a fan favorite, all star caliber catcher. Decent pop and good on-base. Not too different from his original Showdown card, but while he was a negligible 1st baseman before, he's a much more valuable catcher here.
No one played Valentine at 3rd base in Showdown. Just a few years before, however, he was a way better offensive player. He has an even better chart from his 1997 season, but it's at the cost of his on-base, and here he has a better-than-perfect +6 at SS. The defense alone, not to mention the 10 on-base makes this card the must have version of John.
