2022 Topps Series 2

2022 Topps Series 2 was released in June and for me, it’s one of the must-collect sets. Shortly after this set was released, I went to a sports card shop and quickly grabbed a jumbo pack, trying to see if I could get something interesting.

Good June, Good July?

In June, the Atlanta Braves began the month with a 14-game winning streak and they did have a great month with 21 wins. The Braves are the World Series defending champions and there were several teams that also played well in June. Coming into July, did those teams play as well as they did last month?

Spin less?

Now, in an MLB game, we always see umpires check pitchers’ hands to see whether foreign substances are used. The MLB enforced foreign substance ban in June last year and since then, checking for foreign substances has been routinely. And, I’m just wondering whether this enforcement has truly changed something.

Hot after All-Star break?

The 2022 All-Star game was successfully held at Dodger stadium and the second half of the 2022 season just began. We just watched so many great players in the Midsummer Classic. In the first half of the 2022 season, several players’ performances were so impressive.

Shine at Dodger stadium

The Dodgers hold the 2022 MLB All-Star game and six Dodgers players are selected to the Midsummer Classic. The Dodgers fans must be extremely excited to watch the All-Star game at Dodger stadium. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are currently leading in the NL West. Looking back at the Dodgers’ performance since 2000, there were only two times that the team didn’t finish a season with a winning percentage of .500 or higher.

Kershaw’s best half season?

A couple of months ago, I read a report online and it indicated that a few years ago, Clayton Kershaw had some troubles in some games in the first half of the season, he made some adjustments in the midseason and had a great second half season.

Russell Martin’s great career

In late May, Russell Martin officially announced his retirement on Instagram. He made his MLB debut in 2006 and the last time he played in the majors was in 2019. During these 14 years, he slashed .248/.349/.397 with 191 home runs and 771 RBI. Additionally, he had 101 stolen bases. Those numbers don’t look surprisingly good. However, let’s go deeper to see these numbers.

Puig and the trade

A few days ago, a friend sent a video to me via Instagram. It was a video of Yasiel Puig, who currently plays in the KBO.

Batting first to sixth

Before a game begins, each manager has to set the batting order. There are several discussions or debates about lineup construction. For example, who should bat first or bat second? Each one has his or her own argument. But, I’m trying to use a different way to see the performance of each team’s lineup.

0-1 Count

I listened to a podcast show recently. It was a pre-game show, the guest and the host were talking about a starting pitcher. It was a great show and during the show, the guest indicated that the starting pitcher from the away team had to throw a strike early because batting average against him on a 0-1 count was very low. So, it’s important for him to throw a first pitch strike.

First pitch, swing?

A couple of days ago, I watched some highlights and a player blasted two home runs in a single game and interestingly, those two homers are first-pitch home runs. And, that makes me wonder whether he frequently swings at the first pitch.

Left vs left

A few days ago, I was watching a baseball game on TV. A left-handed batter was really bad against southpaws and it seems that he didn’t have any clues. Nonetheless, another left-handed hitter seems pretty comfortable at hitting against a left-handed pitcher. And, I was just wondering which left-handed batters are good at hitting lefties.

Hottest hitter in June?

June just came to an end and the first half of the regular season is almost coming to an end. In June, several players had a great month and it’ll be worth watching whether they will stay hot in the coming months.