The 2022 Topps stadium club chrome was released in early April 2023. Just a few days after this product was released, I passed by a sports card shop and found there were some hobby packs available. I got some packs, trying to see whether I could find something interesting.
When I opened the first pack, I found a Bryan Reynolds base card. Bryan Reynolds has a good start in the 2023 season. In total, he played 26 games in April and slashed .323/.351/.586 with 5 home runs, 22 RBI and 5 stolen bases. In particular, from April 2 to April 4, he crushed 4 home runs in 3 games. Well, he didn’t crush any home runs in the second half of April. But, there’s no doubt that he’s extremely important in the Pirates lineup. Furthermore, he made a big decision in April, which is that he and the Pirates agreed to an 8-year contract extension.
When seeing Bryan Reynolds’ performance in April, I’m thinking whether he could reach some milestones as one of his teammates did.
Back in 2013, Andrew McCutchen won the NL MVP award. In that season, he hit .317/.404/.508 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 157 games. In April 2013, McCutchen was hitting .247/.308/.423 with 3 home runs, 16 RBI and 6 steals. It wasn’t a great way to start the season. However, McCutchen gradually heated up, in particular, he slashed .327/.402/.592 with 6 home runs, 17 RBI and 5 swipes in July 2013.
Looking back at McCutchen’s performance in 2013, he finished the season with 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases. Moreover, his OPS was over .900 and he had 185 hits.
By far this season, Bryan Reynolds’ OPS is .860. Back in 2021, he finished the season with an OPS of .912. Hence, finishing a season with an OPS over .900 isn’t impossible to Reynolds. Furthermore, Bryan Reynolds finished the 2021 season with 24 home runs and he crushed 27 home runs last season. Therefore, he surely can blast 20+ home runs in a single season. However, an interesting thing is that Reynolds already stole 5 bases so far this season. Back in 2021, he played 159 games and had only 5 stolen bases. Last season, he had 7 steals in 145 games. Reynolds actually runs more this season. Additionally, it’s quite interesting that Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds were involved in the same trade. Back in January 2018, the Giants sent Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Crick to the Pirates and acquired Andrew McCutchen. In January 2023, McCutchen returned to Pittsburgh. And now, Reynolds and McCutchen are teammates. In 2023, the Pirates have a great start and they are the first team in the NL to reach 20 wins. Bryan Reynolds has a good start in 2023 and Andrew McCutchen now has 7 home runs. Of course, the baseball season is a marathon. We will have to keep watching whether the Pirates will keep performing well. Moreover, Bryan Reynolds surely can hit. Nonetheless, will he keep showing his speed during the regular season? Is it possible to see him finish the 2023 season with 20+ home runs and 20+ steals?
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