Drew Smyly is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. Over his MLB career from 2012-2021, Smyly has played for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and San Francisco Giants. As a result of playing for multiple teams over the past decade, Smyly has been featured on several baseball cards from various card manufacturers and sets. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most notable Drew Smyly baseball cards from throughout his career so far.
One of Smyly’s earliest baseball cards comes from his rookie season with the Detroit Tigers in 2012. That year, Smyly was featured in both Topps and Bowman baseball card sets as a rookie. In Topps, Smyly received card #613 in the 2012 Topps Series 1 set. The photo on the card shows Smyly pitching for the Tigers in his debut season. As a rookie card from his first MLB team and season, 2012 Topps #613 remains one of Smyly’s most popular early cards among collectors. He was also featured as a prospect in 2012 Bowman, appearing on card #212 in the base set. Both of these 2012 rookie cards capture Smyly at the beginning of his professional career and remain notable pieces for any collection of his early cards.
After being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014, Smyly started to receive cards in sets focused on his new team. In 2015 Topps, he appeared on card #362 in the Tampa Bay Rays team set. This card shows Smyly delivering a pitch for the Rays in their home pinstripe uniforms. Another 2015 issue, 2015 Topps Chrome #144, features Smyly in the Rays’ road gray jerseys. He continued to be included in Rays team sets in later years like 2016 Topps (#379) and 2017 Topps (#430). Smyly established himself as a key member of the Rays’ starting rotation during his two seasons in Tampa Bay, earning him regular card inclusions highlighting his contributions to the ballclub.
Injuries caused Smyly to miss the entire 2017 season after being traded to the Texas Rangers in the 2016-2017 offseason. He was still recognized with baseball cards during his time with Texas. 2017 Topps Heritage featured Smyly on card #334 wearing a Rangers cap, even though he did not pitch a single game for the team due to recovery from Tommy John surgery. Then in 2018, in his first year back from injury, Smyly received card #280 in 2018 Topps Series 1 as a member of the Rangers. This marked his return to MLB action after over a year on the sidelines.
Smyly continued bouncing around to different organizations in subsequent seasons. He received cards for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019 after signing with them as a free agent, like 2019 Topps Update #US153. Later in 2019 after a midseason trade, Smyly appeared on 2019 Topps Update #US280 wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform. Most recently in 2021 with the Giants, Smyly had cards including 2021 Topps Main Set #542 and 2021 Topps Chrome #192. These later cards from the 2019-2021 period represent Smyly’s contributions as a veteran reliever and spot starter while playing for multiple clubs late in his career.
In addition to standard baseball cards, Smyly has also been featured in numerous insert sets and parallel/short print variations over the years. Some examples include 2016 Topps Fire #F7 (Rays parallel), 2018 Topps Heritage Minor League #MLB30 (Rangers prospect), 2019 Topps Big League #BL-DS (Brewers short print), and 2021 Topps Chrome Update #CU-DS (Giants short print). Smyly has also received multiple All-Star cards recognizing his appearances in the Midsummer Classic game in 2014 and 2015 during his Rays tenure.
As his MLB career winds down, Smyly will likely continue to receive new cards in 2022 and beyond if he plays for additional teams. The cards highlighted here do a great job of documenting Smyly’s path over 10 seasons jumping between 5 different organizations. From his early Tigers and Rays rookie issues to later updates showing uniform changes, the Drew Smyly baseball card collection captures the ups and downs of his pro baseball journey to this point. For fans and collectors alike, his cards serve as a reminder of an intriguing career playing for multiple ballclubs in today’s game.
