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TYLER ROGERS BASEBALL CARDS

Tyler Rogers has quickly become one of the most intriguing relief pitchers in Major League Baseball since making his debut with the San Francisco Giants in 2019. While he may not be one of the biggest names in the game, Rogers’ unique pitching style and important role on a playoff contending team the past few seasons have made him a popular player to collect for baseball card enthusiasts. Let’s take a deeper look at Tyler Rogers’ baseball career so far and analyze some of the most noteworthy cards featuring the submarine style right-hander.

Rogers was originally drafted by the Twins in the 35th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion University but did not sign. He would then play two seasons of independent ball in the American Association before catching on with the Giants organization in 2017. Rogers worked his way through the Giants’ minor league system, posting excellent numbers as a reliever across Double-A and Triple-A. He made his MLB debut with the Giants in 2019 at age 28.

That debut season was highly impressive, as Rogers emerged as one of the Giants’ most trusted relievers thanks to his deceptive submarine delivery. He finished 2019 with a sparkling 2.61 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 73.1 innings pitched across 73 appearances. Rogers proved to be incredibly effective at inducing weak contact and keeping runners off base. His funky release point from below really threw batters off.

Rogers’ strong rookie campaign immediately made him a key figure for Giants baseball card collectors. Some notable rookie cards from 2019 include a Topps Chrome Refractor parallel (#232) and Topps Finest Refractor parallel (#152). Both capture Rogers in his Giants uniform during that breakout season. 2019 Topps Update Series also featured an action shot Autograph card (#US99) of Rogers that has become a highly sought after rookie autographed card for Giants PC builders.

Since that rookie year, Rogers has only solidified his role in the Giants bullpen. He followed up his 2019 performance by emerging as one of the top setup men in baseball in 2020. Rogers appeared in 26 games and allowed just one earned run over 19.1 innings of work for a minuscule 0.47 ERA. He continued to miss bats with strong velocity and movement on his pitches.

Rogers’ excellence in the shortened 2020 season led to some really popular cards being released featuring the unique reliever. Topps Finest highlighted Rogers with a tantalizing “On Fire” parallel(#43) insert that pictured himmid-delivery with a flaming ball effect. Topps Chrome Update Series included ahighly chased Refractor parallel(#UR130) of Rogers in Giants road gray. And Topps Opening Day hadan Autograph version(#OD-TR) of the same slick design that has become a must-have card for Giants collectors.

Now two years into his MLB career, Rogers has cemented himself as a lights-out reliever capable of getting big outs in high leverage situations. He continues answering the bell on a consistent basis for the Giants, who pushed for the NL West title in 2021. Rogers’ numbers dipped a bit last season with a 3.86 ERA, but he still struck out 82 batters in just 61.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .231 batting average.

Topps 2021 Series 1 and Series 2 both featured base rookie cards showing Rogers maintaining his effectiveness out of the Giants bullpen. But one of the real highlights was Topps Finest featuring an incredible parallel (#150) of Rogers mid-pitch with red sparkles emanating from the baseball. Along with Topps Chrome Retail Green Prizm Refractor parallel(#72), these showcase Rogers’ vibrant pitching motion in dazzling fashion.

Looking ahead, collectors will be hoping that 2022 is the year Tyler Rogers really breaks through on the national scene. If he can help carry the Giants back to the postseason and into October, some true premium memorabilia cards could emerge. But regardless of team success, Rogers’ unique submarine style ensures he will remain one of the most visually captivating pitchers in baseball cards. As long as he continues having an impact on the field for San Francisco, collectors will be seeking out some of the coolest Tyler Rogers cards around. His blend of performance and rare delivery make him a must-watch player that has translated nicely to the hobby.

BASEBALL CARDS ROGERS AR

The fascinating history of baseball cards in Rogers, Arkansas spans over 100 years, documenting the evolution of the hobby and its popularity among collectors in the region. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced in the late 19th century featured players from Rogers’ own semi-pro teams that competed before the town had a minor league franchise of its own.

Rogers was home to several independent and semi-pro baseball clubs in the early 20th century before gaining its first professional minor league team in 1936 with the founding of the Rogers Lions of the Class D Arkansas-Missouri League. That same year, Goudey Gum Company began mass producing modern gum and candy store baseball cards featuring major league players. Some of the earliest Goudey cards likely made their way to Rogers and into the hands of young fans of the local Rogers Lions.

By the late 1930s and 1940s, baseball card collecting had taken off across America. In Rogers, kids could be found trading and swapping duplicates from their wax pack pulls in school yards, at the local drug store, or out in the bleachers at Lions Park watching a game. Producing some of the most iconic and valuable vintage cards, the 1936-1938 Goudey set and 1939 Play Ball issue were popular among Rogers collectors of the era. Cards from those early Goudey and Play Ball sets featuring Rogers Lions players like Dick West and Cliff Dapper remain highly sought after by vintage collectors today.

The 1950s saw the peak of baseball’s Golden Age and corresponding boom in baseball card production and collecting. Topps Chewing Gum Incorporated had taken over the baseball card market by this time, releasing full color, photo-fronted sets each year from 1951 onward. In Rogers, kids flocked to stores like Walgreens, Rexall Drugs, and Ben Franklin Five & Dime hoping to find packs of the new Topps cards to add to their collections. The 1951 and 1952 Topps sets were particularly popular since they included cards of Rogers Lions still playing in the Class D Arkansas-Missouri League at the time.

As the minor league Lions drew fans to the ballpark, kids in Rogers developed passions not just for the hometown team, but for collecting cards of their favorite major leaguers as well. The expansive 1952 Topps set, featuring 682 cards including all 16 major league teams, was a popular complete set for collectors in Rogers to amass in the 1950s. Topps’ innovative use of color photos, statistics, and biographies on the cards helped fuel interest in the hobby.

The 1960s saw the rise of the perfect condition/grade consciousness among baseball card collectors. In Rogers, young collectors became meticulous about keeping their cards mint, carefully cutting them out of packs with scissors, and storing them in cardboard binders, plastic sheets, or between sheets of phone books. The popular 1963 and 1965 Topps sets were favorites for collectors looking to build pristine complete rainbow sets in high grades.

By the 1970s, the minor league Rogers Cardinals, who replaced the Lions in the 1960s, had gained a strong regional following. This helped maintain interest in baseball card collecting as a popular hobby among Rogers residents through that decade. The 1971 and 1972 Topps sets were particularly collectible issues during this time since they included cards of several former and current Rogers Cardinals players.

In the 1980s, Rogers saw the rise of the modern sports card industry. Companies like Donruss, Fleer, and Score entered the market challenging Topps’ dominance. This led to innovation, increased print runs, and more player autograph and memorabilia cards being inserted in packs. The increased availability of cards fueled even stronger collector demand. New card shops like Northwest Trading Cards opened in Rogers to cater to the booming hobby. Popular 1980s sets for Rogers collectors included 1983 Topps, 1984 Donruss, and 1987 Topps Traded, known for its error cards and short prints.

By the 1990s, the baseball card collecting frenzy was in full swing. High-end vintage cards from the 1950s were now out of reach price-wise for most collectors. But hobby shops in Rogers saw plenty of business as kids chased the latest releases, hunted for rookie cards of future Hall of Famers, and traded duplicates with their friends. The arrival of the Internet that decade also allowed Rogers collectors to more easily connect with the broader hobby community online. Sets like 1992 Bowman, 1994 Topps, and 1996 Fleer were highly collected issues during this time.

Today, baseball card collecting remains a popular pastime among Rogers residents young and old. While the heyday of the hobby may have passed, local card shops like Northwest Trading Cards continue to cater to the collector community. Vintage Rogers Lions and Cardinals cards remain a source of pride and nostalgia for longtime residents. Whether completing modern sets, trading online, or attending the occasional card show, the tradition of baseball card collecting in Rogers lives on over 125 years since the earliest known cards featuring the town’s ballplayers first circulated among fans.