Vladimir Guerrero, 2012 Topps #119

When I first came across this card, I did a double take. I've repressed a fair amount of Orioles baseball from the Crap Years (1998-2011), but I was still pretty sure that Vlad Guerrero didn't shamble his way to a third-place finish in the American League batting race in 2011. Then I realized that this was a career leader board, and it made more sense. Vladi batted .313 in eight seasons in the junior circuit with the Angels, Rangers, and O's, and honestly his .290 average in 145 games in his lone season in Baltimore was better than I figured. But his .416 slugging percentage was by far a career low, which helps explain why that season turned out to be his last. Amusingly, the expanded list of active AL batting average leaders on the back of the card shows Guerrero and Derek Jeter tied at .313, and I'm shocked that Topps missed out on a chance to shoehorn Jeter onto another card. Maybe they went down to a fourth decimal place and Vladimir beat out Jeets fair and square.

Joe Mauer, whose .323 career average through 2011 has dipped to .313 after a couple of down years by his standards, finds his Twins trailing the Birds 4-2 after seven and a half innings tonight. It would be great to shut down Minnesota in two straight games after getting swept in the seven-game season series last year, so let's get those last three outs.