Chad Wallach 2020 Topps #658

Card Review: Awesome

It took longer than it should have, but one of the Wallach kids finally has his own Topps Baseball card.  Before I get into critiquing this card, I feel the need to point out how exciting it is to finally see this happen.  Any of the nitpicking that is about to follow is just that, nitpicking.  Hopefully this won't be Chad's last appearance in the base set.

That said, and I do love the fact that this card now exists, here are my issues with it.  First off, what in the world is going on with this stat line?

That'd be a fine way to handle Chad's stats, had 2020 been in a normal season, and Chad had made the roster coming out of Spring Training and made his Major League debut this year, earning himself a spot in the 2nd series of the Topps flagship set.  That happens every year.  However, this isn't Chad's first MLB rodeo.  When he checks into a game this season, it'll be the fourth Major League season he's played in.  This is is what baseball reference shows for Wallach:

 Chad already had three seasons worth of MLB stats coming into the 2020 season.  Just because Topps was asleep at the wheel and didn't include him in the base set until now, doesn't mean those seasons didn't happen.  And sure, they don't reflect a ton of playing time, but as any kid who ever picked up a glove and didn't make it to the majors can attest to, every one of those 117 plate appearances counts.  He actually played five times as many games in the Majors last season as he did the minors, but some how Topps felt the need to show us a split minor league line of 4 games between two different farm clubs.  It's ridiculous.

My next issue is with the bio.  For one, it's wrong.  Take a look:

2019 wasn't Chad's first Opening Day roster.  Not only was he on the Opening Day roster in 2018, he was the Opening Day starter for the Marlins in an 8-4 loss to the Cubs.  Again, this just feels like someone at Topps trying to cover up the fact that they screwed up by not including Wallach in the set the last three years.  He certainly warranted inclusion in the Update sets.

The other odd thing about the bio is what's not there.  It's certainly nice to see a young players college listed on the back, or an extra stat like how many base runners they threw out, at least it is when there isn't anything more interesting to say about the guy.  Maybe I'm biased, but if a kid gets his first Topps card, and his father happened to be a 5x All-Star, or even just a coach on the team the kid plays for (let alone both), that's something I would have been interested in.

That said, I'm very happy this card finally exists.