Project Durham Bulls #22 - Brandon Guyer

2011-2014 Durham Bulls 

Background-

If you're a Cubs fan just go ahead and skip past the first part of the background section.  The Rays ended up with Brandon Guyer as a part of the Chris Archer for Matt Garza trade.  The Rays also received Hak Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, and Sam Fuld as a part of the trade.  Guyer's first season in Durham was his best year as a professional baseball player.  Guyer slashed .312/.384/.521 with 14 home runs, 5 triples, and 29 doubles.  Add in 61 RBIs and 16 stolen bases and Guyer seemed like he would be a solid addition to the Rays outfield.  The Rays called him up in September, but he did not hit.  Guyer spent the next three years bouncing in between Durham and Tampa.  He hit well in Durham, never faired as well in Tampa.  Last year he was traded to the Indians where he starred in the team's postseason run, including a .300 average in the World Series.  He appeared in all seven games.  Guyer has also started getting noticed for his ability to get hit by pitches.  Some pretty cool charts and diagrams out there documenting his ability to be beamed.  

Card- 

The 2011 Bowman Chrome autograph of Guyer I picked up is a little bit of an oddity.  The front of the card pictures the Guyer in a Cubs uniform and it even has the Cubs logo in the bottom left hand corner of the card.  However, Guyer was on the Rays during the 2011 season.  It would be one thing if the Bowman Chrome product was released early in the season and Topps did not have a chance to get an updated photo of Guyer.  However, the set was actually released towards the end of October of 2011.  Meaning, Guyer played an entire season as a member of the Rays organization and he still was put into a Cubs uniform on this card.  So, flip the card over and......

we've got a whole lot of Rays information.  The stat line on the bottom belongs to the 2010 season with the Tennessee Smokies, Cubs AA, but the top Resume section is all about his 2011 season with the Rays and the Bulls.  I don't know if I have ever seen a baseball card like this, but I guess there are many times when I don't read the back of the card.  I am learning the error of my ways.