Jose Abreu, Masahiro Tanaka lead the Topps Rookie All Star Team

Being named to the annual Topps Rookie All Star Team is something of an under-appreciated honor, but it’s one that Topps has been giving out since 1959. Topps selects a total of eleven players to name across the major leagues: a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, three outfielders, a right-handed pitcher, a left-handed pitcher, and a reliever.

That initial 1959 winning team included the likes of Pumpsie Green, Ron Fairly, Jim Perry, and a first baseman for the San Francisco Giants named Willie McCovey. McCovey was the first of 20 future Hall of Famers named to the team.

The 2014 team is as follows:

• 1B: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
• 2B: Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals
• SS: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
• 3B: Nick Castellanos, Detroit Tigers
• OF: Danny Santana, Minnesota Twins
• OF: Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds
• OF: George Springer, Houston Astros
• C: Travis d’Arnaud, New York Mets
• LHP: Roenis Elias, Seattle Mariners
• RHP: Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
• RP: Dellin Betances, New York Yankees

For years collectors of Topps baseball cards have seen the top rookies’ cards adorned with the All Star Trophy the next year and that tradition will continue with the eleven players above.

There are, of course, always some questionable omissions – most notable of which was the NL Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom.

Cracknell, the editor at CardboardConnection.com, answered his own question a few minutes later.  

deGrom, for what it’s worth, finished the 2014 season 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 140.1 IP. Tanaka went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 136.1 IP – while being shut down from early July until late September with concerns about his elbow. deGrom got the hardware at the end of the year, as the deserving winner in the National League over Hamilton. Tanaka never stood a chance in the American League, as Abreu was considered the likely winner throughout much of the regular season.