Topps of the list

The Topps baseball card company gave fans an interesting conversation starter on Wednesday, when it named its All-Rookie Team for 2009. And while many of the selections were noteworthy, there also seemed to be at least one glaring omission.

Matt Wieters, one of the most highly rated rookies in recent seasons, was left off the team in favor of former Baltimore farmhand Omir Santos despite having a marked edge in batting average (.288 and .260), on-base percentage (.340 and .296) and slugging (.412 and .390).

The Orioles did see Nolan Reimold named to the team, a selection that recognized the team’s year-long youth movement. Reimold led all American League rookies in home runs (15), on-base percentage (.365) and slugging (.466) when his season was cut short by injury.

– Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/