Today is a banner day for Padres birthdays. Seven former Friars are blowing out candles today; among them are two former closers, a one-game wonder, and a trio of fan favorites, but this isn't about any of them. The youngest of the bunch of birthday boys is catcher Ali Solis, who turns 27 today. Solis was briefly a member of the 2012 Padres, but don't feel bad if you don't remember him. He appeared in just five games and was hitless in four plate appearances; Rays fans can similarly be excused, as Solis also failed to reach base in his seven trips to the plate this season, his only other major league service time.
Between his hit-free stints with San Diego and Tampa Bay, Solis spent a year in the Pittsburgh organization. The Pirates claimed him off waivers the week before Halloween in 2012, just in time for Topps to depict him wearing a Pirates hat in his 2013 Heritage rookie card. Since the 2013 Heritage set was based on 1964 Topps, and 1964 Topps featured two rookies to a card, Solis shared his card with former minor league teammate Casey Kelly.
One difference between this card and a 1964 Topps original is that in 1964, Topps grouped rookies from the same team, with the team name only at the top of the card. As you can see, this card has guys from two different teams, with the style changed to accommodate a second team name, in the center of the card. At first I thought it was a last-second change since Solis had just left the Padres organization, but several other rookies from separate teams got this treatment in 2013 Heritage. As it stands, it's just another example of Topps putting forth half-measures because they have a monopoly.