Topps 2021 Gypsy Queen Zach McKinstry
Image Credit: No Image
The Play
February 26, 2020
Los Angeles Angels @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Bottom of the 6th
McKinstry awaits a pitch.
The video of this play is found on the MLB Film Room (at 0:05).
This takes some explaining. There are several clues that lead me to believe this is the game on the card. The first is that he is wearing the a spring training jersey. The second is that his jersey number is not 8. After his major league debut in 2021, McKinstry wore number 8, even at spring training. Thus, this picture had to have been taken in 2020 spring training, where he wore number 73. The third is the All Star Game patch on his sleeve. This patch only appeared on Dodgers uniforms in early spring training, before games were canceled due to COVID. The Dodgers were set to host the All Star Game that year before it was canceled. The three spring training games played in July (when play resumed) did not have this patch. The fourth is the red colors in the background of the photo. The Dodgers were most likely playing a team whose primary color is red. This narrows it down to either the Reds or the Angels.
The Dodgers played each team once in early spring training. Both were day games. McKinstry played in both games. We only have footage of him playing in the game against the Angels. In this video, we can see everything matches: jersey, patch, sunglasses, bat color, batting glove color, sleeve color, etc. You may ask, how to you know it wasn't the game against the Reds? Well, McKinstry only had one at bat which was in the bottom of the 9th. The latest at-bat we have footage of for this game is in the top of the 6th where there isn't as much sun at home plate as there is in the photo on the card.
As a result, I claim that this photo was taken in the game against the Angels. Which at bat? No idea (McKinstry had other at-bats in this game).
This is great, but this picutre doesn't have the All Star Game patch on it, so it has to have been taken in the second half of spring training, right? I say no. I think this is the same image as the one from Series 1. The main evidence is that there was only one game in the second half of spring training where the Dodgers played a red team.....and there was no sun in that game. The background of the Gypsy Queen card seems to still show real people, not the cardboard cutouts that appeared in July. If you look closely at both images, you can see the general shapes and colors in the background are the same.
All of this leads me to believe that this image was digitially edited to remove the All Star Game patch. We can also see enhanced colors in the "Dodgers" word on the jersey, the bat, and McKinstry's facial hair. Nearly everything else between the two images match, down to the creases in the jersey and shape of the shadows. I'm probably missing something huge but for now, I stand by my claim.
Card Details
Copyright Year: 2021
Card Series: Topps Gypsy Queen
Player Depicted: Zach McKinstry
Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Card Number: RAC-ZMC