The Upper Deck

Welcome to The Upper Deck, Baseball America’s daily look at the biggest stories around the game and some lighter fare. If you have videos, GIFs, photos or stories you want us to know about and feature in this space, hit me up on Twitter at @vincelara or email me here.

LONG AND SHORT OF IT

Aaron Judge hanging out with his little buddy José Altuve… the GIF version. 💰 pic.twitter.com/pdQTq2Wtj6

— Sports Funhouse (@SportsFunhouse) July 2, 2017

One of the great things about baseball is players of all sizes can play, from 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to 7-1 Loek Van Mil. Sunday presented an opportunity for polar opposites to exist in nearby spaces, creating a great photo—or GIF—opportunity. Aaron Judge, all 6-7 of him, doubled in the Yankees’ game against the Astros, and while standing on second base chatted with Jose Altuve, who is listed at 5-6. For what it’s worth, Judge and teammate Ronald Torreyes, who is listed at 5-8, have had a running gag all season in which teammates lift Torreyes to give Judge a high-five after home runs, so Judge has plenty of experience in this role.

SPEND, SPEND, SPEND

Venezuelan CF Everson Pereira, No. 4 international prospect, signs with the Yankees: https://t.co/TSehQF6OSG pic.twitter.com/5oqlrcmB2X

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) July 2, 2017

July 2 should be a national holiday but with its proximity to July 4, it practically already is. What it also is a day of life-changing decisions for players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. Ben Badler had you covered and you can find all the content here and here.

STAR OF STARS

Now a 5-time NL All-Star, @BHarper3407 earns a starting OF spot in the #ASG for 4th time in his career. pic.twitter.com/DV9Tp6y0h6

— MLB (@MLB) July 2, 2017

The rosters for the MLB All-Star Game on July 11 were unveiled Sunday night and they have a decided young flavor. Kyle Glaser looked at the Top 100 Prospects angle.

AMATEUR HOUR

2018 1B Triston Casas (Fla.) hits a dinger. He's hit a few deep to LCF this week, finally turns on one and puts it over RF fence. #TOS17 pic.twitter.com/2WVMvBJFut

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) July 1, 2017

USA Baseball’s Tournament of Stars ended Saturday and Carlos Collazo looked at some the best velocities, speed rates and exit speeds from the event, courtesy of TrackMan data.

PLAYING CARDS

Pete Rose might never be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but apparently that has not tarnished the value of some of his memorabilia. The ball Rose hit for his record 4,192nd hit sold at auction for $403,657.20, according to auction site Lelands.com, The Associated Press reported. The buyer was not identified. Rose got that single that broke Ty Cobb’s record on Sept. 11, 1985 off the Padres’ Eric Show.

BETTS ON IT

In the Red Sox’s rout of Toronto on Sunday, Mookie Betts became the first leadoff hitter in Red Sox history to have eight RBIs in one game, amazing considering Boston’s storied hitting history. Fred Lynn had 10 RBIs in a game in 1975, his Rookie of the Year campaign, but not hitting leadoff. Only five players including Betts have had eight RBIs while batting first.