February 27, 2007

Topps o' the Mornin' Mr. President. : Jeter's at the bat as President Bush smiles and waves from the crowd. And, oh look, The Mick is on deck.

read story | posted by SummersEve to Baseball at 11:32 AM CDT (15 comments total)

If it was done as a joke, it would have been much better to have just added Mickey Mantle instead of the POTUS as well.

posted by grum@work at 11:41 AM CDT on February 27

Oh man, what a great card that would be to have. Better than Billy Ripken, even!

posted by vito90 at 12:09 PM CDT on February 27

nice job SE. In a couple of years, it'll be a high dollar collector's item. Maybe next time they'll show the Babe eatin' his dogs in the dugout.

posted by bavarianmotorworker at 12:20 PM CDT on February 27

Better than Billy Ripken, even!

No, nothing is better than that Billy Ripken card. You can Photoshop anything, but the fact that he slipped "Fuck Face" past Fleer in the heyday of baseball cards is the ultimate.

posted by Venicemenace at 12:49 PM CDT on February 27

Terrific.

If a collector got both Jeter and Bush to autograph the card, it could send the value skyrocketing, Gregg said.

Oooh, what if you got all three of them to sign it?

posted by DrJohnEvans at 1:05 PM CDT on February 27

This smacks of the remakes of Hopper's Nighthawks at the Diner with Bogart, Monroe & James Dean replacing the faceless nobodies of the original painting.

This could be the thin end of the fantastic-fans-from-the-past wedge. (I totally call dibs on Rita Hayworth, Jack Kerouac and Charles Nelson Reilly for my baseball card..)

posted by chicobangs at 1:32 PM CDT on February 27

I just hope they don't start trying to do this every year. Once a decade and it's cute and interesting.

I agree with grum and Venice. A subtle Mantle in the dugout would have been better. And nothing beats fuckface.

posted by SummersEve at 2:15 PM CDT on February 27

the fact that it was done on purpose takes some of the fun out of it. can you really count it as an error card if Topps knew about it before it went to press? also there may be more "errors" on other cards in the set. hopefully they did a better photoshop job on those.

posted by goddam at 2:25 PM CDT on February 27

the fact that it was done on purpose takes some of the fun out of it.

That's what I think. It's all too contrived.

It's possible the Jeter card could join cards such as the 1969 Topps Aurelio Rodriguez, which features a photo of a bat boy instead of the Angels infielder,

The Rodriguez card was a classic. Putting a Yankee (and baseball) legend (who happens to be dead) into this one, along with Bush, who is the subject of far too many jokes already, is kind of cheesy. At least they didn't make a joke out of A-Rod's card.

Baseball cards used to be cool. Now they're just overpriced.

posted by dyams at 6:53 PM CDT on February 27

I was going to stop on the way home and buy a box to get some of these cards. Looking at eBay, I wish I had. There are several selling for well over $100.00. Not sure why people are paying so much since there are about a gazillion of these cards out there.

posted by SummersEve at 7:04 PM CDT on February 27

I'm sorry but this card is worthless kitch and the fact that people (I hate to call 'em fans) are interested in it is a comment that speaks volumes about how infantile many of us are.

posted by sickleguy at 7:14 PM CDT on February 27

Man, I hate to say it, since I was a hardcore collector back in my day, but this just reeks of a (not very well done) desperate attempt at PR from a dying industry.

posted by Ufez Jones at 8:19 PM CDT on February 27

From goddam's link...

Topps conceded the images were purposefully superimposed in the new set to amuse collectors, who are encouraged to study other cards in the set with a sharp eye.

I'd read they found out about it when it was too late to change it. But the above quote confirms what Ufez said. Kind of makes a mockery of what we as children once held so dear. (Too melodramatic?)

Oh well, I guess they need to do something to stay relevant. Even if it is something as cheesy as this. People are still paying triple digits on eBay. There are some really dumb people in this world.

(For more on catering to lowest common denominator to stay relevant, reference: "Povich, Maury")

posted by SummersEve at 5:38 AM CDT on February 28

I don't know. To me, the baseball card business looks like an industry that is correcting itself in all the best ways.

Not so long ago, everyone was moaning that the industry was moving away from the public's chosen market for the product -- children -- and instead was overrun by adult "investors." Even the children who remained involved put the cards in plastic sleeves -- treating them as commodities rather than something you flip, trade, or jam in the spokes of your bike. Who liked that?

Then the market became oversaturated. Not too long ago, if you went to a department store and saw their display of baseball cards, it looked like Walt Disney threw up. There were anonymous packs jammed in with Topps and Donruss and Fleer and Upper Deck and on and on. "Special Issue" cards were anything but. Plus, there wasn't a piece of gum in sight.

Now, Donruss and Fleer are gone. The market's oversaturation cooled the jets of most of the grown-ups in it for the big bucks (current e-bay craziness notwithstanding), and Topps has gone back to a concerted effort of marketing to kids. So what if they're telling you that some of the candy bars have gold foil instead of pretending it was a mistake. At least they're coming clean and not conspiring to hike values with unannounced "accidents."

Hey, if nothing else, at least they put the gum back in the packs.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 6:29 AM CDT on February 28

Hey, if nothing else, at least they put the gum back in the packs.

"Ow. I cut my cheek."

Lighten up, everybody. Seems like a fun idea. No one is burning down a church. Speaking of which, if anyone asks, I was at your house last night.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:53 PM CDT on February 28

« older The Innovations of Lew Fonseca… Veterans Committee picks no on… newer »

This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments.