The George Washington DNA Relic

This card was talked about in every collector's magazine, blog and online venue. It featured an authentic strand of hair from the first recognized President of the United States. There have been many others before George Washington to hold the title of President of the United States. For arguments sake, we'll just say Washington is the first President.

I don't know about you, but the prospect of this card is a little creepy. It feels like grave robbing. In the 21st century, it's hard to imagine owning a strand of hair from a world famous person that died less than a month before the start of the 19th century.

Who would want to collect a card like this? Can we expect a card of Babe Ruth's follicles in the next few years? Will this lead to a flurry of authentic hair cards? The closest thing I can compare this to would be a CD that Mancow was selling that featured a little bag with a few strands of his beard. I didn't know what to do with that and I don't know what to do with this.

Mancow's hair giveaway with every CD was a joke. A poor joke about cloning if I remember correctly, but a joke nonetheless. This card is no joke. Maybe Topps will come out with a JFK hair strand card this year. Where do you draw the line though? Would a Michael Jordan hair card have more of an impact than George Washington? Would a Thad Bosley hair card have any collectors?

These are questions that I can't answer. I hope they are never answered. When I first heard of the George Washington card, I thought it was pretty cool. A piece of history. Then reality sunk in, the more I thought about it. What is the attraction here? Shouldn't this be in some museum or a presidential library? Why would this be included in a baseball card set? Baseball wasn't even invented in its modern form when George Washington was alive.

This would be a perfect fit for Donruss Americana. I just don't see how it fits in with Allen & Ginter. The only connection to Allen & Ginter that I can see would be smoking. I've heard rumors that George Washington used to smoke tobacco, marijuana and opium. There is no concrete evidence that he smoked anything, but he did grow tobacco.

I guess that if there are cards of uniforms, bats, gloves, baseballs and jackets, this shouldn't be so far fetched. It's just too much of a leap from things used in a baseball game. Someday there will be skin peelings from Trot Nixon from a sunburn that he got from playing the field. I hope not, but I wouldn't doubt it.

1992 Fleer #713 - Dave Justice

I can remember these cards being really popular with my friends. I thought they were pretty cool, but I didn't really see the huge deal about them. They were cartoons.

It was by this point of the nineties where baseball card saturation seemed at its highest. This is probably why I didn't care about them that much. There were so many card choices in 1992. Every company seemed to come out with a baseball card set that year. Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, Donruss and Score all came out with huge sets. At least it seemed that way at the time. The main companies all started to branch out with sister card releases. Even companies that had nothing to do with cards were releasing cards. Ziploc and Denny's come to mind.

1992 was the year that the bubble started to burst. It had finally reached a breaking point. Cards were everywhere. They came in gas stations, grocery stores, hobby shops, breakfast cereals, snack cakes and boxes of kitchen products. It was insane! Cards even came in magazines that didn't have much to do with baseball cards.

When the bubble burst shortly after 1992, there was chaos. The public started not caring. By this time, every company imaginable had jumped on the bandwagon and broke it. Cards were not special anymore. I got fed up and bought my last few packs in 1994. I wasn't happy with the product I saw. I couldn't justify the money for less product that looked cheesy. 1993 Score Select comes to mind.

1992 was the year I cut my collecting in half. In 1993, I collected about half of what I did in 1992. After 1994, I didn't pick up another pack until 2007. Over saturation of the market and the strike helped that decision a lot.

In 1992, I still had hope that things would turn around in the hobby. I thought that these cartoon cards were a step in the right direction. I was still a teen and obsessed with drawing, so these types of cards offered a unique perspective into the players. They looked different, but they were nothing more than a gimmick.

As a teen, I saw this card of Dave Justice and thought it looked so cool. He had a tomahawk for a bat and he had a sly smile like he was about to hit a three run homer to win the game. He seemed larger than life juxtaposed against a blue sky with wispy clouds. Replacing Dale Murphy was hard for a rookie, but homer happy Dave made the casual fans forget about Dale.

I look at this card today and I see Dave with a slightly deranged look on his face with a weapon. It's funny how you look at things many years later and have a completely different reaction to it. These cards don't seem as special today. They don't even particularly stand out anymore. For a brief period of time, they stood out among younger collectors.

1992 Upper Deck #SP4 Frank Thomas - Tom Selleck

A card from 1992 with Frank Thomas on it? That's pretty common. A card with Tom Selleck on it? That's a little less common. Did Magnum P.I. even have trading cards? Probably. A card with Frank Thomas and Tom Selleck on it? OK, that's probably even less common. They're both wearing Yankees uniforms? OK, I give.

Actually it's an Upper Deck short print card featuring a scene from the movie Mr. Baseball. Unless something monumental happens, I guarantee this will be the only time you will see Frank Thomas in a Yankee uniform.

This was a card that I have never owned. Not because it's not a White Sox card. Mostly because it was hard to find when it first came out. The dealers who had it, wanted a fortune for it. I can find this card for under a dollar now, but I just haven't been motivated enough to purchase it. It would be a tacked on card on a big order.

Mr. Baseball is one of my guilty pleasure movies. It has been on cable all week. I've caught it three times, but never at the beginning. I always seem to catch it when he gets to Japan. Even though I've seen the movie dozens of times, I still stick with it when I run across it. It's hard not to like this movie.

It's more realistic than Major League and more plausible than Rookie Of The Year or Little Big League. Plus, it's less sappy than Angels In The Outfield. You can pretty much sit me in front of any baseball movie and I'll be entertained. Mr. Baseball seems to get lost in the mix. Tom Selleck is pretty believable as a superstar forced to play in Japan. It also has a Major League movie connection in Dennis Haysbert. He's the one who played Pedro Cerrano in Major League.

The truth is that I've known about the card since 1992. I just keep forgetting about it. With my obsessive collecting of the White Sox and any card of Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk, a Frank Thomas card featuring him fictionally on the Yankees is not a top priority. It doesn't mean that I will never obtain it. It's just not an absolute must have. I have other team sets and cards that I'm seeking that have a higher "now" value than this Frank Thomas/Tom Selleck card.

If they ever come out with cards featuring the players from the movie Major League, I'll be all over that! Until then, this Mr. Baseball card will suffice.

1993 Milkbone - Brett Butler

Puppies for sale. Two rambunctious dachshunds who love to play and cuddle. Named after a little cartoon blond boy and a sea serpent.

This is a cute idea for a card. Major League players and their dogs. What could be more American? Brett's mom needs to be behind the chair holding an apple pie to be more kitsch.

This reminds me of the WGN Sunday Afternoon Family Classics set from the early eighties. Somehow I can picture Brett hosting the movie at commercial breaks.

"And now we return to 'For The Love Of Benji' on Family Classics."

Somehow, when I think of Brett Butler, I don't think of cardigan sweaters, leather chairs and wood paneling. I think of a pesky slap hitter, who was a thorn in the side of many National League teams.

I can definitely see a reason for the product to exist. What better way to showcase a dog biscuit than to show cards of dogs. Cards of cute dogs doesn't really grab people. Let's put some baseball players on the cards and they can hold their dogs. Brilliant!

This was clearly the way to go with this card set. I really can't see a card set of famous dogs. Would there be two cards of Higgins? One for Petticoat Junction and one for Benji? How many Lassie cards would there be? One for each dog or one representing all the dogs who played Lassie. Would they draw the line before the set would include Santa's Little Helper, Astro and Dyno-Mutt?

Baseball players and their dogs was the way to go with this set. Now, we have a kitschy oddball set of some of our favorite players from the early nineties. Included in the set are Brady Anderson, Craig Biggio, Brett Butler, Ken Caminiti, Will Clark, Rob Dibble, Tom Foley, Joe Girardi, Tom Glavine, Wally Joyner, Barry Larkin, Ben McDonald, Mark McGwire, Paul Molitor, Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Swift, Larry Walker, Matt Young and Todd Zeile. Not too bad for an oddball set.

2008 Topps Heritage Chrome - John Lackey

I recently ran a contest over at my other blog featuring premium and shiny things that came in my 2008 Topps Heritage hobby box. There was a buyback card, a box topper, a relic and four chrome cards. I wouldn't mind winning any of them myself.

One card lasted through 8 contests. The John Lackey card. But why? He was the AL ERA champ in 2007. He went 19-9 for the Angels last year. He went to the All-Star game too.

Could it be that nobody loves John Lackey? He does look sort of sullen on this shiny card. Definitely not a look that goes with shiny, happy things. He's even numbered 598/1959. Not that it means much nowadays. He's shiny and wants to be loved. He's so shiny that you can see your own reflection in the card. Nice.

The winner of one of the earlier contests decided he didn't want a prize, so he declined. That left the door open for a bonus contest after the original 7 had been completed. The winner of the seventh contest was so underwhelmed by the prizes, I assume, that he has yet to contact me about claiming the prize. The winner of the bonus contest had their choice of prizes. That was not supposed to happen.

The winner of the bonus contest had a difficult time selecting between John Lackey and Billy Wagner. He ultimately chose Billy Wagner. So, that leaves John Lackey to be awarded to the seventh contest winner by default. That's the sweetest win of all, isn't it?

There was even one would-be participant who was so disgusted by Billy Wagner and John Lackey, that he refused to type the answer because he didn't want to win either card. Wow. I've never ran into so many people that declined free stuff. One of two things is supposed to happen when you hear free stuff. Either you want whatever it is or you are immediately suspicious.

Poor John Lackey. He will find a home, but will it be a good home? I have a feeling that wherever he ends up, he will be loved. Not at first, but 19 game winners have a tendency to grow on you. Especially hard luck pitchers.

2008 Moments & Milestones Blue - Pedro Martinez

What's the latest gimmick from Topps? Well it's actually on its second set this year. Topps Moments And Milestones. Where every card is numbered. EVERY CARD. That's cool and maddening at the same time.

Take for instance this blue parallel card of Pedro Martinez. It's numbered 3/10. That means that there are only 10 of this card. Sounds great, but there's a catch. There are 312 variations of this blue card and they are all numbered to 10. Doing math quickly in my head, that comes to 3,130 different Pedro Martinez cards. That's just for this blue parallel. It doesn't seem as special, does it.

There are also 313 different cards that are numbered to 150. 313 that are numbered to 25. 313 that are numbered to 1. Ouch. My head hurts. That being said, I like this product. There is something to be said about a card set that feels special, but ultimately isn't.

As long as you know what you are getting into before you purchase a pack, I see nothing wrong with this set. It is a product of its time. That time is of numbered cards and parallels. It's just the way things are now. I can't change them and neither can you. This stems from the adults of today feeling like they got a raw deal.

As kids, they were told that their cards would be worth millions. All the Jose Cansecos and Darryl Strawberrys and Todd Van Poppels would be worth a fortune when they reached adulthood. Just look at their parent's cards. Mickey Mantles and Willie Mays and Hank Aarons were worth a lot of money. So the same must be true for these cards. Right?

Flash forward 15 to 20 years. Most of the cards from the late eighties and early nineties are worth diddly and squat. The dealers and the magazines and the card companies kept telling the kids that the cards were going to be worth something. The cards from that era were all mass produced. They also had more people paying attention and caring for their cards, which cut out the handled card factor.

Stashed away in a basement, in some album with 9 pocket pages, is page after page of 1991 Score Todd Van Poppels. There must be hundreds of them. Maybe over a thousand. Almost all were purchased from dealers for some serious cash. A few were obtained in packs. A few were obtained through trades.

Let's say there are 1,000 1991 Score Todd Van Poppel cards. If all 1,000 cards were to sell at high Beckett value, it would be worth $250. But you would be lucky to find someone willing to buy 1,000 Todd Van Poppel cards for high book price. At low book price, those 1,000 cards would be worth $80. You might be able to find someone willing to take them off your hands for $50. That would be roughly what you paid for 1 page of cards, from a dealer, in 1991.

Just like with anything, you need to know when to sell with baseball cards, if that's what you are collecting them for. I have a handful of different Roberto Hernandez rookie cards because I thought he would be something outstanding. Plus, his story of getting to the majors was so inspiring to me. He did turn out to be something outstanding, just not in the eyes of collectors.

These Moments And Milestones cards make me feel the same way. On one hand, it feels like I'm part of something special. On the other, I feel like I'm getting ripped off. At least I know the logistics behind the cards. I know what I'm getting into. I like those odds.

1990 Bazooka #13 - Carlos Martinez

I'd love to hear the story about this card! It has definitely seen better days. I received this card today, in a package from Jeff of On Base Autos and Whose Card Is It? fame.

There was a good mix of commons, doubles and a few stars thrown in for good measure. Then, the third to the last card, I run across this beauty of Carlos Martinez. Creased, bubbled corners, unidentifiable gunk, partialy torn, and possibly slight water damage. I love it!

This card represents Carlos' career. There's a lot of promise, but it just gets blocked and tossed away before anything can really be appreciated. What was Carlos' block on the White Sox? Frank Thomas.

Who would you rather put out at first base, Carlos Martinez or Frank Thomas? Yeah, I thought so. Sure, Carlos was Topps 1989 Rookie First Baseman, but when you're blocking Frank Thomas, you have to get out of the way. If you don't you're going to get knocked the @*#! out!

Carlos put up decent numbers in 1989. He hit .391 in Vancouver and .300 with the White Sox. The hits were there, but the long ball was lacking most of the time and the RBI's just didn't materialize. When you have someone who could potentially be a Triple Crown winner (and almost did on a few occasions), you're going to get sent down or traded.

I liked Carlos when he was with the Sox, but you won't hear me complaining. I prefer Frank Thomas as the Sox first baseman in the early nineties. Who wouldn't?

Carlos Martinez probably got tossed aside when the newer, more powerful model came along. His card ended up in a shoebox, tossed carelessly on a shelf in a dank basement corner. Or he ended up in a stack of commons that got knocked over and was never missed when he didn't return to the pile. Whatever Carlos' story, he has found a home.