Still "On Notice"

I have in my formerly nicotine stained hands (crunch, crunch, crunch) a press release from Topps. It appears that the 2008 Topps baseball factory sets will have a "bonus card" of Koskue Fukudome. Whether or not this "bonus card" will be numbered as part of the base set -- and therefore a true "rookie card" -- is unclear.

So let me get this straight. Topps posted to their website (and it's still there as of 7/14) that the second series of Topps baseball WOULD have a Kosuke Fukudome rookie card. Then, they pull the card at the last minute without bothering to tell anyone until after the fact. To add insult to injury, they stealthily insert into packs a gimmicked Fukudome card, and now they're finally getting around to issuing a Fukudome rookie (we think), but only in factory sets.

What a fustercluck.

If you're a collector, you have to be asking yourself: "Why did I buy those 2008 Topps waxboxes, again?"

And if Topps is going to pull a stunt like this next year -- and given their recent actions, you know they will -- why would anyone collect next year's Topps baseball?

Topps, it's because of crap like this I haven't bought any of your products in seven weeks. With this (and other) actions, I don't see myself collecting Topps anytime soon.

You are still "On Notice."

He's at it Again...

Take one guess as to who paid $401.99 for the Johan Santana fake no-hitter gimmick card?



(h/t bdj610 via Olbermann Watch)

Card #4

Well jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, get a look at this!



It's Kosuke Fukudome's first Major League Topps card! Of course, its STILL NOT A REAL ROOKIE CARD, but who cares, right?

OBTW, the checklist on topps.com still lists card #645 from the 2008 Topps baseball set as a non-existant Kosuke Fukudome RC. The boycott continues until the gimmicks and deceptive marketing practices cease.

This Just In from Our Irish Newsroom....

... Jay Bruce is the first of Topps "Red Hot Rookie" gimmick redemption cards.

Also, this just in...

THERE IS STILL NO KOSUKE FUKUDOME ROOKIE CARD IN 2008 TOPPS BASEBALL!

Kazuo Uzuki: Where Are They Now?

With all the controversy about Topps' multitude of series two gimmick cards, let's take a few moments to catch-up on the subject of Topps' series one gimmick card: Kosuke Fukudome's "compatriot," Kazuo "The Uzi" Uzuki.



This rather creepy video was uploaded by "kwatanabe52" (52, get it?) and shows "Uzuki" chilling out in New York's Central Park and signing an autograph for one of his "fans."

In the three months since it was uploaded this video has been played less than 600 times. (I guess that whole "viral marketing" idea didn't work, huh Topps?)

But who is Kazuo Uzuki? We may have found our answer.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Uzuki is actually Sensen Lin, a student at NYU Law School. According to the article, Topps paid Lin $500 for the picture and another $100 to appear in the aformentioned video.

And get this, Lin isn't even Japanese! He's an American of Chinese ancestry.

Another Day, Another Bullshit Gimmick.

The Johan Santana card in this picture is card #661 in the 2008 Topps baseball set. (And to think, you actually thought there were only 660 cards in the Topps set?) According to the eBay auction -- the only one of this card offered so far -- card #661 "commemorates" the "no-hitter" that Johan Santana "pitched" for the Mets on September 28, 2008.

Yes, it says September 28, 2008.

(Today's date is June 2, 2008.)

Let the Topps hatred commence in 3, 2, 1...

Topps: Helping Spread Manbearpig Awareness.

Don't worry, it's not the real Manbearpig. It's only another bullshit Topps gimmick card -- this one of Al Gore.

For those not aware of the biggest threat to the human race as we know it, let the former Vice President explain.





(h/t Cardboard Mania)

Even More Stupidity from Topps.

You didn't think they'd stop at just one, did you?



This is Yasuhiko Yabuta, set-up man for the Kansas City Royals. And yes, Topps has decided to (stupidly) replace his legit Rookie Card with a gimmicked short-print.



Meet Alexei Ramirez, backup outfielder for the Chicago White Sox. Like Yabuta and Fukudome, he played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic -- only for Cuba. And just like Yabuta and Fukudome, there is no Alexei Ramirez rookie card in series two Topps. Only this gimmick card.



Ummm, wow. Mere words can not describe what I think of this card.

Memo to Topps:

DO YOU REALLY, REALLY, THINK CARD COLLECTORS ARE THIS GULLIBLE?

DO YOU REALLY, REALLY, THINK CARD COLLECTORS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO COLLECT THESE CARDS?

DO YOU REALLY, REALLY, THINK THAT CONSTANTLY APPEALING TO THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR -- ESPECIALLY IN SUCH A CYNICAL MANNER -- IS GOOD FOR THE HOBBY?

DO YOU EVEN REALIZE THE LONG-TERM DAMAGE YOU ARE DOING TO THE HOBBY WITH THESE GIMMICKS?

DO YOU EVEN CARE?

I know one thing, as long as the gimmicks continue, this collector will no longer be purchasing Topps baseball products.

Gimmicking away Topps' credibility, one card at a time.

Alex Gordon.

Alay Soler.

Derek Jeter (and friends).

Jacoby Ellsbury.

Poley Walnuts.

Kazuo Uzuki.

"Jon" Smoltz.

The Rip Master.

You can now add the name of Kosuke Fukudome to the list of Topps' bullshit gimmick cards.

There is NO, repeat, NO Kosuke Fukudome rookie card in Topps series two. Instead there's this...


... a gimmicked short-print.

Un-Fucking-Believable.

More info as it develops.

A video metaphor for Upper Deck's "Hair Cut Signatures" DNA cards.

Seriously, what's the point anymore?

Yes, This Guy Is Real.

In an attempt to gimmick away what little relevance their Bowman brand still had with collectors, Topps has included autographed inserts of over 20 Major League scouts in their just-released 2008 Bowman. But some collectors have had questions about this particular scout card.



This is an autograph of the mysterious "Bowman Scout." Who is this guy? Is he even real? Or do we have another Kazuo Uzuki? Or "Rip Master?"

First off, yes, The Bowman Scout is a real person. He is an actual scout for an American League team who has worked as a consultant for Topps since the early 90s. According to a 2006 interview with Beckett, The Scout (who wishes to remain anonymous) says he attends 300-400 baseball games a year, ranging from high school to the Big Leagues.

Among The Scout's greatest "discoveries:" Mike Piazza (1992 Bowman), Jorge Posada ('94), Matt Holliday ('99), Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau (2001).

And despite his work with Topps, he says he doesn't collect baseball cards.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

2nd Impressions: 2008 Topps Series Two.

Taking a second look at the sell sheet of Series Two Topps, a couple of items I never noticed before quickly piqued my interest.

ITEM #1) FIRST TIME! Every 36-pack HOBBY box contains 1 Autograph or Relic Card! ENHANCED CONTENT! Every 10-pack HTA box contains 1 Autograph and NOW 2 Relic Cards!

Topps announced this about a month ago, and I've been sitting on this for a while. So allow me to vent.

I don't mind pulling gamers. But is the lack of a gamer in each 2008 Topps Series One Hobby box (as Topps has claimed) the real reason why sales of Hobby boxes weren't as brisk as HTA boxes? HTA's have always sold well; long before Topps began stuffing them with autogamers. It's not all that hard to figure out why if you think about it.

A Hobby box has 360 cards which (you would think) should be enough for a full 330-card base set. But over 50 of those 360 cards are not base cards, (i.e. inserts, parallels, fake Japanese pitching "prospects," and the like) leaving Hobby boxes about 30 cards short of a full base set. On the other hand, a 500-card HTA box all but guarantees a full base set (not to mention a healthy stack of doubles, and a lot more inserts). When given the choice between one box type that delivers a full set and another that leaves you short, some collectors are willing to pay the extra $35-$40 for HTA.

The second (and probably most important) culprit are Blasters. More and more Topps collectors -- even those who would never be caught dead buying their cards retail -- are finding Blasters to be a viable option. Collectors who aren't able to invest either $100 for an HTA box, or even $60 for a Hobby box, find $20 Blasters more affordable. (The availability of Blasters, and Blaster-exclusive inserts doesn't hurt either.)

Topps' flagship product has always been a collector's set; a product where the main draw is, has been, and always will be, the base set. Yes, pulling an autograph or a gamer is nice; but base Topps has never about pulling autogamers. Topps has made HTA boxes and Blasters more attractive to the collector, at the expense of Hobby wax. The addition of a hit in each Hobby box will have little, if any, impact on series two Hobby box sales.

Item #2) NEW! Red Hot Rookie Program! Rookie redemption cards numbered 1-20 will be randomly inserted and guaranteed in every Topps Series 2 Hobby and HTA box.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Gimmicked "Rookies"? In FUCKING BASE LEVEL TOPPS? SURELY THEY CAN'T BE SERIOUS?

Sadly, they are serious. (And don't call me Shirley. Ba-Dump-Bump.) Whether you like it or not, gimmicked "Rookies" are coming to base Topps. (Whether you want them or not, is immaterial.)

The scheme is similar to what Topps already has in Finest. Each randomly inserted redemption card will have a number, and Topps will announce over the remainder of the year -- stretching it out to maximize the effect -- what player each redemption card will be good for.

On the original sell-sheets for '08 Topps series two, there are no mentions of these gimmicked rookies so I'm guessing that they are a late addition. Hopefully this gimmick will be a one year aberration.

Shenanigans! Shenanigans! Shenanigans!!!!!!

Hey look, it's a Tyrus Thomas 1/1 SuperFractor on eBay!

Hey look, it's a video of a guy holding a redemption for a Tyrus Thomas 1/1 SuperFractor!



Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec. How can one person have a redemption card for a Tyrus Thomas 1/1 SuperFractor, and another person be selling THE SAME 1/1 CARD ON EBAY at the same time?

Topps, care to explain this, ahem, "discrepancy?"

UPDATE! MORE TOPPS SHENANIGANS!

It's Shenanigans, I Tell Ya! Shenanigans!

So yesterday, I got this press release from Upper Deck touting this particular Daisuke Matsuzaka card.



According to the press release, this rookie card (their words) has been selling for as much as $970.

$970? For an autographed "rookie" card of Dice-K? And serial numbered to only 18 copies?

HOLY SHIT!

There's just one teensy-weensy problem.

This "2007" Upper Deck Premiere "rookie card" of Dice-K was issued.....

... in packs of the recently released 2008 Upper Deck Premiere.

In other words, Upper Deck is trying to pass off a card issued in April 2008, as a card from 2007.

In UD's defense, this card was supposed to be in last year's UD Premiere. (Not wanting to pack it out as a redemption, they pulled it and saved for this year.)

That still doesn't make it a 2007 card, and nor is it a "true" rookie.

It is what it is: an autographed second-year card of a pretty damn good pitcher.

Shenanigans!

I hate to do this, but I'm calling shenanigans against Tuff Stuff.


Yesterday on their Bustin' Wax blog, Tuff Stuff posted a box break of Upper Deck's new Spectrum baseball, and they were shocked (SHOCKED!) that their box yielded seven game jersey's and four autographs.

You're only supposed to get two autographs and two gamers in a box.

Rut ro, Raggy!

While such "Hot Boxes" are not unusual for Spectrum (collector's are reporting that each 14-box case has one) what's unusual is how Tuff Stuff may have acquired this particular box.

Read the review a little closer, and you'll notice that price they "paid" for the box was "about $135 per box."

An interesting choice of words there, eh? "About" $135?

ABOUT?

That one little word leads me to assume that Tuff Stuff may not have paid for this box at all -- which may explain why they got a Hot Box.

Is this another case of "Upper Deck Card-Ola?" (i.e. Beckett-Gate?)

何がである"愚かな仕掛けのために日本語か。"

Remember that Topps card of Kazuo Uzuki that everyone forgot about when we all realized it was just another stupid gimmick? Guess what? It was all an April Fool's joke.

Really.

I'm not making that up.

It says so right in the press release.

I'll leave to the judgment of the reader to determine whether the joke is on you the collector, or on Topps.

---

Speaking of gimmicks, Mario over at Wax Heaven has the scoop on 2008 Topps Finest. Yes, the idea Topps ripped off of Dr. Wax Battle the cast of the Topps TV Rip Party is now a subject for an autographed insert. So for those of you patiently waiting for your boxes of Finest to arrive at the local Hobby shop, buyer beware. Your one-per-mini-box "hit" might be this.

Some thoughts on Beckett-Gate.

Normally, I do not comment about "Lotto Pack" products, but recent events have led me to reconsider. First, take a look at this video of 2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Football.



You get the idea.

Now it would be one thing if it were isolated to just 2007 Upper Deck Exquisite football. Maybe Beckett got lucky, maybe not. But if you look at some of Beckett's other video box breaks, they've seem to be getting "Hit of a Lifetime" cards out of all sorts of UD, Topps, and Donruss-Playoff products in all sports (and non-sports).

All of which leads me to wonder: W.W.J.D. What Would Jim Do? Say what you want about Jim Beckett, but no one (and I mean, NO ONE) ever questioned the man's integrity. Beckett truly was "The Hobby's most reliable and relied upon source," and part of that had to do with the man in charge. But no more.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with Beckett (or anybody else in The Hobby media) doing video box breaks and product reviews. Objective consumer reporting is a vital component to any respectable journalism outlet. Nor should Beckett be held to account 100% for this debacle. Topps, UD, Donruss, et al, may very well be sending Beckett loaded boxes. (And it's not just Beckett either, as this video from Dr. Wax Battle shows.) Beckett probably is an unwilling accomplice, and we should give them benefit of the doubt. But Beckett should have never put itself in this position in the first place.

May I make a proposal? From now on, anyone in The Hobby media who reviews product should no longer accept free samples from card manufacturers, and the manufacturers should no longer offer them to the press. If you're going to review wax, and expect your reviews to be taken seriously, then pay for your box like the rest of us.

I'm proud to say that in my 9+ years of reviewing wax, I've never received any free cards from the manufacturers. And I can say to you with full confidence, that every single product I've ever reviewed on this site was paid for out of my own pocket at current market prices. I don't think it's too much to ask of Beckett -- or anyone else who reviews wax -- to do the same. W.W.J.D.?

Reason #423 Why Topps Moments & Milestones is a Joke.

Is this what Topps meant by "Added Value in Every Pack?"

Courtesy of the must-read Sports Collectors Daily:

"Topps is confirming that because of what it calls 'a manufacturing error' in the recently-released 2008 Topps Moments & Milestones Baseball, card numbers 145-189 feature more than one red parallel.

"By design, each of the Rookie Cards 145-189 should only have one Red Parallel (1 of 1), but because of the error the subjects have an additional 20 Red Parallels."

In other words, the only "true" ones-of-one in TM&M -- and the only ones-of-one that might actually be worth more than the price of a waxpack -- are actually 20s-of-one.

Congratulations, suckers!

When Everything is Scarce, Nothing Is.

Just how much of a joke is Topps Moments and Milestones?

Number of days since it's gone "live:" 8

Number of "ones-of one" currently for sale on eBay: 181

Number of "ones-of-one" already sold on eBay: 168

I Take Back Everything I Said About 2008 Topps Heritage.

Just read the Cardboard Junkie's rant on the "super duper ultra whooper collectors take it in the pooper short print gimmick cards" in 2008 Topps Heritage.

Topps, you are officially "On Notice"

The Curious Case of Kazuo Uzuki.

Twenty-three years after George Plimpton and Sports Illustrated gave us Sidd Finch, Topps has issued a "Future Star" card of a Japanese teenage pitching sensation named Kazuo "The Uzi" Uzuki.

He's only sixteen and has a fastball clocked at 104 MPH!

Two years ago, as a fourteen-year-old, he was invited to tryout for Japan's World Baseball Classic team.

And, according to the back of his short-printed 2008 Topps card, one scout says he's the best pitching prospect he's seen in three decades!

But wait a sec. If there really was a 16 year-old in Japan who could hit 104 on the Jugs gun, and was invited to try out for the Japanese World Baseball Classic team at 14, don't you think he'd be a household name on this side of the Pacific already?

And besides, don't they use the metric system in Japan?

Does Topps really, really, think we're this stupid?

(h/ts to Short Printed and Wax Heaven)

Another year, another gimmick.

For those of you who had "Rudy Giuliani on the Red Sox team card" in the "2008 Topps base set Photoshop gimmick" pool, congratulations.

You're going to the pay window.

(image courtesy of the New York Post)

Dear Guinness World Records:

Hello, my name is Chris Harris, and I am the writer of the baseball card blog Stale Gum. It has come to my attention that The Upper Deck Company, a manufacturer of baseball cards and sports collectibles, is planning to release in various stages throughout 2008, a baseball card insert set called "Yankee Stadium Legacy." According to an Upper Deck press release, after all 6500 cards have been issued, Guinness World Records "is ready to recognize the effort as the 'largest baseball trading card set ever produced'.”

Before Guinness bestows this honor on 2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy, I would like to inform your Official Record Adjudicators of a long-forgotten baseball card set, that is (and will remain) the largest set ever made.

In 1998 Topps released an experimental, and now largely forgotten, baseball trading card set called Topps TEK. TEK was unique in that only 90 players were represented. However, each player had 90 different cards issued. This would make a 1998 Topps TEK baseball card set complete at a whopping 8100 cards (90 players multiplied by 90 variations) -- 1600 more than Upper Deck's Yankee Stadium Legacy set -- and the true Guinness World Record holder for the "largest baseball trading card set ever produced."

If you have any questions about either 1998 Topps TEK, or the 2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy baseball card sets, (or any other questions about baseball cards and sports memorabilia) I feel as though I am fully qualified to answer them for you.

Always Be Collecting
Chris Harris
www.stalegum.com

Yankee Plaid-Stripes

You learn something new every day. For example, today, I found out that the New York Yankees once wore plaid uniforms. At first I was shocked. But alas, sometime between 1951 and 1969, the Bronx Bombers wore plaid uniforms!

I came to this shocking discovery in, of all places, the checkout line at the Deptford, NJ Target. I was in the trading card aisle looking for a blaster of UD Masterpieces; but noticed something else that piqued my interest. Stacked neatly on the bottom shelf were four 2007 Topps factory sets each with a "Target Exclusive Mickey Mantle `game-used' card."

And there it was, visible from outside the box: A Mickey Mantle card with a plaid piece of "AUTHENTIC GAME-USED MEMORABILIA."

(Image ripped off of eBay, but you get the idea.)

At first, I was skeptical. Topps wouldn't dare cut up one of Mickey Mantle's civilian dress shirts, paste the swatches on a reprint, and label it as a "game-used" card?

Nah! Topps has way too much integrity to do something that nefarious.

So I came to the only logical conclusion. The New York Yankees must have worn (at some point during The Mick's career) plaid uniforms.

Maybe that 7500-card mirror insert that Upper Deck is cooking up will mention the exact game the Yanks went plaid.

Et tu, Upper Deck?

And to think, I thought Upper Deck was above the fake error card gimmick. I guess I was wrong.

(h/t Bob Brill)

Krazy Keith's Kard Konspiracy: Part II

Guess who's buying up Joba Chamberlain fake-error cards on eBay?

(h/t to The Brill Report)

Various takes on the Chamberlain, Ellsbury, and Poley Walnuts gimmicks from around The Hobby.
Bob Brill
The Cardboard Junkie
Ben Henry

Flashback to the Olbermann/Alex Gordon kerfuffle...
Beckett
Bob Brill
Olbermann Watch

Topps' Latest Decent into Gimmickry

Here we go again....

http://www.beckett.com/estore/news/?eskin=subBB&a=8906&s=1

A CARD OF A FREAKIN' SQUIRREL!

1st Impressions: 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition

By now you must have heard that Donruss-Playoff will be releasing a "baseball card" set this December. I put the words "baseball" and "card" in quotation marks because 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Baseball is neither licensed by Major League Baseball nor the Players Association. It will be, of all things, a college baseball set.

You'd think Topps or Upper Deck would have come up with a college-themed baseball card set by now. But if necessity is the mother of invention, then I guess getting your MLBPA license yanked is the mother of college baseball cards. (Yeah, I know. Bad analogy, sue me.)

Essentially D-P is taking a page from the EA Sports play book. A couple of years ago, EA had their MLB video game license revoked. They responded by putting out the same baseball video game, but with college teams and players.

The same concept is at work with '07 D3E. The set will feature 25 first-round selections from this year's MLB First Year Player Draft, all in their college (or high school as it were) uniforms. In addition, the base set will also include a handful of first-rounders from this year's NBA draft, as well as various other college athletes, coaches, and celebrities.

Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, that's where the similarities with EA Sports -- whose MVP Baseball holds its own with the fully-licensed competition -- ends. Donruss' fore into college baseball cards seems remarkably similar to the fully-licensed card sets they were putting out before their license was (mercifully) terminated.

I mean, this is Donruss-Playoff we're talking about. Did you actually think that D-P wouldn't screw a good idea like this up? Most of the "rookie cards" (their term, not mine) will be autographed-only and serial-numbered to 999 copies. And yes, there will be an inordinate and unnecessary amount of multi-leveled parallels, inserts, autogamers, and combinations thereof.

So alas, Donruss is back in the baseball card business (sort of). And while I won't be collecting it, it will be interesting to see how the rest of The Hobby reacts to D3E. Will it be treated as just another pre-rookie/minor league issue (i.e. mid-90s Classic), or as a pseudo-legit Draft Pick product like 2001-03 Upper Deck old Prospect Premieres?

MSRP: $5 per five-card pack. Street Date: Dec. 19th.

I Get Letters: 2007 Bowman Chrome

Let me state for the 534th time, I don't "get" Bowman Chrome. (For all the "Chromies" out there, spare me your hate mail.) I've never opened a pack of the stuff, and I have no intention of ever doing so.

With that said, long time Stale Gum reader Dane Muramoto alerted me to a quality control issue with this year's BowChro. I reprint his warning as a public service to collectors everywhere.

I started opening 3 boxes of Bowman Chrome and noticed the following pattern emerge. The "chase" cards seem to appear most often in the 3rd from top pack position. Out of three boxes, one pack didn't have a chase, and that box, the card was in the 4th from top (2nd from bottom) position.

Also, the autographs were in all three cases in the bottom half (the side with 4 packs per stack) of the box. At first I thought the emergent pattern was lower left corner, but one of the boxes (the one with the non-blue auto) was lower right corner.

So this leads me to two theories on this release.

#1 If your box has a blue auto, it will be lower left corner.
#2 It is impossible to finish a set with 4 boxes.

I think #2 is a MAJOR pet peeve for me. With the boxes ranging $75-$120 (eBay to local), I cannot see paying $500 to complete a set.

This is getting ridiculously out of hand.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up on it. Also a warning to readers to not buy single packs.

1st Impressions: A Trio of Topps Sets.

Regardless of what you think about the on-again, off-again Topps/UD/Michael Eisner takeover, I'm sure we can all agree on one thing; 2007 hasn't exactly been a banner year for Topps. Oh sure, there have been some hits. But every Allen & Ginter has been offset with garbage like Moments and Milestones.

So I guess it's rather appropriate then that Topps closes out 2007 with three products that -- upon first glance -- appear to be more "miss" than "hit:" Bowman's Best, Topps 52 and Topps Updates and Highlights.

Bowman's Best

After a year's hiatus, the redheaded step-child of the Bowman family makes a not-so-triumphant return. BowBest is back (again), this time with a new format (again).

The cards themselves are printed on what Topps calls "Tribute Technology," rather than the Finest-esque chrome stock. In fact, you could probably slap a "Bowman Sterling" label on the wrapper, and most collectors wouldn't know the difference. But like Finest, each waxbox will come packaged into three separate mini-boxes.

Here's where it gets a weird, and you'll have to follow me on this. Some of the base set and Prospect "inserts" are available only as autographs. Others are only available un-autographed. And yet a third group are available either autographed or un-autographed.

And it's not just the "Rookies" and Prospects either. For example: Alex Rodriguez's base set card is only available autographed. Derek Jeter's is not autographed. But Ryan Howard's card is available in both flavors.

Set aside the fact that, if you're an A-Rod collector and want his 2007 Bowman's Best base set card, you'll have no choice but to get one with an autograph; the question I'd like to ask Topps is: Why? Why not just make all the base set cards in an un-autographed version, and have a few players sign as a "variation?" (But that would actually make sense, and we can't have that, can we?)

Confused yet? Well, you can pretty much forget about attempting collect the entire set, as the 29 veteran autographs, 28 "Rookie" autographs, and 24 Prospect "insert" autographs are (naturally) short-printed and come three-per-box (one per mini-box). Not only that, but the 30 un-autographed base set "Rookies" and 40 plain vanilla Prospect "inserts" are all short-printed, serial-numbered, and are seeded at the rate of one-per mini-box, each.

Back in the day, Bowman's Best was a great product. It was the prefect hybrid of Finest technology with Bowman's prospects. And then along came Bowman Chrome; then Bowman Draft Picks; then Bowman Heritage....

The fact is, for the last few years or so, Bowman's Best ceased to be even remotely collectible. This new iteration of BowBest is even less so.

If there is one good thing I can say about '07 BowBest, is that it's somewhat affordable. The MSRP I saw on the sell sheet says $3/pack. (Although I believe this to be a typo.) Street Date: November 12

Topps Rookies -- '52 Edition

And now for something from the "We've Completely Run Out Of New Ideas" department, yet another edition of Topps 52! When I first saw the sell sheet, I said to myself, "I can't believe they're making this set AGAIN." I tried to pinch myself, but to no avail.

It's the exact same concept as last year's Topps 52 -- all the MLBPA-approved "ROOKIES" in one set, and all on the same old 1952 design that Topps has been beating to death ever since the first series of Topps Heritage. And yes, there will be yet another Mickey Mantle reprint in the base set -- as if there haven't been enough of them.

Put a stamp on this one, 'cause Topps is mailing this one in.

MSRP: $5/pack; Street Date: Nov. 19.

Moving along...

Topps Updates and Highlights

TU&H is essentially the third series of '07 Topps -- and I have absolutely no idea why Topps just doesn't call it that. And yes, the parade of insert stupidity continues!

TU&H has more mirrors than a carnival fun house: 100 more Mickey Mantle's, 25 A-Rod's, and another 22 Barry Bonds'. But the coup-de-grace is another 200-card batch of the worst insert set ever: Generation Now.

But at least Topps didn't screw up the base set: 330 cards, with subsets galore.

Street Date: Late October


Judging by the sell sheets for these products, it's become obvious that the Topps product development department is just waiting for the buy-out to resolve itself. Because the effort just ain't there. I guess the best we collector's can hope for is for UD or Eisner to take over, and let 'em clean house.

I Get Letters: Bengie Molina in Topps 2.

Stale Gum reader Rob Heiser made an observation on Topps series 2 that escaped even my eagle eye.

"I noticed that the Bengie Molina card (#4) in 2007 Topps Series 1 is exactly the same as his card in 2007 Topps Series 2 (#342) except for the number on the back of the card. I haven't noticed any other similarities like that between the two sets and wondered if this was a common thing to do -- and if so, why? I could understand if the (#4) card was in a Blue Jays uniform or something, but the picture is the same, as well as the blurb text about him."

Yes Rob, it's exactly the same card. The only difference being the card number. It does not appear -- at least at first glance -- that the second series card is a variation. I've examed the obverse and reverse sides of both Molinas and could find no other difference between the two other than card number.

This can be chalked up to one of two things: 1) Topps' irrational airbrushing exuberance in the first series of '07 Topps, (Molina played for Toronto last year and signed with the Giants as a free agent in the off-season, hence the airbrushing from Toronto to San Francisco) or 2) sheer laziness on Topps behalf.

For the record, I choose the latter.

Guess who's NOT in 2007 Bowman?

Here's your one, and only, hint.



You know, you just gotta hand it to the Topps marketing department. Putting last year's number one overall draft pick on all the wax boxes and pack wrappers is one thing. But it takes balls to put last year's number one overall draft pick on all the wax boxes and pack wrappers, AND NOT EVEN BOTHER TO PUT HIM IN THE ACTUAL PRODUCT!

That's right. I've scanned the checklist three times, and could not find the name "Luke Hochevar" anywhere. He's not in the base set. He's not in the Prospects "inserts." And nor is he among the autographs.

I just cracked an HTA box and will have a full box break sometime later this week. Let's just say that it won't be pretty.