Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Sweetness (and a sour taste)

This was the card that tipped my hand into buying a recent joblot of cards from 2001, but I was very disappointed with it when I had it 'in hand'.

Card Number 711: Topps Combos insert, 2001; TC-15

The Combos were a 20-card insert series featuring stars of the past and current big names. Tony was paired with Ted Williams, one of his heroes.


The photo composition is a little bit odd, but that's not what was disappointing about this card. There is some surface damage with a large area of speckling across Tony's face. I have a feeling this card is from some recently opened packs where the cards have stuck together over time. I have seen this a lot in pack-ripping videos where older packs are opened and cards get damaged as they are pulled apart. 

The damage wasn't noticeable in the picture on eBay. I use my phone to look at eBay and that might be why I didn't see it. The damage wasn't mentioned in the listing description either, so it was very disappointing to only discover it when I opened the box of cards. 

I messaged the seller, and received a small refund for this and the handful of other cards affected. But as this was the one card I really wanted from the lot, it's not really about the money.

Despite the damage (which is also visible on the back of the card, below), this is a nice concept for a card. The "Sweetness" refers to Tony and Ted's sweet swings as they batted their way to greatness.


The state of this Sweetness card has left a sour taste in my mouth, and puts me off buying from that seller again. At the moment this is just a place-holder in my collection and hopefully I will find a nicer copy one day.

Total: 711 cards

6 comments:

  1. Bummer. Glad the seller worked with you and gave you a small refund. Hopefully you'll be able to find a replacement sooner than later.

    As for the card itself... I really like it. I'm actually a fan of this set and have been slowly grabbing singles in an effort to build it.

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    1. There were some other combos cards in the joblot but they were all damaged in the same way, unfortunately. Otherwise I'd send them to you.

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  2. Cards with these two together always bring a smile to my face. Of coarse Gwynn has been my favorite player since I was about 13, and Ted Williams was my grandmothers favorite player since she was a little girl.

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    1. That's really cool about your grandmother. I hope she's still with us and still watches ballgames.

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    2. She is 93 years old and spends her free time visiting family and playing Scrabble with them on Fakebook. She was really happy when the Red Sox went to the World Series.

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