Card Number 1037: Upper Deck Victory, 1999; #339
This is one of those cards where I had the parallel a long time before I acquired the base version. In fact, when I blogged the parallel version I bemoaned the fact I didn't have the base card!
Personally, I feel that is almost a perfect baseball card. I like posed photos where you can actually see what a player looks like. The simple framing and unobtrusive logo give this a high class, timeless feel.
The cardback is also elegantly laid out, with a bit about the Qualcomm Stadium (as Jack Murphy Stadium was known in 1999) and a bit about Tony. The truncated stats box is fine when there is so much other detail to include.
The prediction that Tony would reach 3,000 hits in 1999 proved true. The idea that he might reach 3,500 hits turned out to be optimistic. However, it does show how well Tony was hitting in the tail end of the 90s that it was considered a possibility, however remote.
Card Number 1038: Upper Deck SP 'Superbafoil', 1995; #105
As if SP cards weren't difficult enough to scan anyway, here is the shiny 'superbafoil' version. Unlike the dark blue foil triangle on the regular SP card, this card has a triangle that looks silvery in real life but scans in a fractal ice-blue colour.
A bonus of showing this parallel card is showing the fistbump photo on the back again.
Looking through the roster of the 1994 team, I think the player fistbumping Tony is Bip Roberts. That's a deduction I've based on the mystery fistbumper's complexion, jawline and ear. Bip was a second baseman so would be reasonably close to Tony when he was in the outfield. If only he had a number on his wristband like Tony did!
I'd be interested to hear what readers think about this. Is it a Bip-Bump? Or could it be someone else? Make your suggestions in the comments!
Total: 1038 cards
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I think I like the icy blue color the scan produced for the SP card. It takes an already great looking card and produces a new twist in the realm of "what could have been".
ReplyDeleteI could have put it under the overhead scanner but that's a hassle to set up...
DeleteEven though the Superbafoil looks really nice both in real life and in the scan, the fact that they look different is one of my frustrations with "shiny" cards. It makes identification difficult. I just had this happen with 2006 topps, where the foil was silvery-shiny, but scanned black. I was left chasing to see if this was a parallel or a scan issue.
ReplyDeleteI also love the '99 UD Victory set design, its one of the sets Im currently chasing...