What The Hell?

President Barack Obama, only 1 year into his presidency, already has a whopping 403 trading cards bearing his likeness, according to Beckett.com. By comparison, JFK, who is widely regarded as one of America's greatest modern Presidents only has 164 cards bearing his. Our first President, George Washington, has only 42, and Abraham Lincoln, 106.

Does anyone else find it absolutely disgusting that 3 of our greatest and most popular Presidents of all time COMBINED still find themselves on 101 LESS total cards than a guy who has only been in office for a year?

Barack Obama has more cards out there than Adam Jones, who has been a professional baseball player now for 4-5 years! Jones falls 58 cards shy of the Prez, with 345 total cards.

THIS news story inspired me to research the topic this morning. I just have one question America...

WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUU IS GOING ON HERE?

We don't have JUST a President, we have a celebrity, and personally I find it disgusting. Thank you modern media for further warping our perceptions of what a leader is and what a leader should be.

EDIT: To all those who are claiming the reason for this is that the other Presidents have long since passed on....

George W. Bush: 36 cards
Bill Clinton: 39 cards

Those guys both held the office of the President for 8 years. Riddle me that....

EDIT EDIT: This is NOT a political post. I voted for Obama, and still feel he is the best man for the job. It is however, a reflection of how warped our media has become, and how the card companies just seem to be following right along. Enough is enough.

There Are Too Many Hall of Famers

As the world awaits the final tally of this year's Hall of Fame vote, I figured what better time than now to weigh in and share a slightly different opinion than the ones Ive seen on other blogs.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE ON THE BALLOT DESERVES TO GET IN. PERIOD. At least not this year anyway.

This is not a knock on Alomar, The Hawk, Larkin or Blyleven. I feel that the "Hall of Fame" has been compromised. It's become the Hall of Pretty Good, the Hall of Above Average, and is no longer a place where ONLY the true greats of the game are enshrined. In my opinion there are already too many players enshrined in Cooperstown, and a large percentage of them may not deserve the honor which was bestowed upon them.

Given that the so-called "golden age" of baseball has all but disappeared in the rear-view, I think it's time for a criteria change. You should have a record-breaking career in order to be elected, or you should have had to have been one of the top 2-3 players at your respective position for the era in which you played. Using this criteria, I think everyone on this year's ballot is not worthy. Not that they all weren't good, or even great players, I just don't think they were the best.

Take Barry Larkin for example. He was not among the top 2-3 shortstops of his era (Ripken, Yount, The Wizard), nor did he put up particularly outstanding numbers. He did however have a very nice, solid, long career. Is that enough to make you a Hall of Famer? In my opinion, no. If there were a Hall of Very Good, Larkin is a first ballot inductee, no questions asked. I feel the same way about both Dawson and Blyleven.

About the only player on this year's ballot that I can make a case for is Alomar. I have him as the third best second baseman of his era, behind only Sandberg and Biggio (who isn't yet eligible) . Alomar was solid both defensively, and at the plate, but to me, his career numbers aren't mind blowing. What gets Alomar in to the Hall in my opinion is the fact that there weren't a whole lot of players better at the position than he was for his time. What I do not think however, is that Roberto Alomar is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He deserves to get in, and most likely will at some point, but this year, I think there shouldn't be anyone elected.

If you think I'm being too rash, and my criteria isn't detailed, or complicated enough, so be it. I would love to hear your reasons why I am wrong, and why you think I am an idiot. Peter Gammons said the best way to decide who is in and who is out is simply first impression, without having to look at numbers. If someone walked up to you and said "Do you think Andre Dawson should be in the Hall of Fame" I think most people's first instinct would be to say "No". I encourage you to do that with everyone on the ballot this year, and if there is anyone that immediately jumps out at you as an obvious "Yes", please state your case. I would love to hear it.

Card Companies & The Future Value of Autographs

It's a rare occurrence when I post something that may actually be of substance, and this just may be one such occurrence. Lately, I have been thinking about the perceived value of autographs and how that relates to their overpopulation when it comes to the secondary market. What got me to thinking about this was pondering whether or not to trade away a Pablo Sandoval autograph. The person I am trading with was offered a Red Schoendienst autograph instead, but opted for Kung-Fu Panda over a Hall of Famer.

What does this say about the value of living Hall of Famer autograph cards produced in the last 10 years? According to Beckett.com, there are 200 autographed cards bearing Schoendienst's signature, versus only 16 for Sandoval. Right now, there's a viable argument that the Sandoval is worth more than the Schoendienst, just based on it's scarcity. This was only Sandoval's second season, and the way things hae been going, I'm sure he'll have more than 100 autographed cards by the end of next year. This will obviously affect the value of his autographed cards, and probably average things out between him, and Hallof Famer Red Schoendienst.

My point is this: Are autographed cards of anyone going to be worth anything in the future? Seems like damn near everyone has an autographed card in every damned set out there. Nick Markakis already has 305 autographed cards, and has only played 4 full seasons of baseball. That's an average of 76 cards per season! Autographs are no longer a rarity, and that's a real shame. We're not just talking about living players either. I can't state this for a fact, but the market for deceased Hall of Fame autographs has to have suffered over the course of the last decade. How many Mickey Mantle autographs are there on eBay right now? DiMaggio? Even Babe Ruth has 124 certified autographs, according to Beckett.com.


If autographs will soon be worthless, if they aren't already, then what is the next big thing that will take the industry by storm? It's already been established that relic cards are old news, and with products like Topps Unique out there, it won't be long before we collectively yawn at patch cards either.

Like Sands Through The Hourglass

It's that time of year again in Baltimore. The time of year when sports fans turn their back on baseball, and another dismal Orioles season, to focus on the only team in town that actually has a chance of winning a major sports championship.

Naturally, I am talking about the Baltimore Ravens, and the upcoming NFL season. Football frenzy has officially begun in the beardy household. Fantasy mags are strewn across the living room, and the draft for my first of 3 fantasy teams is tonight.

I don't want anyone to think my love for the Orioles has waned, because it hasn't by any means. It's just that every year for the last decade or so, I have known that the Orioles were toast by the All-Star break, and it gets a little depressing to keep watching your team lose series after series. While this season did have it's glimpses of the future, with all the young talent that has been brought up to the bigs, the results aren't there yet, and I don't think they're expected to be either.

Just like every season, I will hope that the next one will be better... but will it really? The young Orioles have a great young base, with Markakis, Jones, and the plethora of young guns that debuted this season. What they need is a leader, and a middle of the order anchor. I encourage Andy McPhail to sign a few veterans in the off season, and find someone to lead this young team to the promised land. I think one of the hardest things to overcome will be the culture of losing that has existed in Baltimore since the late '90s. How about a true top of the rotation pitcher? How about a power hitting first baseman? How about a high energy, sparkplug type of guy who is around only because of what he can do for the clubhouse?

There were times this year where I could see the forest through the trees, and things looked to be coming together. Everyone always says "wait till next year" (especially in Chicago), and this Orioles fan has been left with no choice but to do exactly that.

At least I get to watch a competitive team for the next 5 months.