Sunday, September 12, 2010

Topps Stadium Club "Play at the Plate??"


First off, I do *NOT* own this card.  I found it online while searching for game-used lots for an upcoming giveaway.  But, when I saw it, I thought of two things: 1) I wonder if Brian (of "Play at the Plate" blog fame) has any of these, and 2) Does anyone actually *want* these?

The only Indian in the list of 10 cards is Manny Ramirez.  Would I collect it? Of course! It's an Indians card.  But, would a casual collector (or fan) pull one of these and think, "Man, actual game-used dirt!!"  I dunno, I have to admit I was pretty excited when the Red Sox sent me Fenway dirt with their Fan Pack earlier this year. 

I would love to know whose job it was to collect game-used dirt from the batter's box.  And, is the dirt from when *that* player batted, or just from the batter's box in general?  Does that even matter?  Would it make the dirt more valuable if it was collected right after Vlad batted?  Better, how about DURING his at-bat?

Topps Intern in charge of collecting game-used materials (on phone): "Say again, sir? You want me to get game-use WHAT!?" (a brief pause as the director at the other end responds) "Yes, sir. Game-used dirt...from the batter's box..."

PA Announcer: "Now batting for the Montreal Expos - Vladimir Guerr... Ladies and gentlemen, please refrain from coming onto the field!"

Topps intern (to Vlad): "Pardon me, but I have to collect some dirt samples. It'll be just a minute."

In the background, a security office tries to charge the field, but is quickly stopped by the Topps Patrol.

Vlad (to intern): "Get the .... out of here before I knock you with this bat!"

Intern: "You can't. This is part of your contract with Topps to provide game-used memorabilia." He scrapes a handful of dirt from the batter's box into a snack-sized baggie.  "All done! Have a nice at-bat."

2 comments:

  1. The answer is NO, I do not have any of those and this is the first I'm hearing of them. I will have to start looking for those. I love the dialogue between Vlad and the intern!

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  2. By the way, I just checked ebay and they have a Mike Piazza ($7.99) and a Mark McGwire ($40).

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