March 15, 2007

Fleer Division:
(4) 1975 Red Sox vs. (13) 2006 Braves



Scoring: The two cards go head-to-head in the following categories, with each scoring up to three points in each category.

Teamwork
Coach Attire
Uniforms
Background
Personnel
Card Design
Photo Quality
Number of Players

1975 Red Sox (4) vs. 2006 Braves (13)

Teamwork There is really no rhyme or reason to the Red Sox in this picture, except for the batboys. And the real winner of the four is the cross-legged one in the front on the left. Is he sulking? He’s in the goddamn team photo for the ’75 Red Sox! He better not let Carlton Fisk see him pouting or he’ll get punched in the stomach. The Braves are sporting some serious A Chorus Line symmetry, and I like how nearly everybody’s got a winning smile…even the guy on the right end of the second row, and it looks like he’s missing an arm. 1975 Red Sox: 3 points (no crying in baseball!) | 2006 Braves: 3 points

Coach Attire I bet Bobby Cox sleeps in his uniform on an air mattress under the bench in the dugout. And no matter how improbable that is, he gets 2 points. The Sox brass gets 3 points because they’re big, bulky, and I’m not sure who’s who. I also like Darrell Johnson, Mgr., squinting away in the corner. 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 2 points

Uniforms Classic Sox, boring Braves. 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 1 point

Background The only thing better than the Green Monster would have been the Red Sox raising a toast at the Eliot Lounge (or a series of shots of them getting tossed from the Cask’n’Flagon’ one by one). Who told the Braves that an unlit Jumbotron makes a quaint team photo backdrop? 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 1 point

Personnel 1975 Red Sox: Tiant, Lee, Rice, Lynn, Fisk (HOF), Yaz (HOF), Evans, Carbo, Burleson, Doyle, Petrocelli… 2006 Braves: Hudson, Chipper, Smoltz, Andruw Jones, Giles… 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 2 points

Floating Heads Finally, Darrell Johnson gives the Sox an edge. It’s about time, too, because he looks like he’s going to be sick. 1975 Red Sox: 1 point | 2006 Braves: 0 points

Card Design2006’s foil stamp actually makes this card better, if you can believe it. The off-colored 1975 design is great for this team card, and the floating head and semi-3D team name also give it a jolt. 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 1 point

Photo Quality Braves finally rally for a few points, thanks to technology. The Sox photo ain’t so hot. 1975 Red Sox: 2 points | 2006 Braves: 3 points

Number of Players 40 Red Sox/34 Braves. 1975 Red Sox: 3 points | 2006 Braves: 1 point

Total Score: 1975 Red Sox 24 points
2006 Braves 14 points

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