July 28, 2008

Jeter & Mantle Reunite in Topps 2008


I am not, nor have I ever been a Yankees fan, but what Topps did with Derek Jeter's card in its 2008 Series 2 is intriguing. First of all, Jeter is checklisted on card #455. (You'd think that the captain of the most famous team in American sports would at least garner a 2nd Tier number.)

The second thing is that the spirit of Mickey Mantle makes an appearance in the photograph. In the upper-left of the photo, a fan is wearing a #7 t-shirt. Nothing really bad about it, but does it have to be there? Presumably, the Topps photography team had more than one shot of Jeter from which to choose. So why go with this one? If they had wanted to include the essence of Mantle, why not go all-out and show Jeter in the Yankees Clubhouse store, purchasing a Mantle jersey? That might be kind of fun, in an US Weekly way: Baseball Players Are Just Like Us!

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