Top Topps: Lee & Zevon Relic

I got this in an email from Reader Kris.

"I wanted to send you another dream card of my design- a double autographed relic card featuring Bill "Spaceman" Lee and the late songwriter/rocker Warren Zevon.

The “relic” portion of this dream card doesn’t feature a ticket stub or a fragment of a baseball jersey. Instead, it contains a portion of the label from a bottle of Oban single malt scotch whisky to commemorate the day in the early 1980s when Lee stopped by Zevon’s for a visit. Warren was currently on the wagon, attempting to dry out in an effort to extend his marriage, his career and possibly even his life, but when Lee arrived he decided to have just “one drink” to welcome his friend. Legend has it that the two partied like madmen for THREE straight days."


Excitable Boys

Form Letter from The Baseball Card Blog

Dear Friends,

What will you think of when you think of 2007? The year you fell in love? The year you said the hell with it all? Well, for us, I mean me, here at The Baseball Card Blog, 2007 was the year baseball cards crescendoed (if that's a real word). While 2006 saw a explosion in mainstream attention towards the hobby, 2007 was a year of ups and downs, with whatever mainstream attention given focused on the public and private sides of the drawn out Topps sale...

...2007 also saw the publication of Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson's The Card, a telling of the somewhat tawdry history of the former Gretzky/McNall T206 Wagner. Not surprisingly, the book didn't garner much press in hobby publications like Sports Collector's Digest, where Mastro Auctions is a large advertiser. O'Keeffe also achieved my own personal life goal this year when he became an obscure footnote in a text of importance by being quoted in The Mitchell Report...

...2007 saw me sell out to help Topps checklist an under-performing eTopps product, and branch out to Beckett.com for a few weeks there in the summer, if only to prove that writing on a schedule is harder than I thought...

...But mostly, 2007 was the year of collaboration, with the successful launch of A Pack A Day, the Cardboard Junkie/Baseball Card Blog alliance in creating The 792, and interactive projects like The Great Goudey Trade-away and Top Topps. Both proved to be unqualified successes thanks to Blog readers. And speaking of readers, 126,400 people visited The Blog (that's over 184,000 page views!), from all over the country and the world.

I got a lot of emails, answered a lot of questions, got some hate mail, made some friends, ate some bad food, went to some shows...

Not a bad year. Here's to another.



Fondly,


Ben

Top Topps Again!

My readers just can't stop the sending in of new card designs (not that there's anything wrong with that). Reader Adam (from Response #8) has sent in another card (albeit a while ago and I'm just now getting to it):

"Again, simplicity is the key for me."

Top Topps 15

Reader Mike thinks he can top Topps.

"Here's one that flashes back to burlap (1968) - I started to do a 'Steroid Sluggers' series, but the hypo needle didn't quite look right, so I just kept it as a basic issue. This is from Albert Belle's Disabled List days with the Orioles ..."


Want to get your card on the web where people will see it? Email me your designs and I'll post them on the blog (in a somewhat timely manner)!

Just When I Thought I Was Out– Top Topps Pulled Me Back In!

Reader Jason thinks he can top Topps. It's nice, though reminiscent of Fleer Excel circa 1992.

"I've been playing around with ideas for baseball card designs for a while now. I would have to say that my inspiration for these comes from the Topps cards of the 70's and 80's, before computers brought about the endless gradients, drop shadows, layers, and other distractions. I would love to see Topps get back to where they once were, design-wise, without having to resort to another 'heritage' set."


Hey you! Send me your baseball card designs. I'm not picky.

Top Topps: Lucky 13

Different Reader Christopher thinks he can top Topps. His formula?

"You can never get enough woodgrain, right?"


Want to show the world your design chops? Send me your designs for a baseball card and I'll post it on the blog!

Top Topps: XII

Reader Wes thinks he can top Topps.

"I drew from the 1984 Topps card for my inspiration."


Think you've got what it takes to design a baseball card? Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog!

Top Topps: This One Goes to 11

Reader Christopher thinks he can top Topps.




" I like white borders, and I'm actually a fan of the 'foil' as I guess it's known. In these designs, the team name, player name, and position can all be done in foil. I'm still pushing for the great announcers' cards or subset."




For the past 57 years, Topps has sated our previously-unknown desire for obsessively collecting cardboard things. But perhaps more important than that generosity, the company has provided us with a continuous crash-course in creating accessible modern art for the masses. So you want to get in on the act? Send me your design for a 2008 card and I'll post it on the blog!

Top Topps: 10th Response

Reader Luqman thinks he can top Topps. I'll let him tell you about it.

"This one’s rougher than most due to my near total lack of image editing skills, but I think you get the idea. Obviously the text should gradually get larger from left to right on the team name bar, and vice versa on the player name bar, however to do that competently is well beyond my skill level.

A few design points:

1. Since this is base Topps, there is going to be foil somewhere, therefore the player name, position, and Topps logo are in “foil”.
2. In terms of general card design, I like white borders, large pictures, and a splash of color

In terms of grading the design, I think if someone competent worked on the text, this could be a solid Topps design similar to a mix of 1974 and 1980, but at this point it kind of looks more like a marginal improvement on 1990 Fleer."


Not thrilled with the thick white borders of 2008 Topps? Think you could do better if only given the chance. Boy are you in luck. Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog!

Top Topps: Do My Readers Secretly Work at Topps?

Reader Dave of Suburban Chicago thinks he can top Topps, even though he admits to liking the real 2008 design.

"I actually dig the '08 Topps design, just looking for an excuse to design a card. I was influenced by the 1980 and 2001 Topps designs."

I've got to tell you, this is about as professional-looking as I've seen yet. Dave's submission begs the question: does he secretly work at Topps or one of the other manufacturers?


Think you can design a better card than 2008 Topps? Or maybe just want to share a design with the rest of the world? Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog.

Top Topps: 8th Response

Reader Adam thinks he knows how to top Topps: with simplicity.
(Looks like a mix of 1984 Topps and 1993 Score, if you ask me.)

"I have always preferred simple - here's my view of 2008 Topps"


Not thrilled with Topps 2008? Think you could do it better, if only given the chance? Well, that's the spirit!
Send me your designs and I'll post them on the blog!

Top Topps: Foil Makes a Comeback

Anthony in Tennessee thinks he can top Topps–without losing the foil.

"I tried to emulate gold foil for the city name and silver foil for the player name. Foil-crazy Topps might appreciate that."


Not thrilled with Topps 2008? Think you could do it better, if only given the chance? Well, you're in luck. Send me your designs and I'll post them on the blog!

Top Topps: 6th Response

Kirk in Pennsylvania thinks he can top Topps 2008.

"I generally like the '08 Topps design, but thought I'd give this a stab anyway. Perhaps this is a little too '90s, but…alas."



Not thrilled with the 2008 Topps design? Think you could do better, if only given the chance? Well, the world is your oyster, friend. Send me your designs and I'll post them on the blog!

Top Topps: 5th Response

Reader Joe thinks he can top Topps – and not just with a base card design. He's even included two possible insert sets.


"I had a few ideas for inserts that Topps has not done yet. The base is sort of Plain Jane. Grill Stars w/Manny and his Grill-A-Later 300 and Ballpark Idolizers."



































Not thrilled with the new design for Topps 2008? Think you could have done it better if only you had the chance? Well here it is, buddy. Send me your best designs and I'll post them on the blog!

Top Topps: 4th Response

Reader Matthew thinks he can top Topps.

"It seems to me that Topps has become wed to the idea of putting either the player's name or team name on the top of the card – '03 was the last time they didn't do this. That's fine, but I think they need to change it up some, which I guess they're trying to do with '08. So here's my attempt to make it a little different, but not leave it looking cluttered."




Not thrilled with the upcoming design for Topps 2008? Think you could do it better, if only given the chance? Well, today's your lucky day, my friend. Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog!

Top Topps: 3rd Response

Reader Keith thinks he can top Topps 2008.

" I have collected cards for over 25 years and I am getting tired of the blah designs coming from all the card companies, especially Topps."


Not thrilled with the upcoming design for 2008 Topps? Think you can do better? Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog.

Top Topps: 2nd Response

Dave in Vermont thinks he can top Topps 2008.

"Four variations of a potential '08 Topps design, with slight differences in border and frame colors. Make me appreciate the hard work that goes into designing cards, even craptacular ones such as '81 Donruss."


Not thrilled with the upcoming design for 2008 Topps? Think you can do better? Send me your design and I'll post it on the blog.

Top Topps: Immediate Response

I've already received one response to the open call for designs. In fact, the response came merely hours after the post ... Hmmm ... seems like there are those of us out there who've been thinking about this for a while. This design comes from reader Frank. He writes: "It isn't great but its simple and to the point. I tried to somewhat model it after the 1975 set, which is one of my favorites, with the multiple colors at the top and bottom of the card based on team colors."

Can You Top Topps?

The baseball card pundits (including me) have weighed in on Topps 2008. Certain readers have also had their say. The checklist has been dissected, the inserts debated, the design questioned. Reactions have been mixed: some like the foil, others no, and still others don't know how they feel about any of it yet.

We've got some time between now and March when Bazooka Mike rolls out the first baseball product of his regime. So I'm putting out the call:

If you think you can create a better design for Topps Flagship 2008, email me a jpeg of your design. I will post all that I receive.


I will also try my hand at designing a front, though I'm not making any promises on quality.