Thoughts on Upper Deck’s Piece of History release

Does Upper Deck really think that someone wants to open a box of baseball cards and pull a Hubble Telescope card?

Even worse, does Upper Deck really think that people want to collect a set featuring the Hubble Telescope as a base card? Well, if you’ve dreamed it, Upper Deck’s A Piece of History is the set for you, because the base set features 50 “historical moments”, including the Hubble Telescope, the New York City Subway, the Eiffel Tower, and the Suez Canal. In a baseball card set.

Now, I’m a two sport guy, and so far hockey cards have remained more or less about hockey players. Has Upper Deck (or Topps, for that matter) done this sort of thing with football or basketball releases, too? Or are they waiting to see how well it does with baseball cards first? I just hope this is a trend that dies quickly.

I will give Upper Deck credit for the nice looking Box Score Memories inserts. But does anyone get a lamer box score memory than Ken Griffey Jr?

In 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. passed Rafael Palmeiro, Harmon Killebrew, Mark McGwire, or Frank Robinson on the all time Home Run list and also recorded his 2,500th hit. Now, which of these momentous occasions did Upper Deck choose to commemorate? A game he went 0-3 in and scored his 1,500th run. Good choice.

Keep in mind that Griffey actually tied and passed McGwire on the all time home run list on the same night, going 3-4 with 2 HRs on June 24th. Clearly less memorable than walking and coming around to score on a Josh Hamilton GIDP on June 13th.

Upper Deck A piece of History is scheduled for a July 1st release date and is currently selling on line for around $70.