The worst card of '08?

I expect to have some 2009 cards in my hot little hands by the middle of this week. The magic card fairy usually shows up at Targets on Mondays, so I think that 2009 Topps, at least, is there already. Unfortunately, I probably won't get there until tomorrow or Wednesday. But you can expect to see everything I buy once it is firmly in my possession.

Meanwhile, the newest I've got right now is '08 U&H, so bear with me.

It occurred to me that while I knew for certain what I considered the best card of 2008, that I hadn't given much thought to what the worst card of 2008 was.

That's something that's bound to change this year. I'm sure there are going to be some doozies, and I'll be taking name, rank and serial number. I'll be making lists, too. Last year's end-of-the-year rundown was merely the worst of what I pulled from 14 or so packs. Next year's list will be the worst of everything I buy. (But I'll probably just keep it to baseball player cards, because wacky inserts of non-sports subjects are a whole other category).

I have to consider the card atop this post in the bottom 10 of 2008. First, it is one of those meaningless combo cards from Topps in which they randomly select whatever two players that they find in their camera lens. Second, it is the pairing of a player I like a lot and greatly admire (Hamilton) and one that irks me and a whole mess of other people (Drew).

But mostly, it is one of the worst because of the actual photo. Two guys hanging around doesn't make for a worthy photo for a baseball card. Two guys hanging around where one has his back to the camera and the other is swatting flies or whatever, doesn't work either. It looks amateurish. In fact, it is amateurish (there is a famous photo in my family that features my father and I. We're both looking down and have very unflattering looks on our faces. I made my mother take it out of her photo album. That's what this card reminds me of).

If Topps is going to create cards with photos that look like they came from some random person's camera, then come to me. I've got a house full of those.