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Team collector double-take


Just barely getting through March here. Bear with me for a few more days.

I'm sure a lot of people are aware of this card and that it was hashed over to bits in 2007, but I'm curious.

Despite what the front of this card says, this is a card of Chris Denorfia, from 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights. Card No. 40.


That's the back. Chris Denorfia all the way.

But the FRONT says Carlos Carrasco of the Philadelphia Phillies.

At the time, Carrasco was a minor league pitcher for the Phillies. He was a top prospect, but he didn't even appear in a Topps base set until 2010.

Here he is on his first Topps base card:


He was traded to the Indians in the Cliff Lee deal.

And as you can see, Denorfia and Carrasco do not look alike:


I don't even want to get into what warped situation caused this mix-up. Carrasco shouldn't even have been a thought in Topps' head during the making of the 2007 Updates & Highlights set. But these are the games that we play in modern sets.

The card was never corrected, so you can forget about it being worth anything. And thank goodness Denorfia is still playing today so he has other cards that identify him correctly. That card would be a terrible way to end a career.


But the question still stands, team collectors.

Is this an A's card? Is this a Phillies card? Is it both?

I would assume most would consider it an A's card. Everything on this card, right down to the signature (I think I can make out a "D") is Denorfia except for the name and the team name out front.

So I would imagine A's team collectors -- the few that there are -- have this in their binders.

But what about Phillies team collectors? Is this considered some phantom pre-rookie card of Carlos Carrasco that is in the binder with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley? The only Phillies cards of Carrasco I know of are from Bowman (probably some minor league issues around, too, I assume). So this card is your rare chance of having a Topps card of Carrasco as a Phillie.

But I'm not sure what I'd do if Carrasco was a Dodger.

Comments

Dawgbones said…
Well, you know, from 1901 to 1954, they WERE the Philadelphia Athletics... just sayin...
That was going to be my response. Either way, it's an A's card.
deal said…
hmmm I have a couple Carrasco Phils cards - mostly from his Bowman Futures games appearances, but I don't have that one. That would go in the Phillies Anomally file. Sort of like the 1961T Dick Farrell card http://baseballsimulator.com/baseballcards/front.php?id=3993
Paul Hadsall said…
I'm glad I don't have to worry about it. If I was an A's collector, I'd definitely need to have the card - provided I knew about it (I assume all the checklists have the card as Carlos Carrasco/Phillies). As a Phillies collector, I guess I'd grudgingly have to accept it.

A few years ago, I was thankful for Donruss' lack of an MLB license - when they screwed up Jose Tabata's card and put New York (N) instead of New York (A), I felt justified in skipping the card since it didn't say "Mets" anywhere. If it had been a Topps card, I know I would have been stuck with it.
capewood said…
I'm a Phillies collector, I have this card and as far as I'm concerned, it's not a Phillies card. Now, if it had a photo of Carrasco and in every other way was identified as Denorfia, I'd put it in my Phillies book.
Anonymous said…
As far as I'm concerned, it's not a Phillies card either. However, I do consider the 2006 Topps Tom Gordon card to be a Phillies card.

http://www.comc.com/Cards/Baseball/2006/Topps/163/Tom_Gordon/3009932