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.