23 July 2014

What eBay Hath Wrought 94: R.A. Dickey Prizm Blue Jackie Robinson Parallel


I wasn't necessarily seeking this card out, but it sort of fell to me as a cheap low-numbered auction bid. I still have a hard time with the fact that Panini doesn't have a license to use the MLB logos and team names on their cards, so players wind up looking like they're playing in prison uniforms or something. I guess that restriction doesn't apply to the logos that appear on player gear, as you can see logos on R.A. Dickey's glove, especially in the zoomed-in photo on the back of the card.

The lack of logos cause me to like this card a lot less than similar cards for leagues which Panini carries licenses for, like the Hakeem Olajuwon Crusade cards from a couple of posts ago. Even then, it is kind of weird for me to have Panini as the only source of NBA-licensed cards.

When I was buying cards in the late 90's, the big players were companies like Upper Deck, Topps, Fleer, and their sub-brands. To come back in 2013 and find the landscape changed so much was a pretty big shock to the system. I wanted to buy basketball cards, but all I could find were cards made by some sticker company. I am a little more used to it, but I do wish there was a little more competition in the market. Panini has like 47 brands of basketball card out there each year and even though they are different, I think it would feel different if half of those brands were being produced by someone else.

The same thing goes for Topps and baseball. If one or more other companies got a license to make cards with logos, even if the market still had 47 brands it would feel like there was more choice out there, and perception probably has more to do with selling a product to customers than reality.

This blue parallel is intended to honor Jackie Robinson by utilizing his jersey number and limiting the print run of the cards to just 42 copies. I guess it works okay as a tribute, but I would think an insert set of four or five cards detailing the barriers that he broke and the hardships he endured would do more to honor him and act as less of a gimmick. But I went out and bought this card, didn't I? So I guess the gimmick was somewhat effective in separating me from my dollars, which is what Panini probably really cares about.

1 comment:

  1. I think I probably have some cards that fit your team/player collections. Shoot me an email sometime. Mattscott82@gmail.com

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