SIGnificant Cards - Fleer Genuine Miguel Cabrera Auto

The 2012 baseball season is finally underway. To me the game has completely lost its luster. I can blame many things including ticket prices, concession prices, roids, attitudes and more, but it really comes down to the fact that baseball has become watered down. There are too many games, too many teams and the league has been far too relaxed with its punishment toward players abusing their drug policies.

I was out totally for awhile. You couldn't pay me to watch a game. I'd rather tune in for a hockey game, a game of roundball or my favorite -- the NFL. To be honest, I even prefer NASCAR and Soccer these days. But, in 1999 I decided to attend a few minor league games. I watched this young kid named Lance Berkman just absolutely kill the ball in a couple of games in Las Vegas. I followed him as he eventually was brought up by the Astros. It wasn't until 2002-03 that I got lured back into watching MLB on a more regular basis. I saw the Mudcats play and this skinny kid named Miguel Cabrera was just eating Double A pitching for lunch. It wasn't long before he was brought up to the Florida Marlins and began beating down National League pitching too.

In what seemed like an instant, he became their cleanup hitter. In addition to being a phenomenal pure hitter, he smacked a significant amount of dingers helping the Marlins reach new heights and a World Series victory.

I had been a follower, and his skills made me a fan. I began searching out his rookie and autographed cards. Of the ones I have collected, this is by far my favorite. Fleer, in my opinion was producing the very best baseball cards at the time of their demise. They were trying new things and in some ways they were also playing catch-up with Upper Deck. The fact is, they also crafted some of the very best brands at the same time. Avant, Genuine, Patchworks, Greats of the Game and E-X produced some of the most exciting card designs of modern times. Say what you want about them, but you can never take that away from the team that worked there.

This Cabrera card comes from the 2004 Fleer Genuine Insider collection. The card and the concept is just simply cool. You have what appears to be a thick regular-sized 2.5 x 3.5 trading card. The magic is that the card slides out and inside is a beautiful autograph or in some cases a giant swatch of game-used material. Yeah, I said game-used, not a swatch that could be this, or might be that. You know the ones where the manufacturer won't even tell you what it is, or where it came from. It's not some swatch of junk with no description used just to make the card look nice.

Anyway, enough rambling, it's a cool card, and best of all Russ Cohen found it while dumpster diving at the Fleer offices during our broadcast that reported them closing their doors for good.

Ok, I totally made up that last part, I pulled it out of a pack myself. But wouldn't that have been funny? I know for a fact that people were indeed dumpster diving at the Fleer offices and always wondered what they found. I wish Fleer was still around. Not the Fleer that Upper Deck has, but the real deal. They were creative, innovative and with the exception of a ton of redemption cards, they did a fantasic job producing some of the better baseball cards of the early 2000s.

Update 9/2012: With one day left in the season, Miggy is looking at the first Triple Crown since Yaz did it in 1967! Cabrera is in my opinion the best player in the game today. I applaud the way he's dealt with his demons and is back on top of the game. This is a good story. Who doesn't love a good story?

SIGnificant Cards - 2005 Justin Verlander Topps Chrome Auto

1/3 of the way to 300 at age 28 = success.

The trading card industry is funny. Some guys get super hot before they even play a game at the major league level, some are at an all-time high and then they get caught by TMZ cheating on their wife or by the police for a DUI. It can all end in a minute. Sometimes though, there are the ones that you just know are going to be iconic and you have to make a choice -- keep or sell.

I generally don't like selling cards. I think the market is soft and I don't like putting a dollar value on a piece of cardboard. Cards for me have some meaning, that's why I began writing SIGnificant Cards in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I love money and you can pay me lots for my opinion, creativity, skills, and knowledge. But when it comes to cards there are just some you know you've gotta keep and some you can just get rid of.

In 2005 Justin Verlander was the talk of the town. The Tigers drafted him #1 and at 22 he was closing in on tossing the ball at 100 MPH. He won Rookie of the Year Honors in 2006, I thought that was the first real sign that I was a smart guy for keeping his card. In 2007 he pitched the first of two career no-hitters and went 18-6, another good sign. So 2008 rolls around and I am thinking is now a good time to part with his card. I thought maybe I could trade it for something else, but I didn't, I held on. My gut instinct pushed me to keep it awhile longer.

Verlander finished with a dismal 11-17 record in 2008. Was my instinct wrong? I had to suck it up and hope for a return to form in 2009. I am very glad I did. He won 19 in 2009, 18 in 2010 and a whopping 24 in 2011 proving he is a cut above many others. With 107 career wins at only age 28 he is well on his way to the 300 club if he remains healthy. Today's game is so different and the longevity for pitchers is nowhere near what it used to be, but Verlander seems to be in a league of his own.

Just before Verlander pitched his second no hitter, my Cardboard Connection co-host Rob said to me, "Man you missed the boat on that one." I told him that boat didn't even leave the dock yet, he's got a lot more to accomplish, he's a keeper. I am glad my big ole' gut told me so.

Card #242 from the 2005 Topps Chrome set is hard signed and limited to a run of about 500, but Verlander sports a weak signature, it's sort of sloppy and not recognizable, but at least it is legit.