A Total Letdown

👀 pic.twitter.com/hJ6vHQcpyn

— #SWCC Star Wars Authentics (@Topps) April 11, 2019

It was this cryptic tweet which sent a certain sector of the online card collecting community into an absolute tizzy Thursday night.  The implication that the cult-favorite Topps Total product would be returning to store shelves sometime this year is enough to make many a low budget collector dance for joy.  I, for one, was tempted to run down my street while joyfully announcing the news to my confused neighbors.

The basis of the original Total brand was to provide a broader look into the playing rosters for baseball, basketball, football, and - briefly - hockey teams in any given year.  When it comes to baseball, that meant an incredibly large, one-shot checklist of over 900 glorious cards, which featured the likes of backup catchers, utility infielders, middle relievers and Quad-A in-betweeners who are all-too-often ignored by Topps' Flagship and other numerous products.  This all-encompassing set featured a few inserts and parallels; but,  all in all, the focus was certainly on properly documenting each team's active playing roster as best as possible.  Running from 2002 through 2005, Topps Total may very well have been my favorite Topps product of all-time.

Why is that you might ask?  Well, if you've ever read Wrigley Roster Jenga, you know that my baseball card collection revolves around the Cubs' all-time roster.  My Cubs' All-Time Roster Collection, in which I attempt to obtain one card of every man to ever suit up in Cubbie Blue, has been my main focus for more than a decade, was what inspired me to start this blog in the first place (to document my progress), and is the most treasured binder on my shelf.  Therefore, with that collecting goal in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise that such a product would be so important to me and my niche compilation of cardboard.

Total's original run produced rare Cubs cards (sometimes the only known examples) of several cameo Cubbies in my collection, including, but not limited to:

Alan Benes (2002-03)...

...Chad Fox (2005, 2008-09)...

...Jose Macias (2004-05)...

...and guys who I have yet to track down in the wild, like Kent Mercker (2004) and Pat Mahomes (2002) - the journeyman pitcher, not his star quarterbacking son.  Thanks to the Trading Card Database for the illustrative scans - if you have spares of these particular cards lying around, I'd love to talk trade.

In fact, in one case, Topps Total is responsible for the only known Big League cards WHATSOEVER of a 14-year MLB veteran.  Believe it or not, it's the god's honest truth.

Ron Mahay, who was born and raised almost next-door to me in Crestwood, IL, appeared in Major League games from 1997 through 2010, and yet he never appeared on a single non-Total pasteboard.  The 2004 piece and it's compatriot from 2005 are Ron's only Major League documentation to come in a traditional format (though there are some oddballs floating around).  Strange, right?

The reason for this slight is really quite simple, Ron Mahay was a scab - he served as a replacement player during the player's strike of 1994-95 and crossed the picket line to attend spring camp with the Red Sox.  As a result, Mahay was banned from the MLB Players' Union and thus kept out of all events and products associated with their licensing.  Of course this never changed for Mahay (or any of his fellow picket-crossers), so I don't know why the shun was lifted for two years of Total and only Total; however, I sure am glad that Topps gave a little bit.  After all, though it may be a Rangers card, with such an odd circumstance, I'm lucky to have any card of the 2001 Cubs reliever for my CATRC, let alone a Cubs one.

As you can see, Total may have only been around for a scant four years, but it has continued to be an invaluable resource for my most hallowed collection.  Needless to say, I was absolutely pumped up to see that the product was making a grand return.

Well... I was, anyway.  Then, Topps released the details...

2019 Topps Total Baseball details, checklist and team set lists (for #1-100 of 900): https://t.co/2XBma312x5 pic.twitter.com/suhSl7uIwL

— Ryan Cracknell (@tradercracks) April 12, 2019

I'll let Ryan Cracknell handle the overview - feel free to pause here and read his article about the "Total package."  If you don't want to take the time, I'll distill it down to the nitty gritty - they've turned Total into some quasi-high end BS.

The concept is still the same - a 900 card checklist which shines the spotlight on each team's roster, from top to bottom.  However, this is where the path begin to diverge from the source material.  This time around, it's only going to be baseball because, you know, license exclusivity.  The set has been broken down into waves (nine in all) of 100 cards each and will only be available for a set amount of time.  You know what that means:  you won't be finding these cards on the shelves of your LCS or the aisle-ways of Target and Walmart.  Total will only be available online.  In my eyes, this is a bit of a downer, but not a total deal-breaker.  I'd much rather be able to swing by a shop and pick up a few packs of my primo product; but, this is the 21st century and all.  Online shopping my preferred avenue, though it is not the main problem in this situation.

Here's the thing, the OG Total was a low-end, set-builder focused product with packs of ten cards selling for about $1.50, as I recall.  The revived version will also feature packs of ten cards - through the Topps website, of course - with a price tag of... wait for it.... $10.

That's right, ten bucks for just ten cards... a dollar per card.  That's insane!

While the price falls in line with most of Topps' other "on-line only" products like Now and the Living Set, in those cases, the buyer knows exactly what they are getting when that box shows up on their doorstep.  For Total, we have to slap down an Alexander Hamilton for a ten-card, lottery scratch off in the hopes that we end up with the cards that we desire.  If I not lucky enough to pull my Daniel Descalso (the only person making their Cubs debut, according to the 2019 Total Wave One Checklist), in the first overpriced pack, it could cost me upwards of $20 just to snag this base card?  No thank you.

Now if there were a way to purchase team sets or do some sort of subscription service for this bastardized version of Total, I might still consider partaking.  That said, ten dollars for a pack is a price point that is simply ludicrous.  Hopefully the singles show up for cheap on the secondary market, as investors and breakers are the only people ready to jump at that rate.

I guess I'll just have to make my own....

And so, what a roller-coaster of emotion this news turned out to be.  I started drafting this post just hours after the original tweet teased Total's return, basking in a warm glow of enthusiasm and anticipation.  In the end, I should have remembered that anything that sounds too good to be true, usually is. 

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter, what are yours?  I invite you to share how you feel about these developments in the comment section below.  Do you think that Topps is gauging collectors with this pricing?  Does the online exclusivity bother you more than it does I?  Do you find this all to be perfectly reasonable?  Do you even share the same warm-fuzzies about Total that I do?  I implore you to weigh-in on the matter on this post as I am quite curious how my fellow collectors feel about all of this.

In my humble opinion, this turned out to be a Total letdown.

Mr. Smith Goes to Cooperstown

An egregious oversight has finally been corrected.

Since the doors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame were unofficially opened to pitchers who excelled in relief with the selections of Hoyt Wilhem (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992) and Dennis Eckersley (2004) and pried open even further for pure closers with the inductions of Bruce Sutter (2006) and Goose Gossage (2008), etc., there's been a notable name ignored by voters.  When he recorded his 358th save in 1993, Lee Smith began his reign as the all-time king of saves, eventually boosting his record all the way up to 478, far more than of any of the previous names mentioned.  Yet, for twenty years after his retirement in 1997, Smith was left on the outside looking in.

It wasn't until 2006 that the big man's mark was surpassed by Trevor Hoffman, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame just last year.  Still, Lee Smith never achieved the necessary number of votes on the general ballot to join his peers, accordingly falling off of the ballot as Hoffman was admitted.  What gives?

While, I must admit, I am a huge Cubs homer and Mr. Smith, despite being a well-traveled mercenary, did the bulk of his damage during his eight-year stint on the North Side of Chicago, I can't be the only one who saw his omission as heinous.  Clearly the Today’s Game Era Committee agreed with me, as just last night, they finally righted the wrong and officially elected Lee Smith to Cooperstown.  Not only that, his selection was completely unanimous, as all sixteen members included Lee on their ballots.

Phew - what a relief!

Welcome to Cooperstown, Lee Smith! #HOF2019 https://t.co/EUezhSayQ1 pic.twitter.com/cLWlmp8Jpa

— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) December 10, 2018

The imposing Lee Smith is finally being recognized for his greatness and he won't have to watch another closer go in before him (I think we all know that Mariano Rivera will be joining Lee in the Class of 2018 when the general ballot is completed).  Perhaps I'm being a tad hyperbolic here, but I do believe that Smith's being left on the sidelines was the worst Cubs-related Hall of Fame snub since Ron Santo.  Thankfully, both wrongs have been rectified.

Being inducted along with Smith is his crosstown peer, Harold Baines - the first designated hitter to be designated Hall of Fame worthy.  Without getting too far lost in the weeds, Baines' credentials are comparatively week and much ado has been made about this on the internet.  That said, this is a Cubs blog so I'm going to play Switzerland on that issue.  Nevertheless, the Class of 2018 will have a distinct Chicago flavor (which I believe is vaguely hotdog-ish, sans ketchup).

When it comes time, Smith will almost undoubtedly be sporting a Cubs cap on his plaque.  While he did have three All-Star appearances and first set the career saves record while donning Cardinal Red, Smith is still largely associated with the Windy City club.  After all, the newest Hall of Famer did spend twice as many years in Chicago as he did in St. Louis and twirled well more than twice as many innings here.  Other marks for Chi-Town include two All-Star teams and being the dominant stopping force behind the immensely loved 1984 Cubs squad, which famously halted a 39-year postseason drought in Wrigleyville.  In the end, he's a true, blue Cub, through and through.  Let's just not talk about the ill-advised and absolutely dreadful trade that sent him out of town.

As a footnote, Smith also took turns in the uniforms of the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds, and Expos.

As an aside, I noticed an interesting common thread between most of the relievers now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Of the now seven men to have earned a plaque in the museum, five of them spent time on the Chicago Cubs roster:  Hoyt Wilhelm (1970), Dennis Eckersley (1984-86), Bruce Sutter (1976-80), Goose Gossage (1988), and now Smith (1980-87).  As of today, only two bullpen arms in the hallowed halls have not suited up in Cubbie Blue:  Rollie Fingers and Trevor Hoffman.  How's that for a weird bit of trivia?

This isn't to say that the Cubs have been historically great at scouting relievers.  After all, only two of these names spent significant time in town (Sutter and Smith), two were waaaaaayyyyy past their prime when they arrived for their short stints (Wilhelm and Gossage), and one worked exclusively out of the Cubs' starting rotation (Eck).  In the end, it's simply an amusing coincidence.

I wouldn't mess with the Cubs Hall of Fame bullpen - that's a filthy bunch!

Anywho, it's always awesome to see a former Cub go into the Hall of Fame and, after Smith, it's probably going to be a long time until another one gets that call.  Unless the Steroid Era muck gets sorted out and Sammy Sosa sneaks in (doubtful), the next best bet is manager Lou Piniella, who fell just a single vote short on the very same Today's Era ballot as Smith.  However, while it appears as though "Sweet Lou's" day in the sun is coming, that committee does not meet again until 2021.  Like I said, it's likely going to be a few years.

Of course, Lee Smith knows what it's like to wait a few years.  Congratulations on being inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Mr. Smith - it's about darn time!  I can now say that I accidentally ran into TWO Cooperstown residents at the local shopping mall.

Not Clenching Over the Clinching

Last night, the Cubs did something that, prior to 9/27/17, they had only managed to accomplish six times since the beginning of divisional play in 1969.  If you limit the time period to the years that I've been alive and roaming planet earth, they had only been able to reach this achievement five times.  Yet, despite this significance, I almost didn't feel any sense of urgency or anticipation.  In fact, instead of watching the first half of the ballgame, I hopped on Netflix and watched a documentary about the Foo Fighters.  What was it that the "My Heroes" accomplished last night, you ask?  Well, it was the same objective that they accomplished in....

...1984...

...1989...

...2003...

...2007...

...2008...

... and 2017.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, they officially clinched the 2017 National League Central Division title, their seventh division championship since 1984, with a 5-1 triumph over the Cardinals.  I don't want to speak for all Cubs fans, but in the wake of last year's magical World Series victory, winning a ticket to the dance no longer holds the same mystique that it once did.  I suppose we Northside rooters are becoming a tad spoiled.

After all, repeating as divisional champs coming off of a World Series triumph is no sure thing.  In fact, World Champion club has been able to accomplish that feat since the 2009 Phillies took home the NL East crown.  The World Series hangover is a very real and consuming pain - just ask the first half version of the 2017 Cubs, who were actually under .500 and rapidly losing ground to the surprising Brew Crew and the Red Birds going into the All Star break.  Plus, there was the added bonus of being able to clinch at our most storied rival's home turf.  With all of that in mind, I suppose I really should be more grateful that the "Lovable Winners" were able to turn things around and successfully defend that trophy.

Playoff berths are nothing to be sneezed at.  Even when you factor in the franchise's two Wild Card wins in...

...1998...

...and 2015...

...playoff spots are still a relative rarity in team history.  Although, the ways things are trending, these ain't your granddaddy's Cubs.  In all actuality, they're more like your great granddaddy's Cubs.  By that, I mean that with having qualified for October baseball in 2015, 2016, and 2017, the club will be making their first back-to-back-to-back postseason trip since the 1906-1907-1908 edition of the Cubbies.  With that noted, it sure looks like the current crop is morphing back into the National League juggernaut that was Frank Chance's squad, well over 100 years ago.  

About damn time, right?

I'm sure that once October is here and the big series with our former friend Dusty Baker and his Nationals is upon our doorstep, my Cubbie Blue blood will start pumping a little faster.  In the meantime, congratulations to the 2017 National League Central Division Champions.  Regardless of last year's unprecedented success, winning that title is still a major accomplishment that deserves celebration, despite my initial disinterest.  

Now, if everyone could just stay healthy for this last week, that'd be great!

Stop Mocking Me!

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." - Charles Caleb Colton


"To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity." - William Arthur Ward


"We all gotta laugh at ourselves, once in a while.  I do it all the time!"  Spongebob Squarepants

Maybe if our president watched an episode of Spongebob, he wouldn't be quite so sensitive.  Ever since Alec Baldwin unleashed his Trump impression on Saturday Night Live during the election season, the Great Orange One has been on a crusade against the late night sketch show... much like he has been against the rest of the media.  Of course, his Twitter tirades about how bad the show is, how mean the impressions are and all that mumbo jumbo is simply a reflection of the fact that the man can't handle criticism.  SNL has skewered every president and presidential candidate since their beginning and only one has taken it as a deeply personal offense.

This of course, only causes the writers to target him and his administration harder (of course, this crew offers up constant material).  Perhaps you saw the Melissa McCarthy impersonation of Press Secretary Sean Spicer, last weekend?

This bit absolutely stole the show on a night where the host accidentally unleashed an "f-bomb" on live television.  Now, rumor has it that Trump's greatest enemy - that's right, Rosie O'Donnell - has offered her services to play assistant and Chief Strategist to the President, Steven Bannon.  I think I can actually hear The Donald's blood boiling at the thought of it.  

Anyway, satire and parody have been around for as long as there have been politics and this administration is going to have to grow some thicker skin.  But, I know what you're thinking - "Tony, what does any of this have to do with baseball cards?"  Well, believe it or not, I have a connection for you, the loyal reader.

Coincidentally, Major League Baseball had a similar reaction to being mocked, circa 1991.

Cardtoons was a set of art-based, parody cards which poked fun at Major League Baseball and it's personalities.  For instance, here we have the Balou's Brothers - a mashup of the Blues Brothers and the Alou family.  At the time, Felipe was manager of the Expos at the same time that his son, Moises, patrolled the outfield.  Sure, this reference would have made more sense with Felipe and his brothers Matty and Jesus, but that ship had long-since sailed.

Shawon Tungsten bears more than a passing resemblance to Chicago shortstop Shawon Dunston, with his cannon of an arm that was about as accurate as the Bowling Green Massacre.  

Also, we have Harry Scaray, who embodies the fear we all had watching the late, great broadcaster call games from the press box, with ample liquid assistance:

This comedic set of baseball cards was supposed to hit the market in 1991, in the thick of the junk wax era, when everyone and their brother was making or marketing baseball cards.  The people behind Cardtoons needed a niche and parody was their way to stand out from the crowd.  By keeping using fake player and team names, they hoped the unlicensed set would avoid litigation, on the grounds that they were "expression protected by the First Amendment and therefore read a parody exception..."  Well, the MLB Players Association would have none of that - according to them, the cutsie player names made the players easily identifiable.

The set eventually got out in 1993, but the lawsuit that entailed stretched out for seven years, with Cardtoons eventually winning out.  However, the lengthy court battle left the small company battered and, essentially, the MLBPA got what they wanted.  Of course, they probably would have been okay with the whole thing if they got a slice of the proverbial pie.

While all of that was going on, Confex put out their own parody set in 1992, called Baseball Enquirer.  This set also lambasted current MLB players and on-field personnel, but left out the cute, slightly twisted names entirely, which is what I am assuming kept them safe from the MLBPA.  Otherwise, I have no idea why they went after Cardtoons, but not Fun Stuff.

The set wasn't very well-received and died a natural death after just one go 'round.  In that checklist, was one implied "Cub" - George Bell.  The longtime designated hitter proved why he filled that spot for the Blue Jays and the White Sox during his singular season in the National League.

The backs of these cards featured comedic "interviews" with their unnamed subjects, thus earning their badge of  "Baseball Enquirer."  Some were actually quite chuckle-worthy, including the Bell above.  Others were notably mean-spirited, like the Lenny Dykstra look-a-like.

After Cardtoons was muscled out of business and Confex failed to grab a foothold in the lucrative market, the idea of a parody set featuring MLB personalities died for good.  To my knowledge, to this date, no other similar undertaking has been attempted (with one exception), likely partially because the threat of litigation is not worth the cost of business.  Furthermore, it's not like any of the licensed card manufacturers are going to stick their neck out on their own similar venture, especially not in the age of ultra-competitive exclusives.

However, every now and then, satire and parody will rear it's head in a product. For instance, in the lead up to the 2008 presidential election, Upper Deck blended baseball with politics in their Presidential Predictors insert set. Without this checklist, we wouldn't have gems such as the one above, which compared the political dogfight with the infamous Michael Barrett vs. A.J. Pierzynski brawl. However, with Hillary Clinton being a noted Cubs fan, I think they should have flipped the roles here.



Furthermore, Topps has long kept the spirit of parody alive with both their Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids line, which extend back decades.  Wacky Packs, which typically poke fun at consumer products, were expanded to include a set of MLB parodies, the first such lambasting since Cardtoons and Confex.  However, while the spirit Wackies have always been subversive and fun, this MLB sticker set was toothless and barely funny.  Again, the MLBPA seems to share a certain inability to laugh at themselves, just like someone else we know...

On the other hand, there seems to be no holds barred in the GPK world, which seems to have only gotten more pointed in the age of online exclusives.  Their pop culture references run wild, like with my wife's new Kimmy K mocking above, and people get a real kick out of them.  I have yet to find a baseball reference in one of these babies though.

In summation, this was basically just a giant excuse to show off my Cardtoons and Confex parody cards.  However, it was easy to draw some parallels between the MLBPA's stubborn refusal to see these mockeries hit the market and Donald Trump's inability to handle satire.  I have to say, this quality is much more nerve-wracking and concerning to see in the leader of the free world than it is to see in a pro sports union that has no power over the direction of our country.

At any rate, let's all remember how important it is to be able to laugh at yourself - "pobody's nerfect" and all that jazz.  In the meantime, I'm looking forward to this Saturday night.  After all, the comedy institution is only going to hammer him harder, from this point on.  Maybe we'll even get that Rosie O'Donnell appearance that the internet is clamoring for.



"Life is too short to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde

Why Not in Hall of Fame?

First off all, congratulations to Jeff Bagwell and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez on their selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, yesterday evening.  Special kudos to Tim "Rock" Raines on getting that coveted call after ten years of being ignored on the ballot, in his final chance.  The enshrinement of the second-greatest lead-off hitter of all-time was long overdue.  All in all, the Hall of Fame has itself one heckuva class of 2017.

Meanwhile, there were still several deserving names who did not get a plaque in Cooperstown.  Thanks to steroid accusations (Bonds, Clemens) and evolving positional valuations (Hoffman, Martinez), there has been a glut of worthy candidates who have congested the ballot in recent years.

As a result, a few Cubs who merit serious consideration were left outside, looking in:

Lee Smith was the All-Time saves leader for many years and, arguably, the second most feared closer of his era, behind HOF'er Bruce Sutter.  However, thanks to the eternal debate about whether pure relievers are deserving, Smith has been continuously ignored as his career marks continue to be surpassed.

"Slammin' Sammy" Sosa is, simply put, one of the greatest of great sluggers - his membership to the 600 homer club will attest to that.  Of course, as with his fellow participant in the great home run chase of '98, steroid suspicions have kept him from being a serious candidate.  Plus, he seriously pissed off a lot of sportswriters, with a HOF vote, in his time.

Lou Piniella managed the famous "Nasty Boys"-era Reds to a World Series title in 1990, guided the Cubs to their first back-to-back postseason appearances in a century and has the most managerial wins of anyone not in the HOF (with a winning record).  Unfortunately for him, having only one WS win is working against him.  If he climbed that summit with the Cubs, his ticket would have been punched, easily.

Fred McGriff was another great slugger, who, if he played in any other era, would have easily made the Hall.  The Steroid Era overshadowed his 493 long balls (despite playing clean) and his lack of a strong team identity (he hopped around a lot) have left him somewhat forgotten.  If only he cracked seven more long flies...

While they may not have been honored with a golden plaque, I figured that the least I could do was honor these stars with customs based on the "Why Not In Hall of Fame?" subset from the 1992 Conlon Collection checklist.  How did they turn out?

The real McCoy

Furthermore, there were a few others with Cubs connections who were eligible this year (Derek Lee, Matt Stairs, Davey Johnson, etc.), but the above four men were those with the strongest credentials.  Thankfully, due to their time spent with the Cubs, they should be quite used to waiting until next year.  That is, except for Lee Smith, who now falls off of the regular ballot.  Here's hoping he has better luck with the Eras Committee.

That's the thing about Hall of Fames though - debates will rage on forever and there's always going to be someone who is getting the short hand of the stick.

At any rate, again, congratulations are due to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez.  On the other hand, good luck next time Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Lou Piniella, Fred McGriff and everyone else who didn't get a call this year.

The Replacements

For twenty-two years, baseball has operated in a fairly harmonious peace.  Well, we learned yesterday that relations between the Player's Union and Major League Baseball aren't too hot right now, as they try to hammer down a new labor agreement.  In fact, Ken Rosenthal reported that there's a chance we might see the owners' engage in a lockout should a compromise not be reached in time.

While there's little chance that such an occurrence would last long enough to have any affect on the actual season, once can't help but be reminded of the mid-90's strike and the ill-fated attempt to bring in replacement players that followed.  In fact, that really got my wheels spinning... who could we bring in to fill out the lineup card, should we reach that point.

One of my favorite sports movies of all-time is The Replacements.  On that note, for funsies, I decided to write out a starting lineup made up of non-baseball players.  The rules for this starting nine is that the person depicted must be known primarily for something other than baseball and be featured on an actual baseball card.  I know you're itching to see who I came up with, so without any further ado, I present to you the Replacements!

I should also note, I was forced to raid COMC for images, since I have almost none of these cards.

Starting on the mound for the Replacements is Jim Harbaugh, the former Bears quarterback and current Michigan head coach.  While the Tigers may have only brought him in to toss out the ceremonial first pitch, he showed dedication in showing up in full uniform.  Not to mention, as a for NFL QB, he must have a decent arm.  Let's see if the skills translate.

Callings the pitches for Harbaugh will be Kevin "Crash Davis" Costner.

Okay, so Costner may have only played a catcher on TV, the options for this position were exceptionally limited.  Also, let's not discount the fact that the well-known baseball fanatic played backstop quite convincingly in Bull Durham and he brings team leadership skills to the table.  Of course, who knows if his knees can handle this position today.

Our first baseman shall be the one and only Will Ferrell, he of spring training publicity stunt fame.

I could have plugged the king of comedy into any position, seeing as he literally played every position on the diamond over the course of his well-documented ST stint prior to the 2015 season and Topps produced a corresponding card for each.  However, this is a Cubs-themed blog after all, so I decided to opt for the position he played for the Chicago National League Ballclub.  Plus, he didn't look very good elsewhere in the field at the time.

Okay, so here we have a legitimate athlete - second base will be held down by Russell Wilson.

This theoretical work stoppage would occur at the beginning of the season, long after the Superbowl and well before the start of the next NFL calendar.  Thus, Seattle's signal caller might just be available to help this squad out.  Remember, he was drafted by the Rockies and was considered a legitimate prospect by the organization - getting him to join the team would be a major coup.

Here's another pro athlete; however Johnny Manziel should be much more available that Wilson.

The former Cleveland quarterback's self-destruction and subsequent "exile" from the NFL has been anything but a secret.  Perhaps he could work on getting his pro sports career back on track by playing a little baseball?  The San Diego Padres drafted him as shortstop back in 2014; but, he hasn't played baseball since high school.  Well, if Tim Tebow can try it....

At the hot corner, we have Philadelphia Flyers' hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros.

Honestly, the jumping off point for this whole experiment was an article about unique Lindros cards I read on Beckett in the wake the centre's HOF induction last week.  Naturally, the piece included a brief snippet about his 1990 Score baseball card, which was produced after Lindros took batting practice with the Blue Jays.  Think maybe he wants to give baseball another go?

Into the outfield we go, starting with musical left fielder Garth Brooks.

Okay - so, I cheated a little bit here.  The country music superstar never had a baseball card produced with his likeness, so I created one with the Rookies App - it's my blog, I can break the rules if I want to!  It's criminal that he doesn't have a card though, since long before Ferrell's antics, Brooks went to spring camp with the Padres, Mets and Royals and manned the corner outfield spots.  How has this never been immortalized on cardboard?

Fresh off of winning a Presidential Medal of Freedom, "His Airness" himself will man center field - put him in coach, he's ready to play.

Jordan's short-lived baseball career has been discussed ad naseum, so this should require no explanation.  He may be considerably older, but maybe the second time is the charm for "Air Jordan."  I mean, he can still dunk and he still thinks he can cut it in the NBA... who's to say he wouldn't still believe that he could make it on a baseball field too?  Here's his chance.

Rounding up the starting lineup, we have our fourth former NFL quarterback - John Elway - plopped in right field.

Like Russell Wilson, John Elway was seen as a legit baseball prospect and spent some time in the Yankees farm system while his NFL contract rights were being sorted out.  In some alternate universe, Elway might have be a part of the Torre-Era Yankees dynasty instead of guiding the Broncos to a Superbowl win.  Who knows?

Speaking of the Yankees, as a special bonus, I've included a designated hitter for an AL ballclub or a pinch-hitting specialist for a NL team:

This is the only card shown here today that I actually have - Billy Crystal swinging the bat for his absolute favorite team.

The lauded actor, of course, is a Yankees super fan and even directed the severely underrated baseball film 61* about the Maris/Mantle home run chase.  As a special favor to Crystal, the Yanks allowed him to lead off a 2008 ST game (as a DH) against the Pirates and future Cub Paul Maholm.  He even managed to foul a fastball up the first base line, but was eventually struck out on six pitches.  I'd say that's a more than respectable cameo; so, let's give Billy a shot at a full-time gig!

Well, at least he's got the majestic follow through down.

And there you have it, my very own version of the Replacements.  While it's highly improbable that any potential work stoppage would last into spring training, let alone the regular season schedule, these non-baseball players featured on actual baseball cards will be standing by, waiting in the wings.  Of course, they'd be absolutely terrible since most of them aren't athletes and a good portion of them are over the age of 50... that said, the team sure would be interesting to watch!

Here's hoping that MLB and the Player's Union can come together on an agreement in time for the December 1st deadline.  The main sticking points appear to revolve around an international draft, compensation for teams that lose free agents, the competitive-balance tax and the Joint Drug Agreement.

The last thing baseball needs is another work stoppage.