How I've spent my Memorial Day weekend (so far).

So yeah, thanks to my totally awesome MySQL Skillz, I completely fucked up the entire Baseball Card Pedia database; and in the process completely screwed-up Chris Thomas' weekend. According to BCP, Prince Fielder is now listed on 99 44/100% of all baseball cards ever printed.

But I don't blame myself for this error. Oh no. I blame Topps for putting out such a complicated card set. If not for Moments & Milestones, today's tragedy would have been avoided.

Hopefully we have the dbase backed up, and will get everything back in order soon.

No, that's not Keith Olbermann's leg. AND WE HAVE THE PROOF!

Oh sure, Keith Olbermann says that his right leg and arm are in the background of Ken Landreaux's 1981 Topps card.

But we here at Stale Gum, we know the TRUTH!

An anonymous e-mailer sent along this un-doctored, completely legit, photo of that fateful Sunday afternoon, May 11, 1980; right before Ken Landreaux went 1-for-4 in a 5-0 CG SHO at the hands of should-be Hall of Famer Tommy John, that PROVES once again,

OLBERMANN

IS

LYING!!!!

See for yourself.

CELEBRITY On-Location Box Break: 2011 Gypsy Queen Blaster

I'm still kicking myself for not changing the batteries in my camera.

Even more great news about 2011 Finest.

The more we learn about 2011 Finest Baseball, the more it's shaping up to be the best Finest set in a decade.

Not only are the letter patches and rookie redemptions gone, but get this...

... the Autographed Rookie cards ARE ALL VARIATIONS!

That's right. All 19 (so far) Autographed Rookies will also be available as NON-AUTOGRAPHED BASE CARDS.

In other words, for the first time since the late-90s, you'll actually be able to collect a complete set of Finest. (Imagine that!)

Yes, there are still way too many unnecessary Refractor parallels. The 100-card base set is too small. And the 50 one-per-mini-box inserts are going to be a bear to collect. But for the first time in a decade, I'm actually looking forward to buying a box of Topps Finest.

The Death of the Manu-Craptured Letter Patch. WE WONNED!!!

Sometimes, they actually do listen to what the collectors actually want.

It was revealed today that much hated manufactured letter patch has been dropped from 2011 Finest Baseball.

The collectors spoke and finally, The Hobby listened.

Now, if they would only...

* ... replace Opening Day with Topps Total,

* ... stop insulting our intelligence with gimmicks,

* ... bring back the etched-chrome cardstock in Finest, BowChro, and Topps Chrome,

* ... eliminate half the inserts in Topps and Bowman,

* ... give Jefferson Burdick his own card in 2012 Allen & Ginter,

* ... return the Topps flagship to a 792-card base set, and...

* ... bring back Stadium Club and Topps Gallery,

... I'd be a happy collector.

Memo to Topps...

... this is what an actual "Bowman's Best" card looks like.



(Note the etching on the card, which combined with the chromium stock gives it that really, really cool shiny appearance.)

This is the Bowman's Best we remember, and the Bowman's Best we all like to see come back.

I get it. You're a monopoly, and like all monopolies, you cut corners whenever you can. What else are we going to collect?

The chintzy foil-board may cost less, but it just doesn't compare to the original.

Video Box Break: 2011 Bowman Hobby

"Hello. My name is Chris H. and I'm addicted to ripping shitty wax."

Five Blasters of 2011 Bowman Baseball.

I paid $104.90 for five Bowman Blasters and all I got was....

Part One



Part Two

Who are these people?

No, really. Who are the "Gypsy Queens?"



Are they actual Gypsies? Or did Topps pull another Kazuo Uzuki?

Two Retail Racks of 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

Honest. After two weeks of looking, I finally found some GQ packs (the last two) at a Target.