Don't get all bent out of shape

There it is.

The baseball card.

Nothing too special, just a cardboard rectangle that measures 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. It's been like that for the last fifty years or so. And it's worked.

But I started to wonder, "What other shapes and sizes have card companies experimented with over the years?"

I might have missed a few, but here's some I came up with off the top of my head.

Some are good, and some are bad.

Minis!

I've got absolutely no problem with minis. We've got an understanding. Whether they're from A&G, Goudey, Topps Lineage, or whatever. 2012 Topps is going to feature 1987 minis as an insert set, which I'm really looking forward to.

Aside from a few exceptions, most of the first baseball cards were minis. They were here before us, so let them have their baseball-card rights!

Upper Deck produced some great sets before they left the hobby, but Upper Deck X wasn't one of them in my book.

A lot of these "X" parallels had printing issues from what I've heard. Even this one, now that I look at it, has one. The little tab at the top is missing (as it should be), forming the "X" shape that this card should look like, although it may be tough to tell from the scan.

The bottom, however, still has the little tab intact. It's just a regular card bottom. No "X". I applaud UD for trying something new with these, though.

And at least these are relevant to the set. Upper Deck X has the "X" parallels.

Some, on the other hand, don't make much sense at all...

Nice try, scanner, but I still don't like this card. Although the "rainbow" does look nice.

2008 SPx is one of my least favorite sets of recent memory. And all the base cards look like this.

What is that shape even supposed to be?

With the die-cut borders, the name plates, the team logo, and the set logo, there's barely any room left for the player picture.

Pass.

I'm still not sure how I feel about these.

These are the "Fractal Matrix Y-Axis Die Cut" parallels from 1997 Leaf.

I don't know why, but every time I see these I think of that famous optical illusion painting that has either the two people kissing or the wine glass (depending on how you see it).

The red background does work well with the Cardinals logo. And Mr. Mabry isn't wearing batting gloves in that shot, so that's another plus.

A crazy design for sure, but it doesn't even come close to this one...

This might be the weirdest baseball card I've ever seen.

These are the from the 2003 Donruss Elite "Aspirations" parallel set.

Everything about this card stands out. The design would've been enough, but that's not all. It's tough to tell from the scan, but this card is numbered out of 93.

93?

How did they come up with that? Did they just pull number 93 out of a hat or something?

The design looks like a first-grader's school project. It also reminds me of one of those paper snowflakes we all did as kids, except the scissors slipped out of your hand and you ended up with this.

However, I absolutely love this card. It's just so...different.

I can't put it much better than that.