Dressed for success

I've never been one for fashion.

In my four years of high school, it often seemed like I was one of the few people who thought along those lines.

It's not that I didn't want to look snazzy or anything. I guess I just didn't see the point of dropping hundreds of dollars on simple clothes. 

On top of that, I'd often see a few people sport a shirt once and never wear it again. I mean, I've basically had the same wardrobe since my freshman year of high school.

I guess while all my fellow teenage friends were blowing their money on name-brand shirts and designer jeans, I was off buying baseball cards.

I think I made the right choice.

Plus, as far as fashion goes, most cards are about the same. It suits my overall indifference towards the topic just fine.

Sure, the color or logo on the uniforms might change over time. But, when you get down to it, all my baseball cards logically feature a baseball uniform in some way, shape, or form.

Well, almost all of them, anyways.

Overall, I'd say about 99.9 percent of my cardboard features players sporting your standard, everyday jersey.

Still, despite my overall indifference towards the topic of fashion, I can't help but be fascinated by that other fraction of a percent.

I'm still on the fence on deciding how to classify Mr. Garvey's 1983 Fleer issue.

True, he is wearing the famous Dodger blue. However, this card gives the collector a candid peek into his locker room wardrobe as well.

Knowing what I know about Garvey and his eye for fashion, I'd guess that this would be one of his personal favorite pieces of cardboard.

It's funny, in a way.

Steve Garvey has about as many shirts in his locker than I do in my entire closet.

Some ballplayers managed to pull off the whole "no uniform" thing rather well, if I may say so.

Baseball pioneer Al Spalding certainly looks spiffy on this one. His keen fashion sense made this one of my favorite cards from the recent Panini Cooperstown release.

I think bowler hats are due for a comeback.

For better or worse, we haven't seen much fashion out of the hobby recently.

Most shots of current players seem to follow a strict "baseball uniform only" policy.

Still, a small number have managed to slip through the cracks during the past few years.

Take Ichiro, for instance. Upper Deck captured a suit-and-tied shot of the 2007 All-Star Game MVP himself for their '08 release.

I'm still torn on how I feel about this one.

It's definitely a quirky card. No doubt about that. And since a good chunk of my collection is based on that "quirkiness" factor, I guess I should like it.

At the same time, though, I'd rather UD used a shot of Ichiro in his Mariners uniform during the All-Star Game.

It could go either way.

However, there's no denying my feelings on this next batch of cardboard.

No.

Just...no.

Judging from his surroundings, I'd guess that type of attire is about par for the course at the local country club.

Either way, Derek Lowe is definitely not dressed for success.

That's for sure.

And neither is Mr. Embree, for that matter.

This particular card is a former dime box find of mine. The vendor who I bought it from quizzically wondered as to why anyone would actually want it.

With a shirt like that, it's a fair question.

In the end, I collect Alan Embree. Which means that my goal is to acquire as many cards of his as possible.

Like it or not, my fandom of Embree wouldn't allow me to pass this one up for a dime.

Even so, I'm not sure these are even the worst culprits from '92 Bowman, a grouping that could very well be labeled as the "horrifying shirt" set.

Just ask Chipper.

Or Mariano.

I still think this one has them all beat, though.

No, my friends, I haven't a clue as to what possessed me to welcome this card into my collection.

I do collect Todd Hollandsworth, but not as rabidly as guys like Garvey or Embree. My saner self probably would've convinced me to simply pass it up.

But, after all was said and done, the insane side of me won out.

And now it's in my binders. The equivalent to a bad 1980's yearbook photo now occupies a slot in one of my many nine-pocket pages.

In an odd way, though, I've begun to warm up to it in recent years.

This card is so bad, in fact, that it's actually, well...kind of good.

Am I going crazy?

I hope not.

And, yes, I am aware of the variety of odd fashion in a recent Goodwin Champions release. Aside from a few old-timey stars, I've purposefully avoided acquiring those thus far.

At some point, though, I'm sure a few will force their way into my collection, whether I like it or not.

Still, I guess one motto does carry an underlying tone to this whole fashion thing.

Even a bad shirt is better than no shirt at all.

Right?