Gems of Junk Wax Bracketology: The Terrific 32 (Pt. 1)

Welcome, fellow readers, to the "Terrific 32".

The first round of voting proved to include quite the array of blowouts, close races, and surprises along the way.

Tonight, we'll be making our first foray into the "Terrific 32" with the initial region of the bracket. The matchups I'll be revealing tonight definitely include a couple of doosies.

Voting for this region will close this Saturday, May 11th, at 11:59 PM. Make your voice heard!

But enough stalling.

Let's get this show on the road.

#1 seed -- 1994 Topps #715 Hank Aaron

VS.

#9 seed -- 1991 Topps #170 Carlton Fisk

The initial matchup from the "Terrific 32" might well be one of the best we'll see during the course of this tournament.

Both of these cards were in the top fifteen of my "Top 100" countdown. From what I've seen, both are a couple of the more recognizable pieces from the overproduction era as well.

Needless to say, I can't wait to see how the voting plays out with this pairing.

#12 -- 1994 Topps Archives #251 Roberto Clemente

VS.

#13 -- 1994 Topps #180 George Brett

Here, we have another couple of my "Top 100" inductees.

I'm not sure what else I can say about either of these beauties. I've already gone on and on about them so many times in the past. 

The Clemente is, without question, near the top of the class in the "zero-year" category. The same can be said for "sunset" cards with the Brett.

In my opinion, both are among best the overproduction era had to offer.

#3 -- 1992 Score #888 Craig Biggio "Dream Team"

VS.

#6 -- 1989 Fleer #616 Billy Ripken "Rick Face"

I'm not sure that any "Terrific 32" matchup could be classified as a sure thing.

Given the strong performance of the infamous "Rick Face" in the first round of voting, however, Mr. Biggio would have to pull off a huge upset to reach the "Sweet 16" here.

But, hey.

As I always say, you just never know.

#2 -- 1989 Upper Deck #145 Nolan Ryan

VS.

#7 -- 1989 Upper Deck #452 Goose Gossage

Coincidentally, the final matchup from this region pits a couple '89 UD masterpieces against each other.

As I've mentioned before, the Ryan was the first "multiple-exposure" piece in hobby history. That alone earns it a huge amount of points in my book.

However, if I've learned anything so far, it's to not sleep on relievers wearing batting helmets. The "Goose" pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the field of 64, defeating a historic Wrigley Field card in the process.

Well, there you have it.

The "Terrific 32" has begun. As I said, this region certainly has its fair share of great matchups.

Polls are now up on the sidebar.

Happy voting!

Gems of Junk Wax Bracketology: Victors from the field of 64 (Pt. 4)

The results are in.

After this afternoon, we'll finally be ready to move on to the "Terrific 32". Lots of great matchups await in the next round.

For now, though, let's meet the final group of victors from the field of 64.

#1 seed -- 1988 Topps #18 Al Leiter RC ERR (19 votes)

def.

#16 seed -- 1988 Topps #543 Kent Tekulve (13 votes)

As I've mentioned in the past, Kent Tekulve is one of my all-time favorites.

Still, I think my voters got this one right. The famous Al Leiter/Chris George "player swap" made for one of the biggest screw-ups of the overproduction era.

Given my love for error cards, I'm happy to see it move on to the next round.

#8 -- 1987 Topps #653 Kevin Mitchell RC (26 votes)

def.

#9 -- 1994 Ted Williams #61 Billy Martin (5 votes)

Personally, I would've chose Mr. Martin in this matchup.

Still, deep down, I knew he didn't stand a chance against the Mitchell. The '87 set is simply too well-loved around collecting circles.

And the Mitchell is arguably the single greatest card from the entire checklist. Given all that, I can easily see why he ran away with the victory here.

Despite knocking out Billy Martin, I'm excited to see how far Mr. Mitchell can advance in this tournament.

#5 -- 1992 Topps #40 Cal Ripken Jr. (23 votes)

def.

#12 -- 1990 Topps #278 Pascual Perez (9 votes)

I think we all knew how this one would play out.

Personally, I'm surprised nine people even voted for the Perez.

#4 -- 1994 UD All-Time Heroes #1 Ted Williams OW (18 votes)

def.

#13 -- 1994 Topps #20 Bryan Harvey (14 votes)

This was, without a doubt, the most interesting matchup of the region.

I thought the "Splendid Splinter" would absolutely run away with the victory. After all, a shot of him on the mound isn't something you see every day.

Yet, lo and behold, Mr. Harvey proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The shocking "sleeper" pick was even leading in the later stages of the voting.

In the end, the Williams squeaked by with a four-vote margin of victory.

But Bryan Harvey sure made things interesting.

#11 -- 1993 Topps #200 Kirby Puckett (24 votes)

def.

#6 -- 1994 Conlon Collection #1260 Fred Merkle (7 votes)

This pairing is eerily similar to the Mitchell-Martin matchup I featured earlier.

Due to my love for old-time baseball, my pick here would've been the Merkle. As one of the more iconic cards of the overproduction era, however, I pretty much knew Mr. Puckett would win handily.

Adieu, Fred Merkle.

No matter what, you're still one of my favorites.

#14 -- 1992 Stadium Club #520 Wade Boggs (22 votes)

def.

#3 -- 1993 Donruss #261 Brent Mayne (10 votes)

Like a few of the other matchups in this region, there wasn't much doubt as to who would emerge victorious here.

Still, I did get to finally learn the backstory on the '93 Donruss Mayne. As it turns out, it wasn't the near-brawl I'd hoped.

But I still love it all the same.

Even so, I'm happy Mr. Boggs moved on.

#7 -- 1991 Ultra #296 Ozzie Smith (22 votes)

def.

#10 -- 1992 Donruss Triple Play #227 Sandy Alomar Jr. (9 votes)

While I'm with the majority here, I thought the voting would be a lot closer with this matchup.

The thirteen-vote margin of victory took my by surprise. Most collectors seem to enjoy "cards with kids" (as I like to call them). The Alomar is one of the better ones from that category.

Still, I guess "The Wizard" just worked his magic once again.

#2 -- 1989 Upper Deck #755 Jim Abbott RC (29 votes)

def.

#15 -- 1992 Classic #T80 "Deion Drops In" (2 votes)

The field of 64 ends with what proved to be the most lopsided matchup of all.

Abbott's 27-vote margin of victory made for the biggest blowout we've seen thus far.

Good job, readers.

And, speaking of readers, a huge amount of thanks goes out to everyone who voted on matchups from the field of 64.

Still, I must warn you.

As we move on to the "Terrific 32", the decisions are going to get tougher.

A lot tougher.

So, here's how the next round of matchups will look for this region.

#1 -- 1988 Topps #18 Al Leiter RC ERR vs. #8 -- 1987 Topps #653 Kevin Mitchell RC

#5 -- 1992 Topps #40 Cal Ripken Jr. vs. #4 -- 1994 UD All-Time Heroes #1 Ted Williams OW

#11 -- 1993 Topps #200 Kirby Puckett vs. #14 -- 1992 Stadium Club #520 Wade Boggs

#7 -- 1991 Ultra #296 Ozzie Smith vs. #2 -- 1989 Upper Deck #755 Jim Abbott RC

Certainly some interesting pairings in that bunch.

On that note, get ready. The "Terrific 32" is here!

Look for the first round of matchups later tonight.

Flea market deja vu, Pt. 2: Can't stand losing you

Flea markets can be a fickle thing.

As anyone with past experience will tell you, there's a possibility of finding almost anything you can imagine at a flea market. That's part of their intrigue, after all.

I'd love to see a Storage Wars-esque TV show about people who scavenge through flea markets. Frankly, I'm surprised no one's done anything like that yet.

Still, no matter what, the baseball cards are what keep me coming back to my local flea market on a regular basis. Try as I might, I can't get myself interested in spare tools, old board games, or anything else the flea market has to offer.

When it gets down to it, baseball cards are my one and only hobby.

For that reason, you can imagine my excitement when a card table popped up in the very first aisle of my local flea market last weekend.

A table which, I may add, included a glorious dime box.

On their own, the cards were listed at a quarter a piece.

However, this particular vendor offered up a sweet 10/$1 deal for any cards within the box. So, in essence, this was a dime box. Just not an altogether straightforward one.

As one of the more star-studded dime bins I've dug through, it allowed me to add the neat barehand fielding shot of "The Big Unit" to my binders, as well as the two mini-collection hits you see above.

Perhaps the only thing better than a throwback jersey is a Negro League throwback jersey.

As a nod to the old Kansas City Monarchs franchise, that's exactly what we have with the Beltran.

While it pains me to say it, I welcomed these two cards into my collection with open arms.

As it happens, Clemens and Bonds are probably my two least favorite players in the history of baseball. However, as far as I'm concerned, great photography trumps hatred when it comes to cardboard.

The Clemens is a treasured add to my "interview" collection. In keeping with the prevalent technology these days, most of my newer cards of the sort feature those recent headset mics.

While I haven't officially declared an "at the wall" mini-collection just yet, I'm currently teetering on the brink of doing so.

Shots like those even manage to make cards of Barry Bonds cool.

Which is saying something.

Below his dime boxes, this vendor also had a fifty-cent bin on display.

However, in keeping up with the bargain-themed nature of the flea market, he offered them up at 4/$1.

While I didn't come away with too much from (essentially) his quarter bins, these two were a couple of my better finds of the day. It's been a while since I've found new cards of both Rube Waddell and "Ducky" Medwick.

Much less out of the same box.

And then there's this one.

Eagle-eyed readers may recognize this canine-themed card as a former "Dime Box Dozen" need of mine. The pride I received out of adding this piece to my collection has been a long time coming.

While not a regular, I'd recognized this vendor from the couple times he set up at the flea market last year. He had these same 10/$1 and 4/$1 bins on display then, too.

And I distinctly remember seeing this Giambi during my dig through his cardboard last year. But, for whatever reason, I put it back. I'm still not exactly sure why.

Then, as I was getting ready to pay for my finds that afternoon, I decided that I wanted the Giambi after all. Problem was, I couldn't find it again amongst all those other rows of cardboard.

So I left without it. For the last six months or so, I couldn't stand the fact that I'd basically lost the chance to add this masterpiece to my binders. (Hence, the post title.)

Ever since then, I'd badly wanted that vendor to set up shop at the flea market again. Lo and behold, I got my wish last weekend. And, after a couple minutes of digging, I found Mr. Giambi, rectifying that huge mistake I'd made last year.

It was finally mine!

All in all, I plucked 20 dime cards and eight quarter cards from this vendor's table, for which the vendor only charged me three bucks.

The Giambi was one of my bigger coups of the day.

For now, though, let's go back to the "mega-table" at my local flea market.

As I mentioned in Friday's post, I scored 200 dime cards, around 60 quarter cards, and a few other miscellaneous vintage pieces (coming up in a later post) from my regular card vendor for just twenty bucks.

I guess you could say that all my non-dime finds were free of charge. In a way, then, the remainder of the cards you'll see in this post were on the house.

How awesome is that?

Despite the excitement his dime box brought, rooting around through the quarter boxes did manage to provide quite an array of gems.

Until I researched it a few minutes ago, I had absolutely no idea what exactly this Pete Rose card was. All I knew was that it it was a spectacular add to my "Charlie Hustle" collection.

As it turns out, Leaf's 2012 release wasn't the first all-Pete Rose set in existence. Topps did the very same thing...way back in 1985.

This is a specimen from Topps's 120-card "Charlie Hustle" release.

If the beauty of it is any indication, I'll have to be on the hunt for more of these in the future.

For a quarter, I couldn't turn down either of these.

While I managed to pluck a couple of those Squirt oddballs from this vendor's dime box a week prior, I was more than happy to shell out an extra fifteen cents for the Reggie.

It still proved to be one of the better steals of the day.

Much like the Squirt oddballs, a few of these legendary Sportflics issues had been dime box suspects just a week earlier.

But, again, I don't mind shelling out a few extra cents for names like "Yaz" and "Whitey".

As I keep stressing over and over again, this guy's discount boxes are tough to match.

They literally contain a little bit of everything.

On top of oddballs and 3-D Hall of Famers, this quarter bin managed to satisfy the "latest and greatest" lover in me as well.

One of my short-term goals for the year is to get all the '72 minis I need from Series 1 before Series 2 hits the shelves. However, I'm still a ways away from realizing that at the moment.

Still, this "A-Gon" mini happily brings me one step closer.

At just a quarter each, I couldn't resist the opportunity to land these recent releases.

As I've found, I have an extreme weakness when it comes to Flagship's serial-numbered gold parallels. Especially ones of the quarter variety.

Call me a sucker, but it's true.

I wouldn't consider myself a Giants fan, but I sure do seem to collect quite a few players from the franchise.

Both Cain and Theriot are newer additions to the San Francisco binder.

Mr. Cain basically got in because of his perfect game against the Astros last season, which is chronicled on that "Memorable Moments" Heritage insert. Meanwhile, Theriot has long been a binder mainstay due to his Cubbie days.

The rather obscure Fontenot-Theriot middle infield combo was one of my all-time favorites.

Maybe the "latest and greatest" just isn't your thing.

That's fine. I can't say I blame you.

Maybe your devotions lie with '90s cardboard. If so, this quarter box certainly had its fair share of gems to offer.

Take this nifty minor league issue of young Pedro Martinez. (A card which was recently featured on another blog.)

I very nearly put it back upon first glance, but something about it spoke to me. Plus, I didn't want another Jason Giambi scenario hanging over my head for the next six months.

So I pulled the trigger.

Needless to say, I'm happy I did.

I know, I know.

These "Minted in Cooperstown" parallels from '98 Topps are some of the absolute dumbest variations in the history of cardboard.

Even so, I couldn't resist adding a slightly different version of one of my all-time favorite cards (and my absolute favorite Vlad piece) to my collection.

Maybe I am just a sucker for parallels, plain and simple.

Boy, has the MLB ever created an All-Star jersey that wasn't hideously ugly?

As a terrific addition to my "Award Show" collection, this UD MVP piece pictures "Junior" hoisting his 1998 Home Run Derby trophy, with Coors Field providing a beautiful backdrop in the process.

Despite the unsightly uniform, this proved to be one of my better pickups of the day.

All things considered, I'd have to rank this as last weekend's single-greatest quarter find.

For one thing, it's a rookie card of one of the bigger names in today's game. On top of that, it's a coveted add to my "bat barrel" mini-collection.

But, most of all, Andre Ethier never played a single game for the Oakland A's. They dealt him to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley, of all people.

Which, of course, makes this a treasured new part of my "zero-year" collection.

Before Sunday, I don't think I'd ever seen a card that combined all those elements into one.

It's true.

When I go to flea markets, I completely breeze by everything else. Call it a "one-track mind" if you'd like.

All I care about are the baseball cards.

Let the magic happen

Backlogged.

If I had one word to describe myself right now, that'd definitely be it.

Since this is my last week of school for the semester, I'm especially busy with finals and studying and whatever other busywork my teachers feel compelled to give out this time of year.

And, as I've harped on over and over again lately, I'm more behind with the hobby than ever these days.

Behind on reading. Behind on scanning. Behind on trade posts. Behind on non-trade posts. Behind on mailing. Behind on organizing. Behind on everything.

The mammoth amounts of cards I've received lately has pushed me back to the "D" section of my sorting process. For what it's worth, this early Paul Konerko piece is the next to be filed away.

I've been eager to blog all week. And, while it hasn't been easy, I've managed to carve out a bit of periodic blogging time lately.

It's basically what's kept me sane these last couple weeks.

Strangely enough, that sanity is one of the many "magic powers" the blogosphere entails.

For the most part, this post is for all the prospective bloggers out there.

Even if you haven't completely realized it yet, I'm sure most of you current members of the blogosphere roster are already hip to the mystic qualities of this place.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the blogosphere is the fact that I can pretty much do what I want. It's my blog. And I can write what I feel, whenever I feel like it.

I don't write about what many would call the "mainstream" aspect of this hobby. I get a whole lot more joy out of noting the more unappreciated facets of cardboard, such as Corky Miller's horrific 1-for-39 batting line on the back of his '05 Topps Total issue.

Of course, there aren't any deadlines around here. Unlike my earlier blogging days, I don't see the need in forcing posts. I legitimately want to write on a daily basis, something I hope has come across thus far in my blogging career.

If you're not of the daily posting mindset, there's absolutely no problem with that. Or, if you find yourself a little behind in your trading (like me), that's fine, too.

No matter what, the people of the blogosphere will be here to support you.

That pretty much goes hand-in-hand with my next point.

I accepted long ago that I wasn't what you'd call a "normal" collector. I collect guys like Tanyon Sturtze and Tim Spooneybarger, not Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols.

I even make it a point to hoard cards that prominently feature bat barrels, for goodness sake.

Those aren't necessarily the hallmarks of your everyday collector.

As far as that goes, years and years on the trading forums made me feel as though I was in the extreme minority. For a long time, I thought "weird" collectors such as myself were on the verge of becoming extinct.

Of course, the blogosphere quickly showed me how very wrong I was about that. There are plenty of people still in this hobby for the right reasons.

People who don't need a latest-and-greatest uber-high end patch autograph to be happy. People who get excited over a new 1990 Fleer base card for their team collection or some neat oddball that they'd never seen before.

People like me.

If you're one of those "weird" types of collectors, then the blogosphere is definitely the place to be.

As I've found, the blogosphere can also be a great way to gloat over your new cardboard.

You have no idea how much I love writing about new card show or flea market finds. While I've tried to mix in a few random post topics here and there these past few weeks, most of my latest write-ups have basically been those of the "show and tell" variety.

And, while I try not to make it a habit around here, I'm completely okay with that for the time being.

I've been attending card shows and the like for as long as I can remember. I'd always come home with my usual stacks of discount finds. But, before I started writing, I'd comb through them and, in due time, file my finds away.

Blogging has added a sweet extra layer to the card show experience. Now, I get to pick and choose which cards I want to show off on the blog. I always try to guess which cards people will specifically comment on in the process.

Because of that, I come to appreciate my pickups in an entirely new way.

So, yes, as egotistical as it might sound, I do indeed enjoy to gloat over my finds a bit. Blogging has certainly helped in that department. Still, there's nothing wrong with that.

Right?

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of the blogosphere's powers at first, too.

Yet, at the risk of sounding like a bad infomercial, all you have to do is sit back and let the magic happen.

If you're still on the fence about starting a blog, start one. If you just recently broke into the whole blogging business, keep with it.

Pretty soon, I guarantee you'll come to realize many of these "magic powers" I've talked about.

That is, if you haven't already.

Sure, as far as cards themselves go, you'll receive quite a bit of help from the blogging brethren. I myself have received everything from a 1950 Bowman Enos Slaughter to stacks of new 2013 Heritage cards for my collection.

But, thanks to the amazing community we have around here, I think you'll develop a newfound appreciation for this hobby. One that extends beyond simply trading and receiving.

I know I did.

Best of the rest

I can't believe it's been a week already.

A full seven days have passed since my so-called "find of a lifetime". The fact that I now own an actual vintage Mickey Mantle card still hasn't completely sunk in yet.

Frankly, I'm not sure it ever will.

Still, the fact that I actually took home close to a couple thousand cards from that garage sale is understandably overshadowed by "The Mick".

In actuality, I nabbed four card-filled boxes and a brimming binder for that breathtaking $35 price tag.

Now, I can't sit here and honestly say that anything in those boxes/binder were even a fraction as awesome as the '67 Mantle, but the rest of my purchase did offer its fair share of diamonds in the rough.

All in all, vintage only comprised a small part of my total finds. This nifty '67 Topps Rico Carty was one I omitted from my initial review of these boxes.

Had I found it nearly anywhere else, it probably would've earned top billing.

The guy in charge of the garage sale actually had a few binders he wanted to unload.

One looked to be a near-complete set of 1989 Bowman. The other contained pages upon pages of 1990 Topps.

Not for me.

The third and final binder, however, was quite intriguing. In it, I found quite the array of 2001 Fleer Tradition singles.

I've always been an avid fan of the set, yet they've never been all that well-represented in my collection. For whatever reason, they seem to be tough finds around here.

There had to have been a couple hundred '01 Tradition cards inside. Plus, I hit a few pressing supply needs, I scored quite a few usable pages and a like-new binder.

A win-win.

While Fleer Tradition was the main feature of the binder, I found a decent amount of other miscellaneous cardboard dispersed within its reaches.

Presidents, throwbacks, "double dips", and a couple new "pitchers at the plate" just added to the already-unbelievable quality of this purchase.

And...

...we haven't even gotten to those other four gigantic boxes I bought yet.

The guy had a big tub of about fifteen to twenty long boxes available. After a brief dig through each, I settled on the four that would eventually make up my "find of a lifetime".

One of the boxes was almost entirely comprised of '89 Donruss, a set which I'm overloaded with already. Still, I had a good reason for buying it...but we'll get to that soon.

Even so, I'm not entirely sure how that 1989 Donruss Bruce Sutter managed to elude me all this time. It's a "sunset" card, after all. Plus, that '85 Topps piece in the upper-right completes my Kent Tekulve "Topps set".

On top of that, one of the boxes I purchased was about half-filled with 1992 O-Pee-Chee singles. Since I'm a sucker for anything OPC-related, it was a must-have in my eyes.

The Henderson, Lasorda, and Griffey pieces you see in the middle of this page may be the three best cards from the '92 Topps checklist.

Needless to say, I was excited to score their Canadian counterparts with this purchase.

These neat oddballs were included in the same box that held my epic '67 Mantle.

Besides the vintage, the most dominating feature of this particular group was a rubber-banded stack of late '80s Topps minis. Still, minor league, Ziploc, and, yes, even Wonder Bread cards contributed to the legend of this box.

As far as the oddballs go, though...

...this purchase may have been one of my all-time greatest in that department.

It's true. This record-breaking purchase may be the absolute best oddball buy of my collecting career.

About nine-tenths of this particular box was composed of the 1989 Donruss singles I mentioned earlier. Yet, as far as I can tell, the other tenth was home to a complete 1987 TCMA "Baseball's Greatest Teams" set.

If you want to talk about tough finds, old-time releases like TCMA should probably be at the top of the list. Given my love for "throwback" sets of the sort, their relative scarcity had always saddened me.

Apparently, their '87 checklist featured nine different players from nine of the all-time greatest teams ever assembled.

So, quickly running through these next few pages, we have members of the famous '61 "M&M Boys" and '27 "Murderer's Row" Yankee clubs.

Both the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1960 Pittsburgh Pirate teams were World Series champions.

And both defeated the Yankees in their championship runs.

This page contains stars from the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and 1969 "Miracle Mets" rosters.

Cards of Lew Burdette and Bud Harrelson don't come along too often in this hobby anymore.

In many ways, that's why I've come to appreciate these TCMA sets so much.

Here, we have a few prestigious members of the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and 1946 Boston Red Sox clubs.

With names like "Ducky" Medwick, "Pepper" Martin, and, of course, both "Dizzy" and "Daffy" Dean, the '34 Cardinals have long been referred to as the "Gashouse Gang" amongst baseball circles.

From what I've read over the years, the club was one of the more fascinating rosters ever assembled.

Of the nine clubs included within this checklist, I think my favorite had to have been the 1907 Chicago Cubs.

It's hard enough to find issues of dead-ball era stars these days. Much less ones from the perennial World Series-winning days of my beloved Cubbies.

Most fans probably know of the famous "Tinkers to Evers to Chance" combo. However, one of my favorite pieces of trivia is the name of the third baseman in that famous infield.

The answer to that little nugget is none other than Harry Steinfeldt, who just so happens to be the "centerpiece" of the above page. It's my first card of the forgotten star.

And, to top it all off, this box even contained a few pieces from the late '80s Pacific Legends checklist, including one of the few cards I've seen from Tony LaRussa's playing days.

So, while the vintage likes of Aaron, Clemente, and Mantle were certainly the most memorable aspects of this purchase, they were far from the only exciting pieces I welcomed into my collection.

Even the "best of the rest" I featured in this post contained quite the array of gems.

I doubt I could've spent thirty-five bucks much better.

Photobomb

Voting on the latest "Gems of Junk Wax" region closes tonight!

Hit those polls!

In the past few years, it seems like "photobombing" has become all the rage.

In reality, though, the practice isn't really anything new. For as long as there have been cameras, there have been people turning otherwise-normal photos into disasters.

Now, in case you're not up to date with the "hip" new talk of my generation (in which case I wouldn't blame you), here's what the official "photobombing" definition, courtesy of what people my age like to call the "urban dictionary"...

Photobomb (verb) -- An otherwise normal photo that has been ruined or spoiled by someone who was not supposed to be in the photograph.

After doing a little research, I've found that the concept of "photobombing" is a fairly common one. While probably not intentional on the part of card companies, they can make for some downright laughable cardboard.

Kirk Gibson's 1991 UD issue is one of the best (or worst?) examples I've come across. From the looks of it, Upper Deck captured quite an intense play at second, one that exemplifies "Gibby" and his all-out style of play.

In the end, though, all the collector got to see was a oddly-framed shot of an umpire's backside.

As far as photography goes, minor league cards aren't much of a goldmine in the first place.

Especially when brands like Just choose to devote just a quarter of the card to, you know, the actual photo.

And, in the case of current White Sox infielder Jeff Keppinger, half of that space was occupied by some other guy's butt.

He just couldn't catch a break.

A look into the history of "photobombing" on cardboard shows that it's not a new fad, by any means.

It's been a part of the hobby since the vintage days of Topps.

Of all the Bobby Murcer photos Topps could've chosen in 1977, they went with this one. Why they did such a thing will always remain a mystery to me.

Thanks to his unintentional "photobomb", former Cardinal catcher Joe Ferguson feels like the main attraction on this piece. Mr. Murcer seems like a mere shadow in the distance.

Still, it's not nearly as bad as...

...this peculiar piece.

In a way, Upper Deck pulled off a "reverse photobomb" here.

Without looking at the name on the bottom, most collectors would probably assume this is a Matt Garza card. And rightfully so, I might add.

But, as it happens, a quick peek at the checklist shows that this is indeed a Vladimir Guerrero issue. While I've debated placing it with my other Rays cards of Matt Garza in the past, this one currently resides with all my Angel pieces of Mr. Guerrero.

In many ways, it feels like Vlad is "photobombing" his own card.

I didn't even know that was possible.

At this point, my "photobomb" research is in its preliminary stages.

I still have yet to dig through a lot of my collection.

Still, as of right now, this is probably my favorite "photobomb" candidate.

On the surface, it looks to be a nice, peaceful National Anthem shot of then-Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

Yet, if you look deeper into the background, you'll probably notice the devilish face of (who I assume is) an Expos coach. If I had to guess, I'd say the photographer caught him in a post-yawn state.

I had this card for a few years before I noticed its "photobomb" qualities. I'm quite surprised it took that long to notice.

Now, whenever I look at this piece, it's the first thing I see.

As is the power of a successful "photobomb".