Filed under: MLB, Topps | Tags: baseball, baseball cards, Bryce Harper, Major League Baseball, MLB, Topps, Washington Nationals
By Chris Olds | Editor
The long-awaited, but expected, news that Topps has signed No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Harper to an exclusive deal is now here.
The company confirmed on Wednesday morning that it signed a multi-year exclusive deal for autographed cards, game-used memorabilia cards and the use of Harper’s image on packaging and advertising.
“Growing up a huge baseball fan, it will be surreal to see myself on a Topps card with a Nationals jersey on,” Harper said. “I’m excited to team up with Topps and take one of the first steps to realizing my Major League dreams.”
The teenager was the top pick of the Washington Nationals after playing a season of junior college baseball and leaving high school two years early. His USA Baseball SuperFractor card from 2010 Bowman (above) recently sold for $12,500. That trails only that of future teammate Stephen Strasburg, who Topps signed as an exclusive last fall, in the top sales record book for an unsigned SuperFractor.
Filed under: Beckett Media | Tags: baseball, baseball cards, Major League Baseball, MLB, Opening Day
By Stan Carlberg
For more than a decade now, card collectors have associated the term “Opening Day” with the annual updated Topps release than the actual first day of the new baseball season. While the set typically mirrors Topps’ regular-issue set, along with some special inserts and autographs, it has nothing to do with the first pitch of the season. At some point, Topps should consider educating new collectors with some of the heroes of Opening Day’s past.
Opening Day has seen its share of heroics throughout the years. Being the first day of the 2010 season, I thought I’d recognize some players who have made their mark on what many consider baseball’s most exciting day.
Filed under: MLB, Topps, Upper Deck | Tags: Autographs, baseball, baseball cards, home runs, Major League Baseball, Mark McGwire, Mark McGwire Cardinals, Mark McGwire hitting coach, McGwire autograph, McGwire hitting coach, McGwire returns, MLB, PEDs in baseball, sports memorabilia, St. Louis Cardinals, Steroids in baseball, Tony LaRussa
Update: McGwire admitted using steroids for a substantial part of his career in an interview with The Associated Press on Jan. 11, 2010. My opinions here (item written Oct. 16 when it was apparent he was returning to MLB as a coach) largely remain the same, though I definitely do not think this will improve his status in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters as much as it might members of the public.
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By CHRIS OLDS | Beckett Baseball Editor
Mark McGwire is set to return to Major League Baseball as the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals today, a move that could ignite interest in his long-suffering sports cards and memorabilia.
The news comes as a surprise to many as the former single-season home run king has distanced himself from the game in his eight years since retiring and remaining remarkably silent in a cloud of performance-enhancement drug suspicions.
And if McGwire thinks the spotlight of 1998’s home run chase was tough, the first thing on everyone’s mind will be eight words that were his crutch before Congress in 2005:
“I’m not here to talk about the past.”
LaRussa will return as the Cardinals manager next year, bringing along the guy who once owned the hobby and the hearts of a nation — a man whose autographs are about the only thing that remain pricey in the wake of the last decade. (Why? He simply doesn’t sign many.) McGwire’s 1985 Topps Rookie Card is a deflated shell of its past self, selling for $30 or less while once commanding hundreds of dollars. Same goes for most of his other 4,647 baseball cards.
But first things first. McGwire will have to talk about the past.
Filed under: MLB, Topps | Tags: 2009 Topps, 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights, baseball, baseball cards, Major League Baseball, MLB, San Francisco Giants, Tim Linecum, Topps
Fresh off the UPS truck (and probably still warm from the printers) are a pair of 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Baseball boxes that are set to be ravaged by the Box Busters crew here shortly.
What will they find? Stay tuned.
Until then, get a glimpse of the product right here.
Filed under: Donruss, MLB | Tags: baseball cards, Donruss, Major League Baseball, MLB Properties, MLB sues Donruss
Major League Baseball Properties‘ suit against Donruss filed earlier this year concerning unauthorized use of MLB logos, trade dress and player likenesses has been settled out of court.
The agreement permanently prevents any company owned in part or full by former Donruss owner Ann Powell from creating any trading cards of MLB or MiLB players or producing any other product featuring those players.
Powell sold Donruss to The Panini Group in March. The company’s Arlington, Texas, facility is now the home to Panini America, which is producing its new product lines as the exclusive manufacturer of NBA trading cards this fall as well as producing NFL trading cards.
According to a five-page document filed in a U.S. District Court, “Donruss and any of its subsidiaries or commonly owned entities and any entities or businesses that in the future may be owned in whole or substantially in part or directly controlled by Ann Powell (collectively, the ‘Donruss Entities’), are hereby permanently enjoined from manufacturing, selling, distributing advertising or promoting any items depicting Major League Baseball players or Minor League Baseball players in uniform, or with MLB marks, MLB team uniform trade dress Minor League Baseball marks or any component…”
The “Donruss Entities,” according to the documents, said that all merchandise and related materials named in the lawsuit has been sold or disposed of.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
Filed under: MLB, Topps, Upper Deck | Tags: baseball cards, Big League Blast promotion, Major League Baseball, MLB, Topps, Upper Deck
Major League Baseball‘s Big League Blast promotion recently wrapped up with some positive comments from dealers around the country.
The promotion, which gave collectors the chance to win everything from baseball jerseys and other memorabilia, aimed to generate interest and have some added fun at sports card shops.
Here’s a selection of comments from dealers …
Filed under: Donruss, MLB | Tags: baseball cards, Major League Baseball, MLB Properties, MLB sues Donruss, Sports licensing
Story copyright 2009 Beckett Media
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball editor
Donruss filed its response to a lawsuit by Major League Baseball over alleged unauthorized trademark use last week, denying all allegations and requesting a jury trial.
The lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in late January claims that the Arlington, Texas-based company used the trademarks, dress rights, rights of publicity of Major League Baseball Properties and was in “breach of the surviving terms of its contracts” in its products released since last fall.
Donruss filed its response on Friday in advance of an extended March 4 deadline, denying nearly all allegations in the original 13-page complaint (statements of addresses, names of products sold, etc. were not contested), claiming the company is “without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations” for each statement.
A trial date has not been set.
According to the original complaint, MLBP claims “Donruss cards depict certain Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball players in their team’s proprietary uniforms. The trademarks featured on the uniforms (as well as the overall trade dress of the uniforms) remain visible and identifiable to consumers, despite Donruss’ calculated attempts on some cards to have such marks modified or partially obscured.”
Among Donruss’ affirmative defenses, it states that it “has been duly licensed to the extent necessary to sell its trading card sets complained of” and that the company “is not using and has not used any trademarks of MLBP in the sale of [those] trading card sets.”
Donruss’ response also claims that MLBP has no standing to bring an action for trademark dilution under the Lanham Act and claims that any use by the company is a nominative fair use. If the use is found to be nominative, then it cannot dilute the value of the trademark.
Filed under: Topps, Upper Deck | Tags: Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, steroids
The 2007 Major League Baseball season is officially over … the Red Sox had their World Series Championship parade today.
The conclusion of the season means that the majority of fans will shift their focus onto one very important and highly anticipated off-season event.
No, I am not talking about A-Rod’s free-agency but rather the release of the Mitchell Report.
Senator George Mitchell’s investigation has been an ongoing soap opera since his leadership was first commissioned in 2006.
News outlets have reported that his investigation of Baseball’s steroid era has concluded and Mitchell is now ready to name names.
Many, many names.
Names of players who have never been accused before. Players who unquestionably are idolized by collectors, entrenched in thier communities and the faces of a franchise. Players, who like Barry Bonds, find their names in the game’s hollowed record books.
So how will this revelation impact the hobby?
The simple assumption is that it could be detrimental to the industry and no further proof is needed than the repressed values of accused stars Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa.
The Mitchell investigation goes beyond just the sports hype machine of ESPN and the local fish wrap (newspaper). The Mitchell investigation has the ability to directly impact the entire hobby — manufacturer exclusives, values of up-and-coming stars and the collectibility of established veterans — if the right names are named.
The clock is ticking.
We will all be watching.
And I for one will be counting down the days.
The Beckett Blog 