Card of the Week: 1983 Topps #551

I wonder if the photographers told Yaz what he had in mind when he posed him for the picture.

It was a nice idea for a subset. Let’s celebrate the grizzled veterans in the league. And, what a great way to do it. Show a simple picture of them as a rookie, and one from the present. It’s especially nice in this case since Yastrzemski is a Red Sox in both pictures. But, what a way to make a player feel old. Do you think Yaz saw this card and just went, “My goodness!”

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t remember much about Yaz from his playing days. I just remember him as that old guy on the team that everyone said was a great player. I do remember watching his retirement game and thinking it was pretty amazing to see. But, I’m sure I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should. Maybe when Wakefield finally hangs them up we’ll see a similar scene.

Topps should try a similar subset one of these days. It’d be neat to see the evolution of some of the older players. Maybe show a different picture for every time they changed teams. With Wake, maybe a rookie shot, a first year with the Sox shot, and a current shot. Or Mike Cameron can have a shot with the Reds, and Mariners, and Mets, and Padres, and wherever else he’s been. Might need to make bigger cards. Or, maybe different versions. One with a current picture and a Reds picture. One with a current picture and a Mariners picture. You could print the number of copies relative to the amount of time spent with each team. The Red Sox version would be shortprinted. The Mariners one would be more common.

Hmm. I think I like it.