From the Pedro Binder

2002 UD Retro Star Rookies

Whenever I hear people complaining about the current Topps “monopoly,” I think to myself, “They’re complaining about not having cards like this one?”

This insert set is a pretty nice idea. Upper Deck has always had “Star Rookie” subsets in their sets. Starting off with their first card, Ken Griffey Jr. If you’re going to do a “retro” set, celebrating the glorious history of Star Rookies is a great theme. You can show the player currently, and show a picture of their star rookie card. That’s what UD has done here with Pedro, as you can see.

Wait.

That’s not a “star rookie” card. It’s not a retro look at a star rookie card of any sort. What gives?

If only that were the only problem with this card.

The rookie card is too big. No offense to Night Owl, but in 2002 I didn’t care about Pedro’s time with the Dodgers. (Still don't) In 2002, Pedro was the ace of the Red Sox staff. So, why would the least obvious picture feature him in his Sox uniform? Like I said, the idea of celebrating the past rookie card is a good one. But, the photos should be reversed. The larger picture should feature Pedro with his current team. The smaller picture should be the rookie card. As an added bonus, if the photos were swapped, the jersey piece in the star would obscure the fact that Pedro wasn’t a “star rookie.”

I’m also not sure why the “1991” is the most important thing on the card. Look at how big it is! Who cares who the player is? We need to let everyone know that the card is from 1991! It’s another case of Upper Deck making a very big deal out of a history that it doesn’t have.

At least it’s a Pedro card.