How hot is the Topps baseball-card brand? White hot since last week, apparently, when news of a “prank” card “accidentally” printed by “an unnamed employee” began leaking out. (Word of intriguing error and blooper cards typically send packs flying off the shelves.) The card is Derek Jeter’s, but the intriguing details are in the background: President Bush sits in the stands, and Mickey Mantle holds a bat in the dugout. Wags might note that both Dubya and the Mick enjoyed a few cold ones at the old ballyard, but Topps wouldn’t dare be so crass—though one hears rumors of an ’03 Barry Bonds card where you can just make out his steroid patch on one bicep and a Balco tattoo on the other. I’d upload an image, but I Photoshopped it myself, so that would be cheating—something Major League Baseball and Topps would never condone.
—Posted by David Gianatasio
