Swing training has kicked into high gear now, and it's the time of year when a fan of just about any team (besides the Astros) has something to be excited about out. I've already settled into a routine of catching a few innings of Grapefruit League action on the MLB Network before I head off to work, although yesterday's 17-11 Cardinals loss played under heavy wind conditions was laughably awful. I'm not entirely certain what this has to do with airbrushing, but it does mean that I'm excited about baseball again and not just baseball cards.Rick Monday was a two-time all-star center fielder who I best remember playing for the Dodgers when I grew up. His Dodger team beat my Yankee team (really, my dad's team - I was just shy of 6 years old) to win the 1981 World Series, much to the delight of my best friend's older sister whom I will never forgive. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic. Outside of the game itself, Monday was perhaps best known for breaking up a flag-burning incident during an actual game in the '70s and currently is a radio broadcaster for the Dodgers.
Why did Topps airbrush Rick's photo? Before Monday was a Dodger (and a Cub), he was an Athletic. And before the Athletics were the Oakland Athletics, they were the Kansas City Athletics. In 1968, with Monday coming off of his first full season in the majors, the franchise moved to the Bay Area and for reasons completely unknown to me, Topps decided that the old cap logo would no longer suffice even though the team hadn't taken the field in Oakland yet and no current photos were available.
Why did Topps airbrush Rick's photo? Before Monday was a Dodger (and a Cub), he was an Athletic. And before the Athletics were the Oakland Athletics, they were the Kansas City Athletics. In 1968, with Monday coming off of his first full season in the majors, the franchise moved to the Bay Area and for reasons completely unknown to me, Topps decided that the old cap logo would no longer suffice even though the team hadn't taken the field in Oakland yet and no current photos were available.What's wrong with this picture, anyway? Clearly, there's no cap logo, kind of like what you would see with a half-finished airbrushed unlicensed card. Of course, they took the Upper Deck 2010 route by not completely obscuring the jersey logo. What is really odd to me is that I can't find any visual evidence that the KC caps had a yellow bill like Oakland's would, but apparently Topps did not yet know what the new logo would look like or just didn't want to take a stab at it.
Rick Monday always makes me think of one thing, which is his homer against the Expos in the 81 NLCS, otherwise known as Blue Monday.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been what the New Order song was about...
ReplyDelete