Airbrushed Fridays: 2006 Topps #424

I think it's a shame that there's no such thing as Friday Night Baseball. I realize that baseball lags behind some of the others major sports (which I shall not name) in popularity and TV ratings, but there has never really been anything worthwhile to watch on TV on Fridays. As an out of market Cardinals fan, I pay for the MLB Extra Innings package to watch the games anyway, but I still wish they would do something about the lack of baseball on basic cable when the next TV deal is up. (Never gonna happen.)

Tony Womack was a roleplayer, manning many positions over the course of his 13 year career which featured stints with 7 teams. He was an All-Star once way back in 1997 with the Pirates, but his best overall season (or at least most surprising) was a one year appearance as a St. Louis Cardinal for the pennant-winning 2004 team.

Why did Topps airbrush Tony's photo? A one year wonder at 2B for the Cardinals, the Yankees pegged Womack as something of a super utility player and signed him up for 2005. He wasn't so super, returning to his pre-2004 career norms at the plate. The Yanks then traded him along with a large sack with a dollar sign on it to the Reds, who sent back two players who never made the majors. He scratched our just 23 plate appearances in 9 games with the Reds before being released three weeks into the season, so it's not all that surprising he appears here as a Fake Red. He'd end up back with the Cubs as his last stop later that season.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? Just look at Tony Womack and his shoulder shrug. He doesn't even know what he's doing in that uniform.

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.