Airbrushed Fridays: 2013 Topps Stickers #170

Tonight's starting shortstop, perhaps?

Who is this week's victim, and why do we care? Michael Young is a 7-time All-Star who seems to be one of the most hated men in baseball these days. I don't quite get it. He was the subject of much teeth-gnashing in Texas before the Rangers finally ran him out of town, and he got chewed up and spit out in Philly... which is, well, Philly. He's the Dodgers problem now. His time as a useful everyday baseball player is up, but it seems like people like to pick on him anyway. Is he being used inappropriately? Only if you trot him out at SS like it was 2004, I guess. My only beef with the guy is that he had some big All-Star moments that cost the NL their stupid home field advantage that I wished were decided by something less stupid. It seems like the guy can still hit a little bit, which is more than you could typically say about the Cardinals bench.

Why is this a thing? Young was finally traded by the Rangers to Philadelphia after last season for some scraps. The Phillies season went about as well as one could expect out of an aging team with a bloated payroll relying on a hobbling Ryan Howard, and Young was again on the move to LA for the playoff run. This Topps Stickers card catches him Photoshopped into a Phillies uniform because the set was released back at the beginning of the season. It doesn't look like there will be a Dodgers Michael Young card in 2013, but there's always next year. And it will probably be Photoshopped!

Airbrushed Fridays is a weekly feature as the name seems to imply. If you know of a card with an altered photograph that you'd like to see featured, please contact me. You probably won't win anything other than the proverbial gas left in Michael Young's tank, but you never know!