NLCS Game 1 starters — It's no match on cardboard

With Game 1 of the National League Championship Series set for later tonight (8:22 p.m., FOX) in Philadelphia, one thing’s for certain about this pitching matchup.

It ain’t even close on cardboard.

The Dodgers (who I’d pick as an eventual winner in this series) send Derek Lowe to the mound against Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels.

Lowe’s rookie card comes in the popular 1992 Bowman set (No. 98), but it’s valued at less than $5. Lowe (14-11, 3.25 ERA this season) just doesn’t have the hobby following you might expect considering his long career that includes a memorable championship with the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

Hamels’ rookie cards comes from another landmark Bowman set from a decade later — the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks release. Card No. BDP17 in the set, it’s worth $15. (I’ll forget the Chrome and the Refractor versions here for comparison’s sake.) Hamels put up similar numbers this season — a 14-10 record with a 3.09 ERA, but he recorded 196 strikeouts in 227-plus innings.

Sure, the younger star here has more potential at this point in his career — and his last postseason outing (an eight-inning scoreless gem that included nine strikeouts and just one walk against Milwaukee) probably isn’t hurting interest in his cards, either.

So, who wins this one in the hobby?

Hamels, hands down.

We’ll see, though, whether there is as much interest in Hamels’ cards when he’s in his 12th season like Lowe.

Oh, and we’ll see about that World Series ring, too.

Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.