By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

For some collectors, a find like this Yearbook card from 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition might be something they skip right over as they tear through pack after pack in search of autographs.

But for one mom, though, it’s something quite special.

“We will love that card forever,” said Mariana Bichette from her home in Orlando, Fla. “That is precious to a parent, are you kidding?  His dad will agree with me.  That Little League World Series year is going to be hard to beat.”

You might recognize the name, but probably not the face of the 12-year-old shown on the Panini America baseball card. He’s all grown up now and last summer Dante Bichette Jr. was the 51st overall selection in the MLB draft and hand-picked by the New York Yankees. Oh, and if you didn’t recognize the name, the now-18-year-old is the son of former Colorado Rockies slugger Dante Bichette — one of the famed Blake Street Bombers and a guy who led the National League with 40 homers back in 1995.

This card takes us all back to 2005, when Dante Jr. was a pitcher for the Maitland, Fla., Little League team — a squad that made it all the way to the LLWS. Meanwhile, the former big-leaguer was a coach for the team and, of course, Dad. Now, that moment in their lives is captured on a baseball card — and it’s one that’s pretty memorable to Mom.

“There’s something about wide-eyed dreams without the cynicism and reality of pro ball that can’t be beat,” she said of the card. “And that was truly the culmination of a family dream, so that’s gonna be a favorite.”

But there are a few other favorites around the Bichette household these days as the first baseball cards of “D” — that’s Junior’s nickname — have been produced by Topps and Panini America.

Mariana admitted seeing her son in his Yankees uniform is special — even though she’s seen her husband on countless baseball cards through the years. In fact, don’t tell the retired big-league star who hit 274 homers over 14 big-league seasons who the must-have cards are in the house right now — it’s the guy who has yet to make his big-league debut. He’s a hot commodity among friends and relatives who are contacting her to find his cards.

“I am looking at boxes of Dante Sr.’s cards that my friend Terri organized for me a couple of years ago,” she said. “I have no idea what to do with them.  Other than that, we aren’t really into that aspect of baseball fandom. But you can bet on the fact that I will have all my kids’ cards that are ever made.”

Dante Jr. already appears on 37 different cards between parallels and printing plates in three brands — 2011 Bowman Draft, 2011 Bowman Sterling and Elite Extra Edition.

He’s also already done something that his dad didn’t do as a big-leaguer despite appearing on nearly 1,300 cards in his career. He’s signed his first certified autographs this past weekend — cards that are found as redemptions in Elite.

Mariana Bichette had no idea that there were that many baseball cards — of either Dante.

” [I expected] easily way fewer,” she said. “And its sort of daunting, the number of cards.  Especially of D.  What the heck?  I better get on it if I am going to keep up!”

So, was it a surprise seeing her son on a baseball card for the first time?

“I don’t know how to say this right. I sort of always expected that he would have baseball cards,” she said. ” So, its more of an ‘Aww look how cute’ thing than an ‘Oh my gosh I can’t believe this!’ thing.  Still, when I saw the first one I am sure I screamed for five minutes for everyone to come see.

“And then I promptly posted it on Facebook.”

While a collecting challenge is ahead of her — D’s cards are brisk sellers assuring the fact that he’ll have more (and being a Yankee doesn’t hurt) — it’s the Little League World Series card that seems to resonate quite well for now.

“The best ever,” Mariana said when asked to offer her reactions to the card.  “If you only knew what that kid gave that summer, and what I learned about him by watching him.  I remember that picture in the paper. I just didn’t know he would give so much to that effort — literally everything his little 12-year-old self had.  I love that picture.

“It was taken during a loss by the way,” she said of the image by Carolyn Kaster of The Associated Press. “That is when you find out what you have in a competitor.”

We’ll have more on the Bichettes and their cardboard in the April issue of Beckett Baseball.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Join Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds and Brian Fleischer as they rip into a pair of 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition boxes from Panini America in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? How many autographs will be found? Watch and find out …

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary

Some of the first behind-the-scenes glimpses of real, printed cards from Panini America’s first MLBPA-approved baseball card set, 2011 Donruss Elite, have arrived.

Now, it’s time for some first impressions before the product’s arrival next week …

– No logos? So what? Look at that Ichiro card. It’s better than others I saw, but it’s not as bad as many collectors’ knee-jerk or default reactions/preferences will likely make it out to be. (Also will be more of a moot point on mem cards in later products.)

– Rated Rookies are back — though apparently only as part of the MLB veteran presence (guys who already have played an MLB game). Starlin Castro, Michael Pineda and Jeremy Hellickson are among them. It’s a short list, though.

– What’s the base set made of? Well, there are 25 MLB veterans numbered 1-25 on the packed-out checklist. Then there are 190 prospect base cards — numbered 1-190. So are there two base sets? Is there one? What’s a Rookie Card here? This looks more like the Bowman structure … but does it need to be?

– It’s Elite, so expect foilboard. While most of you probably don’t mind, this writer hates fingerprints on cards (unless there’s a mem swatch involved).

– MLB vets who are in … Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols (listed as an Angel), Justin Verlander, World Series hero David Freese … they’re all inside.

– Structure is the same. Or close enough. Fans of past Elite editions will be comfortable with this one. It’s all about prospects and autos — at least six per box, sometimes more in Hot Boxes.

– Inserts and texture. There’s a good use of textures in designs here — from the dirt and baselines of Best Compared To, to the wood touches on Back To The Future and the glove and frames for Yearbook.  There should be some good visual variety found in the boxes. The Building Blocks cards stand out as well.

Should be fun to see more of this stuff next week. Let us know what you think via comments and  our polls.

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Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Panini America will have the first Los Angeles baseball cards of Albert Pujols — who signed a 10-year, $254-million deal with the Angels on Thursday morning — on the market as it stopped the presses to make the changes to Pujols’ cards which will be found in a product arriving later this month and one arriving in January.

The first card will appear in 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition, which arrives at the end of the month. It’s the first release under Panini’s new deal with the MLB Players Association, meaning he can’t be shown in a uniform using MLB logos. (So it’s merely a text change and, yes, a slightly darker shade of red to match the Los Angeles colors.)

A second card also was changed after today’s news — Pujols’ inclusion in 2011 Playoff Contenders (above), which arrives in January.

The Elite card will be found in the base set and have parallels numbered to 1, 25, 100 and 200. Contenders will have a 1/1 Season Tickets Championship Tickets card, the company said, along with an Artist’s Proof card limited to just 49 and a First Day Printer’s Proof card limited to 10.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

The arrival of the first Panini America baseball card set under its new deal with the MLB Players Association is just weeks away.

Today, we have for you a few exclusive preview images of autographed prospect cards to be found in 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition once the boxes start arriving on Dec 21.

Each 20-pack box will include six autographs. Meanwhile, four Hot Boxes per 20-box case will include 10 autographs. For those not quick enough to do the math, that’s 136 autographs per case.

There will be 150 prospects signing for the product, which will include several new insert lines, including Building Blocks (dual, triple and quad autographs), Best Compared To (a draft pick and a present major-leaguer paired) and Two-sport Stars. The base set will include 150 prospects and 25 present MLB players.

Other items worth noting for the product include 50 on-card autographs and a full array of the familiar diecut cards from the past — Aspirations and Status.

Look for another exclusive gallery — for 2011 Playoff Contenders, which arrives in January — in the next issue of Beckett Baseball.

If you absolutely can’t wait to see some other Contenders sigs, click here.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Panini America‘s return to MLBPA-approved baseball cards got a little closer to reality on Friday as the company released the basic product information for its first product under its new deal, 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition.

Set to arrive on Dec. 21, each 20-pack box will include six autographs. Meanwhile, four Hot Boxes per 20-box case will include 10 autographs. For those not quick enough to do the math, that’s 136 autographs per case.

There will be 150 prospects signing for the product, which will include several new insert lines, including Building Blocks (dual, triple and quad autograph cards), Best Compared To (a draft pick and a present major-leaguer) and Two-sport Stars. The base set will include 150 prospects and 25 present MLB players.

Other items worth noting for the product include 50 on-card autographs and a full array of the familiar diecut cards from the past — Aspirations and Status — in both autograph and standard card form.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Franchise Futures Prospects Autographs
Tyler Goeddel
Dante Bichette Jr.
James Harris
Cory Mazzoni
Abel Baker
Alex Dickerson
Justin Bour
Tyler Anderson
Jeff Ames
Cristhian Adames
Jason Krizan
Michael Kelly
Kyle McMillen
Charlie Tilson
Brad Miller
Blake Snell
Daniel Norris
Williams Jerez
Erik Johnson
Gabriel Rosa
Adam Morgan
Aaron Westlake
Brandon Loy
Zach Good
Angelo Songco
Jordan Akins
Josh Osich
Austin Hedges
Jake Sisco
B.A. Vollmuth
Austin Wood
Dan Vogelbach
Carl Thomore
Blake Swihart
James Allen
Carlos Sanchez
Michael Goodnight
James McCann
Will Lamb
Taylor Featherston
Nick Ramirez
Johnny Eierman
Logan Verrett
Neftali Rosario
Kevin Comer
Kendrick Perkins
Tyler Grimes
Kyle Winkler
John Hicks
Taylor Guerrieri
Dillon Maples
Harold Martinez
Grayson Garvin
Zeke DeVoss
Mitch Walding
Clay Holmes
Hudson Boyd
Granden Goetzman
Bryan Brickhouse
Shane Opitz
Nick Fleece
Carson Smith
Jake Lowery
Madison Boer
Tony Zych
Sean Halton
Cavan Cohoes
Dean Green
Miles Hamblin
J.R. Graham
Tom Robson
Riccio Torrez
Adam Conley
Pratt Maynard
Jordan Cote
Kyle Gaedele
Christian Lopes
Travis Shaw
Parker Markel
Chad Comer
Adrian Houser
Corey Williams
Brian Flynn
Phillip Evans
Lee Orr
Brandon Parrent
Roman Quinn
Jake Floethe
Andrew Susac
Navery Moore
Chris Schwinden
Cole Green
Chris Wallace
Steven Ames
James Baldwin III
Forrest Snow
Bobby Crocker
Dwight Smith Jr.
Greg Bird
Bryson Myles

On-Card Prospects Autographs
Trevor Bauer
Anthony Rendon
Gerrit Cole
Dylan Bundy
C.J. Cron
Tyler Collins
Cory Spangenberg
Archie Bradley
Jason Esposito
Bubba Starling
Joe Panik
Kolten Wong
Levi Michael
Sonny Gray
Javier Baez
Danny Hultzen
Alex Hassan
Jace Peterson
Jason King
Kyle Kubitza
Matt Szczur
Sean Gilmartin
Kevin Matthews
Brandon Nimmo
Jed Bradley
Cameron Gallagher
Mikie Mahtook
Jacob Anderson
Michael Fulmer
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Taylor Jungmann
Matt Dean
Joe Ross
Jake Hager
Josh Bell
George Springer
Chris Reed
Brian Goodwin
Francisco Lindor
Tyler Gibson
Robert Stephenson
Brandon Martin
Matthew Purke
Leonys Martin
Keenyn Walker
Kyle Parker
Travis Harrison
Matt Barnes
Trevor Story
Kyle Crick

Could a Mariano Rivera baseball card from Panini America feature a studio photograph like this one? It sounds like one possibility ...

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By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary

There’s one question on many collectors’ minds that will likely be answered with their first glance at a baseball card from one of Panini America’s upcoming releases.

How will they do it?

We recently sat down with members of Panini’s executive and baseball team for a roundtable discussion to find out about some of the issues on the minds of collectors and what’s on the minds of those who will be bringing a new wave of baseball cards to the masses very soon. While many specifics were not disclosed — including whether removing logos on action shots is part of its plans (“we can’t give anyone else our playbook”) — it’s clear that there’s nothing casual about the approach that Panini will take with its cards, despite what could be some casual looks on some — but clearly not all — players’ cards.

Read two questions — and two answers — from the exclusive Q&A to be found in the December issue of Beckett Baseball (coming soon) after the jump.

Could a Panini America baseball card of Ichiro Suzuki utilize a photograph like this one when its products arrive soon? Panini is mum on exact details for now -- but we'll present a logo-free image and ask the question here, anyway. (This image is not from Panini America.)

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What will be the main strategy – photographs without MLB equipment or digitally altering existing images? Or a mix of both?

“It’s not really a question of either/or. Our strategy will revolve around presenting an image for each player that captures the player’s personality and role in the game while also staying true to the commitment set forth by our staff of presenting unique and fresh looks at ballplayers while keeping within the spirit of the game.”

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Speaking specifically toward the casual direction – are there any plans for cards playing directly off of this? Maybe cards themed this way or as “off the field?” Perhaps memorabilia cards a swatch of street clothes (a la Americana) and a swatch of game-used?

“There are so many directions our products can go, and ‘off the field’ is one of them. But we are keenly aware of the risks that go with taking the player off the field and into a different element. That being said, we also understand that it’s those settings that often bring out the player’s personality and help forge an image not always evident in a game-action photo on a 3.5-by-2.5 cardboard format.”

“To be sure, our cards will deliver dynamic presentations of the players and his essence – the way fans want to see them.”

“Card collecting is as much about the fans as it is about the player. We will delve into that and look to incorporate what fans are looking for in cards of their favorite players that go beyond logos and are more about the personality of the player.”

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Look for the exclusive Q&A in the December issue of Beckett Baseball arriving soon.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor | Commentary

You may have seen the Your Turn page in nearly every issue of Beckett Baseball where we showcase stuff that is all about you. You can see your comments on hobby topics and get chances to win cool stuff in contests all on one page.

With Panini America recently gaining a group license from the MLB Players Association to start producing baseball cards this year, the company is in a unique position — its challenge is to produce cards of MLB players while not showing them in their MLB uniforms — or at least with logos (their use is authorized only by MLB Properties) while also using casual photography. Unlike other companies, who have found themselves in the position of having just one license likely due to financial limitations, Panini might be positioned to do these cards the “right way” with a mix of studio photo sessions and other alternative design approaches using a mix of casual and logoless uniform photos. Spokesman Josh Hamilton said he appreciated being able to show things such as his cross on his card, calling the approach “real.”

We’ll have more on this topic in the next magazine — and we want your two cents inside the issue as well: Here’s the fundamental question: Can casual sell cardboard? Tell us why … or why not.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Please include your name and location with your comment below — we will only run items with that information. A selection of your answers will appear in the next issue along with our next batch of contests and giveaways found only in the magazine.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Panini America didn’t waste time with the unveiling of additional images and plenty of details for its first baseball card set under its licensing agreement with the MLB Players Association.

While there are a few months to go before the arrival of 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition on Dec. 21 followed swiftly by 2011 Playoff Contenders, which will arrive on Jan. 11, 2012, barring any unforeseen delays, we have images and details for both releases.

Oh, and the details besides autographs of potential future Kansas City Royals star Bubba Starling in DEEE? You can get those and see more … after the jump.

According to the company, Elite Extra Edition promises to include (so far), autographs from more than 30 first-round picks among a checklist that includes 50 on-card autographs among the 150 prospects signing for the product. Among them will be No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole out of UCLA, his teammate and Golden Spikes Award winner Trevor Bauer, Starling, Danny Hultzen, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon, Archie Bradley, Matthew Purke, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kyle Parker, Leonys Martin and Josh Bell.

“The compilation of EEE will be familiar to collectors, but there are … more on-card autographs than ever before,” said brand manager Mike Payne. “EEE still is the most comprehensive baseball draft product on the market and stretches beyond just the obvious names in the first round or a few that spill into the second round – names we do have, by the way.”

Current major league players will appear in the set, too, with reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton (an apparent change from his previously announced Contenders debut), NL Cy Young hopeful Clayton Kershaw, AL Cy Young and MVP candidate Justin Verlander and Rookie of the Year contender Eric Hosmer along with Mariners rookie Michael Pineda on standard cards to name just a few.

But it’s the rookie ink which Panini is pushing — and there’s a bit of a legacy there with the line for collectors who remember it the first time around.

“By going beyond the first round, EEE has introduced the first autographs of Austin Jackson, Domonic Brown, Brandon Belt, Matt Moore and Paul Goldschmidt,” Payne said. “That’s part of EEE’s identity.”

Contenders, meanwhile, will include autographs from prospects as well as the first signed Panini cards of big-leaguers such as Hamilton.

Contenders also will include autographs from 150 prospects — another 50 signing on-card — with 20 of those being first-time signers who will not appear in Elite.

Also forthcoming will be some printing technology and names that are part of the Donruss legacy of brands with Museum Collection parallel cards and Nufex printing for the Season Ticket and Rookie Ticket cards, while there also will be Rookie Ticket Artist’s Proofs and First Day Printer’s Proofs in the fold.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Thanks for reading the December issue of Beckett Baseball and coming here for multimedia relating to the issue’s cover story and main package. This is a compilation of the videos from editor Chris Olds during the Panini news conference announcing its deal with the MLBPA.

See the videos after the jump.

Below: Beckett Baseball’s Chris Olds goes one-on-one with Hamilton.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Below: Hamilton talks to the assembled TV media.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Below: Hamilton’s full comments from the news conference.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Below: Hamilton sees his Playoff Contenders card for the first time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Below: The executives speak.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.