Will Mark McGwire's return to baseball mean his return to baseball cards?
With Mark McGwire finally deciding to “talk about the past” and returning to Major League Baseball as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, does that mean that his certified autograph might re-appear in packs of 2010 baseball cards?
Maybe and maybe not.
Topps, the only fully licensed manufacturer of baseball cards, will likely not be including McGwire in its products this year.
“At this point in time, we don’t have any plans to use Mark McGwire in our products,” said Topps’ Clay Luraschi.
Upper Deck declined to comment, though the company has recently signed autograph deals with some players who haven’t had autographs in some time or may have had a somewhat negative stigma attached to them. Example? Fellow Bash Brother Jose Canseco.
Now, it’s not typical for any hitting coaches to appear in any card sets these days (let alone managers). But McGwire’s not your typical player as he’s tied for eighth on the career home run list at 583 and he’s now again part of the baseball establishment.
And on top of his place in the game (whether its seen as good or bad) is the fact that his certified autographs really aren’t all that plentiful. He has just 124 different certified cards and nearly all of those carry with print runs well below 50 copies.
His autographs on the whole aren’t all that plentiful — and he was once one of the most highly counterfeited signatures. McGwire has done product signings for just two companies — Upper Deck (cards) and Steiner Sports (memorabilia) in the last decade or so.
His signature changed dramatically in and around 1998 compared to autographs from his earlier playing days with the Oakland A’s where he would often appear at card shows. Those earlier signatures are more plentiful, but may not have the same kind of appeal as his St. Louis items or certified autographs.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
