Panini America halts production to add first Albert Pujols Los Angeles baseball cards
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.
[…] into the market place reaction, Chris Olds (Twitter @chrisolds2009) reported on Beckett.com that Panini America stopped it’s production to deliver the first Los Angeles Albert Pujols cards. I would look for Topps to also make the team […]
so it still wont be the first with a logo just dumb.
[…] Beckett News Panini America halts production to add first Albert Pujols Los Angeles baseball cards they should send it over to Topps for some sick mojo airbrushing of the new uni. […]
I agree, not such a big deal to me either. All they did was slightly change the color of red to his shirt and it Los Angeles instead of St. Louis (as Chris Olds had said above…). I don’t see where that’s “stop the press” type excitement there. I don’t see why Panini is making such a big deal like they are going to put out the first official Pujols card with the Angels. Its not official to me until a card is out with him in a complete MLB uniform. I understand they do not have a MLB license to put logos on them, which would even more of a reason NOT to make a big deal out of it. The way Panini is, I am surprised they didn’t make it a redemption card and then make you wait a year and a half to get it.
[…] pujols to the angels beckett.com […]
Really?…….Really?
Really.
i believe its jsut an excuse to delay another product
wow talk about a worthless product.. no team logo, no nothing? i will pass, no thanks panini
“a card is only worth…..what someone else is willing to pay for it”
That holds true for Alberts 2001 Bowman Chrome autographed RC or the holy grail of cards in the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card
They gotta be the most boring looking cards I ever laid eyes on, this guys an icon in baseball, 1st ballot HOF’er and his Just Minors cards are way more eye appealing than these. I understand they are haulting the process just too add him in to the set, but for heavens sake, atleast put batting gloves, wristbands, or a phiten necklace on him on these cards, its all digital imaging anyway! You could have put an uzi in his hands if you wanted to and you put these eye catching card out Wow! They are lame boyz!…..So since they look like they do, lemme just go bananas ripping open packs of this product to get one of these stellar cards. Come on Panini America, you could of put a little more effort into these cards considering all the coin you make off of the collectors… JR from Philly
So if they put a halt to production to get this card in does this mean there is a St. Louis version? Was the card changed or was it just a new card added to the set?
It would be nice if Panini (are you folks listening to a customer of yours…..?!?!?!?! ) would/could distinguish between the hobby version cards & the retail version cards of any one of your particular products-so when a seller whom doesnt know the difference…..would be able to tell.
Pujols + LeBron of MLB …except he has something Lebron will never… have a championship ring !!