Even more of the worst baseball cards ever!
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In case you missed it, a previous article on Collectibles on SI already covered five of the worst baseball cards of all time. But of course why stop there? After all, when the total number of baseball cards out there is in the tens of millions, finding a second handful of ugly ducklings and misfits is hardly a tall order. Though the competition was fierce, here are the five stinkers that made the cut.
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Topps Project 2020 Ken Griffey Jr by Keith Shore
Art is by its very nature subjective, so apologies in advance to the couple dozen people out there that actually love this card in some non-ironic way, but holy cow! Of course the funny thing about the Shore Griffey is that it outsold all 399 other cards in Project 2020 with a total print run just a hair shy of 100,000. Rumor has it a number of buyers actually cracked it out of its sealed one-touch for the sole purpose of reusing the holder. Dark times indeed back in 2020, and that's not even counting the global pandemic.
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1991 Upper Deck Kirk Gibson
Granted, the folks at Upper Deck weren't exactly Dodger fans, assigning the team card 666 in its first several flagship sets. Still, here is a man who hit two of the biggest home runs in World Series history, and the best collectors got in 1991 was an umpire's rear end? Weren't these sets supposed to be known for their stellar photography? Sheesh!
1973 Topps Joe Rudi
At first glance, this is actually a pretty sweet card. There's really only one problem. Somehow none of the three players pictured is Joe Rudi! (The actual players are Bill Voss, Gene Tenace, and Marty Martinez.)
1989 Pacific Legends Lou Gehrig
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The first run of Pacific Legends in 1988 used a range of solid photo choices to assemble a terrific set of all-time greats across multiple eras. Then something happened. For whatever reason, nearly all the old-time legends in the 1989 set look like they're fresh out of the embalming parlor.
1987 Topps Mike Laga
Topps certainly had more than its share of airbrushing eyesores over the years, but in truth the Topps art department had gotten pretty good at alterations by 1987. Why exactly they chose a cotton candy pink top for Mike Laga is a total mystery, but what is known is that Mike batted .148 in the four seasons following the card's release. Nobody's saying it was the card's fault, but nobody's saying it wasn't.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.