Comments on: Book Review: Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson

By: 1990 Fleer Update Baseball

1990 Fleer Update Baseball — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:05:36 +0000

[...] Book Review: Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson » Baseball-Reference ... This book, an absolute masterpiece by Dave Jamieson, has linked together huge amounts of research to produce the first complete story of the evolution of baseball cards from slips of cardboard used to stiffen packs of cigarettes to the . the lawsuit brought by Fleer against Topps and the MLBPA that eventually led to Fleer Donruss, Score, and Upper Deck joining the world of baseball cards; the shift to higher-quality, higher-priced cards started in 1989 by Upper Deck . [...]

By: Bits and pieces | Baseball Bloggers Alliance

Bits and pieces | Baseball Bloggers Alliance — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:00:50 +0000

[...] always-informative Baseball-Reference.com offers this review of Mint Condition, by David [...]

By: Stu B

Stu B — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:22:34 +0000

Thanks - I just ordered it, and for only $6.98 + 3.99 shipping through Amazon's used and new link...

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:49:35 +0000

JD, the book actually talks about how the Internet is one of the reasons the industry is still alive at all, because it makes marketing individual cards a much easier process. And ebay is really the only way I could have resumed my quest to finish sets from 20+ years ago, even if they had no value to anyone but me.

I don't know if Score revolutionized card design, but I can't remember many things that made me more excited than seeing those 900 card sets they put out in 1990-91. I always liked Topps since it had 792 instead of a measly 660 from Donruss, but getting another 100 cards in there was just fantastic.

By: JDV

JDV — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:29:19 +0000

Sounds like a great read. I just bought it from your link...ships tomorrow.

By: JD

JD — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:27:25 +0000

It's surprising to me that eBay/The Internet is not discussed as another reason the industry is dying.

There is no need to buy packs anymore. None. Just go online and find what you want. A lot of people still enjoy opening packs, but think about how many needless packs you opened back in the day to get that last handful of cards for a set (or to get your favorite player). There's no need to spend all that extra money now.

By: Joe B

Joe B — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:14:15 +0000

It's not just pricing them out of the hobby, but the fact you'd pay $3 for a pack of cards and get 10 commons or cards that were worth about a quarter total.

By: Jeff J.

Jeff J. — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:29:01 +0000

"the ultimate pricing out of children from the hobby"

*Another* one of the big four sports has packs of cards (not the kiddified kind) for a buck. Until they changed them this year, they were actually including decent inserts in them too. I got THREE different cards serial-numbered out of thirty-two!

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:30:36 +0000

Incidentally, Score is barely mentioned in the book. The late 1980s and onward represent only a small fraction of the book, and by that time the biggest issues were overproduction, grading, and price increases. Score didn't have a lot to do with any of these issues.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:29:40 +0000

Dave, thanks. I don't know how much Score influenced Upper Deck--both did something pretty unusual and made nice cards. I agree very much with your opinions about 1988 Score--it was a favorite of mine at the time even though the cards themselves were not particularly high-quality in terms of the stock material.

The only real similarity between 1988 Score and 1989 Upper Deck is the inclusion of a second photo on the back. Otherwise, both companies made some changes that were, at the time, unique.