2004 UPPER DECK SWEET SPOT CLASSIC PATCH NOLAN RYAN
Every so often, Card of the Week braves the eBay wilds in search of rare and unique Metsiana, with the goal of sharing the quarry with our gentle readers.
The specimens can range from the odd to the obscure, from the sublime to the ridiculous to the just plain stupid.
This week is all about the just plain stupid.
This 2004 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan is what’s known as a “manufactured patch” card. Never was this logo part of a game-worn uniform or hat– rather, it is simply a cheap cloth applique designed to be embedded in this thickset card.
While this is a dubious “innovation” at best, it would be unnecessarily harsh to call it stupid. So we’ll reserve that designation for the design of the card itself…
This actually could have been a nice card, in theory. Perhaps if the orange background was a little less burnt. Perhaps if there was a slightly less-aggressive application of flaky gold foil on each of the four corners.
Perhaps if Upper Deck had incorporated a Mets patch on this card that pictures Ryan in his Mets cap and lists his team as the “New York Mets.”
But for some unknown reason, the company chose to adorn this Ryan Mets card with a 1980’s Astros logo. Just plain stupid.
Granted, it’s not stupid on the order of trading a high-upside 24-year-old fireballer for a rapidly aging third baseman, but it’s still pretty dumb…
It’s funny that sometimes these oddball items go for more money because of their stupidity. I remember searching for a Lando Calrissian toy that didn’t have white teeth because it was worth more than the regular one. We continue to learn nothing from the Dutch and their damn tulips.