I have no idea. It seems to me that every card in the set is already a variation since the logos have to be removed.
But being the good little collector that I am, I tracked down both.
The card on the left is that base card and the one on the right is the variation. One road uni, one home pinstripes, no logos.
But wait, there's more!
We get a name variation too, going from Ernie Banks to "Let's Play Two." The problem is that every other player with this variation has their nickname on the card. Babe Ruth became the Sultan of Swat. Honus Wagner is the Flying Dutchman. Nolan Ryan is The Ryan Express.
And why is Ernie Banks called Let's Play Two? That surely is not his nickname. But Panini can't use his actual nickname of Mr. Cub. They'd have to call him Mr. Chicago. So they used a catchphrase instead of a nickname. It would have been better to leave Ernie out.
Or use Billy Williams, Sweet Swingin' Billy.
Mr. Sunshine would have been better than Let's Play Two.
ReplyDeleteLikely Ernie was put on the original schedule for the card production in the variation list, or some kind of royalties deal was already worked out with the estate. At that point, someone in Panini's camp went 'crap, we can't use his nickname' and they had to scramble. I agree with you, just leave him out or go with another Cub, or if there was a production deal, find another way to incorporate him with the plethora of useless cards this set seems to create. (Tipped my hand on disliking this set)
ReplyDeleteOne other note, is it just me, or does the background of the Ernie road game card look a little too modern as far as the fans are concerned? Specifically the man in the top right corner and the woman right behind him? I'm sure you have the original image on file somewhere to clear this up for me!
ReplyDeleteThe question is...
ReplyDeleteDoes Ernie have a pinstripes version of the "Let's Play Two" nickname/not nickname parallel?
I actually like the Let's Play Two card. I may pick one up and pay no mind to the fact it's supposed to a nickname card.
ReplyDelete