A birthday “card” for Ike Davis

Since there haven’t been any books written about him. Yet.

The NY Mets’ likable Ike Davis turns 24 today.

I received a shipment of cards yesterday including this one. This wasn’t Davis’ first card. Nowadays they have prospect cards, minor league star cards, etc., in multiple incarnations from multiple manufacturers.

When I was a kid (here we go) Topps was the only game in town and they only produced one set. They used to release one “series” of about 132 cards per month over the course of the baseball season, which allowed for updates towards the latter stages, so if a player was traded in May, he might be on the new team by August. And first year players usually didn’t get a card of their own show up until after their debut season. (How many of you boomers are saying “If I knew then what I know now,” about the value of the cards…)

And don’t get me started on the photography. Books have been written about the unintentionally funny cards. (Check out The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book, one of the better ones in this niche genre.) The photographers usually took a couple of shots, a faux, posed “action” shot and a torso/head shot, with and without a cap (in case the player was traded. sometimes they Topps artists would air-brush in — very poorly — the new team’s logo).

In the “old days,” you could only buy the cards at your local candy store — a nickle/dime/quarter a pack, including the infamous stick of stale gum — until some enterprising fellow decided he could buy entire sets direct from the company and turn them around to the public. Now this is basically the only way you can get them.

: Seaver’s 1967 card…

: and the 1968 card

Beginning in the early 1970s, Topps began incorporating some action shots into the set. Hard to believe now what a revelation that was. Now, it’s practically taken for granted and it’s the head shots that are relatively rare.

By the way, in the new Topps set — which is divided into two 330-card series — Ryan Braun has the honor of being Card #1. Such numbering — at least for Topps, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year — is quite hierarchical. The game’s elite players are designated by “00,” i.e., Albert Pjuols is No. 100, Ichiro Suzuki (identified solely by his first name) is No. 200, and Roy Halladay is No. 300. Superstars end in “50,” and lesser stars in multiples of five. I’m not sure what the criteria is for the numbering system; there’s a who scientific formula I’m sure. Maybe some sabermetrician can figure it out.