Shoeless Joe is BACK

Thanks to DLP, Shoeless Joe will again have baseball cards in a mainstream product. As it turns out, DLP has obtained a "game used" bat and will also be including the first relics of Shoeless Joe in some years.

Of course, this cant be THE Black Betsy as Im sure people would riot if it was cut up. I know I would be among those people.

Either way, Donruss Threads Baseball is shaping up to be pretty cool as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays seem to also be included in the product. I may buy a box or two.

Here is the official release:

"Shoeless Joe Jackson, banned from baseball for his alleged role in fixing the 1919 World Series, returns to baseball in 2008 Donruss Threads which will include game-used bat cards of the legendary Black Sox figure.

Donruss Threads, scheduled for a mid-October release, is the company's first full-scale baseball product in three years and combines baseball's rich past with its bright future through the inclusion of all-time greats with top-tier rookies and prospects. The release will be loaded with autographs and memorabilia cards.

Donruss recently purchased an outstanding circa 1916-1920-era game-used Jackson bat and will include pieces in 2008 Threads Baseball. The bat - with provenance - displays significant game use and carries the dark flame-treated finish Jackson preferred on his bats.

"True game-used Joe Jackson items almost never surface on the secondary market - they're kept in private collections or on display in museums," says Donruss spokesman Mike Payne. "But sometimes great pieces do find their way into auction, passed down from generation to generation, as this bat was."

Jackson joins other legendary names such as Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Nolan Ryan, Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Cal Ripken Jr., Bob Feller, Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford among others, in the product.

Rick Porcello, the first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers I 2007, headlines a deep checklist of prospects, many of whom have never appeared on a certified autograph card before. Porcello's first certified autographs and game-used memorabilia will only be found in Threads.

Some of the other top prospects include Ike Davis, the New York Mets' 2008 first-round pick, Josh Vitters, Xavier Avery, Mat Gamel, Christian Marrero, Elvis Andrus, Jesus Montero, Brandon Waring and more than 110 others.

Five-card packs of Threads will carry a $4 SRP. "