Product Review: 2008 Threads Baseball

Threads Baseball is here and in full force, and I think its time for me to do a thing I havent done in a while, a baseball product review! I think a lot of people were waiting for a DLP baseball product, and they seemingly delivered with a bang, according to the sell sheets. I went over some of the stuff, and ill see if they actually came through.

The Good

Shoeless Joe, Pete Rose, Willie Mays, and Hammerin Hank, four names we havent heard mentioned when referring to baseball cards in a long while. When it comes to these four, two of which who are getting on in age, I have to say "BRAVO DLP!" to finally getting a few more products out for these treasures of the game. Aaron has been the focus in baseball for a while now, thanks to the Steroid Superman, Barrius Bonds, and I think its time we got some sugar for the people who love the original. Aaron and Mathews were my favorite old time players growing up, and I still follow their collectibles today. I was beyond psyched when I saw that Aaron was all over the Threads preview.

As for the results of the hype, the base cards are nice, and I think the relics they threw in the base cards fit nicely. Hank, Willie and Pete are all over this beast of a product, and they even get the royal treatment in Diamond Kings with base, relics, and relic autos. The cards look as good as they did in football, and I think I may have to pick up some singles after our group break.

Moving on, I think its really a good idea to have the Baseball Americana stuff in this set, as it means we get a lot of extra fun cards from people who love and are a part of baseball's history. The funnest card I saw was the autographs they have of former President, George Bush. How great is that? I would love to pull one of those awesome cards. Plus, you get more of Willie and Hank too, which doesn’t hurt. The best part of these cards is that the entertainers collected in this set are actually connected to the history of the game, unlike "Spectrum of the Backup Hair Metal Guitarist Stars." Good call there.

Lastly, the Rookie Class letters can be really cool in football, and I know a lot of people have been waiting for them in a DLP baseball product. Even though the prospects have to be shown in their college jerseys, I think it was a nice addition to the set. Here's to DLP getting the baseball license back!

The Bad

Even though the product is a wagon full of great players, they only got bat relics for most of the people who we were looking forward to. Rose is an exception, though im not sure many are surprised by that. Absolute 2005 was awesome because of all the amazing jersey relics they got of Jim Thorpe, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays, not all the crappy "bat" relics. I wish that jerseys were included. *Sad Face*

Secondly, its obvious to me WHY they had to use stickers for a lot of these cards, but that doesn’t excuse them from the ones that could have been ON CARD. Prospect autos should never be on stickers, bottom line.

The Ugly

No unproven college prospect should ever be put on a "Kings" card. College Kings, Diamond Kings (especially), etc, are not places for these kids to be. I say that for football, for anything, really. Save it for Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, and others who should be there. God I would hate to pull one of those.

Also, the Aaron autos are redemptions from what I can tell. That is the second time in recent memory that I know the autos of the person on the front of the box are actually redemptions. Im sorry DLP, but that is FUCKING BULLSHIT.

Parallels in this product are so plentiful that they become ultimately confusing as fuck. If I cant understand your goofy ass parallels, you need to rethink your strategy. Base, Gold, and 1/1, that’s all it should be.

Overall, this product lives up to the hype due to its forgotten titans of the game. Satchel Paige, who hasn’t had many cards, is in this product - WITH RELICS - and I think that is awesome. Plus, I think this product gives collectors that, "Im doing something good for the hobby" feeling by buying this. If you buy this product, DLP will continue to put out baseball products. Although that is as far from the truth as you can get, I think it’s a feeling many have. I like this product a lot, I have resigned myself to a fate that Absolute 2008 is never coming, and I think I could live with this.