#399 Ron Mahay
Ron Mahay has pitched in the Major Leagues for each of the past fourteen seasons, yet this is one of only two Major League cards issued of him. The other card is an '05 Topps Total and he has to share the card with another Rangers reliever. The reason there supposedly are not more cards available of him is because Ron was a replacement player in 1995 and he therefore is not a member of the player's association.
That explanation would make sense to me, but there is one problem. Here is a list of strike-breakers that went on to make it to the Major Leagues. There are quite a few obscure names on the list, but there are a few that stand out too. Take Kevin Millar, Shane Spancer, and Kerry Ligtenberg for example. While none of them have a ton of cards available, there are over twenty Millar cards and about ten cards each of Spencer and Ligtenberg.
So, that just goes to show that the card companies can make the cards of the replacement players if they want to, they just have to sign a contract with the individual player. But in Ron Mahay's case, it appears that he is not worth the trouble. That is too bad because Ron is a dependable left-handed relief pitcher. As an autograph collector, it would make it a lot easier for me if there were more choices of Mahay cards. But instead, you have to search for this card which I ended up buying off of ebay for three bucks. Awesome.
I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in April of 2009. I got it signed on the same day that I got yesterday's card signed.
On a side note, it appears that Topps is the only brand to have made cards of Mahay, Millar, Ligtenberg, and Spencer.
I'm surprised that Topps went to the effort of making a card for Mahay at all.
ReplyDeletePedro Feliciano didn't have any replacement player issues complicating things, and he got three different cards from Topps during his 8 year career. For the past three seasons, he's led the National League in appearances.
I think they just don't want to be bothered with left-handed relief pitchers :)
That is a great point, Paul. Topps and relief pitchers do not go together. That was one thing I liked about UD.
ReplyDeleteI'm with both of you on that. I have so few cards of the O's relief pitchers, and they are the group that probably signs the best out of the entire team.
ReplyDeleteZach- Have you ever checked out sportslots.com for common cards to get signed? You can probably find a card like this for about 20 cents there. And S&H isn't too bad either.