I don’t think you’ll find a bigger anti-Panini America collector on the Internet than myself. For years, maybe even a decade, I’ve been speaking out on Panini’s destruction of our beloved Donruss brand, their trash employees, ridiculous customer service, and flat out scam-like tactics when it comes to redemptions. At some point, I realized I was basically yelling at the clouds day after day while collectors, unaware of this site, kept spending thousands of dollars per day to be essentially, kicked in the balls by Panini.
Well, finally, something so egregious happened that everyone in this hobby took notice. A collector found the unthinkable, a cardboard crime the likes we’ve never witnessed before. Someone pulled a Babe Ruth cut signature featuring a sticker autograph of none other than a man known for pooping his pants and cheating with pine tar. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather pull the autograph of a guy who ate himself into a hot dog coma over George Brett but hey, that’s just me.
A few days later, something amazing happened. A collector pulled a George Brett card with Babe Ruth’s autograph on it. That’s the equivalent of pulling a 2022 Topps Jose Canseco, low-tier autograph and finding George Washington’s John Hancock on it instead. Maybe I am being too tough on Brett but honestly, the guy has always creeped me out. I don’t know how anyone else feels but Panini America would have to kill me in order to get back their missing Babe Ruth autograph.
There’s a lot of things I’d trade for in order to receive a George Brett autograph. I’d give a jury duty summons, a hang nail, paper cut, and a Norah Jones CD from the thrift shop … but no way in hell would I trade a Babe Ruth autograph. Sounds to me, if the person who pulled the Brett/Ruth has any brains, that Panini will have to give the original jilted collector a second Babe Ruth autograph and let the other guy enjoy what is essentially the greatest baseball card error card ever produced.
This is a reminder to collectors, that as bad as Topps is and has been since becoming the MLB Monopoly, it could always get worse. In this case, much worse. That is why it’s better to spend with the official because like we’ve seen, if you have an MLB license and decide to pull shenanigans, MLB will come down harder than Michael Vick with his new puppies. Boy, that’s a dated reference. Just saying, MLB has a history of “fuck around and find out”, as the dying Upper Deck company knows all too well.
The Baseball Card Blog 