On deck with the Hammer.

Well, I got on to post last night and found that Blogger was down. It didn't come back up before I had to hit the sack.

Since I missed yesterday's game-used or autograph post I decided to make it up with this 2004 Topps All-Star Appeal card of Hank Blalock. This is actually one of my favorite cards in this category for a couple of reasons.

First is the piece of on-deck circle. There are quite a few cards that feature pieces of uniforms and bats, an on-deck circle is a little different. Not sure what would possess a card company to put it in a card or how they could link it to Hank Blalock but there it is.

Second is the numbering. I'm an early to mid 1990's nerd when it comes to cards. As such I am a sucker for numbered cards. The idea of there only being an exact number out there and knowing which one I have is something I have always found interesting.

The third reason that I like this card is a little harder to see in the scan. The autograph is on a sticker, is the correct player, and is right side up. The sticker is upside down though. That means that Hank signed the sticker upside down. That also means that an alert Topps employee figured out what happened and flipped the sticker over before placing it on the card.

So there's the three reasons why this card stands out in my collection.