FEB 2009: Obscure cards take top prize
The 1916 Babe Ruth Red Sox pitcher card has no batting stats, just pitching, and briefly mentions that "Young George Ruth hits well for a pitcher."
I bought a small lot of these from a comic book store (I won't say which one, because I am their only good buyer of cards, and I don't want to see YOU there!)
This mysterious little package of 14 cards included a 1957 Mickey Mantle that says Mickey "smokes, drinks, and stays out after curfew."
There is another card that explains that Boston's star catcher Marty Bergen (1900) won't be back this year, because he axe-murdered his wife and kids, then slit his own throat during the off-season!
There's another card of Jesus Christ, MVP. The front shows Christ levitating a baseball. The back touts his record of saves, perfect games, sacrifices, etc. and insists he has never stolen a base or been charged with an error.
The 1905 John Anderson covers the dumbest player in history, who tried to steal second base with the bases loaded.
The Ray Chapman (1921) tells how Ray was struck and killed by a beanball thrown by Carl Mays.
There's a card of Midget Eddie Gaedel who walked in his only official At Bat.
There's one of Home Run King Joe Bauman, a guy who hit more homers than Babe Ruth, but wasn't interested in a big-league career.

These are easily the most interesting baseball cards ever created by anyone.
There are several things to like about these weird glossy full-sized cards.
Rarity: Although all of them were produced from 85 until 02, they are even more rare than cards from the turn of the century. Each card is one of only 200 ever created, no reprints, no parallels, nothing. Technically, every one of them is scarcer than a 1909 Honus Wagner.
Fronts: The front of each card is an old-school lithograph produced after professionally colorizing original black & white photos. The card is coated with a high gloss varnished finish - something Topps should have thought of a long time ago. It gives the cards an historic look. The Gil Hodges "Baseball Goes To War" card even has his Bronze Star on the front.
Backs: The backs are easy to read, and not crammed with useless stats. What do I care what he batted in night games against lefties in June? The main stats are there, with an often pithy synopsis.
Overall design: The overall design elevates baseball cards from merely a player's dossier to a work of artistic merit. Rather than produce cards that look back in history, these cards actually take you there. The backs are written in the present tense of the year of that card. The 1950 Jackie Robinson doesn't say "Jackie was named MVP in 1949" it says "Jackie was named MVP last season." For some reason, this present-tense style makes the card much more interesting. I guess it's the difference between saying "the house was on fire" and "the house IS on fire." These cards are designed to look and feel like they were issued during the era they depict.
Book Value: The 14 cards I got cost me $20. Book value is $60+, but let's be real. I'm keeping mine, they're too hard to replace.
These cards mark a transition of baseball cards into an art (and bling cards are not art, they are simply gaudy), and because they are so scarce, and based on their superior appearance, design, and quality of content, I think they could end up being the most valuable cards produced in a century.
CARDHOG FEB 2008
reprinted courtesy of Cardhog's Cardblog