A few weeks ago, Reader Scott sent me a great big stack of blank-fronts, blank-backs, wrong-backs, misprints, and miscuts. To celebrate, I've put them with my other screwups in a binder.

The most interesting thing, besides the sheer quantity of screwups Scott sent, is that the blank-fronts he sent were broken down like so: 22 from 1989 Topps; 19 from 1990 Topps; and 14 from 1991 Topps. OK, that's a lot from each of those years. But here's where it gets crazy and leads me to put out a somewhat far-fetched conspiracy theory: the checklist numbers of the cards are grouped. For instance, here are the card numbers for the 1989 group:

237
246
681
685
686
690
691
692
694
697
702
703
716
717
718
722
723
757
783
788
789
792

So, that's like four separate checklist groups (and yes, I think it's awesome that #792 was included in the stack). And the same sort of breakdown is true for the 1990 and 1991 groups, respectively. It leads me to believe that there was at least one entire set from 1989, 1990, and 1991 (if not other years as well) printed as blank-fronts.

In other miscut news: I've been going through boxes, putting together the 1976 set (still need about 150 cards), and in the stacks of commons I've found miscut wrong-backs: Dick Drago (Wilbur Howard/Dave Parker) and Bill North (Father/Son Hegan/Father/Son Smalley).

Also, I offer no explanation on the double-prints, except to say that they may be the coolest cards I've ever seen. And yes, they're blank-backed.

Thanks Scott, you've totally made my year!

I've been silent lately, but I've been thinking. Is there anything more beautiful than a miscut baseball card?

As collectors, we expect certain things from card manufacturers. One is that their design and photography departments are competent enough to create cards that we will want to collect. Another expectation is that the card-cutting machinery at their printing plants work correctly. Because without proper framing, we're just collecting cardboard rectangles.

As collectors, we bring a lot to the table in our understanding of how to read a baseball card. When a card is miscut, it's no longer a card in the most traditional sense. It lacks focus, a subject, or even proper boundaries. Our approach to reading it is thrown off.

A miscut card is cast aside as a goof with no real value. And while I won't argue the monetary value aspect, I've come to appreciate miscut cards as art, and worthy additions to my collection.

So... if you have any miscut cards, any wrong backs, blank backs, or blank fronts, I'd like to trade you for them. (I'm not looking for cards that you've attacked with a pair of scissors, a box of thumbtacks, or those cards covered in tape or with writing on the front. Those will have to wait for another trade proposal.)

If you're interested in trading, you can email me here or by clicking on the image of Clem Labine's wonderfully miscut 1953 Topps card (to the right). Let me know in your email what you'd like in return. I'll post the best cards I receive.

This trade comes in from Scott in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Giving: Tom Glavine, #94 (red back)
Getting: Mike Schmidt 1982 Topps All-Star (wrong back)

Man, I love wrong-backs! They're the best kind of misprints, if you ask me. It looks like a card of Mike Schmidt...but...it's really...Del Unser! And a little bit of George Foster! To quote the esteemed cultural icon Flava Flav: Yeahhhhh boi-yee!