One of the problems that I occasionally run into has to do with a card that isn't actually a Tigers card, in the generally accepted sense of the term, but would fit the "master set" anyway. It doesn't happen often, and usually there is a pretty easy way to decide whether a particular card fits or doesn't fit, based on some additional context (or just how I feel on a particular day). With that in mind, please tell me what you think of this:
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| 2010 Topps #TOG18 Prince Fielder |
Now, deciding exactly what to do with this card would be much easier if, say, there was a big ol' shot of this guy in the background.
But, as you can most likely tell, Cecil is nowhere to be seen. He's probably taking the picture, or at the ballpark, or something.
Ok, onto the dilemma. The scenario is this: Prince Fielder is the son of Cecil Fielder, a former Detroit Tiger. In his youth, Prince was kind of a Tiger by proxy, which of course doesn't really matter in the context of baseball cards because there are no baseball cards of kids, especially without being shows alongside of their professional parents. Except that this time there is.
This Prince Fielder card recalls the Paul Bunyon-esque legend of the 12 year old son of Big Daddy taking batting practice in Tiger Stadium and smashing balls out of the park. This is a legend I grew up with (being practically the same age as Prince) and was very well known around Detroit. So here's the dilemma. The back of the card recalls the story. The front of the card shows Prince as a kid, at the time when his Dad was on the Tigers. The only affiliation with any major league team, is a Brewers logo on the back, signifying Prince's current team--a team that he had no relationship with until he was drafted, many years after the picture and story on the card take place.
So, I ask, is this a Tigers card? Is this a card that belongs in my Tigers master set?
