Something in the water

I've wanted this card for years, but never acted it on it until just last week.

It's not a pricey card and can be had for a few bucks, if that. I just let it sit in my eBay saved searched, checking occasionally. While I am actively trying to de-clutter my collection, I decided to make room for it because it's just so cool.

In a very 1990s move, 1998 Flair put a new spin on their popular Wave of the Future insert set. They put actual water - or some form of liquid - inside of the card!

The card is made of a soft plastic, and the liquid has some glitter in it to help it shimmer even more. The card actually reminds me of a baby's teething toys. You know, the kind you freeze so the baby can gnaw their gums on it.

This card is an extreme example, but I miss card companies trying things. I don't call this innovation, but more so how competition breeded the desire to stand out and make an effort to try something new. We don't get that anymore.

Flair was a premium brand, and a card like this was one of the untouchables for a kid growing up. I'm glad to have it 23 years later, and impressed that the wave is still fluid and hasn't dried up. Literally.

What a fun card.

JBF Week: Can we have Mike Lowell back?

In 1999, right before spring training, the Yankees acquired lefty SP prospect Ed Yarnall from the Marlins for 3B Mike Lowell. It honestly wasn't a bad trade at the time. Yarnall was a highly rated SP prospect, and Lowell was an up and coming 3B. The Yanks had just extended Scott Brosius, and didn't have an immediate need for Lowell.

Top prospect for top prospect. Not a bad deal, right? Plus, I had seen Yarnall when he was in AA (played for the Binghamton Mets before going to the Marlins in the Mike Piazza deal) and was a big fan of his.

Well, Yarnall never really amounted to much. He had a handful of appearances with the Yanks in 1999 and 2000, and then was sent to the Reds in the Denny Neagle deal.

Lowell, meanwhile, went on to be an All-Star, Gold Glove, and World Series winner in Florida, then was sent to Boston, where he was a key cog on the 2007 World Series team. Who knows what would have happened if he stayed in NY, but man, did that trade come back to haunt the Yanks!

JBF, thanks for the memory with this sweet auto!