Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez Like October

Well, well, well, what do we have here?

I'll tell you exactly what we have.  We have an awesome Postseason in Major League Baseball.  Two players who have helped make it so awesome just happen to be former Phillies, Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth.  It's bittersweet to see these two helping out other teams in October when their former team, and my favorite of course, is sitting at home in front of big screen tvs.

Let's take a look at their rookie cards.  Just because we can.

Werth's card is a 1997 Bowman, card number #433.

As you can see, he started out with the Baltimore Orioles, and was sort of a nerdy looking guy.  Much different from the caveman he is today.  Check out this stark contrast:

Raul Ibanez's rookie card is a 1996 Bowman, #267.  Here it is, in all its tacky glory:

I don't know if I've seen an uglier baseball card design.  I mean, I probably have, but this one is right up there with the ugliest.  The Bowman logo in the upper left corner is barely readable, encased in red.  The green line under it gives the feel of Christmas.  The tan border with little white squares mixed in is plain old horrible.  I don't understand the need for or the meaning of the off color triangle in the lower left corner.  The name is hard to read, and it is screaming at us in ALL CAPS.  Nothing on this card makes sense to me.

This is Raul today, still bald. Yesterday he had the two biggest hits of his career in the same game.  Can you imagine what the rush must be like?  This is the stuff people dream of on the playgrounds as little kids. So few get to experience the euphoria, however.  

Raul hit the jackpot, twice.