2005 Leaf Baseball

Let's face it: We've all been suckered into Leaf's twisted web of deception before. While Leaf's 1990 set still books at $60, nothing that has come down the pike since has been worth buying. Not 1991, with its shiny puzzle and silver-and-black design. Not 1993, with its gold ribbon/medal foil stamping. And not 2005, despite Albert Pujols on the pack.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
70 Bobby Higginson
151 Eric Milton
134 Bernie Williams

139 Jorge Posada Black Logo Parallel
245 Scott Proctor
128 Kazuo Matsui
116 Jacque Jones
132 Tom Glavine

Grade: C-
Let's see... a Tiger, a Phillie, three Yankees, two Mets, and a Twin. The people in charge of regional distribution got it all wrong and sent this pack to Wisconsin, when it was clearly destined for New York City. ("New York City?! This ain't Pace Picante Sauce!! Get a rope!")
The design is ass-ugly, looking like something that an ESPN graphics intern sketched onto the back of a napkin, thought better of, balled up and threw away, when it somehow landed in the Donruss design team offices. The little fading black squares on the bottom left are also a little too NASCAR-ry for my taste.

The only redeeming factor of this pack is the Jacque Jones card. He looks to be contemplating stealing third, or possibly getting ready to tag up at second, but his decision-making ability is being hampered by a powder-blue throwback Twins jersey that is three sizes too large for him. See what us small-market teams have to put up with?! While citizens of Yankeeville and Mets Land get their players five-to-a-pack, everyone between the coasts has to settle for players with hand-me-down uniforms, generic-brand sunflower seeds, and hot showers only on alternating days of the week. Revenue sharing my ass!