I don't know where I have been to just be seeing this now. But I am SHOCKED and OUTRAGED. Luckily for me Maddux retired and I wont be buying new product much anyhow, however, My interest in the hobby has declined steadily since Donruss was kicked to the curb and this will solidify my Non interest in buying new boxes. Singles are where its at for me.
The MLB wants to attract Kids to a hobby dominated by deeper pockets, yet they will still want to produce cards on higher quality stock, with Superstar Names for auto's. That cost the company money so it will cost the kids money. Returning to the days of 50cent packs full of junk cardboard that is overly produced is obviously not in the picture. Granted with inflation the 1.99 First pitch, opening day products ar the new 50cent packs, But why do the first pitch and opening days sets have to mirror the main sets with little to no real variation?
IMO the card producig companies are out of ideas, which is fine, card collecting is for people who love it, but personally I would rather have 4 companies making cards with a limit of 6-7 Products a year, as opposed to 1 or maybe 2 companies making up to 20 sets a year. Variety is the spice of life, and taking us down to one manufacturer makes collecting bland.
