Paul Blair, 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes MLB 125th Anniversary #211

With baseball card companies routinely tapping into the nostalgia cash cow, we're inundated on a yearly basis by reprints of old cards, recycled versions of bygone card designs, and brand new cards featuring retired players. But rarely do you see a former player photographed in the here and now. In this case, the "here and now" is now 17 years past, but you get my drift. I am all about this candid snapshot of a 49-year-old Paul Blair partaking in an Old-Timers Game, and looking pretty fit doing it. I could do without the Upper Deck product placement, but that 1993-vintage Orioles uniform fits him like a glove. The photographer also caught him in mid-sentence, an appropriate pose for a man nicknamed "Motormouth".

At its heart this blog is about baseball players and baseball cards, and it's a simple message tonight. Two thumbs up for this card.