Bad Wax

Player Name: Jason Giambi

Card Sets: 1991  Topps Traded

Card Numbers: 45T

Why are these cards must have?: Jason always had the power, what the steroids did for him, and just one look at his stats proves it, is improve his average.  He went from a 0.300+ hitter to a 0.240 hitter.  What is interesting is that he is currently 37 years old, he had one of the best seasons since coming clean.  He signed a deal this off season with Oakland where he will split time playing first base and DH, meaning that it’s going to be a 3 way platoon between him, Daric Barton and Jack Cust.  I do think that Giambi is capable of putting up another 0.245/30/90 season, as long as he gets his at bats.  He won’t eclipse 500 home runs so for now the Hall of Fame isn’t even an option.  He is at least 4-5 years away from that plateau and this year he would be 38, it’s hard for me to believe he will be around until he is 42, let alone 39.  So the question becomes, what of his legacy?  Unfortunately for Giambi, he will be the other steroids poster boy (other than Canseco).  His numbers will always be thought of as bogus (even though I don’t think it helped as much as you think).  Someone left a comment on the site that at the time steroids were not illegal to use in baseball.  I think baseball took the stance that steroids are illegal in the US, so why would they have to dictate it be illegal in it’s bylaws?  The truth is to even have your name associated with steroids means that there is enough evidence.  So should players from the steroid era enter the Hall?  Yes, as long as their name was never conected to steroids.  It sounds like a cop out, but if you live your life clean enough to not have your name come up and your stats dictate that you should be in the Hall, then in this day and age, with regard to the media, you can’t hide steroid use.  You live clean and have a clean name upon 5 years after retring, then you can enter.  It’s just my two cents. 

Scale of 1 – 10, how must have are these cards: 5, his numbers dictate a higher number, but Giambi is moreof a mustached circus act.  The cool part of this card is that he was so young, and he was years away from getting into the bigs (1995 was his rookie year).  The card books for $5, but on eBay it’s running $1 and more if graded ($9).  Great card to own, just so that you have a piece of baseball history.  How a lanky skinny, no muscle boy can turn into a WWE wrestler’s body man.  Like I said, poster boy for steroid use.