The Baseball Card Clubhouse gives children the opportunity to learn more about baseball cards, while having lots of fun. Participants receive free baseball cards at the events, courtesy of the MLBPA.  The following video explains what the Baseball Card Clubhouse is all about:

For more information about the MLB Players Association's Baseball Card Clubhouse, check out their website.

Donruss released a statement early Tuesday regarding their illicit inclusion of Wade Miley cards inside boxes of their recently released 2008 Prime Cuts IV Baseball Card Product.  Miley signed an exclusive 3 year contract with industry newcommer Razor Entertainment in 2008 which expressively forbade Miley's inclusion in any products not produced by Razor.

Donruss explained their side of the situation via their written press release:

"Due to a production error at the time of pack-out, some 31 copies of a Wade Miley card mistakenly were inserted into packs of 2008 Playoff Prime Cuts Baseball.

Donruss officials believed they had a deal with Miley during the production cycle of Prime Cuts, but when it became apparent Miley was exclusive property of another manufacturer, Donruss pulled Miley cards before pack-out. "These few just slipped by," a Donruss representative said. "It's an honest mistake, and one we regret."

There are no Miley autograph redemption cards."

Bernice Gallego, 72, and her husband, Al Gallego, 80, have been in the business of selling collectibles since 1974.  Their Fresno, CA antique store, Collectique, has been the staging area for their collectibles business for almost as long.

Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day, and began listing items on eBay. She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and admired the picture. "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the card read, under which stood a photograph of 10 men with their socks pulled up to their knees. The card itself was dirty and wrinkled in a few places. This, she thought, has potential. As a collector and seller, it's her job to spot old items that might have value today, to find the gems among the junk. This card, she thought to herself, was worth selling on eBay.

She originally listed the card on ebay for $10, but due to a flurry of responces to her listing she quickly reevaluated the pricing of the item. Based on the large amount of interest in the baseball card, she felt that it could be worth $50, maybe even $100.  Or, as Bernice Gallego came to find out in the following weeks, it could be worth a lot more.

The card is actually 139 years old. It, and a handful of others like it, are considered the first baseball cards. Experts say that Bernice's 1869 Cincinnati Red Stocking Card could fetch up to six figures at the right Sports Collectibles Auction.

Bernice told The Fresno Bee, "I didn't even know baseball existed that far back.  I don't think that I've ever been to a baseball game."

And where, you ask, did the Gallegos make such a fantastic vintage baseball card find?

"We really don't know where we got it," Gallego says. "We don't even know how long we owned this thing."

The theory is that the card came out of a storage space they bought a few years back. It's not uncommon in their line of work to buy the entire contents of storage units, usually from a relative of a recently deceased person, for about $200.

Upon discovering the incredible history behind their find, the Gallegos headed south to Los Angeles, bound for the headquarters of PSA.  They chose not to have the card graded, deciding that authentication would be enough given the card's extreme scarcity.

"It does have some pretty significant discoloration and creasing," says Joe Orlando, the president of PSA. "The good news is that the sepia tone photo that is mounted on the front is, relatively speaking, unscathed. The clarity of the photo is still there. If this were graded, it would be near the bottom. But even for a card that low on the grading scale, it does have some eye appeal to it. It still presents fairly well, and that's the more important thing."

Before the Cincinnati Red Stockings, there were no professional baseball teams. Formed in 1868, the team set the foundation for what we know today as Major League Baseball.  They were the best of the best, winning games by as many as 30, 40 and 50 runs.

In 1869, the team's picture ended up on the front of a card advertising Peck & Snyder, a company that sold baseball equipment. Unlike modern baseball cards, the Peck & Snyder card was larger and focused on the whole team, not individual players.

"It really provides a time capsule for the game," says Orlando of PSA. "You look at the picture and the guys are wearing boots. They don't use gloves at that point. The classic uniforms. It was a completely different game at that time."

"Because I love history, the thing that really got to me was that it's a photo, a real photo of real people, basically taken right after the Civil War," Gallego says. "That's what got to me. I don't know much about them. Who are they? What are they thinking? Those kind of questions go through my mind."

Next is the big question: How much is this card worth? The Gallegos are content to put it on eBay and "let it fly."

Orlando offers: "The last one that I'm aware, it sold about a year to a year and a half ago, and it sold for well into five figures. You have to let the market decide what it's worth when you're dealing with something this scarce, because there's just not the market history to determine it."

Plans are to put the card back on eBay, though the auction is expected to draw a little more attention this time, thanks to the couple's longtime friend (and baseball card expert) Rick Mirigian, who is already plotting marketing and sales strategies for the rare item.

Mike DeRose of Chandler, AZ took the art of the box break video to a new level Wednesday Night when he published a box break video on Youtube in which he proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Julia Carvell, by hiding an engagement ring in a box of 2008 Ultimate Collection Baseball that they were opening for the video.

DeRose set the stage for his elaborate proposal by approaching Upper Deck Marketing Manager Chris Carlin regarding his request to hide an engagement ring in a box of sports cards at the couple's favorite card shop, Pete Liu's Showtime Sports Cards in Tempe, AZ.

DeRose approached Chris Carlin, Upper Deck's Marketing Manager, about his plan more then a year ago.

The 23 year old collecting casanova told The Chandler Republic, "I wanted to propose close to Christmas time, so Chris told me my two choices were Upper Deck's 'Sweet Spot' or 'Ultimate' collections. I chose the latter because it just sounded so perfect."

DeRose, a lifelong Yankees fan, figured he'd have his girlfriend examine several boxes of the team's cards until she came across the box that held the ring.

Carlin had the engagement ring placed in a special fold out card that was thick enough to properly accomadate the prize. As Carvell broke the box containing the special card she was greeted by writing on the outside flap of the card that read "The Ultimate Proposal". As she opened the card she came across more writing on the card's inside flap: "Will You Marry Me?".

Timing it with the actual release date of 2008 Ultimate Collection Baseball, the company shrink wrapped the box to make it appear as if it came directly from its manufacturing facility.

After a two-night stay in Vegas, DeRose and his fiancé drove to Pete Liu's for the magic moment.

Carvell opened two collections before discovering the ring.

"She was blown away," said DeRose. "She never saw it coming."

Carvell added, "It definitely was 'The Ultimate Proposal'."

Donruss has released yet another batch of new pictures from 2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Baseball.  The pictures showcase cards from both of Prime Cuts IV's cut signature insert sets (Souvenir Stadium Cuts and Souvenir Cuts), as well as a number of cards from the product's Memorabilia Combo Inserts.  For more information, check out our full product breakdown of 2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Baseball.

Souvenir Cuts & Souvenir Stadium Cuts:

View More Pictures

Memorabilia Combos:

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts BASEBALL Sealed Hobby Box    US $157.50

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Baseball Pack Box    US $113.50

2008 PLAYOFF PRIME CUTS IV BASEBALL BOX    US $192.49

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Baseball Sealed Hobby Box    US $.99

2008 PLAYOFF PRIME CUTS IV BASEBALL HOBBY BOX    US $90.89

2008 Prime Cuts Baseball Base Card Lot 249 19    US $1.99

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Baseball Sealed Hobby Box    US $85.88

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts 4 Baseball Hobby Box    US $220.95

2008 PLAYOFF PRIME CUTS IV BASEBALL HOBBY BOX HOT    US $225.00

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A plethora of Hall of Famers from Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb, to Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio headline the list of baseball legends whose cut autographs will appear in the soon to be released 2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV Set.  Prime Cuts IV, scheduled for nationwide release on Wednesday (12/24), will feature two different cut autograph insert sets: Souvenir Cuts and Souvenir Stadium Cut.

Souvenir Cuts are cut autographs that are serial numbered #/5 or less, including a number of  1/1's. Souvenir Stadium Cuts, which are also serial numbered #/5 or less, pays tribute to Yankee Stadium. The design of the cards features a picture of the recently retired stadium and the checklist of players appearing in Stadium Cuts includes Legendary Yankees from the past, as well as noteworthy players who played in Yankee Stadium at some point in their careers.

The exception with the numbering of the cut signatures is DiMaggio, as there are 500 cut DiMaggio signatures in the product – 250 Souvenir Cuts and 250 Souvenir Stadium Cuts.

Donruss' Baseball Product Brand Manager, Mike Payne, said via written press release, "No product has ever featured this many DiMaggio cut signatures.  It's an incredible amount and definitely enhances the odds of pulling one."

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV: Souvenir Stadium Cuts Checklist

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts IV: Souvenir Cuts Checklist