Featured pickup: 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Idols Quad Swatch Memorabilia card #237

Don Mattingly - October 4, 2005
3-for-6 RBI with a walk in Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS

Derek Jeter - September 21, 2008
0-for-5 - despite going hitless in the last game at Yankee Stadium, he is the all-time hit leader, surpassing Lou Gehrig.

Manny Ramirez - July 6, 2008
0-for-1 - struck out by Mariano Rivera on three straight pitches in what may have been the deciding game for Boston Red Sox management and their players to come together and say 'we have to trade Manny now.'

David Ortiz - August 24, 2008
0-for-2 with two walks

This was an appropriate card to note the last game played at Yankee Stadium Sunday night - I dug around to look for the featured players' last appearance at Yankee Stadium and to see how they did.

I don't know if the price I paid for the card was a good deal or not - but my standard saying is it is worth the price is what I paid for it, no more and maybe less. My cap is probably $10 on picking-up any 'midlevel' or strictly 'low-end' singles.

I'll look for a 'topper' to my collection - like a card or something once in a while when I have the chance and when I feel like I'm not breaking the bank.

The card is probably more common than I can imagine [it is listed as part of the base set and not an insert] - but features jersey pieces [game-used cards are oversaturated to the point of pissing off collectors looking for something worth more] from Don Mattingly [pinstripe], Derek Jeter [pinstripe], Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

I wanted to find an 'acceptable' player combination featuring Jeter and figured two of the most prominent players [Manny and Big Papi] from the No. 1 rivals would be suitable - I don't see where Mattingly immediately fits in and can see where someone who played in the last five years being a more ideal subject for the quad card.

On the other hand, Donnie Baseball kept the Yankees relevant - through a World Series dry spell in the 1980s and is considered a franchise legend, probably more beloved [particularly by New York Yankees' fans] than many Hall of Famers enshrined in Cooperstown.