7th Inning Stretch with Scott Fragale - Not So Deep Thoughts: UD getting licensed renewed from MLBPA not a surprise

Not So Deep Thoughts: UD getting licensed renewed from MLBPA not a surprise
Posted by Tuff Stuff

It was just announced the Major League Baseball Players Association renewed Upper Deck's trading card license. While the news may come as somewhat of a shock to some within the hobby, I never heard anything more than a few unsubstantiated rumors and now we know for sure they were just that.

The rumors that were circulating talked of an exclusive deal being UPPER DECK NEW logo.jpg

formulated for either Topps or Panini, but that was likely based on pure speculation after the NBA's surprising decision to grant an exclusive license to newcomer Panini in the basketball card market. But the two sports couldn't be more different both on the playing field and within the hobby.

In its 20-year history with MLB, Upper Deck has produced some products that were both innovative and appealing to the eye at the same time. But more importantly from the MLBPA's standpoint was UD's commitment to growing the hobby and ultimately creating a new generation of collectors. In case you haven't noticed, kids of the last two decades or so have abandoned the hobby quicker than you can say World of Warcraft and the MLBPA was looking for the card companies to step up, spend some big-time dollars in an effort to get those kids back in the hobby.

Well, Upper Deck made a comittment to try and get the kids to stop tearing into zombies and gangsters and start tearing into packs instead and that effort made them an easy choice for getting the renewed deal with the MLBPA.

Not to say the other card companies haven't stepped up their recruiting efforts with kids as well, but UD's UpperDeckU virtual online game is actually something today's children can relate to, and most importantly, enjoy playing enough that they continue to come back to it. It's an innovative approach to attract the next generation of collectors. Much like UD's products were when they first hit the scene back in 1988, their new approach is different from most of the rest and that's what appears to have made it an instant success.

Thursday, July 02, 2009 8:54:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Saturday, July 04, 2009 1:48:14 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Christie Merkle

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