Frozen in time

When you get down to it, sports cards are really just photographs. Whether printed on chipboard, white stock, acetate, metal....you name it. It's really a record of the person at the moment of the shutter flash. Barring an accident, the only way to wipe the record is to destroy the image before it's saved anywhere. However, the moment it's printed on cardboard, it a part of history for perpetuity. And just like the time you brought that girl (or boy) home and mom pulled out the photo album to show a shot of you nude on a beat skin rug, it's a record of how you looked then, compared to the you that exists now.

Home of the Whopper, indeed.

Since I constantly mess with my cards, I started to notice how players have changed over the year. Take Wilbur Wood.

Second year Wilbur in the Red Sox organization, sporting his 22 year old face in the 1964 set.

Move forward 14 years and Wood has a few more lines on his face. He put on some weight, too, but he's looking thin in the image. How about recently retired Paul Konerko?

A planned future catcher for the organization, we all know he was sent to the Red, then ended up here in Chicago finishing his career last September.

More miles on the body and a World Series championship in the pocket, Paul said goodbye to the fans.

25 year old Jim Thome relaxing on the dugout steps. I know I have his '92 rookie around somewhere, but damned if I can find it.

Trips to the Phillies, White Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles got Jim in a lot of uniforms, and put a lot of age on his face.

Holy crap. Every time I see this card I think it must be someone else. No way Junior was ever this...er... junior. That's a kid getting in trouble in the lunch room and being sent to the dean's office.

Many sore backs and home runs later, Griff was ready to call it a career and wait for Cooperstown to announce his name.

It's not just baseball. See, when you look at thi..... hold up. Wait. That's the wrong side of the card. My fault. I meant to post the back of the card. Let me get this back on the scanner.

That's what I meant to show. Look at the proud dad and his beaming, pudgy little girl. Having a problem placing her? Maybe this will help.

Yup. That would be Instagram darling Paulina Gretzky. She definitely changed in the past 20 years.