You ever see something old that looks pretty ridiculous on its face, but then, after you study it a bit, consider its historical context … well, still looks pretty ridiculous, but maybe makes a bit more sense than it did?

Things like …

Your senior photo.

Those flattish aluminum McDonald’s ashtrays.

The Sony Discman.

Fat umpires.

None of them seem attached to reality in the context of 2022, but put them in their own place and time, and they served a purpose.

Or at least fit their era.

Ready for another one? A baseball card one?

OK, try this on for size …

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Why 3K?

Ridiculous question, right?

3K because George Brett was one of the greatest hitters of his generation.

3K because 3000 hits is a crowning achievements for great, long-lived hitters … even in today’s game.

3K because Brett hit .305 over the course of his 21-year career, as detailed to some degree on the back of his Upper Deck “Why 3K?” card …

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“Why 3K?”, indeed!

Hmmph.

Ridiculous.

But …

If you look at the back of that card again and read the fine print, it starts to make sense — at least a little — if it didn’t already.

See …

This card was part of the 2000 Upper Deck Hitter’s Club set, a 90-card issue released only in retail outlets.

The set celebrated (surprise!) star hitters, and was broken up into three sections — 50 base cards, 22 “Why 3K?” cards featuring (again, surprise!) hitters with 3000+ career safeties, and 17 “Hitting the Show” cards featuring young star-types.

Oh, and a single checklist, featuring Ken Griffey, Jr.

So … do you see it now?

“Why 3K?”

Issued in 2000?

When we had just finished panicking our fool heads off?

Because we had been going to divide-by-zero ourselves into oblivion?

But we came out the other side pretty much unscathed?

Yeah, we survived Y2K.

“Why 3K?”, though?

It’s a pun that’s aged about as well as that Betamax reference manual you used to prop up one side of your CRT.

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You know what have aged well? George Brett baseball cards in general, as evidenced by this YouTube rundown of the most expensive Mullet pasteboards sold on eBay during February of 2022 …