Card Spotlight: 4-3-09

Absolute Memorabilia #34 - Keith Foulke

Even though the intricacies of the foil do not scan well, the basic idea is still displayed in this card. The card itself is speckled with green, blue and gold. It makes a semi-rainbow effect that is very pleasing to the eye.

Keith Foulke was the same way on the White Sox. His contributions looked nice enough, but it didn't translate on the field as much as the fans would have liked. I can still remember being very high on Keith Foulke. Ultimately, I was disappointed. I was still a little bitter when Keith was traded to the A's for Billy Koch. The prospect of Koch eased the sting though. I knew Keith's limitations, but was unaware that Billy was about to implode.

Foulke exploded when he left Chicago. Eventually, he would up on the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox and closed out the final game. Then the bottom fell out and Keith ended up resembling Billy Koch as a reliable closer.

It just goes to show that sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Everyone in Chicago thought the White Sox were trading a very good closer for a great one. It doesn't always work out the way it's envisioned.

As for the card, I feel that it sums up Foulke's time with the White Sox. It's shiny. It gives a lot of hope, but it's just window dressing when you realize how many more pitchers (or parallels) there are. And Absolute Memorabilia (more so parent company Donruss) was all about the parallels. For some strange reason this particular card only has two parallels.

Nice restraint, Donruss. Nice restraint.