America's pastime was outperformed last week by England's footballers. In last week's IPOs, English football very nearly outsold baseball. David Beckham sold 4,676 cards at a $6.50 IPO price, while Joe Mauer sold 4,888 cards at the same price. Both sets also had new short prints, but the England football short print (Nicky Butt, 1,283) actually sold 15 cards more than the baseball short print (Brian Giles, 1,267). Perhaps it is not surprising outside of eTopps that the world's most recognized soccer player outsold a rookie prospect for a small market baseball team, but it must be a sign of the success of the England football cards for eTopps as well as the fading attraction of the 2004 baseball set with one the top 2004 rookies not selling out.

This week's baseball IPOs are heavy on eTopps first timers. Five of the six cards offered at IPO have not had a previous eTopps card. While all are solid players, they are unlikely to create a lot of excitement, and the list of IPOs has already led to a lot of grumbling on the eTopps' message boards. Perhaps even without the Beckham draw, some of the England football players will give some of the baseball players a chase for most IPO sales this week.

Carlos Lee (2,500 @ $4.50)

The White Sox left fielder attracted increased attention in 2003 with 31 homers and 113 RBIs. He has solid stats again in 2004, though somewhat below both his 2003 performance and several of his eTopps performance bonus category thresholds. If he could consistently boost both his batting average and his power, Lee could become an All-Star caliber player, but right now remains a step below that level. Lee is a good addition for White Sox fans and set collectors looking to diversify their collection rather than gain a fourth-year card of an all-star, but for most I recommend DO NOT BUY this card at IPO.

Jamie Moyer (2,500 @ $5.00)

Even before a single vote is cast for John Kerry or George W. Bush, or before eTopps unveils whether there will be any vote-in candidates for the 2004 baseball set, Moyer is the first winning candidate of 2004. While we may never know whether the pressure of an ad hoc eTopps message board campaign for "Moyer in 2004" or his late-career blossoming led to his inclusion in the set, Moyer has received his first eTopps card. If those that campaigned for him buy his card, he may also be the only sellout this week. But that will lead to an overproduced card that would require extensive accumulation to hold the IPO price because only a small handful of 2004 baseball cards have held a price of $5.00 or more. He will need to lower his ERA to have a chance for a performance bonus, but if he can do so and avoid many losses he should meet the win and strikeout targets. I recommend DO NOT BUY this card at IPO, but monitor his performance bonus stats as the season matures.

Jose Guillen (2,500 @ $4.50)

In addition to Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon, Guillen was a key addition for the Angels in their effort to return to the World Series. The Angels are his sixth major league team in just seven seasons. He is exceeding or near the performance bonus thresholds in every category (just a smudge low for on-base percentage), but he would need career highs in several categories, including RBIs and stolen bases, to earn the bonus. Paired with Guerrero and Garret Anderson in the outfield, Guillen adds to one of the strongest outfields in the majors. But his traveling from team to team has made it hard for him to develop a fan base equal to his talent, so this card is not likely to benefit from the fan loyalty of cards like Jamie Moyer. I recommend DO NOT BUY this card at IPO.

Ken Harvey (2,500 @ $5.75)

The Royals' second-year first baseman has emerged strongly in 2004. His .354 batting average is a surprise to many after hitting .266 in 135 games during his rookie year, and this average currently puts him in the top three in the American League. He is above pace in all performance bonus categories, and even has stolen one of the two required stolen bases. If he keeps consistent at the plate and especially if he gets that second stolen base, this card may rise in price as people start hunting for performance bonus candidates. Further, the slightly higher price and lower maximum print run may keep this card at a lower print run than the main alternative this week, Michael Young. While I do not think the performance bonus is a certainty, I think this card may have some price fluctuations that make it a reasonable chance to take at IPO. If it should fall below IPO price, some may start accumulating multiples to take a chance at the performance bonus. I give this card a weak BUY at IPO.

Michael Young (3,750 @ $5.25)

Michael Young had one of the largest pairs of shoes to fill in baseball, and the Rangers' shortstop has helped Texas move to the post A-Rod era. He is currently on pace to hit his performance bonus in all 5 categories, but to earn the two points he will need to keep up career best numbers in his fourth major league season in every category. Even if he fades later in the season, he may have strong enough statistics to potentially earn a spot next to his former colleague at the All-Star game. I recommend BUY this card at IPO.

Pedro Martinez (3,750 @ $4.50)

Pedro remains one of baseball's top pitchers and a solid fantasy game asset, but it is hard to see how this fourth year card will perform well. While last week Brian Giles' fourth year card was so unattractive that it at least temporarily became the short print of this year's set, too many people will buy the popular Pedro (deservedly so) for this card to challenge for the short print. And with the 2003 edition having only 1,754 issued and a recent 7-day average below $3.00, this card seems to be heading down in price. Pedro will need to lower his ERA by about half a point to challenge for performance bonus. I recommend DO NOT BUY this card at IPO.

This week's best buy is Michael Young. Hopefully the approaching all-star break, some players rallying nearer to their performance bonus thresholds, the return of the CardTarget Market, and the attention of the upcoming National convention/Econ 2.0 will help a midsummer resurrection for some of the prices in this set. Otherwise, we eTopps baseball collectors may only have the final series of the Classics series to look forward to in the coming weeks.