Peter; that is one reason
Why the number of products in baseball (and the number of manufacturers) have been shrinking in recent years as per the dictum of MLB and MLBPA.
My numbers may be a bit off here; but in 2004 we had approximately 90 different products (or one issued ever 4 days) by 4 manufacturers. If MLB gets their way with Topps (*N.B.* -- I Don't know all these details so this is a guess as a number); there will be between 15-20 products issued in 2010; all by Topps. Of course; Upper Deck still wants to produce cards in 2010; and we'll see what the final decision is. I suspect there will be many twists and turns over the next few months. (Or read that article Bruce posted and see the comments about UD in 2009)
90+ products in 2004 was way to many; especially with the inserts -- and at this point of time; we'll see how many products really should be issued in 2010 and going further.
Rich
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