MLB's 'Carded' goes global to start new season

March 19th, 2024

The regular season is nearly upon us and that means MLB.TV's "Carded," is back, too. That's right: The only show that caters to the cardboard crowd has returned for a full slate of episodes and the first one is ready to stream on MLB.TV.

This time around, the show gets things started by going worldwide. Just as the Dodgers and Padres are set to begin the MLB season in Korea, here you'll learn how to say "baseball card" in a bevy of different languages:

From there, the team heads to Seattle to meet with Kraken goalkeeper Joey Daccord. When the Kraken hosted the NHL's Winter Classic earlier this winter at the Mariners' T-Mobile Park, Daccord wanted to make sure he had an appropriate mask for the occasion. Enter: His headgear covered in playing cards featuring all-time Mariners greats like Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr., alongside modern stars Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez.

What does a ballplayer think of baseball card autographs years before they ever reach the Majors? Well, if you're former MLB pitcher and current SNY broadcaster Ron Darling, you've already prepared for it.

"Most baseball players when they were little kids, will take a baseball card of their favorite person and will practice their autograph on it," Darling said. "In case, someday, they're a baseball player, and they can write their name and see what it looks like as an autograph."

"Carded" then followed Darling as he went about his day at a card show, seeing just what it's like to be signing autos for hundreds of hungry fans.

One tip from the Mets' 1986 World Series winner: It turns out, "The cheaper the pen, the better it signs on the ball."

While you've likely come across more than a few "slabbed" baseball cards -- those being the gem mints graded and protected in their own little case -- you may not know just how the cards earn those perfect 10s. Now you can go behind the scenes to find out just what it means when you use a grading service.

Finally, the show wraps up as it always must: with a pack rip! This one is a little extra special, though, as new Hall of Famers Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer flipped through some cards.