CONSUMERS : A Whole New Ball Game: Talking Baseball Cards

Baseball cards now talk.

Starting April 1, SPORTSTALK will sell a battery-run player and four cards that include such recorded offerings as Orel Hershiser’s advice to the young, Hank Aaron’s motivation for setting baseball’s home run record and announcer Russ Hodges’ call of Bobby Thomson’s pennant-winning home run for the New York Giants in 1951--the exultation “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”

Cards come with players’ pictures and autographs on the front and vinyl recordings laminated on the back. Each recording plays for two minutes. Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Joe Torre of the California Angels interview players, who relive careers and provide tips on life as well as baseball. Athletes interviewed include Eddie Murray, Kirk Gibson and Mike Marshall of the Dodgers; Darryl Strawberry of the New York Mets and California Angel Wally Joyner.

LJN Toys Ltd., which produced the cards, plans a similar line with the National Basketball Assn. and the National Football League.

The manufacturer’s recommended price for cards and player in Los Angeles is $27.99. A price of $4.99 is suggested for each remaining four-card set in the 164-card collection. They will be available at Toys R Us, Target, Karl’s Toys and Price Savers Warehouse Club. For more information write LJN Toys, 1107 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010; phone (212) 243-6565.