A Big Smile!

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, or even minimally. I have no excuse, except for Life. Sometimes it intervenes.

I have, however, continued to trade and even buy and sell a few cards. Recently, I came upon a card I just had to have. Have you ever come across one of those? You know the card. A player you collect. Maybe your team. Something so incredible that money was no object, or at least you were willing to pay a little more than you normally would.

Well, I had to have this card:

I don't know about you, but it certainly made me smile.

Not only is it a Thome autograph, which I would gladly take, but it is one of the most unique patches, aside from the Cubs' bear rump, I have ever seen. How much more perfect could this card be?!!? Not only is it a larger size patch, but it is a well-designed card with a well-placed sticker auto that is not simply stuck onto the front, but embedded in the card. This one is going right into the PC.

Last Gasp?

Is my luck running out?

Not when it comes to 2009 Sweet Spot.

I haven't had a run of luck like this . . . well . . . ever!

Each pack is getting more expensive ($24 per pack, versus $18 when it first came out) and I have not been exactly getting my money's worth lately - Cody Ross, Nate McLouth, James Shields - when compared to the Hanson and Porcello autos I've pulled in the past, and especially compared to the Kiner bat barrel nameplate that I pulled last fall, which is a case hit. Each of those pulled in $100+ to fund my habit.

So, with one last ditch effort, I broke into a new box of '09 Sweet Spot. I can usually find the auto in the first pack or two, so I picked #5 first. Hmm, not bad, Schoendienst/Brock dual swatch. OK, #6 pack. Delgado relic. Meh.

#4 pack. Winfield relic. OK.

#3 pack. Carlos Lee relic. Uggh!

By this time, I've already spent $96, so I figure I might as well suffer the consequences and go all the way.

#2 pack. Granderson relic. Drats!

OK. Last pack. Tear the top open. Look in. Phew! Thick card there. Must be the Sweet Spot Signature. Pull them out. Slide the base out from in front of the Sweet Spot.

Huh!?!!?!

What's this? Not a Sweet Spot!?!??! Hey, I'm getting shafted again! No darn autogra....

Wait! What's this? A patch?!!!!!

Holy Shitake Mushrooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A patch of Rollie ... no, wait, a patch of Catfish Hunter! Shnikeees! That's a beautiful patch! Another case hit! 18/27! Three color letter from an A's road jersey.

In fact, I think that this is actually the upside-down top of the "A" in "OAKLAND" as far as I can tell. It doesn't book in Beckett (no surprise there), but some knowledgeable friends think it will bring $250-300 on eBay, more in trade.

I think I'll give up now while I'm ahead.

2008 UD Masterpieces

I bought a box of 2008 UD Masterpieces on Saturday at a mall card show for $71, and opened it immediately with Joshua. We couldn't wait to see what treasures awaited us inside this small box. Could there finally be that Derek Jeter autograph that we have been hoping to find? Maybe an A-Rod or Pujols parallel? Even a Pence or Longoria relic, hopefully. What we got, though not as memorable or thrilling, was very pleasing, nonetheless.

2008 UD Masterpieces

• 12 packs, 6 cards per pack
• Base cards: 59
• -doubles: 1
• Black frame parallels: 4 - Greg Maddux, Ernie Banks, Tim Lincecum, Russell Martin
• Red frame parallels: 1 - Whitey Ford
• Grey frame numbered parallels: 1 - Carlos Zambrano #18/25
• Jersey insert: 1 - Justin Verlander
• Patch auto insert: 1 - Brandon Phillips #08/25

The design is too similar to the '07 UD Masterpieces, but still very nice, although several of the photo-based drawings are not very flattering. The Greg Maddux cards (same for base and parallel) show an old, tired pitcher with a paunch, and the Robin Yount, as noted by Thorzul, is a strange portrait in which he is staring at something really scary or he has just been beaned by a Nolan Ryan fastball. The Jonathon Papelbon shows him in his Incredible Hulk pose after striking out a Yankee.

Also, as Thorzul pointed out, there is at least one factual error in the factoid on the back of the cards. Yount did not get the Rookie of the Year award, as stated on the back, and was not even in the top 5 in the voting. Tsk, tsk Upper Deck.

The prize of the box was the Auto Patch of Brandon Philips. It would have been even nicer to get a superstar auto-patch, but this is one beautiful card. It is so thick that only one other card was in the pack with it! It is an elegant simple design with Brandon's signature across the "Patch" watermark, and the patch itself is a three-color seamed portion of the Reds patch from his "game-used" uniform. Very, very nice.

The Whitey Ford is very interesting, also. Whitey has a bit of a clown-face going, and is holding up two balls with black stripes on them. However, upon reading the back of the card, it tells you why he is holding up the two balls: he threw back-to-back one-hitters. According to Baseball Reference, the only other pitcher that I can find since 1956 who did it was Sam McDowell for the Indians in 1966.

All in all, I would say this is as good a product as last year's version. It is beautiful, well-designed, interesting and easy to collect the base set. It is one of my favorites, and is highly recommended.

Final Grade: A- (for the factual errors)