Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

Welcome back to the Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  Today I picked up a set that seems to be a popular one in Blogland.  This one also extends my streak of Upper Deck discount blasters to 4.  I am not a big retro set person and I am not a fan of SPs in a base set, this one has both plus the added factor of non-baseball players that I also can't stand.  So why did I buy this?  I need more trade bait and I need all Rockies other than Todd Helton (luckily 3 of the 4 I need are short prints).  Who knows maybe I'll even like the set enough to collect it, stranger things have happened.

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded



Today's blaster is 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions.  12 4 card packs, nothing guaranteed.


On with the show.


pack one

125 Chris Johnson - East Carolina Pirates (Titans)

4 Jorge Posada - Yankees - Scott

30 Al Kaline - Tigers - Scott

108 Tim Lincecum - Giants - Colbey

pack two

55 Chad Reed - motocross racer - Scott

45 Peyton Manning mini - Tennessee Volunteers (Colts) - Julie

CD-5 John D. Rockefeller -  Citizens of the Day - Julie

23 Kevin Youkilis - Red Sox - claimed by Julie

pack three

86 Brooks Robinson - Orioles

111 Kevin Garnett - Celtics

20th Century Retro 2480 - Philadelphia Phillies - Julie

77 Manny Ramirez - Dodgers - Colbey

pack four

136 Roy Oswalt - Astros - claimed by Julie

10 Vladimir Guerrero - Angels - Scott

78 Jason Varitek mini - Red Sox - Julie

135 Tony Gwynn - Padres - Colbey

pack five

33 Jeff Samardzjia - Cubs - Scott

61 Michael Beasley - Miami Heat - Scott

163 Nyjer Morgan SP - Pirates - Colbey

24 O.J. Mayo - Memphis Grizzlies - Colbey

pack six

91 Todd Helton - Rockies - claimed by Julie

116 Kristi Yamaguchi - figure skating - claimed by Michael S.

135 Tony Gwynn mini - Padres - Colbey

78 Jason Varitek - Red Sox

pack seven

93 Daisuke Matsuzaka - Red Sox - claimed by Michael S.

132 Chien-Ming Wang day - Yankees - Scott

10 Vladimir Guerrero black bordered mini - Angels (Gypsy Queen back) - Julie

137 Prince Fielder - Brewers

pack eight

143 Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls

20 Grady Sizemore day - Indians - Scott

213 Erik Bedard mini - Mariners - Scott

56 Ozzie Smith (day? night?) - Cardinals - Colbey

pack nine

47 Nick Markakis - Orioles

75 Carlton Fisk - Red Sox

102 Curtis Granderson - Tigers

109 Chad Billingsley - Dodgers - Colbey

pack ten

128 Bill Rodgers - marathon runner (really?) - Scott

12 Matt Cain - Giants - Scott

23 Kevin Youkilis mini - Red Sox - claimed by Michael S.

52 Nolan Ryan - Mets - Colbey

pack eleven

36 Lyndon Johnson - U.S. President - Scott

64 Alex Rodriguez - Yankees - Scott

119 Carl Yastrzemski - Red Sox - Scott

98 Jason Giambi - Athletics - Colbey

pack twelve

71 Adrian Gonzalez - Padres

99 Ben Roethlisberger - Miami Redhawks (Steelers)

94 Adrian Peterson mini - Oklahoma Sooners (Vikings) - claimed by Jeremy

54 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs - Colbey

IMPRESSIONS
Design:  B-
Well the design is actually quite good for what it is.  Although I don't quite get why some are photos and some are painted.  Example, the Michael Beasley is a photo and the O.J. Mayo is a painting.  I do like the inclusion of the old Cubs logo on the Fukudome as well.  The night and day stuff is confusing because the Ozzie Smith looks like it could be dusk or dawn.  If you know whether this is the day or night version let me know please.

Inserts / Hits: C+
To be fair to this set, it does have one interesting insert.  I like the Citizens of the Day set and that is simply because I am a history buff.  As an insert they work fine, my biggest problem with them is the insertion into base sets.  I don't even object to historical inserts in main flagship sets, I like the Presidential ones from 2008.  The minis (I got 7) are useless in my mind, although I know a lot of you love them.

Value: D-
By my count, I got 22 current regular baseball cards (and 7 retired ones) in this blaster, and 19 others.  Even at the discounted price of $11.99 it didn't work for me.  I did get at least one short print (Nyjer Morgan and maybe the Ozzie) though.

Rox in the Box: 1
Ugh, I got the only Rockie I already had, actually I already had 3 of it.


Will I Collect This Set: F
Nope.  It hits just about every one of my pet peeves about modern card collecting.  Short prints, non-baseball players in the base set, retired players in the base set, retro design, minis, ridiculous gimmickry (night and day cards) and uneven distribution of teams (8 of the 29 were either Yankees or Red Sox).

Overall: D
If the market wasn't overrun by retro sets, the grade would be higher.  Or if the title on the pack wasn't Upper Deck presents Major League Baseball Goodwin Champions it would be higher.  My biggest fix for this set would be to make the SPs all the non-baseball players, if both have to be present.  I will definitely not be buying this set ever again.  Everything is for trade, hopefully for the Rockies in this set so i can put it to bed for good.