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 Goudey. 8 eight card packs, nothing guaranteed.
On with the show.
pack one
82 Lance Berkman - Astros
22 Jason Bay - Red Sox
35-35 4 in 1 Upton/Longoria/Pena/Crawford green border - Rays
35-55 4 in 1 Jones/Wright/Atkins/Ramirez red border - various 3B
135 Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
147 Mark Teahan - Royals
148 Jack Cust - Athletics
184 Evan Longoria - Rays
pack two
94 Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers
32 Daisuke Matsuzaka - Red Sox
20 Cal Ripken Jr. - Orioles
208 Nolan Ryan - Rangers SP - Brian
UD 20th Retro - 907 Vladimir Guerrero - Expos
195 Vernon Wells - Blue Jays
136 Chien-Ming Wang - Yankees
124 Jonathon Niese - Mets
pack three
70 Carlos Guillen - Tigers
10 James Parr - Braves
66 Garrett Atkins - Rockies
54 Jay Bruce - Reds
78 Josh Johnson - Marlins
159 Brad Lidge - Phillies
111 Ben Sheets - Brewers
196 Alex Rios - Blue Jays
pack four
34 Curt Schilling - Red Sox
90 Mark Teixeira - Yankees
42 Carlos Zambrano - Cubs
35-44 Kendrick/Guerrero/Hunter/Figgins red border - Angels
183 David Price - Rays
171 Matt Cain - Giants
160 Edwin Encarnacion - Reds
112 CC Sabathia - Yankees
pack five
77 Dan Uggla - Marlins
46 Ken Griffey Jr. - Mariners
284 Ryan Braun Heads Up - Brewers SP - Spiegel
39 Aramis Ramirez mini green back - Cubs
170 Wade LeBlanc - Padres
123 John Maine - Mets
128 Johan Santana - Mets
172 Tim Lincecum - Giants
pack six
41 Kerry Wood - Indians
65 Dexter Fowler - Rockies
18 Nick Markakis - Orioles
6 Dan Haren - Diamondbacks
114 J.J. Hardy mini green back - Brewers
134 Phil Hughes - Yankees
176 Erik Bedard - Mariners
131 Francisco Cervelli - Yankees
pack seven
5 Brandon Webb - Diamondbacks
89 Vladimir Guerrero - Angels
79 Carlos Lee - Astros
91 Garret Anderson - Braves
3 Stephen Drew mini black back - Diamondbacks #'d 08/21
35-68 Kennedy/Chamberlain/Buchholz/Masterson red border - overhyped Yankee/Sox prospects
110 Yovani Gallardo - Brewers
194 Travis Snider - Blue Jays
pack eight
17 Brian Roberts - Orioles
19 Jed Lowrie - Red Sox
55 DAVE CONCEPCION - REDS!!!
232 Stan Musial Sports Royalty - Cardinals SP - Fan of Reds
182 B.J. Upton - Rays
122 Delmon Young - Twins
164 Matt Antonelli - Padres
152 Lou Marson - Phillies
Design: D+
This is a painted set, which works for some, but I personally don't like that much. What makes it worse is that some of the artists here make Dick Perez look like Da Vinci. Why are there so many painted cards with the wrong uniform? It's not like they had to wait for a picture or anything. Overall kind of bleh for me, but I can see how some people might gravitate toward these types of sets.
Inserts / Hits: B-
I got all excited after the first four packs thinking that they skipped minis in 2009. Then came 3 in the last four packs. The 4 in 1's are sort of odd. Do each of them have several parallel colored borders or does each have a specific color? The one thing I have always loved about Goudey in general is the Heads Up subset, they are just so fun. Some may say that they are designed for kids, but technically so is our entire hobby.
Value: A-
Not horrible, but I still prefer a guaranteed hit in a blaster. After looking through deciding which mini to scan I noticed the numbering on the mini and getting a card #'d to 21 in a discount blaster is fantastic, even if it is some failed prospect or bench player or worse a Diamondback. I did get three short prints including two of the greatest players of all time in Nolan Ryan and Stan the Man. I will happy to trade each of the 3 SPs for 2011 Heritage SPs that I need.
Rox in the Box: 3
Finally, a decent showing for the Rox in an Upper Deck blaster. I had 0 Rox from this set and there are a total of 5 base cards (including 2 in A's uniforms). I knocked out the Garrett Atkins and another Fowler rookie card. Plus I got the 4 in 1 with Atkins and 3 other third basemen that I didn't even know about. One question though, why do they list the team name as the Colorado Rockies when all other teams are just the nickname? Card companies need to realize that the Rox have been part of the league for 18 years now, people now know where they play.
Will I Collect This Set: F
Nothing in this blaster made me change my mind, so everything is up for trade. I do hope someone is collecting this set, because every set needs a little love from someone.
Overall: C
For me, this set hits a couple of my pet peeves. Short prints, retired players in the base set (although I don't mind the Sports Royalty subset), and minis. It does have only baseball players and there doesn't appear to be any ridiculous gimmickry so I'll bump it up to a C. To me a C is not collectible as a set, but it was still fun to see for myself.
