2008 UD Spectrum

This stuff is $7.50 to $8.00 a pack at the local card shops, yet I can walk into a Wal-Mart and pick up a pack for three bucks. Way to undercut your own business, Upper Deck. The cards are shiny though and curiosity got the better of me so I got a pack. The wrapper says to "Look for Spectrum of Stars Celebrity Signatures!" but Upper Deck continues to jealously guard their insertion ratios so who knows how long we'll have to look. It's openin' time.


68 Dan Haren
94 Hank Blalock
DJ55 Derek Jeter Retrospectrum
YSL4629 Lou Piniella Yankee Stadium Legacy
blank card with a big clunky anti-theft device stuck to it


I don't know if I like these cards or not. The holographic foil is nice, but the blue everywhere dulls it. The hockey stick borders are kind of interesting, but all the random rays and angles and stuff in the background just looks cluttered. I can't tell what they were trying to do with this design. Is the player supposed to be on a stage with lots of lights on him? Is he a spaceman in the middle of a laser battle? Is it just artsy crap that sounded better in the design meetings? It sure is shiny though and kids like teh shiny.

I also can't tell if this is a good pack or not. Dan Haren is a stud, but he didn't get any respect in Oakland and he sure ain't going to get any in Arizona. Hank Blalock needs to hit 25 homers n a season again before he'll be more than a common. Derek Jeter is a nice pull but the set looks huuuuuge. There's at least 55 Jeters in there which is nice, but might get tedious after a while unless you're a hard core Jeter fan. The design on the card is cool, but it's even darker than the regular cards. It looks like the card should feature Batman, not Derek Jeter. I also got a Yankee mirror card in the pack. I know we are supposed to hate these out of principle, but I like pulling older players out of new packs. I also don't know how I feel about Lou Piniella. I don't like him because he's a blowhard, he manages the stinkin' Cubs, and he's one of Bobby Cox's managerial rivals. On the other hand I like reading about him in Jim Bouton's Ball Four, he's an old school kind of guy and you have to respect someone who clung to baseball so tenaciously he had about 8 Topps "Rookie Stars" cards in the 60's. This card here is acceptable I suppose, although it sure don't like like that picture was taken in 1983. Let's check the box score to see if Lou was even involved with that game in '83. Lou played right field, went two for two and was replaced by Ken Griffey in the sixth. UD got one right!