Saturday, May 31, 2008

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Series 1


This is not the pack that dayf was going to get from me if the Brewers had lost the series to Atlanta, but it's close.
Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
256 John Buck

61 Adam Wainwright
178 Freddie Bynum
136 Kenji Johjima
47 Edgar Renteria
164 Chad Cordero
242 Jason Hirsch
8 Casey Kotchman
111 Matt Cain
228 Mike Lowell

252 Zack Greinke
213 Joaquin Benoit
174 Denys Baez
328 Luis Mendoza RC

356 Prince Fielder Brewers Checklist

347 J.R. Towles
383 Chone Figgins Season Highlights

SQ-2 Ryan Braun Blue Starquest Rare

Grade: A
As a Brewers fan, I couldn't ask for much more than this. The Fielder card showcases how a human being can indeed be composed of greater than 50% thigh, and the Braun insert completed the pack in a way that a player from any other team would not have. Let me point out a few of the photographic highlights:
The photography on the Buck, Lowell, and Figgins cards are nothing short of spectacular. The scans above are poor representations of their high degree of quality. Upper Deck certainly upgraded to Blu-Ray while the competition is stuck at 420p. It looks as if Grady Sizemore chose the magic hour during which to make a run for the plate. And then there's boy Mendoza, who looks like he just passed a Boston pitcher's signal test, posed for his 8th grade graduation portrait, then was promptly traded to the Rangers.
What I wish I would have realized earlier in the year is that you're actually getting a premium product with a base set designation with 2008 Upper Deck. This may be my only pack this year, but who knows if I might take a run at it a few years from now.

2 comments:

Andy said...

It's staggering how much better the photography is in 2008 UD as compared to 2008 Topps. Mind you, I don't mind the more bland photography--but I also do appreciate the spectacular shots scattered throughout UD.

dayf said...

Part of the problem is that the Topps design - especially that little bump with the logo - squishes the photo. Topps also got lazy with a lot of their photos though with the mugshots and recycled photos. Upper Deck is definitely the superior base set this year.