Wednesday, September 17, 2008

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes

I had a fit of nostalgia when I saw a post on this stuff on A Pack a Day a while back, and knew I wanted to pick up at least a couple of packs. It hasn't shown up on the shelves of the local Target yet, so I decided to pick up a two packs of it at the local hobby shop for $5 each. After reading dayf's post regarding hobby and retail wax, and then ripping this pack, I decided to post it to play devil's advocate.

#139 - Steve Carlton - Philadelphia Phillies - Racks Up 3,000 Strikeouts - I've said it before and I'll say it again, pulling cards of retired stars from years gone by earns the product points in my book.

#4 - Justin Upton - Arizona Diamondbacks - Nearly Swings for the Cycle - Two cards into the pack and I've already got a gripe. How can you go from a card commemorating Steve Carlton's 3,000th career strikeout to a card celebrating how Justin Upton nearly hit for the cycle? Some of the achievements that are celebrated on these cards are not exactly spectacular...

#181 - Eddie Murray/Prince Fielder - Cleveland Indians/Milwaukee Brewers - I don't like these combo cards nearly as much as the individual player cards. Can't complain about pulling any Prince Fielder card right now though, the guy is on fire.

#7 - John Smoltz - Atlanta Braves - Earns NL Cy Young Award - Jersey #'d 06/25 - Here is the hit, and the reason I decided to post this pack. This card is extremely thick, even for a jersey card. It's numbered to 25 and actually celebrates a worthwhile achievement. Dave, I might have to send another package your way!

#85 - John Lackey - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Leads AL in ERA

#27 - Josh Beckett - Boston Red Sox - Tops American League in Wins

#120 - Ian Kennedy - New York Yankees - Wins Major League Debut - Again, does this really warrant a Baseball Heroes card? I really like this set but I wish Upper Deck would stick with major achievements (even if it means featuring less modern day players) rather than stretching just to get in the hot new rookies and younger players. Anyway, a pretty great pack overall, sometimes you do get your money's worth out of wax, even hobby...

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