2009 Goudey

Hey, what can I say? The wrapper sucked me in. This is easily the best looking baseball card wrapper of 2009. I don't hate Goudey as a whole or anything, so I ran the pack through the checkout line at Target.

77 - Dan Uggla
72 - Miguel Cabrera

93 - Howie Kendrick (This represents the ugly side of Goudey... the scary painted face look.)

184 - Evan Longoria Mini

35-82 Jack Cust / Kurt Suzuki / Johnny Cueto / Jay Bruce 4-in-1 (I'm not sure what the logic is for this combination. Two Reds players and two Athletics? I know that they met in the 1990 World Series, but this is kind of a stretch.)

238 - Chien-Ming Wang Sport Royalty Blue Mini (It's been a rough year for Wang, but I snagged him on one of my fantasy teams because I have five DL slots for some crazy reason. I'm not sure how rare a blue mini version of a Sport Royalty card is supposed to be, since Upper Deck is still totally against providing odds on their pack wrappers. Sneaks.)
135 - Alex Rodriguez
162 - Ryan Doumit (Fortunately, Doumit has his catcher's mask on, so you are not subjected to his demonic eyes.)

2008 Goudey: Quick 'n Dirty

It doesn't look like any other packs have been posted today, so I thought I'd post a quick and dirty pack of Goudey while I continue my Saturday night couch potato-ing. You all know what the cards look like, so let's get to the pack at hand.

135 - Dennis Eckersley (I love Eck, and he's the rare former Cardinal that I always picture in another team's uniform first and foremost.)
83 - Hunter Pence

31 - Pee Wee Reese

269 - Ryan Howard '36 Design (These are actually smaller than the regular cards, but for some reason the Blogger photo came out larger.)

48 - Joe Morgan (Sadly, Fire Joe Morgan is over. But I'm pretty sure everyone knew that already.)
178 - Carlos Pena

140 - Ryan Howard (I apparently got the Ryan Howard Pack. If Howard wins the NL MVP on Monday, I am through watching baseball. I'm serious. Well, sorta serious...)

225 - Steve Carlton (I actually don't picture Lefty as a Cardinal, either, but that's because I'm not old enough.)

All in all, it was a pretty good pack with two short-printed cards. And if you like Phillies, it was extra-good.

The Awesomest Pack of 2008 Goudey Ever!

Okay, there's a slight chance that I'm setting unrealistic expectations here. But I picked up another blaster of Goudey at Target this weekend, and this pack in particular rocked my world:

151 Bill Mazeroski - I love the copy on the Goudey card backs; this one drops "big flies" and "taters" in consecutive sentences.

99 Chad Billingsley - Was 12-5, 3.31 in 2007.

47 Johnny Bench - With nifty red wristband.

127 Phil Rizzuto - No mention of his assist to "Paradise By the Dashboard Light"? What a travesty!

122 Alex Rodriguez - "Pelted" an MLB best 54 homers? That verb choice ain't doing it for me.

18 Eddie Murray - YES! The fourth retired player in this pack is one bad mamma jamma.

200 Evan Longoria RC - He didn't have such a hot World Series, but that won't stop him from being a runaway Rookie of the Year winner.

148 Adam LaRoche - His name is French for "Adam the Roach". Except, you know, I made that up.

2008 Goudey

I have no idea when I bought this pack. It was sometime over the last couple of weeks. You've seen plenty of this set before, I know. The wrapper is predominantly red, white and blue (with a hint of green... y'know... sustainability is the rage these days) and there was a genuine American President in the pack, so I'll go through this pack here and eventually sort it into my collection.

147 - Freddy Sanchez

95 - Vladimir Guerrero
43 - Jermaine Dye

189 - Vernon Wells Mini Blue Back (Minis are great. I'm not sure that it was necessary to print them with various text colors on the back. Some parallels are cool, but many are not.)

6 - Max Scherzer (RC) (Just... don't... look at Max's face here. I would be really mad if I was drawn that way.)
188 - David Murphy

136 - Rollie Fingers (I never think of Fingers as an A's pitcher. I love getting cards of players pictured, or drawn, with their old teams, though.)
249 - Andrew Johnson (Oh... right. It took an assassination of Lincoln to get this guy into office. Maybe this isn't so happy after all.)

2008 Goudey

This pack was chosen by the folks following the World Series over at Dinged Corners. Join the fun!

107 Ben Sheets
51 Aaron Harang
181 James Shields
HPC-3 Ben Roethlisomethin
175 Vince Coleman
71 Gary Sheffield
312 Larry Bird SP
YSL566 Babe Ruth

Larry Bird, Ben Roethlisberger and Babe Ruth in the same pack? Outstanding. Before any Cleveland fans pipe up, I'm collecting the Berk Ross minis so Ben's a good card as far as I'm concerned. There's a Ray in the pack, but it hasn't given Tampa any luck yet, the Phillies are leading. Sorry for my brevity, but this might be the last baseball I can watch on TV for about 5 months. Off to face the horrors of BuckCarver, wish me luck...

Win Rays, WIN!!! I want more baseball!!!

2007 Goudey

I got a pack of '07 Goudey from one of those Fairfield guaranteed hits packs that Dinged Corners showed off not too long ago. Opening this pack made me realize that in the span of a year, so much can change. And while I'm not going to burst into the "525,600 Minutes" song, I'll try to put all of these changes in perspective for you by explaining what's different.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
Green
4 Adam Dunn (No longer a Red.)

88 Robinson Cano (No longer wearing a uniform that is guaranteed to make the playoffs.)
173 Paul Konerko (Pretty much nothing's changed. But perhaps he should look into volunteer firefighting... That forest in the background looks to be ablaze, perhaps a chemical fire that's the fault of the factory not too far down the road. Call the American Forestry Association! Call the Sierra Club! Call Pheasants Forever!!! Sound the alarm!)

249 Johnny Bench Heads Up SP (Ummm, no longer hawks spray paint? Sorry, I'm reaching here.)

Red
58 Jeremy Bonderman (No longer a double-digit winning pitcher, due to injury.)

79 Miguel Cabrera (No longer a Marlin.)
101 Alex Rodriguez (No longer married. Ohhhh..snap. Was that one too personal?)

125 Jonathan Papelbon (No longer constipated; cleared out at conclusion of 2007 WS Game 4.)

Yes, lots of changes indeed.

Any of these are available for trade. I'm guessing someone out there needs the Bench to complete a set. Get in touch with me at Thorzul Will Rule.

2007 UD Goudey Hobby Pack

As I was driving around Texarkana, looking for one of the school sites I was supposed to be visiting in order to install computers for the 3-5 year old kiddos, I buzzed past "Excalibur" comics, sportscards, collectibles... I made a mental note to go back after I was finished with the job.

He had a gazillion "Magic: The Gathering" cards and a ton of comics. I asked about baseball cards, and he looked at me like I was from another planet, telling me that, basically, the hobby was dying (not in so many words). I looked over the handful (literally almost) of cards he had in a case tucked back around a corner, saw nothing of interest, and looked over the small selection of hobby boxes he had open for display.

For $6.95, I bought a pack of 2007 Goudey Hobby cards. I don't know what I expected, but I guess it's not a bad pack....


Maddux (Padres - Green), Renteria (Braves - Green), and Delmon Young (Rays - Green)


Lou Brock! (Cardinals - Green), Maddux (Padres - Red), Renteria (Braves - Red)


Thomas (Blue Jays - Red) and Gary Matthews (Angels - Red)

Obviously, pulling the Brock was the card of the pack. If I collected Maddux, Renteria, Braves, or Padres, I would have had a nice hit with this one. I have no idea what the difference between the hobby packs and the retail packs are, so I can't really say if I got a "good deal" or not. That is a very subjective (and, judging by some blog posts out there - touchy) thing.

(edit: I have corrected the year of the pack. It was previously listed as 2008, incorrectly.)

2008 Goudey... or The Final Writings of David Foster Wallace

Editor's Note: This post is a slightly modified reprint of a post from Thorzul Will Rule.

This was not the way I wanted to get bumped up a notch. Over this past weekend, America lost its greatest living writer, David Foster Wallace. He left behind, among other works, Infinite Jest, the novel against which all others can only be judged "wimpy." Before hanging himself last Friday night, Wallace had the foresight to send me a handwritten manuscript detailing the contents of and process behind a retail pack of 2008 Goudey. A transcript and some hastily-assembled scans appear below.


08 Sept., Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
And but so then appeared a red concentric ring, humming with life, a sick buzz cutting through a sub-suburban evening, joisting with jiggeredoo, atrocities on the horizon involving motorized cart-return machinery, the in-and-out journey speculatively lasting less than the amount of time required to disconnect flange A from duct B on an upright, 22.6 cubic foot Frigidaire PowerBox Elite Series, a pre-post-doubleyou-doubleyou-eye-eye paquette by the nomenclature Goudey entering my purview, hoping against hope that the status of B.P.O.A.T. (Best Pack of All Time (a theoretical impossibility involving the calculation of a staggering amount of matrices)) would be achieved. From a bird's eye view, a gargantuan winked at me first, reminding me of the smells wafting in from the bay, the stench of walrus hide mixing with the ghostly aftersheen of Mays and McCovey, the buried, blissful, against-all-odds memory of a madman, thumping, spitting, enraged frenzy, a roiling, boiling ball of intimidation, a smile in spite of the fourteen stitches in the head of Johnny Roseboro, this Marichal fellow, near the close of the Year of the Necco Wafer. His tipped collar juts out of the top of his uniform. Underneath, mouth agape, an identical brother from the mouth of the St. Croix, a former demonic sunbeam, Delmon Young craves post-season glory that might never come.


As the third eighth is revealed the plight of Native Americans (1) struts to the forefront, a knight in shining eye-black, a Grady in the time when there were no Gradys, when parents were naming their offspring with random syllables or geographical points of interest, a son of Cleveland fighting the good fight, leading off and propelling the Tribe to the basement, no better than former Texas ball-man Mark Texas, a stout, rotund, brave man who marks on a calendar his days remaining in the eastern national quadrant, eschewer of Sherman's march to the sea, not even born yet on the day the two guys circled the four bases with H.H. Erin the day he then but tried the brush-off, trotting number 715. More tears are shed for the fifth in the stack, shed for failure to recycle, or, perhaps, in some way, at the very least, somehow, but maybe attempt surreptitiously to clean a public park in a very public service announcement, another Indian addicted to his current handle, nameaholic unable to shed the moniker of Travis Hafner, short-a'd first syllables causing the announcer to tingle as the ring of sweat gathers around the bottom of a complimentary Sprite, followed by my dream boy, capable of hurling the Haitian export with even red stitches the better part of 135 miles per hour, Max Scherzer, R.C.I.D. (2), western reptile mascotted, Mizuno glove sporting, brandishing a young smile, playing a bit of the pitch and catch in the humid desert. Then there's #188, David Murphy, outfielder for the Texas Rangers.


Succumbing below the weight of all that pulpy, inked-up future landfill corporate excellence, a throwback, a Zenith lacking the color pallatte and remote switching capabilities, I do believe this could be your hometown hero Thor, the best of the firsties the year before this one, measured as the Y.R.F.A.C.C.S. (3), he of stretched bodily material, core-centric, bruised and hollow, hallowed in Brew Town, Brawny Ryan, paper towel magnate, moustache-free, ever adjusting between every pitched pitch (4), short printed, strong. But so then rounding it out, all in all not a bad pack.

Notes:
(1) The most interesting of which have not popped up in the Hollywood filmed entertainments such as Wolf Dancer, pushed aside and forced to live on reserved land mostly but not all south of the Great Concavity, militant in their grammar.
(2) Rookie Card Insignia Denotee
(3) Year of the Robitussin Fast-Acting Children's Cough Syrup
(4) Set down bat at crotch, adjust gloves, tighten, pick up bat, strong exhalation, batting helmet touch, cup, pants leg, chest of shirt, shoulder touch, helmet again, jersey again, step into batter's box.

Set aside a month of your life to read Infinite Jest.
-Thorzul

PACK FIGHT - A&G vs. Goudey

Here it is, for the Heavyweight Champeenship of the blog. A one pack match up of the two packs that make all the bloggers swoon. Tonight only, in Madison Round Garden:

Current Champion: Goudey
vs.
Challenger : Allen & Ginter

Goudey knocked out Turkey Red last year in a heated battle to take the title. Turkey Red retired after his defeat and now Allen & Ginter steps up to regain Topps' honor. We have two box fresh Hobby packs squaring off today. We'll have ten rounds of action, one for the wrappers, six for the base cards, one for the junk, one for the minis and one for the insert/short print cards. I'll be using Olympic scoring rules rather than standard ten point scoring system because Olympic scoring is easier to rig. A&G is in the white trunks, Goudey is in red. The two fighters meet at the center of the ring and tap gloves. Michael Buffer stands at the middle of the ring ready to introduce the match and OH! A tragedy! Someone just just threw a folding chair at him! The restless crowd drags him off the canvas and someone who wasn't me - you can't prove anything - throws a turnbuckle at him. No worries, Joe Lewis didn't need some fool to bellow a trademarked catchphrase before his fights. Let's let the immortal Bert Sugar kick off this heavyweight match:

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!!

Close enough.

ROUND 1 - The Wrappers

Allen & Ginter comes out of the corner strong with a reproduction of 19th century baseball art. A strong jab with the artwork is followed up with an uppercut for the erection inducing Heritage-style wrapper. Goudey regains his bearings and lands a blow to the body with strong, bright reds, blues and greens and an art-deco line drawing. The paper wrapper recalls the wonderful old foil paper wrappers Upper Deck used in the late '80s and early '90s and has a tactile sensation just as pleasing as the Heritage wrappers. Goudey lands a solid right hook, but leaves himself wide open. A&G pops Derek Jeter right on his smarmy mush right before the bell.

Goudey 2 - A&G 3

ROUND 2

N0. 73 Jack Morris - 211 Josh Hamilton

Both fighters are quick out of the corner to exchange shots. Morris gets in a barrage of jabs - four time World Series champ - 1991 World Series MVP - five time all star. Hamilton blocks and gets in a solid shot with Rule V draft pick turned MVP Candidate. Fazed by the blow, Jack, 8th all time on the wild pitch list, whiffs a left hook and opens him self up for some more shots by Hamilton. League lead in RBI, 31 homers. Look into Jack's eyes, you can see he's dazed. Josh takes advantage and nails him with a solid right hook for that Home Run Derby performance. Jack somehow stays on his feet and lasts to fight another round.

Goudey 5 - A&G 8

ROUND 3

N0. 21 Nick Markakis - 161 Randy Winn

Goudey realizes this ain't no tomato can he's fighting and lays back for a little rope a dope. Winn continues the fevered attack but can't get through Nick's defenses. One all star appearance, best hitter on a lousy team, traded for Lou Piniella, nothing gets through. After getting locked in a clinch Nick pops Randy with a .402 on base percentage jab before clamming up in a defensive posture again.

Goudey 6 - A&G 8

ROUND 4

N0. 151 Bill Mazeroski - 91 Scott Rolen

A&G comes out punching once again, but Goudey's defensive posture frustrates him. Scott's 5 all star appearences is doubled by Maz, who lands a jab. Seven Gold Gloves for Rolen, is blocked by Bill's 8. 1997 Rookie of the year? How about1960 MLB player of the year. Rolen gets careless in his frustration and WHAM! a 2001 Hall of Fame induction left hook is followed with an uppercut combo that shocks Scott just as badly as Yogi Berra in left field of Forbes field on October 13, 1960. Scott reels, stumbles and is DOWN! Rolen is down! He's hearing the boos of Philadelphia fans in his head, but he manages to get up before the count reaches ten. A&G backs off on the attack and makes it to the bell.

Goudey 10 - A&G 8

ROUND 5

N0. 156 Trevor Hoffman - 163 Jeremy Hermida

A&G knows they need to change tactics after that round. So Jeremy Hermida comes out swinging. A bat. Clocks Trevor right upside the head. Jeremy is warned by the ref, but they give him a point for having such a sweet follow through. Goudey takes the blow in stride as he now knows that he's in A&G's head. Trevor goes out there and just taunts Hermida. See this ball? You want this ball. But you can't have this ball. I'm the closer, I get the ball. Jeremy knows better than to tangle with a dude who had 550 saves, and tries to get Trevor in the clinch. Hoffman still gets in a few jabs - six time all star, two time Rolaids Relief Man award winner, All time saves leader. Mindful that he's losing the round, Jeremy unleases a vicious uppercut - 2007 One Game Playoff! - and connects! Stunned, Hoffman regroups and sends a shot of his own. "Oh yeah, buster? Which one of us will be in the Hall of Fame ten years from now?" OUCH. Low blow, but the Roumanian judge allows it. The two exchange some ineffective jabs before the ref breaks them up and the round ends. Both fighters go to their corners bloody and bruised.

Goudey 14 - A&G 10

ROUND 6

N0. 52 Brandon Phillips - 291 Rich Thompson

Both fighters are winded after that last round. Goudey steps up with a speedy second baseman, A&G a rookie pitcher who has logged two games in the bigs. Brandon just smiles. Rich stares blankly.
Brandon smiles.
Rich stares.
Brandon smiles.
Rich stares.
Brandon smiles.
Rich falls down.
Brandon steps on Rich as he goes to a neutral corner. Rich fell down with 9 seconds left in the round so A&G is saved by the bell.

Goudey 16 - A&G 10

ROUND 7

N0. 158 Adrian Gonzalez - 290 Ken Griffey Jr.

Upper Deck is feeling pretty slick right now. They've got a big lead in the late rounds, all they need to do is not make any mistakes and maintain the lead and they retain their belt. Goudey feels confident sending out a number one overall pick who pops 30 homers a year. Adrian leaps out, takes a swing and Junior literally grabs his glove in mid punch with his own gloved hand, twists Adrian's arm behind his back and head butts him across the ring. The next 1:39 of action is not suitable for a family audience. Gonzalez manages to stay on his feet until the bell only because Griffey won't let him fall.

Goudey 16 - A&G 17

ROUND 8 - The Junk

Upper Deck 20th Anniversary promo card - Absolutely nothing

Allen & Ginter doesn't even bother sending out a fighter this round. No Topps of the Class card, no Old Planter ad, not even a checklist. The super thick Upper Deck promo ad that wiped out half a forest to make stumbles confused around the ring for a minute and a half before punching itself in the face. This will not be known as one of the finer rounds of boxing.

Goudey 16 - A&G 18

ROUND 9 - The Minis

N0. 180 Akinori Iwamura - 113 Curt Schilling

Sensing that time is short and the match is close the two fighters immediately mix it up. Shilling delivers a solid body blow with 216 wins. Akinori counters with the fact that he's actually played in a game this year. Curt lands a right hook with his three championship rings. Iwamura jabs back with "Oh yeah, who's in first place right now, old man?" and follows that up with a tougher pull ratio. After some intense close up fighting, Akinori accidentally steps on Curt's ankle. The two look down to see a bloody sock. Akinori profusely apologises. Curt pops him right in the jaw and then writes about it on his blog. It's tough to type in boxing gloves so Iwamura gets in a couple of parting shots before the bell.

Goudey 21 - A&G 21

ROUND 10 - The Inserts

All tied up going into the final round! Which one will take the belt?

US36 Matt Holliday Oklahoma flag

No 277 Bill Russell Sport Royalty

Allen & Ginter's white shorts are now yellow. Matt bravely comes out of the corner attacking knowing this round is for all the marbles. Holliday gets in a few jabs - Oklahoma's got a cool looking flag, 2007 NL Batting title, that orange background looks terrible with Celtic green - but Russell shrugs them off. Holliday foolishly stays on the offensive and leaves an opening for Russell.

Eleven NBA Titles - pow!
Five time NBA MVP - socko!
Olympic Gold medalist - wham!
Twelve time NBA All Star - splat!
First black head coach in the NBA - kapow!

Holliday is barely on his feet at this point. Russell waits for his guard to drop and throws this last crusing uppercut:

You ever heard of Wilt Chamberlain? The most dominating player in NBA history? The guy who scored 100 points in one game?

I OWNED HIM.

Holliday is down. The ref counts to ten. Goudey retains its championship with a 10th round knockout of A&G.

Winner and still Champion: GOUDEY