2009 T2: Judgment Day

Thanks to the wife's excellent shopping skills, I was able to rip through some packs of 2009 Topps Series 2 and yesterday I looked mainly at the Halos and Legends. Today, it's everything else. And I figured with Terminator 4 out this weekend, we'd give a little shout out to Arnie and T(opps Series)2. It can't be merely a coincidence that T2 came out in 1991, the year that last saw Topps put out a set that focused on photography so much.

We'll start with the non-base.

Easily the lowlight of the set for me. Not to get all xenophobic on you, but I really just don't want cards of players from the Japanese WBC team or Cuban WBC team or even the USA WBC team. I was over the WBC in February, I certainly don't need to be reminded of it now, especially since they haven't even sent me my WBC redemption from series 1. Isn't it enough that Topps put out a small set of these cards?


There's nothing I can add on to the Turkey Red discussion that hasn't already been bantered about on blogs far and wide. I like 'em, you like 'em, score one for Topps.


8 packs got me 2 gold cards. Schneider and Upton. The Upton being a pretty unique and odd photo, but one that I like.

I'm not sure how I feel about golds. When I open a pack and see the gold border I get a little excited and feel like I've pulled something semi-rare, but that's where the excitement ends. I tend to stick these cards in the back of the binder or send them off in trades. Ehh.

On to the base.


You gotta love cards that have the blur of the pitch coming right at you. The Aceves card gets a bonus for horizontal positioning, while the Street also comes in with a bonus due to the odd hand placement on the follow through.


Could there be a more boring shot of a picture than one where he's covering his face while chatting with the catcher? Well, yeah there probably are many more boring, but this is certainly up there. Perhaps just one of these cards would suffice. Although they are slightly on the boring side, they also convey a little bit of baseball strategy and gamesmanship, which is not lost on me.


Two rather odd cards featuring Jeter. In one he's awkwardly leaping over a Ranger with the base no where in sight. In the other he looks almost photoshopped into the card. Combine the blank stare with his size seeming disproportionate and you've got a winner here.

Next up are two combo cards that seemingly are using the wrong combo of players.

Wouldn't Chase Utley have been a slightly more appropriate choice on a card about Philadelphia bombers? I like Jimmy Rollins, but 11 home runs is not exactly the stuff of a bomber.

Chief Lefties would seem a title appropriate to left handed pitchers that play for the Indians, so Sowers and Laffey both fit the title, but I just get the feeling that maybe Cliff Lee should have been featured here. Sure his 2009 is not following his 2008 too accurately, but the guy did when the Cy Young in '08, maybe Topps could have thrown him a bone here. Even so, the card is entirely too reminiscent on the Ray Guns card from Series 1 featuring David Price and Scott Kazmir.


Normally I loathe getting manager cards in my packs, but this may be one of my favorites. While most manager cards feature a shot similar to the one of Mike Scioscia that I posted yesterday, this card actually has a managerial action shot! Nothing beats the 64 year old manager out hitting ground balls before the game.


Votto seems to be a bit more of an emerging slugger than a guy bunting for base hits, but hey we need some diversity in our collections. Votto collectors will come to appreciate this card after seeing 10 years of photos showing yet another line drive swing.


Juan Pierre does not stand a chance on this play at second, but you've still gotta appreciate the effort and the helmet flying off to reveal the hat underneath. It's like we're back in little league.


Spring training effort, the hallmark of the on the fence youngster.


Being a third baseman all through my baseball career, I'm always a fan of cards that show third basemen making the difficult plays that are only made from that spot on the diamond.


Ryan Howard is definitely a prodigious slugger, but is there any doubt that he missed this pitch by a good two feet?


The Nelson Cruz card is on its way to becoming one of the "iconic" cards of this set. I'm pretty sure when we look back at this set and reminisce like we do about the 1991 set, this card will be the equivalent of the Benito Santiago looking up for the foul ball or the Clemens leaning against the Monster. Unfortunately, this card still leaves me wondering what Nelson Cruz looks like.

Thus ends the look at 8 packs of T2. I was sold after series 1 and series 2 did little to disappoint. Sure the WBC cards are pointless to me and will likely never find their way out of the commons box, but the rest is right on. I love the Legends, both regular and SP, the Turkey Red was well done and of course the photography was a huge step up. Now I'll just have to wait for my Jumbo box to come so I can work on completing the set and of course pick up my autograph of whichever Pirates player they decided to sneak onto the checklist.

Go Halos!

It's Almost Like They Felt Guilty About Something

I recently opened a box of 1995 SP and while the entire break was fun for me, having never opened a pack of this in my life, a couple of things stood out to me. I'll get some of the other cards later, but the most interesting thing was the number of cards that had shots of players signing autographs.

Hmmm, 1995. I wonder what could possibly have taken place around 1994 or 1995 that might lead players to be a bit more generous with their time and sign autographs for the fans. Maybe it was just an outbreak of kindness amongst these young gents. Maybe they had some time off that caused them to realize the importance of getting into the good graces of the fans. Maybe the roid rage hadn't quite kicked in yet.

I give you, the signers of 95.

Of course the rookies were signing, it's their chance to feel like a big leaguer, until they actually become big leaguers and want nothing to do with us.


Another young fella trying to make good with the people. I hear this guy had a decent career.


Guys who joined new teams wanted to make a mark as well.

Lefty pitchers got in on the act as well.



Imagine the effort it would take to sign your entire name if it was Heathcliff Slocumb. No small task my friends.


One hand? Not a problem. That's dedication.

And it wasn't just the young guys signing.

This guy's a frickin' president...I'm assuming. His nickname is afterall El Presidente. I'm not fluent in espanol, but I'm giving it a shot.

Where are the sluggers you ask?

This guy hit a kinda famous home run.


The Yankee I actually like.


The Hawk is even intense when he signs autographs.


Yup, the man of juice even got in on the act.

They were truly magical times in 1995. Players going out of their way for the fans, signing cards, balls, shirts, whatever you put in front of them. I just can't quite put my finger on why they were so generous and obliging. Must have been something in the juice.

Go Halos!

Fave 4: Atlanta Braves

I can't stand the Braves. It started in the mid-80s with Dale Murphy, who I had to hear about endlessly on the Superstation TBS back when the Braves were horrible and it continued when the Braves began and sustained an amazing run of division championships. I take pride in the fact that I hated them before they were good, so it's not just that I'm jealous of their success.

Despite the "hate" I have towards the team of Native American ridiculers down in Atlanta, I had a pretty easy time picking a Fave 4. Only one of these players is one I really consider a favorite, but the rest have their charms. Dale Murphy will be found nowhere near this list, which just demonstrates that these lists are a bit unique in that it's all about the perspective of the fan.

1. Ron Gant

Ronnie Gant. Gant showed up in Atlanta during the worst of times and left just before the best of times. His ATV accident injury was unfortunate and probably left a sour tast in the mouths of many in Atlanta, but had no real effect on me. I still remember Gant as having biceps that were close to tearing out of his uniform and a really solid all-around offensive game. Gant would spend a few games late in his career as a Halo, but after leaving Atlanta he was never really the same, outside of a season in Cincinnati.


2. Jeff Blauser

This has little if anythign to do with baseball as I can't remember ever watching Blauser do anything that impressive, although I always appreciated that he wasn't Mark Lemke, the Lemmer, who I'm not so fond of. So why do I like Jeff Blauser? Because of Rich Hall and his sniglets of course. During the 80s Rich Hall was on an HBO show, Not Necessarily the News, and he coined the term sniglets for words that should appear in the dictionary, but don't. One of his entries that was always used around my house was "Blossor", which meant "the hair style one has after removing their hat". I was often guilty of rocking the Blossor and we always pronounced it like Jeff's last name, so he always held a special place in my heart.

3. Terry Pendleton

I have a fondness for chunky guys who can hit, so Pendleton found a place in my fanhood despite playing for a team I disliked. It doesn't hurt that he helped to keep Barry Bonds from another MVP award. I wonder if Cardinal fans absolutely hate this guy. He had some good years in St. Louis, but his last couple years were putrid and as soon as he arrived in Atlanta he just caught fire.

4. Deion Sanders

I know this will probably be an unpopular choice, but as a young teenager when Deion hit the scene, this guy fascinated me. He was never an icon like Bo Jackson for me, but he was still an impressive athlete. His 14 triples in just 97 games in 1992 was awesome. His speed was almost unrivaled in baseball and made for great entertainment. On top of it all, he pissed off Tim McCarver which is always a positive in my book.

Honorable Mentions:
Chipper

I used to really dislike Larry and much of it was irrational. Over the years I've come to appreciate his skill and last year I even found myself rooting for him in his chase to hit .400.

Greg Maddux

I was always bothered that Maddux left Chicago and had such great success with the Braves, because I would have loved for him to do it as a Cub. Even so, there's no denying what an amazing pitcher this guy is and how lucky Braves fans were to get to see him at his peak.

Otis Nixon

he appeared to be in his late-70s and consistently stole over 40 bases. His 72 in 1991 was pretty amazing, especially for a guy enjoying the Senior Grand Slam at Denny's

While my dislike for the Braves is nothing compared to my hatred for the Yanks, this was still a tough post. So many nice words about the Braves. *shudder* I'll just head back to sticking pins in my Dale Murphy voodoo doll.

Go Halos!