My take on 2009 Topps

I'm wasn't not going to buy any 2009 Topps or Upper Deck until the hype dies down - with many bloggers busting random packs left and right to give their take, I don't want to succumb to the 'peer pressure' until the excitement over new stuff dies down a little.

Despite finding nothing marked '2009' in two visits to Target - I was able go to a place where I sometimes get my cardboard fix from and cherry pick cards out of some commons bin to get my fill [instead of buying loose packs].

The prices ranged from 25 for $1, a quarter and a dime each - too bad,I was only able to find loose 2009 Topps cards and not Upper Deck.

I don't see how this year's Topps is different from past years - there is a certain feeling about base Topps cards that I'm indifferent to. Maybe it is the fact after a month, every retail outlet, hobby shop, Major League Baseball team store [ones they have inside a MLB stadium or one in an MLB city] and some card show booths will be carrying these cards. For collectors, I suppose having a look at base brand Topps each year is a rite of passage.

The silver on black 'name plates' makes players' names hard to read infront of the card - with 2008 Upper Deck, you can get away with it, because the full-bleed images were sharp enough to stand alone. With Topps, any little design flaw is exposed as an excuse [for me] not to pick up anymore cards.

However, there are some things I liked as I glanced at random cards - it seems there was a more conscious effort by Topps to include action shots [though getting some from 'different' angles like the Kevin Youkilis card is kind of distracting] as opposed to merely 'pitching, hitting and fielding' shots. There are guys making awesome catches in the outfield [Juan Pierre, Alex Rios, Brandon Moss], flying in the air [Youkilis, Jack Wilson], directing traffic [Jose Guillen], et al.

I saw the Turkey Red inserts and it mimicked the 2005/2006 Topps Turkey Red backs - as opposed to some kind of 'vanilla' Trading Card History insert style back. These cards will be a nice to find in random Topps packs.