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| 2009 Goudey #69 Curtis Granderson (Black Mini: #08/21) |
This was the first Goudey card that I saw and person and it is a real winner. Granderson, while typically photogenic, really comes through well in these semi-painted old time style cards. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but both this year and last year's Goudey offerings are among the best in the entire sets.
This particular beauty is the black mini, numbered to 21 and is the shortest-printed parallel in the set. That itself is wonderful, as I don't have to track down some super-rare #/8 card or something like that. It also makes this card relatively affordable, and I stole this one for under $2.50, much to my pleasure.
For me, the key to this card is the unique pose and look of Curtis himself. This is not a standard action shot, it is not a posed shot. Flip up sunglasses and eye black are involved, two things that instantly give cool points to any card. The shot was so good and just looked so natural that in my mind I started praising Upper Deck for putting the card together like this. And then it hit me. I've loved this shot before.
In fact, this picture rated #3 for me out of all of last year's offerings, ironically ranking one spot ahead of 2008 Goudey. So what does that mean for this year? Does this already rank near the top? Hmm...I'm not so sure, as this year's Goudey cards don't stack up to last year's all that well, but I guess that remains to be seen.
Now, this is the part of the post where I say that there is plenty more good stuff to come, as I have a ton of packages to go through. However, starting tonight the Tigers are in Baltimore for a 4-game series which means that I will be spending my evenings in the friendly confines of Camden Yards and not sifting through cards. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way--but I'll still try to squeeze a couple posts in here and there.
