Step one was to figure out which binder to use. I've got a Topps Tigers Binder from 1980-1999 (with some older cards thrown in), another one from 2000-2009, a Topps Gold Binder, and a Misc. sets binder with things like A&G, Heritage and Goudey. My Granderson cards used to share this binder, but as of two weeks ago, they were given their own dedicated binder. Once I thought about it, it seemed like the decision was obvious. So now I give you 6 cards pulled in 30 seconds from my brand new Curtis Granderson binder.
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| 2006 Upper Deck #174 Curtis Granderson Special F/X Red (#12/50) |
This is one of my all-time favorite Granderson cards, because of the close-up, over the shoulder angle on the card. I also really liked the 2006 Upper Deck design, and it was the Tigers' World Series year to boot. The base card had a number of parallel versions of which this was one, and the color-saturated special f/x effect is really neat. I especially like the red stamped serial number. Of course, it is no surprise that I picked this card first out of the binder--it is the basis of my little "Grand Cards" icon after all.
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| 2008 UDX X-CG Curtis Granderson "Xponential" |
Oh, I've talked about this card before. It is outstanding. (So good that Upper Deck re-used the picture for 2009 Goudey.)
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| 2008 Topps Finest #FM-CG Curtis Granderson Blue Refractor (#149/299) |
I've found myself drawn to Topps Finest recently, as I really like the Granderson card that they've put out. In 2008, the year after Granderson's 20-20-20-20 season, they had a base card, but also this "Finest Moments" insert. This is another of my favorite Granderson shots, and I think that the blue refractor just lets this card shine.
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| 2008 Allen & Ginter #RC11 Curtis Granderson Rip Card (#39/75) |
I got this sucker in a trade with Duane from Democratic Roadkill some time back, and absolutely love it. This is A&G taken to the max. It is so good, that I don't even care that there is a huge rip in the back of the card. Not important--look at that front! To quote myself when I wrote about it originally:
It looks the the Union Army was using Granderson to take out Confederates by hitting baseballs into a valley to pick them off one-by-one and he is looking into the distance as his most recent hit approaches its unsuspecting victim.
Yeah it does.
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| 2009 Allen & Ginter Curtis Granderson Silk (#4/10) |
A brand new, heretofore unshowcased on this blog card, also from Allen & Ginter. It is silk. It has a shiny, fancy frame. It is numbered to 10 copies and it is undeniably awesome. For no good reason, I think that silk cards are fantastic. I think it is the texture that it adds to the picture--I'm tired of things that are too shiny, I want some gritty authenticity. Certainly, a silk card wouldn't meet that criteria, but I feel like we're only a step away from "Topps Burlap" or "Topps Birch Bark" or something like that (or Topps Canvas, which would really make the most sense). Look at the world's great masterpieces and there is one consistent theme--texture. I'm just saying.
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| 2008 UD Goudey #69 Curtis Granderson Red Back Mini |
I was running out of time here, and was actually trying to grab the black mini, which I like better, but I'm missing a light above my desk so it was kind of dark and I mixed up the blue and black in my last second grab. I really do like this card a lot--I think that it is among the best of 2008 Goudey, but I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't muster one or two more binder page flips to see if I liked something from 2009 better, but when I thought about it later, I'm really not sure that I do.
