Ultimate Checklist: 2002 Topps 206

Grand Gallery: I was actually able to add a ton of this set since I first posted about it last month. Thank you very much, variety of Granderson collectors with extensive photobuckets of cards. We're only missing the Sweet Caporal Black variation, so I've subbed in the front instead. Of course, all the fronts look the same so... My original post and thoughts on this set can be found below the gallery, but I must say that I really like tobacco cards with back variations. I just think they're neat.

#425 Curtis Granderson	#425 Curtis Granderson Mini (All Styles)	#425 Curtis Granderson Polar Bear (back)
#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Blue (back)	#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Red (back)	#425 Curtis Granderson Uzit (back)
#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Black (front)

Original Post:

Hey, Topps T-206 is out. That makes this as good a time as any to go back to the old standby: The Ultimate Checklist posts. Remember those? I use them to chronicle all of Curtis Granderson's cards from the beginning of time to, well, now. With 2009's Topps T-206 now here, it gives me good reason to show off Topps 206 from 2002, back when Curtis was but a rookie card.

2002 Topps 206 #425 Curtis Granderson RC Polar Bear Mini

I only have one of the cards from this set--and it is a mini variation. The base card looks the same but is full size. There are also a slew of parallels that all look the same, but for different tobacco companies promoted on the back. The parallel versions from that 2002 version were the Polar Bear version that I have:



--this is the most common mini variation--as well as three versions of Sweet Caporal back (Black, Blue and Red) and Uzit. I don't have any of these and couldn't find any good pictures of them until...the Cardboard Junkie profiled all of these cards the other day and showed wonderful pictures of the backs.

In general, I like the Topps 206 series--I think that this would easily be the best set for Granderson rookie cards but for one thing. They use the exact same picture as the Bowman and Bowman Chrome releases. Too bad. For all the grief I give the card companies for using the same pictures nowadays, it seems as though things used to be even worse. Granderson rookie cards exist across four sets, and three of them use the same picture. Sigh.

On the plus side, there are a bunch of mini tobacco cards out there just waiting to be collected, and I don't think that anyone can complain too much about that.

The Grand Scheme Does The Jiminy Jillickers Scene Again and Again and Again

Last week I wrote a post called “The Grand Scheme Of Things” with the intention of giving an overview of goings on from the point of view of this blog. I liked how it turned out, so I have decided to make it a recurring feature at irregular, unpredictable but not infrequent intervals. I am loosely modeling this feature after MGoBlog’s tremendous “Unverified Voracity” posts , which are the Gold Standard of thematically linked state of the world meta-posts, in my eyes. His are about Michigan. Mine will be about the Tigers and Baseball Cards, as you would expect. I also am blatantly plagiarizing the way that site uses the Unverified Voracity title: as a proper noun. So, without further ado, I present “The Grand Scheme” a nebulous person, place or thing that makes observations and commentary about stuff. Enjoy.

Coffee anyone?

The Spot Starters has started to create a list of reputable baseball players who happened to spend a little time wearing the Old English D. These are your Cup of Coffee Tigers. Part 1 is up right now.
I will be running a parallel series of posts that tracks down the rare instances of these stars depicted as Tigers on a baseball card. A preview:



Oh yeah, that’s a Hall of Famer, folks.

Jiminy Jillickers

Every time I think that I’m caught up on checklist compilation another release sneaks up on me. Then I try to catch up, then another release. It is this:

Milhouse: Making movies is so repetitive. I've said Jiminy Jillikers so many times the words have lost all meaning!


Director: We've got to do the Jiminy Jillikers scene again, Milhouse.

Milhouse: [fuming] But we already did it. It took seven hours, but we did it. It's done!

Director: Yes, but we've got to do it from different angles! Again and again! And again and again and again and again and again!

Oh what’s that? You were expecting a video clip? Me too. I consider myself a veritable encyclopædia of Simpsons quotes for use in any real life situation. The internet is not. For all that is out there, the shocking difficulty in finding relevant Simpsons clips disturbs me greatly. So, instead we’re left to “read” and “use our imaginations.”

Anyway, I’ve put so many checklists together that they have lost all meaning. But I need to do it again. And again. And again and again and again. With sensible releases, you know, with base cards and a few parallels and inserts, this is no problem. In fact, I find that the act of putting a checklist together gives me a much better grasp on the product. But with things like Ballpark Collection, which are just horrid nonsensical compilations of extra jersey pieces thrown together, I lose all hope. Even when I turn to Beckett to get a list for these releases, it just pains me to go through it.

Even so, checklists are up and constantly being updated for your perusal and convenience. There are 28 releases up there, with checklists for all but four of them (Ballpark, Ticket to Stardom, SP Authentic, Topps 206). I relish the day when I’ll be able to work backwards, knowing that no products can be released retroactively.

Update Insanity

Yowza. Topps Updates & Highlights is out and Tigers fans everywhere are droolingover fancy (and unattainable) cards. Actually, they’re going crazy over everything, it seems.


Click the picture to make it bigger and...legible. Sorry.

Those are regular “All Star Stitches” jersey cards for Brandon Inge and Justin Verlander. Note that they sold for more than, like $3. Get your wits about you, people! These two auctions are particularly interesting, as they each started a $0.99 and had Buy It Now prices of $2.99 (Inge) and $3.99 (Verlander). The Inge went for three times that! I looked at these when they were first listed, got greedy (there was also an Edwin Jackson that got bought for $2.99) and said to myself, “I’ll bet I can grab these for about $2 when the time comes. I still believe that to be true, but geez, I may have underestimated the demand for these.

And that’s just the “run of the mill” game used cards. This release is chock-full of Tigers, with a full 13 card base set, a slew of inserts and some low-numbered cards that are going to be increasingly hard to come by. Add in a couple of box-toppers and autographs of hot rookies and Tigers fans have their hands full.

Timing Is Everything

Am I wrong to think that this card is sad and ironic on multiple levels at this point? Also, Miguel Cabrera is 108 Years Old.



It sure is neat though. I’ll just take it as a prediction for next year.

Ultimate Checklist: 2002 UD Prospect Premieres

Grand Gallery: Hey! Snagged a picture to round out the full set. Gallery First, original post to follow. No commentary in between!

#14 Curtis Granderson	#17a Curtis Granderson ERR Matt Pender	Quads #4 Crain/Grant/ Gomes/Granderson (#/600)
Quads #16 Johnson/Crain/ Greenberg/Granderson (#/600)

It has been a little while since I pulled one of the these posts out. Meanwhile, I'm yet again a day behind on my mustache posts, I currently look like Bruce Sutter, and I'm contemplating whether I'm going to look like Dave Bergman or Ruppert Jones on Saturday (or anything close to either, if I'm lucky). So, while I will do my best to catch up with #4 and #3 tonight, I thought that it would be nice to get back to basics for a moment.

2002 UD Prospect Premieres is my favorite set for Granderson rookie cards. Now, I know that Bowman Chrome Draft is home of the "best" Granderson cards, and that regular Bowman Draft is the poor man's substitute. Topps 206 is also out there, and will be the next Ultimate Checklist set that I profile if I can ever get more Granderson cards from that release.

In the middle is the outlier, the non-topps set, the one that actually uses a different picture.

2002 UD Prospect Premieres #14 Curtis Granderson "Future Gems"

That's right faux-action shot! This card, the definitive rookie for Granderson from Upper Deck is my favorite of all of his offerings. I've never been one for traditional posed shots, and even though this is just a practice shot, or even a posed photo shoot, I really like it. Add to that the fact that you don't really ever get "lead off" shots--you get plenty of running and sliding and base stealing but very few lead-offs--that it creates an appropriate metaphor. This is where it starts. The Rookie card is the lead off that ultimately leads to an All Star career full of baseball cards of stolen bases and home runs and the like.

But wait, there's more!

2002 UD Prospect Premieres #17A Curtis Granderson ERR Matt Pender

Ultra-rare Error card worth millions! Or, not. Bonus points for this card showing Granderson and naming somebody else and not the other way around. Believe it or not, I even like this card more than the Bowman/Topps sets. I think it is the traditional jersey and not that odd blue batting practice thing. Tigers uniforms are baseball's tuxedos, and you just can't look bad in them. So, card B is not as good as his true rookie card, but it is pretty solid nonetheless.

And that alone would make this set the winner of the Granderson rookie card sweepstakes, but it gets even better.

2002 UD Prospect Premieres Future Gems Quads #4 Crain/Grant/Gomes/Granderson (#341/600)

What have we here?! I just got this card a few weeks ago, thinking that it would be a four-in-one card the way that you see it in 2009 Goudey, for example. Uh, no. This card is enormous. In fact, it is the size of four cards put together on on one uncut sheet and then primitively numbered in the middle by a computer from 1982. Apart from the fact that I have no idea how to store or display this, it is great. I'm always one for adding variation to my collection. Downside is that it repeats the regular rookie card picture, upside is that said picture consists of aforementioned career metaphor.

These cards are rather hard to come by, despite being numbered to 600, and there is one other one out there waiting to be found:

Future Gems Quads #16 Johnson/Crain/Greenberg/Granderson

And with those four cards, we have the entirety of 2002 UD Prospect Premiers, an easy and cheap way to pick up any Granderson rookie card.

Ultimate Checklist: 2009 Topps Chrome Detroit Tigers

2009 Topps Chrome cards are trickling into the mainstream, and Beckett already has their checklists up. Cross-referencing with eBay this is what we're looking at:

Main Set:
91 Miguel Cabrera
113 Magglio Ordonez
120 Curtis Granderson
129 Jeremy Bonderman
191 Ryan Perry
200 Rick Porcello
225 Ryan Perry (Autograph)

WBC Insert Set
W21 Miguel Cabrera
W75 Magglio Ordonez
W85 Fu-Te Ni

Here's a blue refractor to feast your eyes on:


Hmm...looks like Topps eliminated the one thing that I really liked about last year's set--different pictures. This is the same Granderson shot as is used in the regular Topps set, and Porcello's is the same too. I'm guessing that the others follow suit. That is disappointing, as the picture variation was always one of my biggest incentives to go after these cards (well, that and refractory goodness).

Also disappointing: the sad little Tigers checklist. Where's Verlander? Where's Jackson? These are our All Stars people, and they should be in the set. Why is Bonderman there, I ask you. Why?

From the looks of it, there are regular cards, refractors, blue refractors (#/199), Gold Refractors (#/50), Red Refractors (#/25) and the 1/1 Superfractor and printing plates. The same holds true on the WBC inserts except that from what I can tell refractors are numbered to 500. The Ryan Perry Autograph refractor is numbered to 499.

As always, this list may adjust as more information comes available, but it won't do so here. Nope, the most up-to-date checklist and all the other 2009 Tigers sets can be found here.

Ultimate Checklist: 2009 UD Icons Detroit Tigers

To be honest, I don't really care much about this set, but here's the checklist I've been able to gather so far through my typical eBay perusal:

27 Curtis Granderson
67 Justin Verlander
73 Magglio Ordonez
80 Miguel Cabrera
102 Rick Porcello
129 Ryan Perry

Porcello and Perry are Rookie cards numbered to 999. The regular base cards appear to have a silver parallel version as well. There are also a few inserts numbered to 999:

IC-JZ Joel Zumaya
IC-CA Miguel Cabrera
IC-GU Carlos Guillen

Some relics:

IC-VE Justin Verlander
IC-CA? Miguel Cabrera

An "Immortal Letterman" manufactured patch card that spells out "MR TIGER" and is numbered out of 60:

IL-AK Al Kaline

And, most interestingly, what I believe is the first Rick Porcello autograph card since he became a pro, numbered to 100:

154 Rick Porcello



Ooh! Is that signed on-card?! Do you think that Porcello noticed that he was signing a picture of Ryan Perry?


Oops. I know that it can be confusing for those poor, overtaxed card companies, but you should really strive to get the right picture of players, especially in this day and age of digital photography and especially when that player is the organization's #1 prospect.

As always, I'll flesh out this list as more information becomes available. Any updates, and the rest of the 2009 checklists can be found right here, a link to which is also provided in the sidebar.

2009 Allen & Ginter Detroit Tigers Checklist

A&G is out and people are giddy. It is a wonderful time of year. Given the inherent unreliability of the preliminary checklists, I thought that I'd peruse how the case breakers have done so far and post a checklist of my own. This checklist is based on what has actually been seen on eBay thus far, not any preliminary list. As more information comes available, the checklist will be updated on the 2009 Detroit Tigers Ultimate Checklist available via that link and also conveniently located in the sidebar.

Without further ado:

Base Cards (and all the associated mini parallels)

32 Jeremy Bonderman
51 Ryan Perry RC
70 Carlos Guillen
82 Justin Verlander
122 Dontrelle Willis
253 Miguel Cabrera
262 Magglio Ordonez
316 Rick Porcello RC, SP
332 Curtis Granderson SP

Inserts
NP9 Carlos Guillen
NP59 Miguel Cabrera

Relics (all Game-Used Jersey swatches)
AGR-MO Magglio Ordonez
AGR-MCA Miguel Cabrera
AGR-DW Dontrelle Willis

Autographs
Miguel Cabrera*

*According to eBay listings, not only is the Cabrera autograph relatively scarce (it is a "Level A" auto), but it is only available in redemption form at the moment.

As I said before, this list is not conclusive, but any additional cards that crop up, such as box toppers or other inserts will be added to the Ultimate Checklist.

All of your 2009 Detroit Tigers sets can be found over there as well.

The Ultimate Checklist Expands

It's been quite some time since my last Ultimate Checklist post and I can say with certainty that I will continue to work my way up through the years, and do a full wrap up for 2009 as well. However, while that particular checklist ("Curtis Granderson" under the Ultimate Checklist tab in the sidebar) is a continuing work in progress, I realized that it is only really useful to other Granderson collectors. While it is true that I fall squarely into that category, I am also a Detroit Tigers collector. Sure, I limit myself to a few sets here and there, and only truly chase the Topps master set, as well as some other simple base sets, but I realized that it might be nice to have an "Ultimate Checklist" of all the Tigers cards that come out. So that's what I did.

Introducing--the 2009 Detroit Tigers Ultimate Checklist. This will now be found in the sidebar as well, and will be a continuously updated checklist of all of the Detroit Tigers cards from this year's releases. Cards are split into release along the bottom, and there are little arrows in the lower right to scroll along the sets.

Unlike the Curtis Granderson checklist, which is made "Ultimate" by the hyperlinks that go to pictures of the cards, these are Ultimate because they are a comprehensive list of all Detroit Tigers cards in a given year. In theory, I will stay up with current cards and go backwards to older releases, although that will certainly take some time. In the meantime, if you are curious about your favorite Tigers player or just want to pick up a team set (or team master set), the Ultimate Checklist is there for you. Enjoy, and as always, if it is not on the list then I probably don't know about it so shoot me an email with any new information or things that I may be missing.

Ultimate Checklist: 2002 Bowman Chrome Draft

Grand Gallery: This pre-posted post will now constitute the "Grand Gallery" for 2002 Bowman Chrome. To make life easy, I'll stick the gallery on top, but I strongly recommend reading the whole post after you peruse the pictures.

#BDP71 Curtis Granderson	#BDP71 Curtis Granderson Refractor (#/300)	#BDP71 Curtis Granderson Xfractor (#/150)
#BDP71 Curtis Granderson Gold Refractor (#/50)

Oooh. Shiny. I'd like to note how neat the "Gold Refractor" is. When I saw it in isolation, it didn't look all that impressive, but side by side it is apparent that the whole think has been tinted gold--look at the seats compared to the others.

Original Post:

2009 releases are coming fast and furious now, my cards are still sitting in boxes as we make a final push to finish the move/organize the house and new trades and sitting in a pile, waiting to be sorted. Amidst all of that, let's harken back to the olden days to see if we can't get over this Ultimate Checklist hump.

2002 Bowman Chrome Draft is widely regarded as the release that contains Curtis Granderson's most desirable rookie cards, all of which are #BDP71 in the set. The chrominess and refractory all play a part in this decision, I'd imagine, and I'd be hard pressed to disagree. A few weeks ago, I got my first Granderson Rookie Card from this set. It turns out, it was the 300th card in my collection. Here it is again, for all to see:

2002 Bowman Chrome Draft #BDP71 Curtis Granderson

Of course, the reason this release is such hot stuff isn't because of that card, it is because of the hard to pull parallels that accompany it. In this case, three of them.

Refractor: #/300
Xfractor: #/150
Gold Refractor: #/50

The Gold Refractor is the Holy Grail of Granderson cards. I've seen it listed as high as a couple hundred dollars in the past, making it easily the most expensive Granderson card out there.

About 6-8 months ago, in that dead period of collecting between the end of the new releases and the new year, I found an eBay lot that included the regular card, refractor and xfractor with a starting bid of $49.99. I watch it go, with no bids, down to the final 10 minutes. I decided, "I don't really have the money for this right now, so let it go without any bids and haggle with the seller after the fact." Oops. It sold at the end for the asking price and I missed my Golden Opportunity to add 3 major rookie cards to the collection. Now, I didn't really have the money for it at the time, so it wasn't a total disaster, but to put things into perspective, the Xfractor just sold for nearly $40 on its own a few weeks ago and the refractor went in the mid-upper 20s. Shortsightedness 1, Long-term collecting philosophy 0.

As for the card itself, that picture looks pretty familiar, no? Of course, it is the same picture as was used in 2002 Bowman Draft. No surprise there, as repeating images is standard operating procedure for regular and chrome releases, and is no big deal. I will warn that this is not the last time that this picture rears its head, however. The chrome, even just the regular chrome, adds a very nice effect to the card that changes depending on the angle of light. To me, it is a far superior card to the regular Bowman Draft offering for this reason alone. The added texture and dimension is a major positive--I can only imagine that the refractors, as they tend to, look about a thousand times better.

Sadly, all I have to show is the one card from this release. As Granderson's rookie cards go, I see why it is such a hot commodity. However, I will go out on a limb right now and say that it is not my favorite Granderson rookie card. That will be revealed in an Ultimate Checklist post to come.

Ultimate Checklist: 2002 Bowman Draft

Grand Gallery: This is just a two card set, so no need for a thumbnail gallery here. Enjoy the original "Ultimate Checklist" post that I wrote instead.

2002 is where you can find the official, hobby-recognized rookie cards of Curtis Granderson. Curtis was a 3rd round selection out of University of Illinois-Chicago in the 2002 draft and is one of many future stars featured in the aptly titled 2002 Bowman Draft. Fun fact time: This draft was the one featured in Moneyball and included such names as Prince Fielder, BJ Upton, Cole Hamels, Zach Grienke, Scott Kazmir and Matt Cain, among others.

Here is Curtis Granderson, fresh out of college, giving us his "All-Business" look in some sort of hip-retro Tigers batting practice zip-up and a hat that appears way too small for him.

2002 Bowman Draft #BDP71 Curtis Granderson

This set also features a rarer Gold Version, which has a Gold Foil signature instead of the regular black printed one. Speaking of which, notice the signatures here. First, he signs his name with a "Jr." and spells out his whole last name. Nowadays, you get the first name and then the "Gr" for his last name. Curtis actually explained his signature last month.

2002 Bowman Draft #BDP71 Curtis Granderson Gold

For every elite player, there is one particular rookie card (or one set) that is the must have. Bowman Draft is not that set. However, what it offers are reasonably priced Granderson rookie cards that use the same picture as their much-preferred Bowman Draft Chrome counterparts at a fraction of the cost. Surely, they are must haves for any Granderson collector, and a good pick up for anybody that wants a pre-stardom slice of Curtis.

Ultimate Checklist: 2001

Baby Steps people.

I have many packages on my desk at home that need to be catalogued, photographed and posted. All of that will happen in due time, as I just got back home last night. However, in my concerted effort to actually post about baseball cards, I happy announce my triumphant return to the Ultimate Checklist.

I grappled over whether to do 2007 next or to start at the start. My decision was made easier by the fact that 2007's cards are numerous and confusing, whereas 2001-2006 are simple and straightforward. With things a little crazy now (launching new website at work, closing on our house in T-minus 17 days) simple and straightforward seemed the way to go.

So here is the full checklist for all Curtis Granderson cards released in 2001.

2001 Mankato Mashers #(No Number) Curtis Granderson

That is all.

This card has been highlighted here before, so forgive me for the redundancy. Baby steps.

2001 Mankato Mashers Curtis Granderson

With my path now chosen, the Ultimate Checklists beginning with 2002 will now follow, intermixed with regular posts as they were before.

Best of 2008...

In 2008, Curtis Granderson benefited from the ubiquitous card presence and “Rising Star” status that comes with having a tremendous season the year before. Baseball card production will lag actual baseball production, so that players and teams that had an exceptional year can expect to have a greater card presence in the following year’s release. The Hamiltonian should beware, more is on the way.

According to Beckett, 816 Granderson cards were included in 2008 releases, following up on his 20-20-20-20 season in 2007. It certainly didn’t hurt that prior to the 2008 season, the Tigers were widely believed to be World Series Contenders, which of course came crashing down in embarrassing fashion. Still, there were “only” 264 Granderson cards in 2007, the year after the Tigers made the World Series, which was an enormous leap from the 43 cards that he had in 2006. For full disclosure, this “816” number is greatly distorted by Granderson’s inclusion in Topps Moments & Milestones. That set alone accounts for 436 cards plus 16 printing plates (4 designs @ 4 colors each). So, with those 452 cards set aside there are only 364 other cards to deal with, still not a number to sneeze at, but far fewer designs to parse through.

Still, With that many 2008 cards out there, Granderson fans were treated a wide range of cards, from exceptional to exceptionally weak. Along the way, some disturbing trends occurred. Let’s use my collection as a cross section. I have 132 Curtis Granderson cards from 2008 (when you only count M&M as 4 cards). Breaking them down by category:

Posed: 27 Cards; 6 Sets
Batting: 21 Cards; 7 Sets
Running: 56 Cards; 16 Sets
Sliding: 11 Cards; 5 Sets
Fielding: 8 Cards; 2 Sets
Other: 7 Cards; 5 Sets

Somehow I ended up 2 cards short here, but you get the idea. If you were to buy a random Granderson card from 2008, odds are that it would be of him running. Not only does he appear running on the most cards, but those 16 sets released in 2008 show him running. What’s worse, Granderson’s other action shots are often over-inflated by parallels in Spectrum, Co-Signers, and SPX, and many pictures being regurgitated throughout releases. Sigh.

Still, with all of that as a backdrop, there were a handful of cards that stood out to me. My “Best of” for 2008 looks at little more than the card’s aesthetic appeal—on its own and in the context of all releases for 2008. These are cards that used unique photography and layouts and can hold their own in the card world. While I like the shots of Granderson Running, their dime-a-dozen status in 2008 really hurt them in the contextual category. With that, #5:

2008 Topps Finest #FM-CG Curtis Granderson "Finest Moments" Blue Refractor

I was torn on card #5 but think that I made the right choice. The picture on this card is fantastic and emblematic of Granderson’s historic season and the refractor technology with the blue border just adds to the card’s aesthetic appeal. Unique picture gains extra points over its contenders.
Honorable metions: Allen & Ginter Mini, SP Authentic, Triple Threads 3x Relic

#4:

2008 UD Goudey #69 Curtis Granderson Mini (Black Back #/34)

I did not expect elevating a Goudey card over the superior Allen & Ginter set, but this Granderson card is one of the best from the entire Goudey release. I’ve posted about it before, and I can’t put my finger on it, but I think that the unique picture/pose and exceptional detail are what does it. The mini gets the nod over the full-sized base.

#3:

2008 UDX #X-CG Curtis Granderson "Xponential"

I just showed you this one, but it deserves another view. This card is by far the better of the UDX cards, with a seldom used shot of Granderson fielding with flip-down sunglasses, and an excellent use of design elements to make him pop off the card.

#2:

Sadly, #2 does not have a place in my collection, but this card is the real catch of 2008 Triple Threads (the inadequate picture was pulled of eBay, my apologies). The excellent relic design, large-format pictures of all players, including hall-of-famers and all stars makes for a beautiful design. Multiple parallels come in different colors, each roughly equivalent in terms of aesthetic appeal, and none as overwhelming as the standard Triple Threads card. Too bad these can’t be found for under $100

#1:

Is there any doubt? I won’t say any more about this card, but I believe that it holds its own as the best Curtis Granderson card currently in existence. It is not only the catch of 2008, but the defining card of the collection. This is my white whale.

I hope everybody enjoyed these Ultimate Checklist posts, as they will be continuing for 2009 and will be applied retroactively to all of Granderson’s releases. As somebody who champions transparency in card collecting, these are my way of giving back, by documenting every card that I come across in a picture filled and insightful way that (hopefully) goes above and beyond a standard checklist. Thanks for tuning in and there is, of course, plenty more to come.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UDX

Well, this is it, the final set of Granderson cards from 2008. You can view the full checklist here, which features every known Granderson card from 2008, including the cards that I have (marked with an x), which are linked to a photo of the card.

We conclude our list with UDX, in what I will call my biggest surprise of the year. There are two Granderson cards in UDX, both of the "Xponential" insert variety. One is CG-X "Xponential" and the other is CG-X2 "Xponential2". I was expecting very little of these cards, as the set was met with much derision from other bloggers. However, the one bright spot that I kept hearing about was the Xponential subset, and a bright spot it was.

2008 UDX CG-X Curtis Granderson: "Xponential"

2008 UDX CG-X2 Curtis Granderson "Xponential 2"

These cards are what inserts should be. They feature large, pictures that (mostly) interact well with the design of choice. The landscape layout and off-center subject make the card infinitely more interesting than your typical insert. They are foil-y and bright, but not to the point where they reflect too much or detract from the image. They are the proper weight and are have texture to them--actual raises on the card, including texture the goes onto the back. Scans do not really do them justice-these cards are awesome.

Even better, CG-X shows Granderson with a Glove and flip-down sunglasses, which is a welcome departure of pictures of Granderson on the bases. I'm sure that not many will share my enthusiasm for these cards, but I will say it again--they are really, really nice and well worth the rock-bottom price that you can get them for, given the unpopularity of UDX.

Not having much more to say about a 2 card release (printing plates are also available, but good luck finding one), I'll let you scroll back up and enjoy the scans.

So that's it for 2008! Boy, 816 cards just flies by, doesn't it? My plan now is to put together a simple summary post that will take a look at 2008 and highlight the five best Granderson cards of the year. Feel free to look through previous posts (all tagged with Ultimate Checklist) or look at my collection if you'd like to make your own decision

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 Ultimate Collection

A follow up on my previous post, The Hamiltonian makes the excellent point that the "Timeline Memorabilia" card in 2008 UD Timeline probably does exist (as does the relic in 2008 UD First Edition) and even though they are not rare, per se, they were lightly broken and don't pop up on the secondary market much. That makes perfect sense to me, and I offer a tip of the cap to her for pointing it out.

Onto another set with a minor Granderson presence: 2008 UD Ultimate Collection. Now, the checklist for this set looks quite impressive, despite the fact that Granderson only makes an appearance twice. The first is on a Dual Auto Card with Al Kaline (#/35). I started salivating with images like this in my head: A finely crafted, aesthetically stunning masterpiece of a card. What we get instead is this (this image is heisted from the photobucket of blog reader, avid Granderson collector and frequent bidding adversary findizzle04: While I'm not one to bash a Granderson/Kaline on-card dual auto, the Ultimate Collection offering is exceptionally plain. What's with all the dead space? Why the small picture? Maybe this card looks better in person but I was underwhelmed to say the least. Now, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to get my hands on one, but there is a reason that this card tends to sell below $40, while the Heritage counterpart frequently exceeds $150. Design Matters.

The other Granderson in the set is a very rare (#/5) sextuple auto (yeah, that's right) of Granderson, Kaline, Jack Morris, Jim Bunning, Kirk Gibson and Dontrelle Willis (Seriously?). I'm not sure about the design of this card, or where they're planning to put 6 autographs (3 front, 3 back?), or if they cram them all in with teeny-tiny little pictures. I'd like to know, but one hasn't surfaced yet. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

That's it, Granderson wise. Ultimate Collection is a set that looks much better on paper than it does on cardboard, but what can you do. These cards would be welcome in any collection, but certainly won't take priority over some of the nicer offerings of 2008.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UD Timeline

How about back to some regularly scheduled programming? There are only three sets from 2008 that I have yet to cover. Today, we hit UD Timeline.

Now, I didn't buy any timeline, don't really understand what the cards are supposed to look like--given that there are a TON of parallels that mimic different years' designs--and there is no regular Granderson card in the set.

Allegedly, there is a "Timeline Memorabilia" card of Curtis Granderson in this set. This is according to a Beckett Checklist, which usually does a good job but is not always the most reliable. I have never seen this card, nor have I ever heard of anyone knowing about this card. Personally, I believe that this card does not exist, much like similarly fictitious 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Relic card

If that is the case, then there is no Granderson in UD Timeline.

So, to make up for it, I will show off my most recent acquisition:

2008 Topps Stadium Club #6 Curtis Granderson Photographer's Proof

Here is my first and only Granderson card from 2008 Topps Stadium Club. This "photographer's proof" version is numbered 74/99, but doesn't really add anything to the normal card. While this card may not be as spectacular as I alleged in the past, it is still mighty fine.

So that's it, one fictitious UD Timeline card, on a post that shows a card from Stadium Club. Oh well.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 Sweet Spot

It's been a little while since I've gotten an Ultimate Checklist post up here, and there are only a few left. So, for those of you who still have any interest in 2008 cards (and why wouldn't you?) I give you Sweet Spot:

2008 Sweet Spot #QS-OCGV Quad Patch (#/25)

You may recognize this card as my first card of 2009, and wrote a little blurb about it then. I still feel the same way now--this is a very nice card, I don't often get the pleasure of multi-colored patches. The patches are in unique configurations, and while I'm marginally annoyed that it doesn't show Cabrera in a Tigers uniform (he did play there for ALL of 2008) I like that he has an obvious Marlins patch to go with his Marlins picture. Since I bought this card for the Granderson, the pre-Tiger Cabrera just serves as a unique element and additional splash of color.

The only other Granderson card in Sweet Spot is the regular jersey variation of the card shown here. I'd imagine that the quad swatch looks how you'd expect--with four colorless swatches instead of the patches. Suffice to say that I envision that card as being lackluster compared to its patch equivalent.

All in all, Sweet Spot produced another sharp Granderson card, featuring another non-running picture (yay!) and put him with three of his all-star caliber teammates. Not much to complain about there.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UD Spectrum

Spectrum is one of those sets that the majority of people that I've read simply do not like. I'm not really sure why its is so unpopular, because I don't know what any of the cards look like other than the Granderson's. The nice thing is, given that people tend not to think twice about Spectrum, I've been able to pick up a nice grouping of cards on the cheap. Much like UD Heroes, Spectrum provides the opportunity to put together the "rainbow" of parallels, except this time with shiny, reflective goodness as well.

The main Granderson in the set is part of the "Spectrum Swatches" series, that looks like this:

Granderson with a glove (finally!), shinyness, gray swatch, you get the idea. These cards have a number of parallel versions. There is the main version (teal? turquoise?) numbered to 99. In addition you have:

Orange (#/75)
Green (#/50)
Red (#/35)
Brown Auto (#/30)
Purple (#/28)
Lt. Blue (#/15)
Green Patch (#/15)
Lt. Gray (#/5)
Dark Gray (1/1)

Even in slightly incomplete form these look pretty sharp together, don't you think? (I couldn't fit the light blue #/15 in the shot, but it looks basically the same as the first card #/99. Oh well.)

Other than that slew of multi-colored game used parallels, there is one other card in the set--a Dual Spectrum Swatches card with Magglio Ordonez #/99. I have no idea what this looks like and don't really want to know. I know that sounds spiteful, but a lot of people spent a lot of time hating on Spectrum and based on the one card (and its variations) that I have/have seen, I don't mind it at all. I'm sure things would be different if I were exposed to the whole set, which is why I'm apprehensive about finding that Ordonez/Granderson card.

Anyway, that's my two cents on Spectrum. For the sake of other collectors out there I hope that they improve their set in 2009, but for my sake, just give me some nice looking Granderson cards and I'll be fine.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UD Premier

Enough of that creepy Ty Cobb picture on the front, don't you think? I thought it was ok when I first found it, but the more I looked at it, the weirder it got.

Anyway, let's take a look at Granderson's presence in the high-end UD Premier. This set actually includes one of my favorite Granderson's of the year, but in a strange way. Have you ever had a card that you liked, or were drawn to, but had no idea why you really liked it? That's how I feel about the "Emerging Stars" Dual Autograph card of Granderson and Fred Lewis (#/35).

2008 UD Premier #ES-GL Emerging Stars Auto

I'm not sure if you can see it or not, but for some reason I think that this card is great. Beats me. There may also be a parallel version of this card #/15. I haven't seen it and it's not on any checklist I've found, but other "Emerging Stars" Dual Autos have a parallel like this, so I'll keep my eyes peeled just in case.

Onto the normal set, Granderson has a base card, #147. In case you weren't aware, people don't care about base cards in high-end sets. In an attempt to remedy this, Upper Deck has serial numbered the cards in Premier to make them seem rare. We have:
Base (#/99)
Blue (#/15)
Silver (#/5)
Gold (#/1)
and an Autographed Parallel (#/25)

I have none of these cards, having only come across them sparingly on the open market. Moving on, the standard "hit" in the set is his "Milestones Autograph"--one of the first autograph cards of Granderson that I ever got (and I got it CHEAP--Woo!) For this card there is a Milestones Autograph and two parallel versions. First the regular (#/25)

2008 UD Premier Milestones Autograph (#/25)

A 1/1 Gold Version exists, as does this Platinum Parallel Version (#/5).

2008 UD Premier Milestones Autograph: Platinum

Is it just me, or does the regular card look more platinum-y than the Platinum parallel. Sometimes I think that these cards are just named randomly to correspond with fancy sounding things, regardless of what the card actually looks like.

That sums up my collection from this set, but that's not all she wrote! No sir, There is a Quad Patch of Granderson, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter and Grady Sizemore--not a bad group if I say so myself. That comes in regular (#/20), Gold (#/10), Platinum (#/5) and Masterpiece (1/1) versions. My memory is kind of fuzzy, but I think that this card is pretty sharp.

Finally, "The Premier Card" in the set (I'm not being cute, that is the name of the card) is a Verlander/Bonderman/Granderson compilation numbered out of 3. One of these is in the hands of the Ultimate Bonderman Collector, another was on eBay a few months ago with a best offer/buy it now. I low balled it and didn't get it, it re-listed and I don't think sold, but now I can't remember. So, there are one, maybe two of these floating around.

In all, I think that Premier is perfectly fine, but I was hardly blown away by it. The base card has a very similar feel to the Milestones Autograph and the other cards are either so scarce or so expensive that I don't really both with them. This is one of those sets that falls way above my price range, so I pick and choose where I can find a bargain. Otherwise, there are many more Grandersons in the world worth paying the big bucks for.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UD Heroes

Let's keep chipping away at '08, shall we? Especially while we're under my self imposed spending ban? UD Heroes is a set that I did not expect to like. When it first came out I thought that it looked dated (it was), I thought the base card coloring was ugly and I thought that the parallels were blinding and tacky. I didn't really both to pick any of these up until months after the original release. I was able to put together a few Grandersons, including a game used jersey or two, and before I knew it I was hooked. Has this happened to anybody else?

You see, while Heroes feels like it would be death for somebody trying to complete a set (even a team set--ugh, it seems so boring), it is absolutely tremendous, albeit a little frustrating, for a player collector. All of those "blinding" colors turn out to be awesome--way better than just the base card. Now, with the majority of the variations under my belt, completing "the rainbow" in this set has risen up the priority chart. Can't you see why? I realize that's not the best picture (I'm still getting used to this "internet" thing--and I don't have a current version of photoshop on my computer) but hopefully you get the jist. Putting all of those colors together is fun. It fills out pages nicely and is so much better than chasing down nearly indistinguishable parallels like Gold, Bronze, Copper, SilverManganese, and Hyper-Polonium. I'm sure that I'll regret saying this as I stare at blank holes in an otherwise colorful page, but it is rather enjoyable chasing down these cards.

Anyway, for those of you who may be interested in joining me on this quest, or starting one of your own, there are Grandersons a-plenty to be had. He is card #60 in the set.

Base
Charcoal
Emerald (#/499)
Black (#/399)
Beige (#/299)
Red (#/249)
Navy Blue (#/199)
Brown (#/149)
Sea Green (#/99)
Light Blue (#/49)
Purple (#/25)

There are also some game used options which, for reasons that I'll never understand, do not follow the same color/number magnitude pattern as the regular cards. They look the same as the regular cards, with the inclusion of a square piece of jersey:

2008 UD Heroes #60 Curtis Granderson: Emerald Jersey

The game used jersey cards fall into the following categories:

Light Blue (#/200)
Black (#/125)
Red (#/100)
Navy Blue (#/50)
Emerald (#/25)

Huh? Does somebody want to explain to me why the Light Blue game used is numbered to 200 while the non-GU version is numbered to 49? aka, the second rarest parallel is the most common game used? Maybe they want to give people a chance of putting a "rainbow" together by substituting game used cards, where appropriate. Anyway, the swatches on those cards are your typical plain-jane jerseys--three out of my four are grey, for what it's worth. But that's not all! There are some patch cards as well, complete with their own incomprehensible numbering scheme:

Light Blue (#/25) --Back to being rare-ish, so far, so good
Beige (#/10) -- 10?!?! for a beige card? Ugh.
Purple (#/5) --another fitting color/number pairing.

So, that's all she wrote on 2008 UD Heroes. Definitely a fun set for a player collector to take a crack at, providing plenty of surprising variety for a release in which every card basically looks the same. I can't imagine having too much fun with this if the same basic design is released again and I have to chase more Grandersons, but I guess if Thorzul can do it, than it can't be all bad.

For those of you keeping score at home, there are only 6 more sets from 2008 left to talk about. Once I've wrapped it up (with a little "Best Of" post, hopefully), I'll be doing the same things with his cards from 2002 to present, with plenty of present day scans and insight mixed in. Again, I apologize for the somewhat sporadic posting--who knew that house hunting and "working for a living" would take up so much time?

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 UD Goudey

It's been a little while since I've been able to put together an Ultimate Checklist post, and there is no better set to help me get back into the swing of things than 2008 Goudey. I am a big fan of the simplicity and authenticity of the Goudey says, right down to the "Derek Jeter says..." and "Ken Griffey Jr. Says..." on the fronts. I know that many people didn't like that it was just Jeter and Griffey, but the original Goudey's were just Lou Gehrig and "Chuck" Klein (although I do love that someone's common name used to be put in quotations--how much better would it have been if the bottom of the NL cards said "Ken" Griffey Jr. Says...) Really, the main complaint was that there were too many Short Prints, and that they went away from the original card sizes (as replicated in 2007 Goudey) and made them parallels. As a set builder, I'm sure there are plenty of flaws. As a player collector, this set is really neat. See?

From Curtis Granderson Collection

The Granderson in this set is just really, really nice. The artwork is excellent--it is not too cartoony, yet cartoony enough not to look pretentious. The silhouetted players in the background are a nice touch and the detail on Granderson himself is really impressive. Even better, is that this particular pose/stance is not just a recycled photo from another set, stylized into old-timey paint mode. Rather, it is a new look that we don't commonly see on a card. The color scheme matches Tigers colors but still replicates the old-time feel. I am very impressed.

The only thing better than the regular card are the mini versions.

From Curtis Granderson Collection

There are five mini versions in all, and the main difference between them is the color of the ink on the backs. Here is a red back version to see what I mean:

From Curtis Granderson Collection

There is just something about this size that is so enjoyable. It almost looks better than the regular version and avoids the possible pitfall of looking like a normal sized card cut short. The Blue Back and Red Back minis are not numbered. There are also Green Back (#/88), Black Back (#/34) and Taupe Back (#/8). In a touch that I like, these are serial numbered on the front and have a slight color differentiation in the "Derek Jeter Says..." portion of the front.

From Curtis Granderson Collection

From Curtis Granderson Collection

The serial number stamping and color variation makes collecting and displaying the minis a little more fun and less repetitive than a parallel version that only looks different on the back.

In all, I really like the Goudy set. I know that they may be on their way out, what with the shortage of actual Goudey sets to replicate from here on out, but 2008 Goudey will stand as a bright spot in Curtis Granderson collecting this year. Its just too bad that he didn't make the cut into the 2007 set. Here's hoping for a 2009...