1969 Topps

Is there anyone else out there that thinks the 1969 Topps set was just a rehash of the 68 set with just a white border?! I know that Topps has a tendency to reuse design elements from previous years, but it's pretty bold to do so consecutive years in a row. Just wish they could have been a little more creative, that's all. I like the salmon colored backs....reminds me so much of the 1986 Topps set and my introduction into collecting Reds baseball cards. I also like the fact that anytime you can get Rose, Bench and Perez in the same year, then it's a win win for me. I like looking at the old cards from years past. Sure they're not loaded with chrome, high gloss, fancy stock or parallels, they do contain the history of the game. Our childhood heroes staring at us from a piece of cardboard that can bring back memories long forgotten in the hustle and bustle of today.

2009 Topps

Not a big fan of 2009 Topps. The design is much to be lacking. Sure it has a cool home plate graphic at the bottom with the team's logo nicely inserted within it, but that's about it. Too much black at the bottom where they list the player's name, position and team. I think they could have and should have done a better job with that aspect of the card. For whatever reason, it's that big black mess at the bottom that just ruins the card for me. I like the dot matrix pattern that Topps uses on the top left and bottom right of the card. Is it me or does this set look eerily similar to this years Topps Lineage?

Another Print for the Man Cave

So I scored another print for my Cincinnati Reds Man Cave yesterday. I was able to pick up this panorama of Cinergy Field (which will go nicely with the panorama of Great American Ballpark I purchased a few weeks ago). I'm still keeping an eye out for a Cincinnati Enquirer Griffey HR 600 newspaper that I can pick up for a lot less than this http://www.ebay.com/itm/CINCINNATI-REDS-KEN-GRIFFEY-JR-600-HR-ENQUIRER-6-10-08-/300316968944?pt=US_Baseball_Fan_Shop&hash=item45ec4947f0. I'm also looking to score a couple of Reds pennants as well. But my most ambitious purchase will be a seat from Crosley Field to go with my stadium seats from Cinergy Field.

2005 Topps

One of the last Griffey cards to feature him in a Red's uniform. Although he was prone to injury when he was in Cincinnati, he was still one of my most favorite players to watch. Amazing athletic abilities and the sweetest swing I've ever seen. I like the 2005 Topps set. I think it's a nice balance of information and photography on the front. Topps did a great job ensuring that the photos weren't buried underneath the logos and text. The white border kept the design crisp and clean. Very conservative! I also like the fact that Topps decided to include the Sporting News cards that graced their sets of the 50s and 60s. A nice touch to a past era when card collecting was so much simpler. If I had one complaint about the 2005 Topps set, it's the fact that the team name is included twice on the front of the card....along the bottom and running down the left side of the card. That's a bit of redundancy that they could have and should have avoided.

1979 Topps

1979 was a sad year for the Reds. With the departure of Tony Perez a few years before and now Rose in 79, the era of the Big Red Machine was drawing to a close. Sure, the Reds still had Bench and Morgan as well as the addition of Terrific Tom, but it just wasn't the same. As for the cards Topps released in 1979, they were decent. Not the greatest by a long shot, but also not the worst they produced. I like the design of the 1979 Topps cards, but not as much as the 1977 set. The green and black backs are nice, but it can be a little difficult reading the stats at times. What I like most about this set is that it still features Pete in a Reds uniform...although he had already moved on to Philly at this time. This is by far my most favorite card in the set. Why... because it shows Pete doing what he always did best on the field... slapping the ball for a hit. I'm just glad he decided to return to the Queen City in 1985 for his final charge at Cobb's record.

1989 Upper Deck

Not much to say about what's already been said about this set. It WAS a game changer for the hobby with it's sleek design, quality stock, hologram, and full color photography on both the front and back of the card. I remember when this set was released back in 1989 the sticker shock of $1.00 for a pack of cards. I was completely blown away. I thought to myself "There's no way I'm spending a buck on a pack of cards when I can get a couple of packs of Topps for that price!" Of course, the following year I didn't hesitate to hop on the Upper Deck bandwagon when my mom would bring me home packs of the stuff from the grocery store when the Reds were on fire and heading for the World Series. I like the 1989 Upper Deck set, don't get me wrong. In fact I think it's probably one of the best sets ever produced. However, looking back at the evolution of baseball cards these past two decades, a lot has changed and in a way I see it as innocence lost. We've gone from the standard card from 1957 through 1988 to a premium card in 1989 to super premium cards joining the scene in 1993. We've had inserts and parallels and 1 of somethings. All this so that we can have one card produced with all the colors of the rainbow. We've cut up uniforms, shaved bats, sliced apart seats from historic stadiums to put those little pieces on cards and dub them as "relics". I feel as though artifacts of our pastime have been cannibalized by the card companies just to make a buck. I just don't get it.

How's This for a Collection

The question I have is....WHERE DO PEOPLE GET THE MONEY FOR THIS STUFF?!