Finally

Have you ever had a card that you were determined to pull? No matter how many times you saw one up for auction you were dead set against bidding because you just knew you would eventually pull one on your own.

That is how I have felt about the 2009 Goodwin Champions Ken Griffey Jr card. I wanted to pull one so bad but I was having no luck and actually considered just bidding so I could end my quest. Well, my journey finally ended tonight when my wife told me to grab a couple of packs while we were out. I know it is not a $500 card, it does not have an autograph or relic but being a Griffey fan, this is easily my favorite card of 2009.

Now I just need to pull the Griffey mini and a relic and then I can begin hunting down his Moonlight parallel.

2009 Goudey Baseball

I am a fan of many of the throwback sets. Because I collect vintage cards I enjoy seeing some of the better-designed sets making a comeback. Some of my favorite sets of all time are the Goudey sets of the 1930s, so of course I really liked that Upper Deck brought the set back, keeping it old school but tossing in some new ideas to keep it current.

My wife surprised me tonight with a couple of packs of 2009 Goudey that she picked up from a local shop. This was actually my first chance to bust open some of the 2009 series so I was pretty eager to see what I was going to pull.

The cards are based on the 1933 Goudey set with a solid color background, the player image and “Goudey” along the bottom. The cards are surprisingly similar to the original set from 1933. A couple of cool additions include the Heads Up subset which is actually based on the 1938 Goudey set and the Sport Royalty subset which seems to be loosely based on the 1933 Sport Kings set.

I got a nice variety of players ranging from rookies to veterans to all-time greats. The 4-in-1 cards are unique, some cards have four players that play the same position and other cards have four players from the same team.

#65- Dexter Fowler

#181- Bob Gibson

#251- Adrian Peterson Sport Royalty

#278- Manny Ramirez Heads Up: Like Manny needs a bigger head

#35-40- Mariners 4-in-1 card

I have been a Mariner fan most of my life so this card was a keeper for me. I have been through the good times (1995-2003) and the bad times… every other year; I sure miss 2001 some days. The player selection for this card has me a bit confused.

Ichiro and Hernandez are a given.

Tuiasosopo has some potential down the road but may even have some trouble making it in AAA this year, not to mention that Beltre is cemented at 3rd Base when he is healthy.

Bedard is another one that has me confused. He is a decent pitcher, but he is by no means a Mariner at heart. Hell, he has been with the team only a year and will most likely be traded by the deadline. He is 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA for a team sitting around .500 with 86 games to go; the Mariners are going to trade him away while he has value.

Better choices would have been Griffey, the “Ultimate Mariner” and possibly Beltre, Johjima or even Betancourt (my second favorite current Mariner behind Griffey).

Finally, the card that I was hoping to pull and definitely made this pack busting a positive experience

#46- Ken Griffey Jr… as a Mariner!