DATA: 2009 Bowman Gold

ACQUIRED: bayTRON

PING: If you haven’t heard, JV went on the DL today. Total bummer. It seems that this inner ear infection (or, whatever it is) just won’t go away. From what I’ve heard about those things, it takes a while to get it out of your system and it can make anything athletic a challenge real quick. Obviously, let’s hope that Joey can get over this soon and return to the team. I’m sure that’s what he wants more than anything.

So, here we have a 2009 Bowman Gold card of Mr. Votto. Pretty sweet photo of him, isn’t it. With all the 2009 releases coming, it’s fun to see some new photography on his cards. Overall, these Bowman cards are a bit cheesy – the little baseballs containing the numbers are a bit to cliche for my taste. Nice choice of font though – clean and legible with a little hint of style in the serif.

DATA: 2008 Topps Triple Threads Red (233)

ACQUIRED: bayTRON

PING: Well, at least they have Votto on the right color for this card – red. What can I say about this card? Triple Threads get boring for me pretty quickly, and I only have two of them. Numbered 161/1350, this isn’t the rarest card out there… so it’s doesn’t have much to hang it’s hat on. Other than featuring RBI-machine Joey Votto.

DATA: 2006 Tristar Prospects Plus ProTential (P-11)

ACQUIRED: From www.checkoutmycards.com

PING: This is the first minor league card of Joey’s that I’ve picked up, and it’s one of the better looking ones out there. Most of the minor league sets from Tristar and Just Rookies (whoever makes those) are just not that appealing. Some of the minor league team giveaway sets are nice, and I need to track down some of those featuring Votto.

His time with Chattanooga in 2006 proved to be a pivotal point in his career, putting up .319/.408/.547 for the season, earning him a promotion to AAA Louisville the next season. Joey tore up the International league in 2007, getting a call-up in September… and the rest is history.

DATA: 2008 Upper Deck Timelines: ‘95 SP Premier Prospects Bronze (364)

ACQUIRED: From www.checkoutmycards.com

PING: With this card, I wrap up the entire set of Joey Votto cards in Upper Deck’s Timelines release from last year. Compared to the ‘95 in Silver, this is a bit of an upgrade. The photo is working well with whatever shiny technology Upper Deck is using on this. The blurred background (aka bokeh) really helps Joey pop off the card, letting the design settle into a secondary position. So, for Joey, a successful card. I’m not a fan of the bronze, but that’s okay, for the sake of nostalgia, it works.