DATA: 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter (129)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Back with a little more vintage for you. Lovin’ the Allen & Ginter series, but this one falls a little flat for me. I love the ultra-clean look of the first two years. While this is a nice nod to the 1880s N16 set from which the design was derived from, it’s just not my favorite of the A&G series. That said, it’s a vintage look and that usually trumps most of the modern sets for me.

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck Icons ()

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PING: Don’t have a clue what this set is about. It does have a Joey Votto card, so it’s got that going for it. I read over on Capewood’s Collections that packs of this stuff run for $1.97, so it’s got to be a bargain set.

The design really isn’t that bad, but it would probably get old after just a few packs. Nice photo of Joey on this one. Much better than featuring him with that dang camouflage jersey ;)

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions (145)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: I’m a little torn on these Goodwin Champions cards from Upper Deck. Being a fan of heritage-type reproductions, it’s right in my sweet spot. But, there are little weird things about this set that bug me. The price of a pack #3 with the amount of cards included (4, I believe) is a little off-putting. The mini-cards are sized differently than other tobacco-style cards, which is kinda odd. Also there, are times when they use odd team logos on cards, for example the Reds logo on this Johnny Bench card. It doesn’t make sense to me. One other thing that I found interesting: There is no Upper Deck hologram on the back of the card. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen an UD card without one.

For Joey’s card in this set, I would have loved to have seen a different photo. Nothing like giving a fist bump to someone not in the photo. Plus, those camouflage jerseys just shouldn’t be on cards. I don’t mind them for a game every now and again, but I would rather see a regular uniform on anyone’s baseball card. It’s the little things.

DATA: 2009 Topps Redsfest (8 of 8)

ACQUIRED: Redsfest 2009

PING: Like Redsfest 2008, the Reds handed out free Topps cards of several current Reds players. This is our favorite kind of Joey Votto card – free, exclusive and good lookin’. This card is nice preview of the 2010 Topps design, as where last year they used the previous year’s design. This card has a matte finish – great for using it for an autograph at Redsfest.

Here’s a look at all 8 cards from the 2009 Redsfest set.