2009 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH53 Clete Thomas
2. #UH176 Diory Hernandez (Rookie)
3. #UH223 Jack Hannahan
4. #UH138 Ryan Church
5. #UH295 Miguel Tejada (All-Star)
6. Gold Border #UH330 Ken Griffey Jr. (Serial#0220/2009)
7. Turkey Red #TR120 Adam Dunn
8. Topps Town #TTT54 Adam Jones
9. #UH155 Andrew McCutchen (Rookie)
10. #UH91 Anderson Hernandez

Ken Griffey Jr. is about he best gold border card I could ever hope to get out of a hobby box.  Awesome!  Now time to chase for that Albert Pujols gold card!

Then a couple Nats.  Just so happens these are the first cards I have of Adam Dunn and Anderson Hernandez in Nationals uniforms:

Adam says “hi”

“Adam, considered one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation, planned to make football his top sport at U. of Texas.  He redshirted for one year on the Longhorns football team before deciding to pursue baseball.  Showing prodigious power and a knack for driving in runs, he anchored the Reds lineup from 2001 to ’08, hitting 46 home runs in ’04 and exactly 40 in each of the four subsequent campaigns.  Dunn signed with the Nationals in ’09, and blasted his 300th career home run.  Just 29 at the time, he became the 13th player in history to reach the 300-homer club before his 30th birthday.”

SAAAAAAAAAFE!

“Anderson developed mostly in the Tigers organization, then received several Major League trials with the Mets, who dealt him to Washington in 2008.  In ’09, at the end of his first decade as a professional, his diligence paid off as he won the Nationals second base post.  On June 16, Hernandez belted his first home run — off CC Sabathia at Yankee Stadium.”

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH140 Dana Eveland
2. #UH170 Greg Smith (Rookie)
3. #UH22 Brian Moehler
4. #UH208 Kerry Wood (All-Star)
5. #UH119 Ken Griffey Jr. (Highlights)
6. #UH204 Franquelis Osoria
7. #UH12 Trot Nixon
8. #UH318 Kyle Farnsworth
9. Gold Border #UH149 Paul Hoover (Serial#1617/2008)
10. Gold Foil #UH76 Francisco Rodriguez (All-Star)

“At 32, Paul enjoyed his most extended stay in the Bigs in 2008.  The longtime Minor League backstop who reads lips (both of his parents are deaf) brings great versatility to the Marlins.  He can catch, play virtually any infield position and even fill a spot in the outfield in a pinch.  Hoover ripped five hits in his first 13 at-bats with Florida.”

Paul was signed by the Phillies in 2009 and got 3 hits in 4 at-bats in September, including a game-winning RBI.  However, he was sent back down to AAA before the playoffs.

“By pounding a 3-1, first-inning pitch from Mark Hendrickson 413 feet into the Miami night on June 9, 2008, Ken became the sixth player to hit 600 home runs.  That put Sammy Sosa (609) dead in his sights for a move to fifth on the all-time list.”

Junior hit 18 homers in 2008 to put him at 5th on the all-time list.  He hit 19 in 2009 to make 630 home runs.  He needs 30 more to tie Willie Mays at 4th place with 660, though at age 39 it seems unlikely.

Merry Christmas to all from 25YearsOfBaseball!  Today we’re opening a very special pack.  It’s a pack I got from a dealer last year for National Baseball Card Day!

1. Upper Deck #UD9 Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Upper Deck #UD10 Derek Jeter
3. Upper Deck #UD11 Albert Pujols
4. Upper Deck #UD12 Ichiro
5. Upper Deck #UD13 Prince Fielder
6. Upper Deck #UD14 Ian Kennedy (Rookie)
7. Topps #6 Clay Buchholz (Rookie)
8. Topps #1 Alex Rodriguez
9. Topps #2 David Wright
10. Topps #3 Ryan Howard
11. Topps #4 David Ortiz
12. Topps #5 Vladimir Guerrero

I don’t have any 2008 Upper Deck cards, so maybe I’m biased, but I think Upper Deck won this one design-wise.  I wasn’t aware that there was a “National Baseball Card Day”, so I Googled it real quick.  Apparently it was held every March 29 in hobby stores across the country.  Now I’m wondering, was there a “National Baseball Card Day” in 2009?  Or is it going to be held in 2010?

1993 Stadium Club, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #693 Mike Moore *x2
2. #694 Kevin Mitchell *x2
3. #695 Phil Hiatt (Rookie) *x2
4. #696 Tony Tarasco (Rookie)
5. #697 Benji Gil *x2
6. #698 Jeff Juden *x2
7. #699 Kevin Reimer *x2
8. #700 Andy Ashby *x2
9. #701 John Jaha *x2
10. #702 Tim Bogar (Rookie) *x2
11. #703 David Cone *x2
12. #704 Willie Greene *x2
13. #705 David Hulse *x2
14. #706 Cris Carpenter *x4
15. #707 Ken Griffey Jr. *x2
16. #708 Steve Bedrosian *x2
17. #709 Dave Nilsson *x2
18. #710 Paul Wagner (Rookie) *x2
19. #711 B.J. Surhoff *x2
20. #712 Rene Arocha *x2
21. #713 Manuel Lee
22. #714 Brian Williams *x2
23. #715 Sherman Obando (Rookie) *x2
24. #716 Terry Mulholland *x2
25. #717 Paul O’Neill *x2
26. #718 David Nied
27. #719 J.T. Snow *x2
28. #720 Nigel Wilson *x2
29. #721 Mike Bielecki *x2
30. #722 Kevin Young *x3

1992 Upper Deck, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #397 Milt Thompson *x2
2. #401 Omar Vizquel
3. #402 Joe Boever
4. #405 Mike Schooler
5. #406 Jason Grimsley
6. #407 Greg Myers *x2
7. #411 Garry Templeton
8. #413 Donnie Hill
9. #415 Scott Sanderson *x2
10. #421 Carlos Quintana *x2
11. #423 Paul Molitor *x2
12. #424 Ken Griffey Jr.
13. #425 Phil Plantier
14. #427 Von Hayes *x3
15. #428 Shane Mack
16. #432 Mike Humphreys
17. #442 Pat Combs
18. #447 Tom Candiotti
19. #449 Mickey Morandini
20. #451 Otis Nixon
21. #455 Marquis Grissom *x2
22. #457 Harvey Pulliam *x2
23. #461 Tom Browning
24. #463 Jerome Walton
25. #468 Lloyd Moseby
26. #473 Terry Steinbach
27. #480 Bob Milacki
28. #485 Scott Scudder
29. #487 John Cerutti
30. #491 Marvin Freeman

1992 Triple Play:

1. #117 Lou Whitaker
2. #122 Greg Vaughn
3. #123 Royce Clayton
4. #128 Andy Ashby
5. #134 Bret Barberie
6. #138 The Famous Chicken
7. #139 Terry Pendleton
8. #140 Jim Eisenreich
9. #145 Luis Mercedes
10. #146 Trevor Wilson
11. #150 Craig Biggio
12. #151 Joe Girardi
13. #152 Ken Griffey Jr.
14. #156 Steve Olin
15. #157 Greg Harris
16. #158 Guess Who?
17. #162 Paul O’Neill

1992 Leaf, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #374 Brian Hunter
2. #375 Joe Carter
3. #377 Mike Stanton
4. #378 Hubie Brooks
5. #381 Danny Jackson
6. #382 Manuel Lee *x2
7. #386 Kevin Ritz
8. #387 Curtis Wilkerson
9. #390 Bob Welch
10. #391 Lou Whitaker
11. #392 Ken Griffey Jr. *x2
12. #394 Arthur Rhodes
13. #395 Chili Davis *x2
14. #398 Dave Cochrane
15. #399 Kevin Seitzer
16. #402 Les Lancaster *x2
17. #404 David Justice
18. #405 Andy Ashby
19. #407 Bill Swift
20. #408 Craig Lefferts
21. #409 Tom Candiotti
22. #410 Lance Blankenship
23. #411 Jeff Tacket *x2
24. #413 Jody Reed
25. #414 Bruce Ruffin
26. #415 Gene Larkin
27. #416 John Vanderwal *x2
28. #417 Tim Belcher
29. #419 Dick Schofield
30. #421 Kim Batiste

1992 Fleer, to be integrated into my collection:

1. #642 Paul McClellan
2. #646 Mike Remlinger
3. #649 Jose Uribe
4. #651 Trevor Wilson
5. #657 Willie Banks (Prospects)
6. #669 Jarvis Brown (Prospects)
7. #671 Scott Brosius (Prospects)
8. #673 Joel Johnston (Prospects)
9. #674 Tim Spehr (Prospects)
10. #683 Dennis Martinez (Record Setters)
11. #686 Dave Winfield (Record Setters)
12. #693 Scott Erickston (League Leaders)
13. #695 Dennis Martinez (League Leaders)
14. #697 Lee Smith (League Leaders)
15. #709 Ken Griffey Jr. *x2
16. #710 Nolan Ryan