Stumbled into a local Target and what do I see? A small stack of 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions staring at me. Yes, the retail version of this product is live. Not only were there a handful of blasters, but also a gravity feeder, which someone apparently rifled through before I got there. Someone remind me why Upper Deck is using nearly transparent wrappers for the retail product? Gah. Anyway, here is the break of my one and ONLY blaster — 12 packs, 4 cards per pack. All will be for trade except for any Red Sox.
Pack 1: Phil Hellmuth, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, Jonathan Toews
The very first Goodwin card I see is Hellmuth. Hmm ...
Pack 2: Alex Rodriguez, Carl Yastrzemski, David Ortiz MINI, Phil Niekro
Pack 3: Matt Cain, Lyndon Johnson, Nate McLouth AUTO, Stephen Drew
Happy to have pulled an auto, but my luck has been off. That's a topic for another post soon ...
Pack 4: Curtis Granderson, Bill Rodgers, Rollie Fingers MINI, Matt Ryan (college)
Pack 5: Nick Markakis, Carlton Fisk, Josh Johnson, Carlos Delgado
Is UD going to use the same shot of Fisk in every release? This is a repeat of Goudey.
Pack 6: Derrick Rose, Grady Sizemore, Derek Jeter MINI, Robin Roberts
Can't go wrong with Jeter
Pack 7: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Chien Ming Wang, Alexander Ovechkin BLACK MINI, CC Sabathia
I'm not a hockey guy, but I believe Crosby and Ovechkin are Nos. 1 and 2 in the sport.
Pack 8: Kristi Yamaguchi, Ben Roethlisberger (college) mini, Great White Shark ANIMAL SERIES, Ken Griffey Jr.
This is what happens when the sports leagues go with exclusive contracts. Barf.
Not sure if I like this one better than the Allen & Ginter Great White Shark card. /sarcasm
Pack 9: Michael Beasley, Todd Helton, Akinori Iwamura, Koji Uehara
Pack 10: Vlad Guerrero, Jeff Samardzija, Adrian Gonzalez MINI, Alexander Ovechkin
Pack 11: Kevin Garnett, Roy Oswalt, Al Gore Nobel Peace Prize Anniversay card, Joey Votto
For a split second, I thought this was a instant-win scratcher card of some sort. Nope.
Pack 12: Chad Reed, Brooks Robinson, Jake Peavey MINI, Joe Dimaggio
Comments: From the first card (Hellmuth) to the last (DiMaggio) this blaster of Goodwin Champions was entertaining. Can’t argue with an on-card auto of a Major League star — even if he is is pictured in the uniform of his former team.
From a broader perspective, Goodwin Champions is indeed UD’s answer to the wildly popular Topps Allen & Ginter set, but it does feel like a slight variation on Goudey — which really was not that impressive. As is the case with A&G, the minis are pretty neat, but hard to store.
As far as people represented in the set, it is refreshing to see a set where Micket Mantle IS NOT a big draw. Not to hate on Mickey, but Topps really has harmed his cardboard legacy. As collectors, we shouldn’t groan every time we see a card of one of the game’s greatest stars, but that seems to be the case these days. I was more than happy to see Mr. DiMaggio though.
