Box Break : 2004 Upper Deck

During my pack opening frenzy this summer, one of the boxes I got was from 2004 Upper Deck. But since it was in the middle of 20-something other boxes, it went unnoticed. For Christmas, I got another one (series 2 this time), and it hit me.

It's an amazing set, worthy of Upper Deck. The design isn't perfect, mainly because of the foil used for the players' names, but other than that, there's nothing to complain about. And it's weird, because I usually like to make fun of manufacturers. Ah well.

First, the inserts. The least interesting part of the release, actually.

That Di Maggio card is supposedly worth something. I'm not very impressed.

Ok. They look like Topps inserts. And I'm not sure it's a compliment.

Ditto. There is a Pedroia in the bunch that makes it worth it, though.

And now, for a display of what photos on cards should be :

Two stages of broken bats.

Flying infielders !

Pre-season always makes for interesting scenery. I'm not an expert, but it doesn't look, like Florida...As for Vlady, I wonder if he yet again swung at a pitch that was way, way out. Unless he hit a pitch way, way out.

 Not sure Jorge really needed to slide here, but great effort.

On deck action ! If I wasn't lazy, I'd have a closer look at who's at bat.

A couple gold glovers (yes, I'm obsessed with them)

See how the foot aligns perfectly with the border ?

Ok, they did get lazy there. Same game, same photograph, same location for the photo, same last four letters, but I can't blame them for that.

Oh, and on an unrelated note, you may notice that I added some guys to my PC (right there on the right). Collecting Blue Jays players is fun, but it's even more fun to collect a whole bunch of other players I like. Starting with guys that have won more than 10 Gold Gloves during their career (I told you it was my obsession). So if you have any extras you'd like to send my way in one of our usual trades, that'd be great !