McCovey Monday #55 - 2010 Upper Deck

My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1200 different  McCovey cards since I started collecting him in the late 1980s.  I will show off one of my favorite cards every Monday.  Stretch was one of the most feared hitters of all time and I am excited to show off my collection.

I spent a little time tonight updating my McCovey Want List page on the blog.  I didn't have my 2013 or 2014 wants listed, primarily out of laziness.  I got all my newest additions filed into the binder and made sure I had my checklist up to date.  My suspicion was that I hadn't done a very good job of keeping my McCovey collection up to date with releases over the past year.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well I have done on the 2014 releases to date but I do have some holes in 2013 that need to be filled.  I plan on trying to address that along with doing some serious Set Building work with my July budget.

Today I am showing off a card that isn't technically a McCovey card.  I have a few cards like that in my collection.  I do think once you see it you will see why I have included it.  It is one of the most picturesque photos ever included on a sports card.

 If you have never been to San Francisco, it is a must see destination city.  It is my favorite city I have ever visited (and it has nothing to do with being a Giants fan) with the hills, Alcatraz, Lombard Street, the bridges, Coit Tower - I could go on and on.  It always trouble me as a kid that in this beautiful city the Giants played in a park as ugly as Candlestick.  This, of course, was rectified in 2000 with the opening of Pac Bell Park (now AT&T Park).  The stadium is magnificent, a great blend of modern amenities with a tribute to ball parks of the past.  As everyone knows it is right on the water giving kayakers a chance to retrieve home run balls out of the water.

My man Willie McCovey has a statue opposite the stadium across McCovey Cove that has an amazing view of the park.  It is a little walk out to the peninsula where the statue sits so I have only made the trek a couple of times but it is well worth it to see the tribute to my favorite player of all time and this gorgeous view captured flawlessly by Upper Deck in their last baseball release.  This is sports card photography done right.

The backs of these Ballparks cards have a nice little write up and some information about the park and team.  This subset is one of my favorite parts of Upper Deck's 2010 Series 1 (there was no Series 2) release.  I sure wish everyone could put the past aside, work out their differences and have a little competition in the baseball card market.