Sunday, April 7, 2019

2009 Topps Factory Team Set

A couple weeks back, Wrigley Wax posted about picking up the 2019 Cubs Topps Factory set.  I had already ordered my 2019 set but in the post he mentioned that he had picked up every Cubs set since they started in 2006.  I remember a few years back trying to fill in the gaps in my collection but falling a bit short.  I decided to check my collection and see which sets I was missing.

I discovered that I was missing 3 sets, 2006, 2007 and 2009.  I did some eBay searching and was able to find the set from 2009.  I couldn't find the other 2 sets and set up eBay search alerts in hopes that they turn up. If any of you happen to run across either set I am still missing, let me know as I would really like to get the full run.

Here is the set as it arrived:


The first few sets of this I kept packaged up but one day I decided to crack them all.  I think it was a play to help them retain their value but why have cards if you can't enjoy them.  Plus how do you enjoy cards when they are sealed up.

I don't recall any of the other sets coming in snap cases, I wish they did as I always get concerned opening up the packages.  Recent sets feature mostly cards with the same photos as the flagship sets.  Occasionally there are a couple of different photos or cropping so I decided to compare this set with the 2009 flagship Giants base cards.


My comparison didn't start off well as the Tim Lincecum features the same photo.  I decided to take the opportunity to share the card backs that are the same as the flagship cards with the exception of the card numbering.   The next 2 cards feature different photos.  I like both Rowand photos, probably preferring the team set showing off his unique batting stance.  Both Cain cards showcase him preparing to unleash a pitch in his home uni  The team set card is cropped a little better in my opinion.


We are 3 for 3 in different photos in this grouping.  Molina's team set card features the first road uni in either set.  Good photos all around in all 6 cards, the only upgrade in my opinion is the Fred Lewis card, I like that his entire body is included on the card, his flagship card could have been improved with a slightly zoomed out photo.


The Jonathan Sanchez card is only the second repeat in the first 9 cards.  I prefer the team set Panda and the flagship Unit cards from this grouping.


Wow, 3 more new photos and all 3 are nice new photos.  The Brian Wilson photo in the flagship set has always bugged me, the coloring on his hat is off a bit and it looks almost blue.  Even though the cropping is better on the flagship card, the better coloring makes the team set card my favorite of the two.


The final 3 cards of the team set feature one new photo and two cards that don't appear in the flagship set.  The Bowker is his only card from 2009 after having 60 cards in 2008.  He is one of the dozens of players to man left field for the Giants since Barry Bonds departure, playing 25 games there for the Giants.  The position doesn't seem any more stable this year with Rule 5 pick up Connor Joe, Yangervis Solarte, Gerardo Parra and already sent down Michael Reed already spending time in left this year.  The inclusion of the stadium photo is the "1 Bonus Card" referenced on the front and I think it is an improvement over the O-Pee-Chee card from the same year as you get a better look at McCovey Cove.

5 comments:

  1. I’ve done the same thing. I think I’m missing 2014. I don’t even open them.

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  2. Thanks for the side-by-side, Adam. Brings back great memories of the precursor to the first WS squad. Bengie was so good catching that Cadillac pitching staff that I couldn't believe they were ready to hand it off to that unproven kid Buster.

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  3. I have a few team sets and think the Pirates usually have one unique photo per team set each year.

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  4. I should do this for the A's. Way too late to get into the game... unless I'm able to find someone on eBay with a bunch of different ones on the cheap.

    Btw... I like the flagship Wilson. Yeah... the hat looks kinda bluish... but the cropping job is 10x better on that photo (imho).

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  5. Oh nice I've avoided these since I assumed they were all mostly the same photos but if I come across an old one for cheap now I know better. Also that stadium card looks like the same photo as the 2010 Franchise History card.

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