DATA: 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter (129)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Back with a little more vintage for you. Lovin’ the Allen & Ginter series, but this one falls a little flat for me. I love the ultra-clean look of the first two years. While this is a nice nod to the 1880s N16 set from which the design was derived from, it’s just not my favorite of the A&G series. That said, it’s a vintage look and that usually trumps most of the modern sets for me.

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck Icons ()

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Don’t have a clue what this set is about. It does have a Joey Votto card, so it’s got that going for it. I read over on Capewood’s Collections that packs of this stuff run for $1.97, so it’s got to be a bargain set.

The design really isn’t that bad, but it would probably get old after just a few packs. Nice photo of Joey on this one. Much better than featuring him with that dang camouflage jersey ;)

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions (145)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: I’m a little torn on these Goodwin Champions cards from Upper Deck. Being a fan of heritage-type reproductions, it’s right in my sweet spot. But, there are little weird things about this set that bug me. The price of a pack #3 with the amount of cards included (4, I believe) is a little off-putting. The mini-cards are sized differently than other tobacco-style cards, which is kinda odd. Also there, are times when they use odd team logos on cards, for example the Reds logo on this Johnny Bench card. It doesn’t make sense to me. One other thing that I found interesting: There is no Upper Deck hologram on the back of the card. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen an UD card without one.

For Joey’s card in this set, I would have loved to have seen a different photo. Nothing like giving a fist bump to someone not in the photo. Plus, those camouflage jerseys just shouldn’t be on cards. I don’t mind them for a game every now and again, but I would rather see a regular uniform on anyone’s baseball card. It’s the little things.

DATA: 2009 Topps Redsfest (8 of 8)

ACQUIRED: Redsfest 2009

PING: Like Redsfest 2008, the Reds handed out free Topps cards of several current Reds players. This is our favorite kind of Joey Votto card – free, exclusive and good lookin’. This card is nice preview of the 2010 Topps design, as where last year they used the previous year’s design. This card has a matte finish – great for using it for an autograph at Redsfest.

Here’s a look at all 8 cards from the 2009 Redsfest set.

DATA: 2009 Bowman Orange (62 38/250)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Ah, this card reminds us of autum. Such a wonderful time of the year here in the midwest. If only Joey and the Reds were playing at this time – meaning in October. They’ll get there someday, and it will be on the shoulders of Mr. Votto.

DATA: 2009 Topps Finest Green (69 97/99)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: This green is a killer variation on in the 2009 Topps Finest set. It really jumps off the card. Other than the color and it being serial numbered out of 99, nothing else too special about this card. Nothing more than adding more beef to the Votto binder on my self.

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Mini Green (56)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: We’re still lovin’ the Goudey. The minis are sweet. While Goudey switched to the modern card sized for their 2008 & 2009 sets, It’s nice they kept the mini in as an insert. Of course, that helps sell more cards… but we still dig them. There are Blue and Green variations in this year’s Goudey set… maybe black as well? Just more cards to track down, right?

DATA: 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights Gold (UH185) (1221/2008)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Nice gold card to add to the collection of 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights set. We still need to track down the black version – a sharp looking card, but kinda hard to find.

This particular card has some printing issues. It looks like the “sparkle plate” was off and created a offset shift on the printing. I’m wondering if they are all like this, or just a certain percentage of the run. I’m surprised this kind error would have made it past the press check. Oh well.

This card is serial numbered out of 2008.

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com, probably

PING: Joey’s obviously a great bowler. Look at that form! It’s interesting that he still wears his first baseman’s mitt and Reds uni when out bowling with the guys. Maybe they set up some lanes at GABP before a Sunday game or something? Family day possibly? Bowling is always good with the fam… if they start annoying you, you can always bail and play Street Fighter over at the arcade section of the bowling alley.

DATA: 2008 Upper Deck Documentary Gold Parallel (80, 380, 680, 980, 1280, 2480)

ACQUIRED: Cincy Reds Cards

PING: Just when I thought that SIX Documentary cards of Mr. Votto were plenty, Joe from Cincy Reds Cards hooks me up phat with SIX more. Now, this isn’t just SIX more Documentary cards, it’s SIX parallels. And what a sweet paralell it is! Upper Deck stamped “2008″ on this bad-boy and also made a box at the bottom of the card gold instead of silver.

Mind. Blown.

DATA: 2009 Bowman Blue (410/500)

ACQUIRED: www.checkoutmycards.com

PING: The blue border version of the 2009 Bowman set is pretty good lookin’. With Joey sporting the red alternate jersey, it makes for a nice complementary-colored border.

DATA: 2009 Topps Finest Blue (69 353/399)

ACQUIRED: Cincy Reds Cards

PING: ANOTHER hook-up right here from Cincy Reds Cards. Joe is hooking up folks all over the place.

I’m diggin’ the Finest this year. Rad design. Joey is featured very nicely, with the team name and brand logo included, but understated. Nice restraint. Solid layout. It just works. Plus, blue always looks fantastic on chrome.

This particular card is number out of 399. Very nice of Joe to hook me up with a #’d card.

DATA: 2009 Topps Attax

ACQUIRED: Cincy Reds Cards

PING: I really don’t understand what Topps Attax really is, but this is a sweet card. Glad to add it to the collection and post it up on ye ol’ vottoTRON. Here’s a little video from Topps that explains it a little bit… but it’s marketing speak more than anything. “Strike out the competition!” Oh yeah. Well, whatever this whole thing is, I hope Joey is a good card to play in the game.

Again, Cincy Reds Cards… those cats are the shizzle.

DATA: 2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History Timeless Moments (TM-JV 042/149)

ACQUIRED: Cincy Reds Cards

PING: Joe from Cincy Reds Cards recently sent me a nice package of cards including my two favorite players – Joey Votto and Barry Larkin. This Timeless Moments card was included and one of my favorites. I like this card a lot more than I expected to. It’s got a nice finish to it, good thickness and the design is better than average. The Upper Deck logo in the top left corner kills it a little bit… something the UP logo does a lot with their designs. This design is a huge step up from last year’s A Piece of History design as well. This particular card is number out of 149 – kinda odd. I have been unable to locate a checklist for this set, so I’m not sure what other parallels, if any, are available of this card.

Thanks again to Joe for the card. More cards from that package coming soon.

By the way, this article on Joey and the family in Dayton that hosted him while he played with the Dragons is a must-read.

DATA: 2008 Topps Opening Day White Parallel (218 0523/2199)

ACQUIRED: checkoutmycards.com

PING: Now defunct Topps brand, Opening Day, commemorated the start of the baseball season by offering a low-cost pack of cards with a short checklist. Not a lot of flair in the set, really. I see it basically being a parallel of the 2008 Topps flagship set, just sold in its own package. But, what baseball card set would be complete without some parallels? Here we have the white parallel card from the 2008 Opening Day set. Numbered out of 2199, it’s not terribly rare… but I did have a mildly tough time tracking one down. It took a while. The foil stamp on the card is gold, just like the base set, but there is the opening day date also stamped on this version – March 31st, 2008. I like the card – it’s a nice one to chase down for a player collector. That said, I didn’t really miss Opening Day not being in market this year.