If I were a set collector I'd probably complain about the size of the set, 1,024 cards. This is smaller than the 2006, 1,200 card behemoth, but still a large set. I'm a team and individual player collector. A larger set should mean more Phillies and Astros in the base set.
Unlike most years of Upper Deck, this set had borders on the two long sides. Most years, the cards either had a border at the bottom of the card or no border at all. I think this border works well either in the vertical format.
Or in the horizontal format. There wasn't much foil on the front, just the logo and the player name. What is important about the foil is that you can easily read the player's name. In many Upper Deck sets, the foil player's name gets lost in the photograph. The team name and the player position are in the borders and are also easy to read.
I think they did a pretty good job of matching the photo to the orientation of the card. The photos are crisp and almost always well framed within the borders. Here are some of my favorite cards from the set.
Remember Travis Chick? Probably not. Chick's entire ML career consisted of 5 innings where he gave up 7 hits, 10 walks and had an ERA of 12.6. This card seems to have captured his entire career.
This is a great action shot. I think the set has a good mixture of on-field action and posed shots. There are also no subset cards, with the exception of checklist cards. These feature a player on the front and a team checklist on the back.
Izturis makes a dive back into first. A great player close-up.
Chipper making a throw across his body. I think this is another well framed shot.
This may be my favorite card in the set. Clearly Albert got a hold of one here. The pitcher doesn't even seem to have completed his follow through as he turns to watch the ball on its way outta here.
A little bit of catcher ballet.
There were were two cards of Phillies wearing green jerseys. A spring training game on St. Patrick's day perhaps?
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