Official SCF Review: 2009 Upper Deck Spectrum Baseball

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the wonderful people at Upper Deck for providing us with this box/packs.



Product Description

14 packs per box
5 cards per pack
SRP: $79.99 - $89.99

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Two Autograph cards per box, one of which will be a Spectrum of Stars celebrity autograph card, on average!
- 20th Anniversary Memorabilia cards one (1) per hobby case, on average!
- One memorabilia card per box, on average!
- Two autographed cards per box, on average!
- Press Plates, one per case on average!
- 20th Anniversary cards randomly inserted!
- Look for three (3) random Hot Boxes in each hobby case containing three (3) memorabilia cards and three (3) autographed cards!
- Look for celebrity cut-signature cards!
- One (1) autographed buyback card per case, on average!

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:
Regular Cards and Rookies
- 100 Regular Cards

Inserts and Parallel Cards
- Red Base set Parallel (#'ed to 399)
- Orange Base set Parallel (#'ed to 299)
- Green Base set Parallel (#'ed to 99)
- Black Base set Parallel (#'ed to 50)
- Gold Base set Parallel (#'ed to 25)

Autograph Cards (2 per box, on average)
- Spectrum Rookie Signatures
- Spectrum of Stars Autographs
- Spectrum of Stars Die-Cut Autographs (#'ed up to 50)
- Spectrum of Swatches Dark gray Autographs (#'ed up to 99)

Memorabilia Cards (1 per box, on average!)
- Spectrum Patches Maroon (#'ed up to 99)
- Gold Base Set Jersey Parallel (#'ed up to 99)
- Spectrum Swatches Light Blue (#'ed up to 99)

VIDEO BREAK



WHAT WE PULLED

Base - 57/100 (57%)
Dupes - 0

The base cards from Spectrum use a foil board card stock. The background is done primarily in purple with the player featured in the middle. There are not any regular set inserts this year, only parallel versions of the base cards. Five levels of parallels are numbered between 25 and 399. The parallel is denoted by the change in background color on the card as it matches the parallel color.



The 20th Anniversary cards can be found in Spectrum. They are a part of a year-long set from Upper Deck that will be found in baseball releases throughout the year. It is a 2,500 card set.



There are a limited amount of Game Used and Autograph series in Spectrum. However, the Spectrum of Stars series has returned. Below is what we pulled.



Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 4/5
Fun: 4.5/5
Overall design: 4.5/5
Value: 3/5
Re-buy: 3.5/5

Overall: 19.5/25 (78%)

As a huge fan of foil board cards, I like the design of Spectrum. The purple background in conjunction with the foil board creates an appealing card.

Accordingly, the parallels are just as spectacular when viewing them. The colors jump off the card. Player collectors should be excited as they can create a "rainbow" of their player.

Another nice feature is with the addition of the 20th Anniversary cards, you get one bonus card per pack. Most release cannot claim this and it adds to the enjoyability of opening the packs.

However, I do foresee drawbacks with this release. The Spectrum of Stars series is played out. When autos of entertainers first came out a couple of years ago, it seemed to be people that were easily recognized and autos that were sought after. Now, it seems more or less to be an excuse to put another auto in a box and used as a selling point.

No offense against the actor that we pulled, but who does that appeal to? I would venture to say young teenagers. But the truth is, I don't see many teenagers shelling out the money to buy a box of this release. Leave the entertainers out of a sports release. It would be better served in a release solely devoted to that particular media.

So taking the Spectrum of Stars auto out, you lose the bang for the buck. Not to mention, do we really need this huge box that has more styrofoam than packs?

I'd like to thank Upper Deck for providing Sports Card Forum with this box/packs and the opportunity to review it.

[doniceage]

Stars in baseball cards hmm. Definitely not the cards of past as a kid collecting. Thanks for another good review.

DON

[johan29lhp]

nice break Tony! thanks Upper Deck!

[andrewcstein]

NIce review Tony. I can't wait for Upper Deck to make a baseball product with just baseball cards in it. Then I might actually buy their stuff again

[mikesilvia]

What? No Kim Kardashian auto? :)

I'm sure everyone's daughter will be looking for the Hannah Montana actor's auto.

Seems like Upper Deck is doing baseball with a mix of "Americana."

[patriotsguy]

I'm not a baseball guy but I do like the looks of the cards, nice and shiny

[quiet-things]

Nice review, these cards look nice, but I agree with you on the Stars auto bit... I wouldn't be looking forward to pulling one myself.

Thanks UD

[StainLss]

Love everything about the product except the actor cards. They are cool, but i don't think they fit in with a baseball product.
-John

[RenegadeLonghorn]

Love the design. Reminds me of Reflections set from football a few years back. Hope they bring Spectrum to football and basketball. Thanks UD!

[garnett_21]

Decent break and nice review! I, too, don't like the actor autos. I personally don't want to pull Hollywood-type cards when I am looking to buy sports cards. Now, if these were sports figures who've acted in movies, fine, but I personally wouldn't want just any actor signing cards and having them inserted into my sports cards.

Thanks Upper Deck!