2009 Upper Deck SPx Baseball Review - Short On Autographs and RCs

The Good:
+ Upper Deck’s insertion of unannounced Buyback Mystery Packs in each box of SPx is a great touch that helps set the tone for a fun break.
+ Great card design - both for the base cards and the various inserts.
+ While I would stop short of calling it an innovation, I really like the Flashback Fabrics Memorabilia Inserts.
+ Nice combination of insert cards that included numbered Joe Dimaggio inserts and key 20th Anniversary cards.
+ This was the most fun I’ve had breaking a box of SPx in a long time.

The Bad:
- It would have been nice to see a higher ratio of autographs to game used memorabilia cards.
- Lack of rookie cards. Other then Rookie Exchange Autographs, which there is no guarantee that you will pull, there are no rookie cards in this set.
- Higher quality patches on a per box basis would have gone a long way.

The Bottom Line:
When I initially read about 2009 Upper Deck SPx Baseball my expectations were not very high for it. My past experiences with the brand were varied, to say the least. While I was still an annual customer of SPx Football Products, I felt that there was little left for SPx Baseball to offer me. I was wrong.

I flat out had a really good time breaking 2009 Upper Deck SPx Baseball. The base cards were top notch, which, combined with the product’s variety of inserts, game used memorabilia cards, and autographs, made opening each pack an enjoyable experience.

Rather then speeding through the box break, which I find myself doing from time to time with card products that are driven solely by chase cards (to the detriment of the rest of the set), I found myself slowing down to take in each card I pulled. The design is first rate, making the base cards a great pickup for player collectors and set builders alike.

2009 SPx Baseball is certainly not without its faults, however. I would like to see a higher ratio of Autograph Cards to Game Used Memorabilia Cards, as the former are grossly outnumbered in the set.

Another shortcomming of the set is its almost complete lack of rookie cards. As far as I can tell, the only rookie cards in the entire 2009 SPx Baseball Set are the Rookie Exchange Autographs - which there is no guarantee that you will even pull (as was the case in my box). It would have been nice to find 2 or 3 serial numbered rookie cards per box, as is the case in many of Upper Deck’s SPx Football products.

While there is nothing ground breaking about 2009 SPx Baseball, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of focusing on reinventing the wheel, Upper Deck applied their efforts towards creating a baseball card product fundamentally strong in all of the areas that matter most. If you have even a passing interest in SPx, or products that closely resemble SPx, you will be hard pressed to find a better way to spend your collecting dollar then 2009 SPx Baseball.

Every Box of 2009 Upper Deck SPx Baseball contains on average:

* (1) Buyback Mystery Pack.
* (4) jersey cards, two which will be a Dual, Triple, or Quad swatch card.
* (1) Jersey Autograph or Rookie Signature.
* (4) Joe DiMaggio Career Highlight insert cards.
* (9) 20th Anniversary inserts.

Other Highlights include:

* 100-card base set that was printed using Upper Deck’s Light/FX technology.
* (3) patch cards per case (on average).
* (1) autographed patch card per case (on average).
* (1) 20th Anniversary Memorabilia card per case (on average).

Thanks to www.cardboardconnection.com