I enjoyed making these Set Appreciation posts this summer, so I am going to try to get back into looking at the old sets hanging out in my closet. USA Baseball sets are always pretty small, so it seemed like it might be a good place to start back. I have been going to USA Baseball teams since 2006, so I got to see the college players in this set in person. Pretty good team, a few of the players worked out, a few flamed out. The usual with watching amateur players.
Before we get into the set, here was the roster for the College National Team during the summer of 2010. Players from the 18U and 16U teams were also included in the set, but I mainly buy these cards for the college kids.
Again, a good mix of players here.
Basic Design
There are never any really well designed USA Baseball sets. Most people just collect these cards for the autographs, right? Maybe there is a good design out there, but I am just not thinking of it at the moment. They always just seem bland with very little effort. This one might be a little worse than some of the others.
Here is the front of the card.
What do you want me to say?
Looks like it could be the design for the 2022 Topps base set. Some squiggly lines around the border with a red, white, and blue color scheme. I spent time looking for something that was good about the card. I like that they identify the level of the team on the front of the card.
That's it.
Back of the card.
None of the players have stats on the back of the cards, just a short write up about their playing career. Some of the "this player reminds scouts of....", or "this player is just like........", or "this player models their game after......" tend to not age very well.
ARod. Albert Amora. No.
This was originally a boxed set. If I remember correctly, you got the complete set along with one autograph per box. Everyone bought these for the one autograph. At least, I hope they did.
I Bought This For An Autograph
Do people buy USA Baseball cards for the base cards?
No.
Do people buy USA Baseball cards for the autographs?
Yes.
I keep repeating it. Keep telling yourself the same thing if you are buying these cards for any other reason.
I watch the games at USA Baseball. I try to pick out some players that I think are going to be good, buy their autographs, and store them away for a few years. I pulled an autograph of South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. out of my set.
Solid Major League player and the 2018 American League Championship Series MVP. Jackie Bradley Jr. was a great college player. If he's not in the University of South Carolina's Hall of Fame, he will be before long. Bradley helped South Carolina win the College World Series and took home the College World Series MVP. He was awesome in college. Bradley ended up being a first round selection by the Red Sox, so this was a pretty good pull at the time this set was released.
Alex Gordon turns Mikie Mahtook's redemption dinger into a spectacular out: https://t.co/xzOZey1Srn pic.twitter.com/L7bqHjQcZo
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 4, 2017
It was a spectacular catch, but we have other things to talk about here.
The Best Non-Cardinal Card
There were a few different choices here, but I went with Francisco Lindor.
Seemed like a pretty easy choice.
How Does It Compare?
Welp. I have done a really good job of poker facing my way through this post. I am really glad that Topps no longer makes the USA Baseball products. Between the three major manufacturers that have held the license over the past twenty years, Topps did the worst job. This set has a really boring design and packaging the cards as a set with a single autograph just feels a bit lazy.
It's easily the worst set that I have posted this year.
Sweet Cole! I purchased one of the Panini Team USA products either in 2017 or maybe 2018 (heck... maybe it was 2019). Anyways... it was on sale for Black Friday and I was really impressed by the number of autographs and memorabilia cards they included in their box.
ReplyDeleteAutographs have always been pretty plentiful in USA Baseball products. Still think the 2004 Upper Deck set was my favorite even though it has those silver sticker autographs. I miss Upper Deck baseball products so bad.
DeleteOh man... I remember those. When I first returned to the hobby, I bought six, maybe eight sets because of those autographs. Gave most of them away over the years, but I think I held onto a few like: Dave Stewart, John Olerud, and Joe Mauer.
DeleteThat JBJ auto is sharp! Hopefully he and George Springer will be teammates again soon, though I've heard Boston is only interested in Springer to replace Bradley.
ReplyDeleteJackie Bradley has always had a sharp autograph. I haven't kept up with any of the off-season rumors. All I know, is that the Cardinals aren't going to spend any money and claim that they are somehow poor.
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