How Topps Defeated Upper Deck in 2009: Exhibit A

I threw my wantlist into the ring awhile back and Scott from Hand Collated sent over a few 2009 Cardinals that I needed, including my first "rookie cards" of NL ROY candidate Colby Rasmus. For some reason, Upper Deck chose a cheesy spring training "signing autographs for the fans" shot for their first look at Colby. It's a strange choice, if you ask me, because this seems to be sort of a cliche photo choice usually reserved for superstar players. At this point, Rasmus had yet to appear in a counting major league game.

I think the Topps card is perfect, however. I'm admittedly a sucker for the photos where you can see the ball suspended in mid-air. This card just looks great, though. I like that you can see the coach observing his young prodigal player in the background. Colby seems a little different than a lot of young players. He did not walk once in the entire month of June and claims that he isn't interested in walking, only hitting. I am also not impressed with his arm, having seen him hit the pitcher's mound at least twice now with a throw from the outfield. But he does have a lot of talent and he did hit the big walkoff HR in Wednesday night's game. I will be rooting for him, of course, because he's a Cardinal.

I also picked up my first two Ring of Honor cards in the trade. These apparently are hobby-only inserts, which would explain why I was lacking in that department. I don't think I like the design, but anything honoring the World Series Champion Cardinals is alright in my book.

Of course, I'm not sure how this would constitute a trade if I don't actually send something back in return. Oops. I'll be poring over the want lists and will have something in the mail soon, I promise.