29 April 2011

more team collector pandering as topps serves up more variations - a side by side comparison of the 2007 dodgers

after a couple of decent variations and especially a nomar! in the 2006 topps dodger blister team set, i quickly sought out and purchased a 2007 set.  it was not quite the same.  you'll see what i mean.  once again, the regular topps cards are on the left, and the topps dodgers team set cards are on the right.

first up, lad1 for 2007 - rafael furcal
no difference.  at least it's not photoshopped like his 2006 card.  i have to admit, i was hoping for nomar to be on top of the pack back in 2007.  turns out, of course, that he was nowhere to be found.

jonathan broxton
again, no difference.  broxton had been given one of those factory set 'bonus cards' in 2006 which was nice. chad billingsley had one of those in 2003, and then in 2007, topps issued a dodgers version of the complete factory set which had 5 additional dodger cards in it.  i previously showcased those cards here, so no need to discuss again.

derek lowe
it's the same.

brad penny
ditto.

takashi saito
double ditto.

andre ethier
six cards in and only the number on the back is different.  then we get to lad7.

juan pierre

look!  the filmstrip square things changed color on the bottom!  forget about how topps photoshopped a jersey onto pierre that hadn't been worn in games since the davey johnson era, they changed the color of some little tiny squares!  in fact, all of the dodger team set cards are blue squares on top, white squares on the bottom.

jeff kent is next.
and his card is unchanged.

randy wolf
gets all of his squares changed!  red and blue switched to blue and white! huzzah!

chad billingsley is the 10th card in the set
bo-ring!

jason schmidt
now we're talking!  not only do the bottom squares get the color sapped right out, schmidt's topps card was issued in series 2, so they had some time to get him to pose in a real dodger jersey and without his arm in a cast.  the photoshopped version in the team set is similar to the 2006 brett tomko as it features a giant at pac bell/at&t/the phone booth transformed into a dodger.  it's certainly the most drastic variation of the bunch.

russell martin
no rookie cup for russell!  the dreaded award variation!  ethier got to keep his in the team set, but tough nuts for martin.  otherwise, it's the same.

wilson betemit
this is back to boring.

finally, the last card in the set, lad14 is luis gonzalez
and the out of place guy gets a tighter cropping in the team set!  i actually like this card because there is no baseball field anywhere in sight.  gonzo could be walking through a city park or just strolling down the street.

so, in 2007, we had 3 color square variations, 1 photoshop variation, 1 cropping variation, and 1 disappearing rookie cup variation.  will 2008 be any more diverse?  stay tuned...

1 comment:

capewood said...

I have that Gonzo card. Where the heck is that? I've noticed the same thing you're talking about in the Phillies team sets. Most of the cards have the same shot, some are cropped differently, some have entirely different shots. I've noticed the same kinds of things comparing Topps to Topps Chrome.