Hobby Shop Run Part 2 - Goodwin Champions Pack

Since the first few cards I picked out were from the 70's, I decided to get some modern baseball cards as well, so I grabbed a pack of 2009 Goodwin Champions. When I first saw the previews for this set a while back, I thought the cards looked outstanding and was planning to pick up a hobby box or two. I even went so far as to sell some cards on eBay so I'd be prepared, and I have more than enough in my PayPal account to cover a hobby box, but I just haven't been able to pull the trigger. I would've picked up a couple of packs, but I was on a budget and at $5 for a pack of 5 cards I decided to just grab one. Here's what I got...

#86 - Brooks Robinson - Baltimore Orioles - Pretty cool that Brooks was the first card out of the pack on the same day when I bought his 1974 Topps card. I may have to start collecting Brooks. This is my favorite card in the pack and probably the only one I won't eventually trade away. I think the painting is great and I love the Gold Glove symbol.

Mini #72 - David Wright - New York Mets - Nothing spectacular with this mini, but I do love the Mr. Met in the lower left.

#GCM-CH - Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies - Memorabilia Series - I guess it's cool to pull a memorabilia card in my first and only pack. I seem to have pretty good luck with pulling game-used cards from packs at this guy's shop, which gives me a good feeling that he doesn't pack search. A couple of drawbacks here though. First and foremost, you can't tell from the scan, but this card is off-centered about 75/25 to the left. There's just no excuse for this in a modern card set, and the fact that it's one of the hits makes it that much more frustrating. Sure I only spent $5 on the pack, but had this been one of the hits in my $75 hobby box I'd be pretty disappointed. Not only that, but the hit results in one less card in the pack, so I ended up with only 4 cards instead of 5...

#5 - Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals - This card isn't doing a whole lot for me.

These cards are alright. I could see myself picking up another pack or two if I could find them a bit cheaper, maybe even picking up a hobby box once the initial cool factor wears off and the price comes down a bit. For now I'm happy with my 4 card sampling...