My First 2009 Topps Short Print Variation

Today, I made the usual trip into Target, looking for the baby's diapers and other household necessities. As I usual do with each trip to Target, I stop by the sports cards at the front of the store and browse through the blaster boxes looking for something interesting. I looked through the 2009 Topps Series One blasters, checked the UPCs and saw one was different. I was hoping this would be the box with the Target retro variations.

After I got home from work... after my wife and girl were gone... and after the boy fell asleep... I opened the box. I opened the first pack and, to my disappointment, they were regular cards. Looking at what has been posted on other blogs, I realize I picked the wrong UPC.

The disappointment wouldn't last much longer. Four packs into the box, I pull my first short print variation: Babe Ruth.



For those collectors who don't know... and almost everyone who has bought some 2009 Topps knows... Topps seeded a number of short print variations. The short prints have the same numbering as the regular Topps cards and the same design, but feature some of baseball's greatest legends: Babe Ruth, Pee Wee Reese, Rogers Hornsby, Jackie Robinson, Cy Young, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Christy Mathewson, Jimmie Foxx, Honus Wagner, Roy Campanella, Mel Ott, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Lou Gehrig, Thurmon Munson and Johnny Mize. There are also short prints of C.C. Sabathia as a Yankee and of President Obama. I pulled #1 Babe Ruth... the regular #1 is Alex Rodriguez.

Anyone who knows me knows that I collect the Topps set every year. I have every Topps set complete from 1976 through 2008 and will be looking for 2009. Part of the fun in building the sets in recent years is also to add in insert cards and variations. While I am not normally a fan of the variations Topps has done in the past, I really like what they did with this year's variations.

My question: What do I do with Babe Ruth?

However, the short print variations are very difficult to pull: one card in every 119 packs. With one card pulled, it will be insurmountable odds to pull the other 18 short print variations. Buying the needed cards off of eBay would cost over $30 each. Likewise, I could sell the Ruth card for that much and recover what I paid for the blaster. The card itself is looks very nice and it would be hard for me to let it go. I will be thinking more on that one.

With this Topps blaster, two more Twins cards will be added to the collection:





I already have the base cards from Series One thanks to the other team collectors.