Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2008 Topps St. Louis Cardinals

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Team Set of the Week:

• Team: 2008 St. Louis Cardinals
• Record: 86-76, fourth place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Tony LaRussa
• Card on the Top: Albert Pujols

The checklist consists of the following players:

• STL1 Albert Pujols
• STL2 Troy Glaus
• STL3 Jason Isringhausen
• STL4 Ryan Ludwick
• STL5 Anthony Reyes
• STL6 Chris Duncan
• STL7 Yadier Molina
• STL8 Braden Looper
• STL9 Adam Wainwright
• STL10 Chris Carpenter
• STL11 Rick Ankiel
• STL12 Scott Spiezio
• STL13 Adam Kennedy
• STL14 Brendan Ryan

The cards in order from the set (the checklist at the end was cut from the back of the package. What, you don't do that?):

Key differences between the team set and 2008 Topps eponymous set:

• Scott Spiezio does not appear in either 2008 Topps or 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights sets. This is the only product you will find a card of him using the 2008 Topps design.

• Ryan Ludwick did not appear in the 2008 base set, even though he appeared in 120 games for the Redbirds. He does make it into the Updates and Highlights set. Probably helps that he was an All-Star that season:
  
  

• Yadier Molina's retail card uses the same picture as his base card, but his base card shows more of the intended shot:
  
  

• Ditto for Braden Looper:
  
  

• Adam Kennedy? Same thing:
  
  

• And Brendan Ryan...ever so slightly:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, only one uses a totally different picture for the retail set, and one player's card (Spiezio) can only be found in this product.

Next week's featured set will be the 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Updates and Highlights Sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama