Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2009 Topps St. Louis Cardinals

(My family and I are back from our trip to St. Louis. The timing of the Randomizer to pick this team set was coincidental. However, my computer was down due to the power supply box finally dying. It is now replaced, so it is now time to get back at it on this humble, little blog. Here we go.)

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

• Team: 2009 St. Louis Cardinals
• Record: 91-71, first place, NL Central Division.
• Manager: Tony LaRussa
• Card on the Top: Albert Pujols

The checklist consists of the following players:

• STL1 Albert Pujols
• STL2 Chris Carpenter
• STL3 Ryan Ludwick
• STL4 Adam Wainwright
• STL5 Yadier Molina
• STL6 Chris Duncan
• STL7 Rick Ankiel
• STL8 Joel Pineiro
• STL9 Troy Glaus
• STL10 Chris Perez
• STL11 Brendan Ryan
• STL12 Todd Wellemeyer
• STL13 Skip Schumaker
• STL14 Khalil Greene
• STL15 Fredbird

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 2009 Topps eponymous set:

• I don't know, but I think Albert Pujols' retail card looks a bit more "family friendly" than the regular card:
  
  

• Chris Carpenter, a bit more up close with a different picture used in the eponymous set:
  
  

• Ryan Ludwick's regular card shows him in the outfield:
  
  

• Unlike his retail card that shows him batting, pitcher Adam Wainwright is depicted on his base card doing what he does best...mowing down the opposition:
  
  

• Former pitching sensation Rick Ankiel now makes his living playing in the outfield. Just like Ludwick, his regular card shows him in the outfield:
  
  

• Here is Joel Piniero's base card. Up close action shot:
  
  

• The regular card of Troy Glaus shows him making a routine throw across the infield:
  
  

• Even Chris Perez gets a different card in the retail set:
  
  

• Here is Brendan Ryan taking a big cut on his regular Topps card:
  
  

• Somebody pointed out last week that this set includes a "jacked up card" of Skip Schumaker. Now I know why. The picture is the same on the regular card, just a bit further back, but the retail set misspells his name (no "c" in Schumaker):
  
  

• Khalil Greene takes a unique swing in his base card:
  
  

So of the 14 players included in this set, there are ten use cards that feature different pictures in the retail set that was used in 2009 Topps set, and one uses a close up of the picture from the base set, but there is an uncorrected error thanks to the misspelling of Skip's last name. This is one of the sets that justifies having to buy the retail products. When most of the cards in the retail set use different pictures than in the base set (only Molina, Duncan, and Wellemeyer's cards use the same pictures).

Next week's featured set will be the 2006 Oakland Athletics. 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.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama