Random Topps Team Set of the Week: 2009 Cincinnati Reds

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

• Team: 2009 Cincinnati Reds
• Record: 78-84, fourth place, NL Central Division.
• Managers: Dusty Baker
• Card on the Top: Jay Bruce

The checklist consists of the following players:

• CIN1 Jay Bruce
• CIN2 Edinson Volquez
• CIN3 Joey Votto
• CIN4 Bronson Arroyo
• CIN5 Brandon Phillips
• CIN6 Aaron Harang
• CIN7 Edwin Encarnacion
• CIN8 Johnny Cueto
• CIN9 Chris Dickerson
• CIN10 Francisco Cordero
• CIN11 Willy Taveras
• CIN12 Ramon Hernandez
• CIN13 Jeff Keppinger
• CIN14 Micah Owings
• CIN15 Mr. Redlegs

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:

• Jeff Keppinger appeared in 121 games for the Reds last year at second, short, third, and even in left field. In 2009, he was traded to the Astros just before the season started, and then moved on to San Francisco after the All-Star break. You won't find a regular Topps card of Jeff in either the base or traded sets. The only place you can get a Jeff Keppinger card with the 2009 Topps design...is in the retail set.

• While you get to see all of Edison Volquez on the retail card, his base card cuts him off at the top:
  
  

• Joey Votto...with ASRT Trophy, vertically-oriented base card...bunting???:
  
  

• Bronson Arroyo's base card shows him in spring training action:
  
  

• Brandon Phillips, having fun on his base card...:
  
  

• The picture is the same, but Aaron Harang's base card gets the same treatment as Volquez...:
  
  

• The picture is different for Francisco Cordero, but once again...you get the idea:
  
  

• Not only did they use a different picture on the base card for Willy Taveras, but it seems that the retail card spells his name T-E-V-A-R-A-S. Whoops!!!:
  
  

• Retail set owners can see Ramon Hernandez from head to toe. His base card...not so much:
  
  

• While his eponymous 2009 Topps card shows Micah Owings pitching, isn't it refreshing to see baseball cards of pitchers batting, as he was on his retail card?:
  
  

Of the 14 players included in this set, 8 players have different pictures on the retail set compared to the base set, one more shows a different cropping of the same picture, and one player is a retail exclusive. Fans of the Reds should have loved all of the variations that can only be found in the retail set.

Next week's featured set will be the 2010 Florida Marlins. Hope you'll be here when we compare the cards from the retail set to their counterparts found in Topps and Topps Update Series sets.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama