Donruss Threads Baseball and more Topps Updates & Highlights

While I was out today, I tried to pick up some Topps Updates & Highlights cards at WalMart to see if I could get my very own Dick Perez Johan Santana card. No such luck. I think the only baseball cards they had were Upper Deck First Edition Update blasters.

So, I had to stop at the baseball card shop instead. They did open another box of Updates & Highlights, so I spent another $10 on packs… and didn’t get a single Met. I did get my third Yamid Haad card in a dozen packs though. Here’s a quick look at the “highlights” (click the thumbnails to see larger versions)

A-Rod is going to start the Yankee trade pile that I’m going to be pulling over the next couple of days, but the only one I’m inclined to keep is the Akinori Iawamura WBC preview insert.

I also picked one pack of Donruss Threads Baseball, just because I’m a sucker for things with a “new” sign, I guess. I like the overall design, and for the most part the photography on the cards I got looks good. Player selection is odd – I got three guys I never heard of and two Hall-of-Famers. Still, the cards are much nicer than I expected for a product that is not licensed by Major League Baseball.

Here’s what I got:

I never heard of Lou Marson before, but he’s a 22-year-old catcher in the Phillies system. He hit .314 this year for Reading and even earned a short call-up to the big leagues. With Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste in front of him, I’d guess Marson has a pretty good shot to be a Major League regular in the relatively near future. Not bad.

No idea who Chris Carter is either, but he did hit 39 home runs in the California League this year. He also struck out 156 times in 506 at-bats, so who knows how he’d project as a Major Leaguer. He is only 21, though so it’s too early to give up.

Wow, I got an autograph! On a shiny, serial numbered card no less. Wait a minute, who’s Jharmidy DeJesus? According to the back of the card, he’s a 19-year-old shortstop in the Seattle system who hit .309 with 10 home runs in 217 at-bats in rookie ball this year. Not a bad hit for buying one $5 pack, though I don’t know how I’d feel if I bought a box and got mostly hits like this.