2008 mississippi braves team set review

2008 Mississippi Braves team set
Official Score – UNASSISTED DOUBLE PLAY
Manufacturer: Grandstand
Retail price: $ 10.00

The Mississippi Braves are the Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, and play their home games at Trustmark Park in Jackson, Mississippi. As of this posting, the Braves maintain a three-game lead in the Southern Division in the second half of the season- after finishing 10 games out in the first half. They may very well lead the league in “most players named J.C.” for all I know.

Checklist: 34 cards (neither printed nor included)

1 – [1] J.C. Holt (inf)
2 – [2] J.C. Boscan (c)
3 – [4] Carl Loadenthal (of)
4 – [5] Jordan Schafer (of)
5 – [6] Matt Young (of)
6 – [8] Van Pope (inf)
7 – [9] Paul Bennett (inf)
8 – [10] Jose Camarena (c)
9 – [12] Jason Perry (of)
10 – [13] Javier Guzman (inf)
11 – [16] Mark Jurich (of)
12 – [17] Nelson Payano (p)
13 – [18] Quentin Davis (of)
14 – [20] Kala Ka’Aihue (inf)
15 – [22] Franklin Stubbs (coach)
16 – [23] Kris Medlen (p)
17 – [24] James Parr (p)
18 – [25] Greg Creek (inf)
19 – [27] Derek Botelho (pitching coach)
20 – [29] Tommy Hanson (p)
21 – [30] Phillip Wellman (manager)
22 – [31] Sung Ki Jung (p)
23 – [32] Dustin Evans (p)
24 – [34] Todd Redmond (p)
25 – [36] Jerome Gamble (p)
26 – [37] Ray Serrano (c)
27 – [45] Luis Valdez (p)
28 – [47] Ryan Basner (p)
29 – [48] Brad Nelson (p)
30 – [50] Carlos Sencion (p)
31 – [51] Michael Nix (p)
32 – [52] Dan Smith (p)
33 – [na] Ricky Alcantara (trainer)
34 – [na] Trusty (mascot)

Cards are thin, but not flimsy. Both surfaces are semi-gloss that require no preparation prior to autographing- not that I’m suggesting that anyone needs to get the back sides of their cards autographed. Photos are credited to Ed Gardner and Tom Priddy. Bob Smith shot the photo of Jo-Jo Reyes used on the ‘08 Mississippi Braves pocket schedule.

I do like the card designs, with their random blue and red curved borders, team logo and player name in red text highlighted by white drop shadows. That said, these cards are probably only a single design element away from being declared “busy.” The curved blue and red border theme is continued on the back, but with player bios and stats printed in black over a mottled grey background.

First up is pitcher Luis Valdez. One of the darkest cards in the set, this one still works because the photo is sharp, and there is plenty of room for a signature across the lower third.

Yes, I believe I really like these cards. I wonder how they would look with a horizontal alignment.

Very nice! This is the ONLY card in the set in which a player steps in front of any border, and it really stands out. Matt Young leads the Braves with 19 stolen bases out of 27 attempts. Young also leads the Braves by having appeared in 79 games so far this season, and scoring 45 runs in the process.

Another good example of the horizontal alignment of several of the cards in this set is the card of Paul Bennett. This card refuses to be “complete” until it is signed with a blue Sharpie!

Did I mention how good the photography is in this card set? Check out this offering of Dan Smith. See what I mean?

The 2008 Mississippi Braves team set provides an even mixture of position players batting or playing defense. The J.C. Holt card illustrates the importance of not making cards of every player swinging a baseball bat.

Catcher Ray Serrano demonstrates the art of framing a pitch to help make sure the home plate umpire “sees” it correctly. This card won’t help you identify Serrano in a crowd, but that is also why the players where numbers on their jerseys. Please don’t ask me who the umpire is since there is no number 11 listed on the official Southern League Umpire roster, or am I simply not seeing things?

As you realize that you are nearing the end of my review, you may be starting to wonder if I am going to include a scan of Tommy Hanson’s card in light of the fact that he recently hurled the first no hitter in Mississippi Braves history. I am not. Instead, you should pick up a set for yourself while it is still an option. The 2008 Mississippi Braves team set is available for purchase directly from the Extra Innings team store for $10.00.

They also have the 2007 Mississippi Braves team set still available as well. Actually, those are a STEAL at only three bucks a pop! I look forward to an opportunity to review that set at some point in the future.

If you are heading to the ballpark to take in a Mississippi Braves game, just wait and pick up a few sets in person. These cards will be distributed FREE to the first 2,000 fans attending the July 6, 2008 game vs. the Chattanooga Lookouts. Want to sort your new cards in style? I suggest dropping another $500 and renting one of Trustmark Park’s luxury suites for an evening. You can invite up to fifteen of your best friends or favorite blog writers to join you. Post-game fireworks will help draw a large crowd to that game, so arrive early.

– Kris