2011 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Baseball - Product Review

Over the past week I collapsed and decided to pick up a total of four boxes of Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Baseball. Up until this point I have always stayed clear of the "Cut" products. I either did not like the content, the "hard-case" packaging, or the price point. After watching some boxes of this years' Legendary Cuts I decided that I was in LOVE with the checklist, the price point was within reason, and they were tangible cuts, not encased in thick hard plastic to where you can't even touch your cut auto. After busting four packs/boxes, these are my thoughts...

CONTENT: I feel this years' Legendary Cuts has one of the better checklists in recent history. Sure, there are a lot of unheard of names in there, but that helps keep the price down, but there are TONS of Presidential Cuts as well as all of the HUGE names like Ruth, Koufax, and Aaron. Even though I did not hit any of the big shots, I felt it was worth the risk to try for them anyways.

DESIGN: The design of these cards is the one area that Upper Deck REALLY needs to step up in. The cut autographs are simply cut out and "double-sided" taped to the front of the card. Often times, the cut is not the size of the card, it is simply a small piece of paper taped to the larger card stock. This makes for an aesthetically un-appealing card. As you can see from the scans below, the Dual Cut is an awesome card, but the cut and tape job was a MAJOR fail on the Stengel Auto. Quite frankly, these cards look like they could be produced with the simplest of supplies: card stock, two-sided tape, and a nice printer. Upper Deck needs to at least place acrylic over the surface with a cut-out in the middle (similar to the relic cards in Topps A&G Baseball) allowing the cut to be "framed" but also giving the collector a chance to touch the cut if desired.

VALUE: I truly feel that if Upper Deck would spend a little more money on the card design, then the price point would be VERY good on this product. However, with some cards coming fresh out of the pack looking like an art project from Kindergarten, it is hard to justify $200/Card. As always, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. So for all of you pulling Ruth and Lincoln out of this; CONGRATULATIONS! For those of you ready to bust your first pack; may the MOJO be with you! Until next time...HAPPY MOJO!