With the Power Players code set complete I figured I wasn't going to be entering any more codes on the Power Players website, so I went ahead and ordered the three random Gold parallels I won while entering codes in on the website. Topps uses FedEx's slowest service for redemption fulfillment and prizes, so about two weeks after I made the order they shipped it, and about two weeks after that I got the package in my mailbox.
The Gold parallel cards have a shiny rainbow finish that looks about the same as the Gold parallels in this year's Archives set. They are numbered out of # / 75, which is pretty decent for a 'free' (postage was a couple of dollars) prize. My first card was a C.J. Wilson, numbered # 02 / 75. It's decent enough I suppose. Not a PC guy or a team I really follow, and he's got a case of UPF (Ugly Pitching Face) going on.
Jon Lester's UPF is a little more understated, with just a bit of lip-chewing going on. He is numbered # 39 / 75. Again, he is not really a guy I collect, although he is now a member of the A's, which are a team I follow a little bit. I own him in one fantasy baseball league, a card blogging league I joined this year. He has put up a pretty good stat line for them so far.
Finally, I got a Michael Brantley card, numbered # 33 / 75. I haven't heard many people talking about fielders making faces on baseball cards, but Brantley is certainly focused on catching that ball. I nominate this card as a case of UFF (Ugly Fielding Face). He's another guy on that same fantasy baseball roster, where he has been tearing it up. Through this point in the season he is the 3rd-ranked outfielder in the game, and the 7th-ranked player overall. This is mostly due to his dual-threat nature (18 HR, 15 SB), good counting stats (78 R, 80 RBI) and a .316 batting average.
I logged in to my account on the Power Players site and saw that they had awarded me another Gold parallel for some reason, so I will have to order that at some point. Maybe I will wait until later in the season to make sure I don't get dinged for shipping again on some other prize.
I picked up a copy of Andrew Cashner's card, and really liked how it looked in hand. Also cool that it was numbered 75/75. Gotta get dat rainbow.
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