Upper Deck Mike Lowells

Upper Deck went crazy for a while with their designs. They used their many different brands to really add some variety to their productions. Some of them worked. Some of them, not so much. But, I guess I can’t fault them for trying. Naturally, my favorite of the group I’ve showed here is the World Series MVP one. It shows Lowell holding his MVP trophy and dusting off a rare smile. I guess being a champion will do that to a guy. It’s interesting that none of the cards I’ve selected show Lowell at the plate. That’s a very common picture for a hitter, but UD went the other way with all of these. The Sweet Spot version has a great follow through on a throw. Again, it’s nicely cropped. You can see Lowell’s eyes following the flight of the ball to first got get the out. The UD base card has a great picture of him making another throw. This throw was made on the move, and catches Mike in midair. The ball is still in his hand, but he has his eyes on the prize as he gets ready to let it go. As I’m looking at the picture on his Red Sox World Championships card, I notice something. Do you see it? Yup. It’s from the same play as the picture on his Sweet Spots card. He’s nicely set, ready to make the throw. The play continues on the SweetSpot card. Interesting. The First Edition card is another nice shot. Mike is celebrating, probably a home run, with a coach as he runs by. No celebration in his eyes. Simply a job well done. The Spectrum card? Too much sizzle with not enough steak. But, at least they tried something new.

Happy Mike Lowell Day!