Sunday fun: JV Squad

Without anything major to scan and post for a few days, I thought it would be fun to post a page/team's worth of Justin Verlander cards as I'm trying to get everything I have of him scanned.  So here's nine I felt like showing off today:

Justin Verlander 2006 and 2007 Topps Turkey Red

Turkey Red:  it's not just for inserts!  Here's a couple examples of base set versions of Turkey Red from 2006 and 2007.  Both designs are pretty cool, but I generally prefer the newer set because its border looks a lot better to me than the plain gray of the older one.  It's fun to compare the different artistic styles of the images, though.

Justin Verlander 2008 Stadium Club First Day Issue

Stadium Club's last hurrah (until this year's set, though we'll see how that goes) featured one of the brand's best designs while keeping the trademark full-bleed photography.  This is a great image of a smiling Verlander in a Tigers hoodie I totally want.  This insert also keeps up with the set's traditional First Day Issue parallel.

Justin Verlander 2008 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Justin was indeed a member of Topps' All-Star Rookie Team, and he also took home a Rookie Cup the following year, as this 2007 Chrome White Refractor illustrates.  Considering he went 17-9 and won the AL Rookie of the Year in his first full campaign, the choice was a no-brainer (perfect for Topps, where brains are inversely proportional to the number of redemptions in their products!).

Justin Verlander 2010 Topps Chrome Topps 206 Chrome (#097/999)

Topps had previously done the Chrome thing with another set that featured cards with a reprinted design--Heritage--and that definitely worked well, so I think the 206 thing was a good decision that worked out well.  A Refractor of one of these would definitely look great.

Justin Verlander 2012 Topps Update Gold (#0303/2012)

I was surprised to find a Topps Gold insert of JV that I hadn't scanned--and then I found another!  This one highlights his selection to the 2012 All-Star team, which I'm guessing he'd just as soon forget:  Verlander started and gave up five first-inning runs in the eventual 8-0 drubbing by the NL.

Justin Verlander 2013 Heritage Chrome Purple Refractor

Purple is very low on my list of colors, but I do like the Chrome Refractorness going here otherwise, as I briefly mentioned with the 206 card above.  Purple and green are among the parallel colors I could really do without.

Justin Verlander 2013 Topps Gold (#1174/2013)

Here's the other Gold card I dug out, and I really dig the use of the horizontal photo on this one, which is a textbook case, really.  Better yet, it doesn't suffer from Topps' obsession with extreme close-ups, so you even get a shot of a SS in the background, which I would assume is Jhonny Peralta.  Definitely one of the best photos in JV's collection.

Justin Verlander 2013 Topps Opening Day Stars

This sweet insert just arrived not too long ago in my trade package from Tony of Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards.  It's a nice example that proves that just because a set is "low-end," it doesn't have to have crappy, boring inserts.  The "3D" hologram thing Topps went with works very well, and the concept of highlighting Opening Day starters is a good one.

I still have lots to scan, but for now you can see all 47 cards I've scanned in Verlander's PC album right here.  Watch for more of these posts in the future, especially when I have nothing else to post about!