2008 USA Baseball National Team

Set size: 60 cards

Front Design: A blue tinted flag is the background at the bottom, with gold foil printed over the top containing the USA Baseball and Upper Deck logos, and the player's name, jersey number, and position. The blue tint at the top identifies this as a National Team member (instead of a Junior National Team member). The rest of the card is a color photo.

Back Design: The top portion of the card repeats the waving flag with a cropped headshot and some biographical stats. His USA Baseball statistics and a short biography is printed in black over a grey background with a white USA Baseball watermark.

Parallels and Similars: Many autograph and memorabilia sets use the same numbering as the base set, but there are no parallels in the set.

Distribution: Cards were sold in boxed set form and included the 60 card base set, seven autographed cards, and two memorabilia cards.

Thoughts: The design is solid and USA Baseball sets are very popular. Tyson Ross is a pitcher for the A's now, though he's still too fresh to know how well he'll turn out.

2002 USA Baseball National Team

Set size: 30 cards

Front Design: The USA Baseball logo in gold foil is beneath a color photo in gold foil, with 2002 National Team beneath. The player's name is to the left, in a fading blue box placed over the photo; his position is in a separate blue box which fades into an American flag.

Back Design: The backs have a cropped headshot from the front photo and a short highlight biography over a background of the USA Baseball logo. The logo is repeated in full color beneath the biography.

Parallels and Similars: There are no parallels, though other USA sets have similar designs.

Distribution: Cards were sold complete in factory set form with an autograph and relic card for $19.99. Upper Deck claims to have released no more than 10,000 factory sets.

Thoughts: A full set, autograph, and relic for $20? These days, full USA Baseball sets retail for nearly $100, though those come with five autographs, two autographed relics, and three triple relics. I'll just pick up the $10 retail version with just the base cards. I enjoy USA Baseball sets, though I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the oddball nature of the sets - amateur players on "professional" baseball cards. Perhaps it's an interest in patriotic cards, though I don't collect non-sport patriotic cards. Maybe I just enjoy collecting Team USA because I saw them play in the 1996 Olympics. This is a nice set anyway, with a patriotic feel and gold foil highlights that add a touch of class without being over the top.