Revision as of 17:20, 4 January 2016

Description

2003 Sweet Spot Classics is a 150-card set released by Upper Deck in March, 2003. As the name suggests, the set focuses (almost) exclusively on retired players. The base set include a 30-card (cards #91-#120) Teddy Ballgame subset and a 30-card (#121-#150) Yankee Heritage subset. The Teddy Ballgame and Yankee Heritage subsets are serial-numbered to 1941 and 1500 copies, respectively.

Inclusion of Hideki Matsui

As a last-minute addition to the Sweet Spot Classics product, Upper Deck included a card of then-recent New York Yankees signing Hideki Matsui into the base set. Card #75, originally intended for Rod Carew, with withdrawn and replaced by Matsui, whose card was serial-numbered to 1999 copies. Despite this late "rookie" addition, Matsui's card does not fit the definition of a "true" Rookie Card as Sweet Spot Classics was not licensed by the MLBPA and does not feature any other active players.

It should be noted that several Rod Carew base cards did emerge from packs, but a set is considered complete without one.

Distribution

12 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $10). 16 boxes per case. Hobby only.

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	150	-	5:1
short set	89	-	5:1
Hideki Matsui "rookie"	1	1999	?
Teddy Ballgame	30	1941	1:12
Yankee Heritage	30	1500	1:12
Hideki Matsui Red	1	500	?
Hideki Matsui Blue	1	250	?
Hideki Matsui Silver	1	25	?
Patch Cards	83	-	1:6
Game Jersey	30	-	1:16
Pinstripes	12	-	1:40
Autographs Blue Ink	16	-	A
Autographs Black Ink	35	varies	A
Autographs Red Ink	35	25	A
Autographs Yankee Greats Blue Ink	23	-	A
Autographs Yankee Greats Black Ink	36	varies	A
Autographs Yankee Greats Red Ink	35	25	A
Autographs Yankee Greats Matsui Exchange	1	50	A

A: Odds of finding an autograph: 1:24/packs.

Checklist

Base Set

1 Al Hrabosky
2 Al Lopez
3 Andre Dawson
4 Bill Buckner
5 Billy Williams
6 Bob Feller
7 Bob Lemon
8 Bobby Doerr
9 Cecil Cooper
10 Cal Ripken, Jr.
11 Carlton Fisk
12 Catfish Hunter
13 Chris Chambliss
14 Dale Murphy
15 Gaylord Perry
16 Dave Kingman
17 Dave Parker
18 Dave Stewart
19 David Cone
20 Dennis Eckersley
21 Don Baylor
22 Don Sutton
23 Duke Snider
24 Dwight Evans
25 Dwight Gooden
26 Earl Weaver
27 Early Wynn
28 Eddie Mathews
29 Enos Slaughter
30 Ernie Banks
31 Fred Lynn
32 Fred Stanley
33 Gary Carter
34 George Foster
35 Hal Newhouser
36 George Kell
37 Harmon Killebrew
38 Hoyt Wilhelm
39 Jack Morris
40 Jim Bunning
41 Jim Gilliam
42 Jim Leyritz
43 Jimmy Key
44 Joe Carter
45 Joe Morgan
46 John Montefusco
47 Johnny Bench
48 Johnny Podres
49 Jose Canseco
50 Juan Marichal
51 Keith Hernandez
52 Ken Griffey, Sr.
53 Kirby Puckett
54 Kirk Gibson
55 Larry Doby
56 Lee May
57 Lee Mazzilli
58 Lou Boudreau
59 Mark McGwire
60 Maury Wills
61 Mike Pagliarulo
62 Monte Irvin
63 Nolan Ryan
64 Orlando Cepeda
65 Ozzie Smith
66 Paul O'Neill
67 Pee Wee Reese
68 Phil Niekro
69 Ralph Kiner
70 Red Schoendienst
71 Richie Ashburn
72 Rick Ferrell
73 Robin Roberts
74 Robin Yount
75a Hideki Matsui XRC 1999
76 Rollie Fingers
77 Ron Cey
78 Tom Seaver
79 Sparky Anderson
80 Stan Musial
81 Steve Garvey
82 Ted Williams
83 Tom Lasorda
84 Tony Gwynn
85 Tony Perez
86 Vida Blue
87 Warren Spahn
88 Bob Gibson
89 Willie McCovey
90 Willie Stargell
75b Rod Carew ERR

Teddy Ballgame

Each Teddy Ballgame card is serial-numbered to 1941 copies.

91 Ted Williams
92 Ted Williams
93 Ted Williams
94 Ted Williams
95 Ted Williams
96 Ted Williams
97 Ted Williams
98 Ted Williams
99 Ted Williams
100 Ted Williams
101 Ted Williams
102 Ted Williams
103 Ted Williams
104 Ted Williams
105 Ted Williams
106a Ted Williams
106b Ted Williams
107 Ted Williams
108 Ted Williams
109 Ted Williams
110 Ted Williams
111 Ted Williams
112 Ted Williams
113 Ted Williams
114 Ted Williams
115 Ted Williams
117 Ted Williams
118 Ted Williams
119 Ted Williams
120 Ted Williams

Yankee Heritage

Each Yankee Heritage card is serial-numbered to 1500 copies.

121 Babe Ruth
122 Bucky Dent
123 Casey Stengel
124 Dave Righetti
125 Dave Winfield
126 Dick Tidrow
127 Dock Ellis
128 Don Mattingly
129 Hank Bauer
130 Jim Bouton
131 Jim Kaat
132 Joe DiMaggio
133 Joe Torre
134 Lou Piniella
135 Mel Stottlemyre
136 Mickey Mantle
137 Mickey Rivers
138 Phil Rizzuto
139 Ralph Branca
140 Ralph Houk
141 Roger Maris
142 Ron Guidry
143 Ruben Amaro
144 Sparky Lyle
145 Thurman Munson
146 Tommy Henrich
147 Tommy John
148 Tony Kubek
149 Whitey Ford
150 Yogi Berra

Parallels

Upper Deck three parallels of the Hideki Matsui base card (#75). No other parallels exist for this product.

Red (serial-numbered to 500 copies)
Blue (serial-numbered to 250 copies)
Silver (serial-numbered to 25 copies)

Inserts

Autographs & Game-Used

@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 ==Parallels==
+Upper Deck three parallels of the Hideki Matsui base card (#75).  No other parallels exist for this product.
+* Red (serial-numbered to 500 copies)
+* Blue (serial-numbered to 250 copies)
+* Silver (serial-numbered to 25 copies)
 ==Inserts==