Just as the 2011 professional baseball season readies itself for its annual Mid-Summer Classic later this month, the Upper Deck Company is excited to release its second baseball-themed trading card set of the year: 2011 Goodwin Champions! The 231-card regular set features an impressive array of baseball legends and prospects plus memorable champions and standouts from many other sports as well!

NOTHING BASE ABOUT IT: Nolan Ryan is part of the 231-card regular set.

The box break summary is enticing to say the least, with three of the following four categories guaranteed (on average): hard-signed autograph cards; single- or dual-swatch memorabilia cards; embroidered animal patch cards; and 1-of-1 printing plates! In addition, on average, collectors can expect to yield 10 Goodwin Champions Minis per box; one “Figures of Sport” die-cut insert; one “World Traveler (5” x 7”) box topper; and one “Goodwin Citizen” insert card consisting of notable historical figures including Louie Pasteur, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Jules Vern, Louis Vuitton and Vincent Van Gogh.

LBJ: Each of the Commanders-in-Chief have a total of 10 hand-painted "Presidential Masterpieces" cards in the set.

Outstanding best describes the phenomenal lineup of hard-signed autograph cards found inside 2011 Goodwin Champions. A total of 84 sports stars have signature cards including Alex Ovechkin, Annika Sorenstam, Bode Miller, Chris Paul, Nolan Ryan, Bill Walton, Steve Carlton, Carlton Fisk, Candace Parker, David Robinson, Walt Frazier, Greg Louganis, Mia Hamm, Bo Jackson, Johnny Bench, Janet Evans, Jim Rice, Larry Bird, Bubba Watson, Landon Donovan, LeBron James, Johnny Miller, Michael Jordan, Michelle Wie, Mark Spitz, Wayne Gretzky, Ryne Sandberg, Bobby Orr and Tiger Woods. This release marks the first time that both Watson and Wie will have autograph cards appearing in a trading card set.

MRS. NOMAR: U.S. Women's Soccer icon Mia Hamm has autographed cards in the set.

The base set alone features 150 regular cards, 40 short prints, 20 super short prints, and 21 high series minis short prints. A brand new element to this year’s release is an impressive array of hand-painted “Goodwin Masterpieces Presidential Series” cards showcasing all 43 U.S. Presidents. Each President has a total of 10 hand-painted cards which allows collectors the opportunity to build a full set. Another new addition to the 2011 version is an insert collection entitled “Museum Collections Relics” which includes extraordinary rarities from historical icons like Abraham Lincoln, Annie Oakley, Napoleon, The White House and even the Spirit of St. Louis!

WATCH OUT: The Entomology lineup includes this interesting delivery of a rusty brown scorpion!

But wait, there’s more; “Animal Kingdom” patch cards make their Goodwin Champions debut as well. Seek out cool patch cards spotlighting the likes of such incredible animals and mammals like the salt water crocodile, the red-eyed tree frog, the North American Moose, the King Cobra, the humpback whale, the great white shark and the African elephant. The Animal Kingdom cards are all seeded at different rations based upon the featured animal’s actual endangered species status. Finally, rare Thoroughbred Hair Cuts cards return to the mix featuring Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and 2007 Preakness winner Curlin.

Upper Deck’s 2011 Goodwin Champions Baseball set boasts five cards per pack, 20 packs per box, and is available on store shelves now.

The key elements (and seeding ratios) within 2011 Goodwin Champions are as follows:

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AUTOGRAPHS (overall odds 1:20 hobby)

This 84-card set is broken into six distinct tiers of scarcity as follows:

GROUP A (1:1,577 hobby)

GROUP B (1:729 hobby)

GROUP C (1:339 hobby)

GROUP D (1:246 hobby)

GROUP E (1:72 hobby)

GROUP F (1:35 hobby)

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MEMORABILIA (overall 1:13 hobby)

This 51-card set is broken into four distinct groups of scarcity as follows:

GROUP A (1:14,613 hobby)

GROUP B (1:179 hobby)

GROUP C (1:31 hobby)

GROUP D (1:22 hobby)

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MEMORABILIA DUAL-SWATCH VARIATIONS (overall 1:320 hobby)

This 11-card is broken into five distinct groups of scarcity as follows:

GROUP A (1:87,680 hobby)

GROUP B (1:8,768 hobby)

GROUP C (1:2,923 hobby)

GROUP D (1:877 hobby)

GROUP E (1:585 hobby)

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ANIMAL KINGDOM PATCHES (overall 1:62 hobby)

The checklist for this ground-breaking 100-card set is structured upon the actual endangered species status of each animal provided on the back of the card (ranging from Least Concern to Extinct).

LEAST CONCERN (1:78 hobby)

NOT THREATENED (1:974 hobby)

VULNERABLE (1:923 hobby)

ENDANGERED (1:1,096 hobby)

CRITICAL (1:4,871 hobby)

EXTINCT/MYTHICAL (1:14,613 hobby)

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MUSEUM COLLECTION RELICS (overall 1:2,237 hobby)

All nine cards from this compelling set are a challenge to track down, but there are four distinct groups of scarcity to note as follows:

GROUP A (1:54,800 hobby)

GROUP B (1:16,237 hobby)

GROUP C (1:6,959 hobby)

GROUP D (1:4,473 hobby)