You Knew It Was Coming: 2009 Topps World Baseball Classic

With all the World Baseball Classic patch redemptions that won't ship until the fall and the insert set in 2008 Topps Update, it was pretty obvious that Topps wasn't going to sit back and not make a set on the much-hyped but largely meaningless international tournament.

Releasing on March 11, 2009 Topps World Baseball Classic will be a 55-card box set with a mix of players from all 16 nations participating in the tournament. From a Canadian perspective, the highlight of the checklist is the first MLB-licensed card of Mariners prospect Phillippe Aumont. Russel Martin, Justin Morneau,  and Joey Votto are the only three other Canucks represented.

The USA leads the way with seven members of their roster in the set, follwed by Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Japan with five players each.

Here's the complete line-up for the set broken down by country:
Australia: Luke Hughes, Grant Balfour
Canada: Phillippe Aumont, Russel Martin, Justin Morneau, Joey Votto
China: Chenhao Li, Tao Bu
Chinese Taipei: Che-Hsuan Lin,Fu-Te Ni
Cuba: Michel Enríquez, Yulieski Gurriel, Alexeis Bell, Yoandris Urgelles, Alexander Mayeta
Dominican Republic: Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, Jose Reyes
Italy: Frank Catalanotto, Lenny DiNardo, Mike Napoli
Japan: Yu Darvish, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kosuke Fukudome, Ichiro Suzuki, Akinori Iwamura
Korea: Byung Hyun Kim, Jae Seo
Mexico: Matt Garza, Joakim Soria, Adrian Gonzalez, Jorge Cantu
Netherlands: Jair Jurriens, Shairon Maris, Gregory Halman
Panama: Arquimedes Nieto, Randall Delgado, Carlos Lee,
Puerto Rico: Geovany Soto, Jonathan Sanchez, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rios
South Africa: Justin Erasmus, Gift Ngoepe
USA: Derek Jeter, Jake Peavy, Chipper Jones, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright, Evan Longoria, Derrek Lee
Venezuela: Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Zambrano

The 2009 Topps World Baseball Classic carries a suggested retail price of $9.99 per set.

Complete Checklist