It’s not too often that I review a new product here on the blog. But sometimes the set year isn’t the only thing that can take me back to the good ole days. This is one of those times. We are living in a time when it’s easy to get wrapped up in serial numbers, autographs, jersey swatches and printing plates. And those are great things to chase when the price is right and the checklist is good. I was very excited to pull the Bellinger/Seager Dual Auto redemption from my Museum Break a couple of weeks ago. And one of my favorite products every year is Leaf Army All American, which is completely made up of those 4 features listed above.
But I, like most collectors my age, can trace my love for cardboard back to a much simpler time. I’m talking about a time when Diamond Kings, Dream Teams and basic Rated Rookies were the hits we were all chasing. My zest for the hobby was born when I was just a kid, around 11 years old. And sure, there are some collectors who started as adults, but most of us picked up our first cards when we only cared about the picture on the card and not whether the serial number matched the jersey number making it a @watchthebreaks eBay fail 1/1.
The hobby has changed A LOT since the days I spent making trades on the playground at Mitchell Middle. The industry has exploded with new innovations and it is about much more than just cards in 2018. In fact, most collectors consider it a bust if they open a pack and they get “just cards”. But every now and then, you just have to slow down and strip away all the cracked ice and purple prizm and just enjoy the cards for what they are. You have to always reserve a place in your soul for the reason you’re a part of this crazy circus to begin with. You have to remember your collecting roots or you will get completely swept away by the latest and greatest Target exclusive that can only be found at triple markup online.
There are a few things that I always think about when I am sorting through junk wax sets. There are things that are just burned into my memory from the beginning of my journey through the land of wax that can always help me center myself when I feel like I’m losing my grip on self control. I don’t know why they’ve stuck with me for 30 years but I know they are always there. They can be triggered by the sight of a border design or the mention of a name that has faded from my daily memory but still means so much. I owe my entire hobby life to those memories because I still chase the high that I got from opening packs as a kid. As minor as they seem today, they certainly serve a purpose in my life today.
I think about the 1990 Fleer Mark McGwire that I opened on Halloween night. My “GaGa” bought me a pack of cards instead of giving me some terrible candy corn and I always remember sitting in the living room floor, with my costume still on, ripping that pack to reveal Big Mac in his throwing motion. I can’t explain why it is such a vivid memory; I can just feel that moment when I’m looking through ’90 Fleer. And it feels so good, like all of my worries and cares are gone for a moment. I know this probably sounds a bit dramatic for some of you but it’s 100% legitimate.
I think about the time I traded a short stack of hot prospects like Kevin Maas, John Olerud and Phil Plantier for a Ken Griffey Jr. autograph that I knew couldn’t be real but also couldn’t pass up on the 1% chance that it was. Of course, it wasn’t real but I still have it in the exact same protector that it came in through the trade. I remember sitting in my friends room, looking at the card, thinking that there was no way he’d actually trade it. But also thinking that there was no way it was actually real. What 14 year old could really pass up a Ken Griffey Jr. “autograph”, real or not??
I remember looking up 1989 Score in my first Beckett. I had a unique way of opening those packs back then. The number on the back of Score was at the top of the card so I would slide the front card up just enough to see the number and find it in the price guide. I wanted to see the $2-$3 in the magazine before actually seeing the Gary Sheffield RC. It was much like the way I try to reveal hits today, with seeing small parts of the card before the big reveal. I don’t know why it’s always Score in my memory other than the fact that it was a vertical back and easy to keep the player info hidden.
I especially remember when errors were mistakes made by the companies. They tried to catch these mistakes and get them corrected before the market was flooded with goof ups. There was the Dale Murphy ’89 Upper Deck Reverse Negative, ’90 Donruss Juan Gonzalez reverse negative, the infamous ’89 Fleer Billy Ripken and the entire 1990 Pro Set Football debacle. Mistakes were made in printing due to the sheer volume of cards they were pumping out in some cases but it was so fun to pull one of those and think that you had something rather rare and unique for the time. Of course, now companies make intentional errors to harken back to the good ole days but it’s really not the same.
Which brings me to the modern set that I want to review here in this post. 2018 Topps Big League just released last week and is supposed to be a basic, stripped down collection of baseball cards. They are aimed at kids in the hobby but should also pick up a following from the old school collectors who are looking for something devoid of the hubbub that can come with shiny parallels, retail exclusives and refractor autographs. This is a modern day set with a throwback feel to the vintage or junk wax era. There are hits to be found, as well as some of those intentional errors, but the backbone of the set is the 3 x 5 piece of cardboard with a player image on the front.
The set size (400) is a little larger than usual for the modern day hobby and could give set collectors a little challenge if they want to piece it together. The boxes are relatively cheap ($40) and have 24 packs with 10 cards in each pack. There are no hobby box guarantees other than a gold parallel in each pack. But there is a chase element with Rainbow Foil (1:30 packs), Black and White Images (1:60 packs), Red Foil (1:3,020 packs), Errors (unknown) and Autographs (1:114 packs) sprinkled throughout the landscape. The relative long odds of these pulls make them much more special to pull and could also help with value in the long term.
With this configuration, Topps has made a solid effort to bring the hobby to the kids while inserting some value in the set as well. Other sets have tried to do this but have fell short because of a total lack of excitement in the checklist and a zero percent chance of pulling something that has value. I was a kid once and I still wanted to find cards that were worth something. I didn’t want a card with eye black that I could peel off and wear like one of the many gimmicks Triple Play has introduced over the years. If I were a kid today, I’d want a card of Ozzie Albies that didn’t include some pennant that you pull off and stick over his head. I’m hoping that Topps Big League has hit on something with this new entry but it’s hard not to be skeptical after all the recent attempts to bridge the gap between kid collectors and product value.
Let’s give this set a look and see if it’s a hit or a swing and a miss!
In what may seem like a minor issue, I really like the packaging. It reminds me of Gypsy Queen and Heritage but it’s still foil.
The base design is clean. I prefer a border to the full bleed of the flagship product. I like full bleed for Stadium Club because the photos are so great. But I think traditional cards should have a border.
I like how the bat extends beyond the border in some of the photos. This Cody Bellinger is a good example.
There is a solid mixture of horizontal photos in the set like this Dansby Swanson.
There are three player stat leader cards at the beginning of the 300’s in the checklist.
There are some sweet veterans to be found in the latter part of the checklist. These players include Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, Jeff Bagwell, Ted Williams, John Smoltz and others.
There is a section of cards that is dedicated to “Ballpark Landmarks”. These are pretty unique and cool.
The base checklist closes out with the RC’s and they are all here. I pulled Acuna, Ohtani, Gleyber, Andujar and others.
The gold parallels are found 1 per pack. There is a gold parallel for every card in the base checklist.
Players Weekend Image Variations are found 1:3 packs so they are not scarce but they are sharp looking.
Ministers of Mash is a 10 card insert featuring the games best hitters.
One of my favorite inserts, the sketch card, makes its way into Big League as well with this set called Star Caricatures. If I am not mistaken, Mike James is responsible for some of these beauties!
This Pedro Martinez is the Rainbow Foil numbered to 100. These are found 1:30 packs.
I pulled one Black and White Parallel numbered to 50. These are found 1:60 packs so this is definitely considered a hit!
If you like baseball cards, you’ll like this set. But you’re really going to have to like baseball cards. You can’t be in search of funky color parallels or autographs if you want to enjoy this box. I think the design is simple but effective, the cost is excellent for a hobby box, there are some true chase cards that aren’t guaranteed in each box and the checklist has all the names you’ll want to find. The set will be great for kids but isn’t childish either. The sketch cards are real art and not cheap and cartoony. The Ballpark Landmarks are cool and give you a look at stadiums you may not otherwise see. And if you pull an autograph here, which is possible, it is truly an above average hit. I expect the set to evolve and progress in the future but this is a very solid first effort. What say you?
J-Dub
Scoring Scale
1. Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards. Just read the post and thank me later.
2. There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.
3. Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.
4. You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did! It has some downside but worth the ride.
5. Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking! What are you waiting on?
The closure of Toys R Us has sort of affected me in a way I can’t explain. I’m not depressed or anything but riding by that empty store is just a very weird feeling. Their slogan was, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid!” What are we supposed to do now that they are closed? Does that mean we have to grow up? I still went in the store quite a bit because I have kids of my own and there was a feeling that you just couldn’t get at other stores, at least locally. Other stores have toy sections but let’s be real; nothing compared to Toys R US, or even Kay-Bee for that matter, which is also gone now.
While I understand that the closure of this store was part of natural selection as we all continue our move to an online world, it is hard to lose something that was a big part of your past and not feel some sort of way. Another quote that hits a nostalgic person right in the feels is attributed to Buddha, who said, “You can only lose what you cling to.” That’s what “we” do. We cling to the tiny fabrics that make up the tapestry of our lives and each one means something to us. If you start pulling threads out of the overall work, things have a tendency to start to fray.
Sam Goody
Big “B” Drugs
Piggy Wiggly
Arcades
Video Stores
Upper Deck
The packs were pretty sweet – tamper proof foil like the years before but blue this season with pinstripes.
A staple of Upper Deck was the hologram stickers. These were full size team logos.
Here is the design of 1991 Upper Deck. As you will recall, 1989 had the base line on the right side of the card. 1990 had the base line across the top. This year had the base line running down the left side of the card. Upper Deck always had some unique photos too, like this Bert Blyleven.
There was only one notable catcher but it was one of my favorite ’91 Upper Deck cards when I was a kid. This Sandy Alomar Jr. was so colorful and I loved the photo.
The infield was stacked with young players and grizzled veterans. There were 2 future Bravos here with Fred McGriff and Andres Galarraga. Big Cat is rocking the Expos uni, which is always great. Paul Molitor was such an underrated player. By this point in his career (13 seasons), he had a career .299 average, was averaging double digit home runs and had multiple 40+ stolen base seasons. You can throw Alvin Davis in that underrated category as well.
The outfield is pretty loaded up too. Deion Sanders and Dave Justice were key cogs in the Braves outfield and lineup during the great run of the 90’s. And because this was the high series box, I landed a Bo Jackson in both Kansas City and Chicago. While I didn’t pull a Ken Griffey Jr., he did appear on this card of Ken Sr. And I will always see Kirby in that Twins uni but will never get used to seeing Strawberry in Dodger Blue.
The pitchers were pretty legendary in this set. Randy Johnson was getting started on a Hall of Fame career while Nolan Ryan was wrapping his up. This card of Nolan features a pretty iconic image of the Express. Maddux would soon discover that chicks dig the long ball so this bunt might have been one of his last. And the Braves got their fill of Scott Erickson, Jack Morris and Doug Drabek in the playoffs that year.
These cards are very memorable from the early 90’s junk wax era. Everyone remembers the Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock card, along with the 1917 White Sox throwback.
I only pulled two of the artist checklist. One was a sweet Chris Sabo while the other was a ho-hum Roberto Kelly.
These are some of the rookies and prospects that stood out in 1991. I didn’t pull a Chipper but I did snag a Mo Vaughn and Eric Karros. Steve Decker was a huge prospect for the Giants in ’91 but he didn’t pan out.
I didn’t pull an Aaron autograph but I did load up on the Baseball Heroes cards. Those 70’s Milwaukee uniforms were hot!
These cards deserve their own segment and comment. The first was the Hank Aaron hologram. I searched for this card like a 1/1 Trout back in 1991. This is a sweet insert!
I was a huge fan of Jose Canseco in 1991 so I was blown away by this card of his twin brother, Ozzie. At the time, I had no idea that Ozzie was playing so I thought it was an amazing card.
Though I didn’t pull the Chipper RC, I did pull what was considered THE ROOKIE CARD of the set in 1991. This Todd Van Poppel was on the cover of Beckett and highly sought after in the hobby. I actually think this card is better than any I have pulled so far in 2018 Topps Inception.
This was one of those “retirement cards” from the junk wax era. This was as hot as Gregg Jefferies’ 1989 Future Stars for a while. This would have been a huge box in 1991.
The first of two Hall of Fame RC’s is this Jeff Bagwell. Bags was a hot rookie and he turned out to have a stellar career. I pulled 5 of these in the box!
The other Hall of Fame RC I pulled was this awesome Frank Thomas. Though he and Bagwell both had cards in 1990, this was their first Upper Deck cards. This is a very special card for me and one that I will slide right into my current PC.
1991 Upper Deck is a classic set from the junk wax era and had some great individual cards that are memorable. The Ozzie Canseco, Todd Van Poppel and Kevin Maas cards were so hot when this set came out. Some other players turned out to be the long term guys like Chipper, Bagwell and Big Frank but this set really covered the spectrum of hot rookies and solid veterans. The design was typical Upper Deck and the only change from year to year was the base line on the card. Boxes can be found relatively cheap now with this one costing me $12.95 and regardless of the odds, there is a chance to pull a Hank Aaron autograph if you are extremely lucky. I really like this set better than 1990 but not as good as 1989. I’d give it an overall “4” on the Dub-O-Meter and would lean closer to a “5” than a “3” on the scale. What do you think about 1991 Upper Deck?
I remember playing on Thursday Nights at the middle school gym with the toughest competition in the city and I remember playing one on one at Coop’s House. It didn’t matter if it was a dusty court with a wooden backboard or a nice wood gym floor with breakaway rims. I would play basketball with anybody, anywhere and at anytime. I even skipped lunch in school to play basketball with classmates. I used to practice my jump shot over and over and over in my backyard. I would try to shoot from all over the court but would force myself to make 5 consecutive shots before moving to a new spot.
Basketball is one of the things that I’m holding on to for dear life. I’m 41, 5’11, 225 lbs and am still trying to make moves I made as a 16 year old in the city league I’m playing in. It’s frustrating to know what you want your body to do but not be able to make it do it. I can still see the court like I did as a kid; I’m just not able to shoot lanes and thread passes like I did back then. It doesn’t stop me from trying. I’m really a different person on the court than I am in the rest of my life. Even in softball, I’m usually the quiet guy that just gets down to business when the game starts, trying to avoid the competitive machismo that has taken over the sport.
But when I step on the basketball court, I have a different attitude. My goal is to find your weak spot and exploit it. Many times that involves trash talk and the general pushing of buttons. I like to get under your skin on the basketball court. It has always been a cerebral game for me but now more so than ever, with my first step not being what it used to be. I will still go right at you and attack. Now I just use my size more than speed. But I still absolutely love the game and feel completely at home in a gym. When I step on the court, it almost feels like an out of body experience. It’s zen like in many ways.
It helps that I love the team I play on. It’s the same general squad as my softball team but we also have a player or two from outside of that sport. This year, we have Nate, a player who I coached many years ago as a 2nd Grader, and CJ, 
Most of all, we function well as a team. We learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and try to put each other in the best position to succeed. We generally love and respect each other like brothers and we always have each other’s back. It’s the classic case of, “I can pick on my brother but you better not say something bad about him.”
And tonight, we find something that connects two of my happy activities; the sorting table and basketball. My love for basketball was white hot in 1991 when this Hoops set hit the scene. The NBA will never be as good as it was then and nobody will ever convince me otherwise. This set was not the first I had in my collection but was very early in my basketball days. Hoops was abundant in my hometown, along with Skybox, and was the set I went looking for on my trips to Wal-Mart. Despite how much I loved it then, this box didn’t age well through 2018. Notice the hats and shirts say “NBA” instead of a team name. What a cheesy photo. Luckily, the contents inside the box got much better!
Hoops was known for its “baggy” style pack, much like Score of the junk wax era.
It doesn’t take long to realize why the NBA was at its best during this time. Starting with the guards, you have legends like Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Clyde Drexler and Reggie Miller. Richmond and Hardaway were the 91 version of Harden and Paul today. I also believe that today’s collector or NBA fan will never truly understand how good of a player Drazen Petrovic was! What a start to the box review with these guards!
There isn’t a drop off to the forwards either! Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Dominique Wilkins and Shawn Kemp keep the nostalgia train rolling. I was a huge fan of Sean Elliott too and coveted his rookie cards from the year before. I was at a summer camp when Reggie Lewis died and I still remember sitting on the bed seeing that news on ESPN.
Of course there aren’t as many centers to be found because there was only one starter per team. But there are still some headliners like David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing. Manute Bol was always a fan favorite and I remember the game when he drilled six 3 pointers in a single half in 1993! Draymond Green fans would’ve loved Bill Laimbeer.
How about some coaches? Look how young this quartet looks!
I came up pretty empty overall on the East All-Star team. I like Wilkins, Ewing and Barkley of course but I don’t remember clamoring for Ricky Pierce and Alvin Robertson cards.
The West was a little stronger with Drexler, Hardaway, Magic, Mullin, Admiral and Stockton.
Here are the award winners from the previous season. Anybody think MVP wasn’t going to be MJ? Rodman as defensive POY seems like a lock too. The Skiles award surprised me a little.
This subset commemorated rookie seasons of the past. Gotta love the Chief Warriors jersey.
I was happy to add another Bird and Jordan to the stack. These were “milestones” and Jordan was points and Larry was points, rebounds and assists.
Remember the weekly NBA show “Inside Stuff” with Amhad Rashad? Here’s the inserts dedicated to the show.
I remember the big push from the NBA for kids to stay in school. Each set had some cards dedicated to that cause. This is a neat Will Smith card.
The league leaders were cool dual cards with nice designs. I obviously remember Jordan and the Mailman lighting up the scoreboard but I would’ve never guessed that Trent Tucker and Jim Les led the league in 3 Pt Percentage.
The team cards were mostly standard on court photos but there were a couple nice photos like the Lakers and Pacers. The best one was the Hornets card!
Lastly, I truly don’t remember ever pulling this card as a kid. This Centennial Card has a nice silver foil that seems a little ahead of its time.
The NBA was unbelievable in the early 90’s and fans today that didn’t get to experience it will never understand. This set was a prime example of the greatness of 91 basketball. The design is clean, there are a ton of superstars and there are plenty of insert type cards to provide a nice variety. The box was only $6.95 at my LCS so price is almost non-existent. I love early 90’s Hoops and this year is my personal favorite. I also enjoyed Skybox from this year and I’ll probably review it soon as well. I can’t think of any negatives to this set other than the fact that it’s smack dab in the middle of the junk wax era and you can still find them everywhere. Still, this set is a “5” on the Dub-O-Meter and I thoroughly enjoyed this nostalgic rip!
The main Y2K memory I have from that year happened at the New Year’s Eve party I attended. We had been gearing up for months and had been forced into fear by the media and the Y2K paranoia. We really didn’t know what was going to happen. Were the electrical grids going down? Would all of our technology be obsolete? Would computers come to life like in the movie “Maximum Overdrive”? Nobody really knew and I am not convinced that it wasn’t just a big push for everybody to have to buy new stuff.
1999 Topps only has 462 cards in the set and has some special cards that celebrate the home run chase Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had the year before. The box configuration was 36 packs with 11 cards per pack. This was series 2, which covered card #243-462. There were also some other surprises that could be found in a hobby box, and for 1999, they were highly sought after. The set commemorated Nolan Ryan’s stellar career and had reprints and autographs of some of his Topps cards over the years. An SP of these cards even came in a refractor, which was very young technology for the time. The set also included some Mystery Finest inserts that were chase cards. So there is a lot more here to see than just base cards and standard inserts.
The packs were really odd to me. They were lime green looking and they were see through, which feels out of place for late 90’s cards.
I’ve never been a big gold border guy so that was a bit of a turnoff right off the bat. This design was very similar to ’98 Topps Football if you remember the Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf RC’s from that year. Here are some of the stud catchers playing in ’99.
The infield was loaded with talent in 1999. There were veterans like Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs, who was winding down in Tampa. Then there were hot young players like Nomar in Boston and the A-Rod that everybody still loved in Seattle. There are some huge names here.
Just like the infield, there were some veterans in the outfield that were wrapping up stellar careers, like Rickey Henderson. But there were also some guys that were tearing the cover off the ball, like Barry Bonds, Tim Salmon and Larry Walker, who had plenty left in the tank. Check out this sweet Brian Hunter card!
This was a great time for pitchers but a couple of these guys were not far from destroying their legacies and wiping out any value they had in the hobby. Of course, those pitchers are Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. Dwight Gooden has already been through his most trying career years. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz were in the middle of the greatest National League run in history. And there were some awesome young arms that were just getting fired up; Mike Hampton, Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter.
While not technically “Rookie Cards” by the formal definition, these were 3 very early cards of players that went on to have great careers. I don’t even remember this Big Papi Card!
While the early cards of Beltre and Papi were very nice, there wasn’t a lot going on in the Draft Pick section of the checklist. The best name in the group was Matt Holliday. Pat Burrell and Brad Lidge had ok careers as well but nothing that makes these cards highly sought after.
The prospects were pretty much misses as well. Carlos Lee and AJ Burnett had good careers and John Rocker had a chance but the rest of these guys were situational players for the most part.
These cards we’re VERY busy with the gold, threads and multiple players. There are some very good players here in the “All Topps” inserts. There aren’t a ton of Big Cat cards in an Atlanta uniform so that was nice.
Strikeout Kings is self explanatory and seeing Kerry Wood here reminds me of how big of a chase this guys rookie cards were at one point. I found collation to be pretty bad in ’99 Topps as every 10th pack or so would have 5 of these cards in them. Same for Prospects, All Topps and Draft Picks.
Record Numbers gave us a non-gold border to collect in the set. The players here were all studs, as most record breakers are. This was the season after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back to prominence with their unforgettable home run battle. He had a couple of Record Numbers inserts.
Another set that commemorated the home run chase was “HR Parade” which outlined some of the big Homers along the way.
Here are 2 of the Nolan Ryan reprints with the gold stamp. The cards were glossy and carried the backs that would have been found in 1981 and 1983 for these cards. Great throwbacks!
This one was pretty special. Not only was it the RC reprint, it was the SP Refractor. I know this isn’t a big money card but there were a total of ZERO found currently for sale on eBay. That has to be good right?
All Matrix was more technology that was just making a splash in the hobby. This card looks much better in person than the photo appears.
This one was even better. This is truly a beautiful card for 1999. This is even beautiful for 2018!
Finally, no autographs, but I did pull this Mystery Finest Refractor of the All Topps Designated Hitters. It has a black plastic film over the front of the card and I’m not taking it off because I have no idea if I can get it done without messing it up. One day, I suppose.
This set was really one of the tougher ones I’ve had to score so far. I was really leaning on a 4 because of the All Matrix, Ryan reprints, chance at autos and Mystery Finest. Those are all great cards to find in the box. The price was a little on the high end for the checklist, at $40. The gold border ultimately pulled it down to a 3. If the gold border was the only problem, it may have stayed at a 4 but the rookie class was very slim and Series 2 didn’t have Jeter or Griffey. If I ever was going to create a 3.5 Score, this would be it. But I’ll keep it at a 3. With that said, All Matrix and the Ryan Refractor made this box a lot of fun and I actually sleeved those up. What say you about ’99 Topps Baseball?
I have been through several phases of my life to try and fit in with the rest of the world, or sometimes even in the hopes of setting a new trend; and those phases were pretty feeble. Take this photo above. This obviously wasn’t a trend I started or even had much of a choice in but this was me with my 1979 Afro that people thought was soooo cute. I don’t get it. I’m not sure what was going on with my hair but as I saw more photos of hairstyles from back in the day, I realized that the Afro wasn’t the worst I had.
Here is another photo of a trend that I tried hard to push. First, this was a chubby phase, which wasn’t by design. I went through multiple chubby/skinny phases before I just settled on fat as an adult. But this was my airbrush/wristband/tight roll phase. I can’t really explain the hat because I’ve never really been a hat guy but this amazing photo was during a fierce battle of nerf basketball in my bedroom and my brother was the cameraman. I wore wrist bands everywhere and way before John Cena made them popular. I also was the king of the Airbrush T. You can still go to the beach and find airbrush designs with the two palm prints and “U Can’t Touch This.” I got it when it was hot off the presses.
I spun through a lot of looks back in the day. I went with the bicycle shorts, JAMZ, tank tops, tye-dye, Chuck Taylors, acid wash jeans, neon socks. Should I keep going? There were hairstyles too like the afro, the buzz cut, the blonde dye job that lasted one day, the spikes and even the old school 80’s feather do (see above.) Yeah, I morphed from 70’s child to 80’s kid to 90’s punk like a real pro. I was trying to keep up with the times but I was also trying to bring in some flair of my own that would make me unique. That didn’t stop when I became an adult either.
There was my Don Johnson phase. And Nick even turned it into a 92 Bowman!
Then, after I miraculously found someone to marry me, I still made subtle attempts to be aesthetically relevant that look quite humorous today.
Bunched white knee socks anyone?
Here is my awesome flip phone belt loop holder….yeeck….
I don’t really know what this was but I’ve never regretted a celebrity/athlete photo more than this one.
There was a stretch of time where you could not find me wearing any other pant than those of the wind variety.
Well, this trend never really took off.
We have all likely gone through some time in our lives where we just did things because other people were doing them or we wanted to look like the cool kids on TV. But I have found throughout my life that when I have been most comfortable and really probably presented myself in the best way was when I was just myself. It’s ok to occasionally pattern your look after Rick Grimes but don’t change your entire wardrobe for it. We all have our own unique style and we bring something to the table that only we can bring as long as we are true to ourselves. That may not mean that we are ready for a fashion show or a trendy night club hot spot but it is who we are and we should embrace that.
In 1990, a baseball card company decided to try and step out of their comfort zone and “get with the times” and it was as weak of an effort as my backwards hat and white sunglasses that regretful day at Turner Field. The design of 1990 Donruss had great promise in some aspects, as we found out when they experimented with different colors over the years. But that particular year, and that particular red, that white cursive font, those hideous orange wax packs, those busy MVP inserts; they just left so much to be desired for someone who grew up on Donruss Baseball Cards.
Taken in reasonable doses, the red could be somewhat striking. It’s sort of like ’91 Fleer in that I like the design in a small sample size. It’s when you are ripping a full box or multiple packs when you start seeing the cards stack up on top of each other and you realize that the colors are just too cumbersome.
For example, compare the picture above with the stack of cards from the whole box. This is not bad. It almost feels like they would have been perfect as an insert set. What we did get from 1990 Donruss that has become somewhat of a signature for the brand is the speckles on the right and left border. They have used this design some in recent products but the red hasn’t made a return.
The Puzzle was a Donruss staple I the 80’s and early 90’s. Carl Yastrzemski was saddled with being paired with this set.
Another staple of Donruss has always been the Diamond King, except for their inaugural release. While they have always been a little abstract, they really started to get funky in ’90.
Donruss continued use of the MVP subset although this was one of my least favorites. I never liked the grayish backdrop and orange MVP type. It especially clashed with the red border in my opinion. There are some solid names here though.
Perhaps the greatest Donruss MVP ever is this beauty. The John Smoltz/Tom Glavine mix up had us Braves fans scouring packs for both the correct and error version.
Another drawback for me was the relatively thin Rated Rookie class in this set. The most famous was the Juan Gonzalez reverse negative though I didn’t pull that or the correct version.
While the Rated Rookies were slim, there were some real solid Rookies in the set. I pulled 5 of these Justice RC’s in the box I opened for this post. I would have died in 1990!
Here is your National League All-Stars found in this box. Some of these guys were staples while others weren’t highly collectible, ie. Rick Reuschel.
There were some pretty big names in the American League stack as well with Bo Jackson always being a welcome pull. I think a lot of collectors, especially modern day collectors with no junk wax experience, underestimate the skills of Harold Baines. You never hear collectors mention him but he was as steady as they come.
There wasn’t a whole lot happening in the pitcher category in this box but I did pull Nolan Ryan. It didn’t get any better than that in 1990.
Remember when Craig Biggio was a catcher? He made the unusual move from Catcher to Second Baseman early in his career. Catchers almost always move to First Base or DH but he made the jump to middle infield, showing his athleticism early.
Much like the pitchers, I didn’t pull a long list of stud outfielders. Rickey Henderson and Tony Gwynn were the foundation of many collections during these days but Eric Davis may be one of the most underrated players of my youth. Right behind him in the underrated category is Kevin Mitchell.
I’m really not going to just unload on ’90 Donruss like it is an abomination that ruined the hobby. It’s not that. But the design is one that is synonymous with the negative of the junk wax era for me. You can find these boxes for $5 and the set really doesn’t offer anything special outside of a couple of error cards. This was the year before Elite and Upper Deck was the only company experimenting with autographs at the time. So during those days, it was all about design. For me, this one didn’t get it done. But I do think the set is memorable and represented card companies making the effort to be different. Because of the sheer volume of product still out there, the design, and the poor checklist for Rated Rookies and Diamond Kings, I can’t give the set more than a “2” on the Dub-O-Meter. I want to give it a “3” because of the nostalgia and the prevalence it has in collections from my day. I just can’t and I really do feel bad about that. I liked sorting the cards again but it got old pretty quick too. What say you about ’90 Donruss?
Baseball cards in 1988 were at an all time high for production and an all time low for value. Each of the flagship sets from 1988 are some of the cheapest products you can find on the market today. The Topps design was one of their most bland of the 80’s, Score was marking their first release and Donruss was just plain bad that year. But Fleer sort of gets lost in the shuffle in my opinion. I think in terms of Fleer only, the design for ’88 could be called iconic. The classic white border was accented with red and blue stripes that weren’t overbearing but added an appropriate amount of flair. Even the wrappers are some of the better looking wax packs for Fleer. Remember those terrible ’89 wrappers?
I picked up a box at the LCS recently and I realized that these aren’t as readily available as some of the other junk wax staples in my area. This by no means is to indicate that ’88 Fleer is rare but my LCS has a CASE of ’88 Topps and this is the first ’88 Fleer Box I’ve seen since they opened in 2015. Two things were noticeable about the box. (1) The Box was not in the best shape. It looked like it might have been found at the bottom of Crystal Lake when it dried up. (2) And yes, that sticker on the box does read $68! That’s not what I paid for it but at one time, this was the sticker price for a box of ’88 Fleer. I find that pretty amazing!
As I mentioned, the design is really nice for 1988. The white border was always my preference for Fleer, though I did like some of the gray borders and I LOVED the black bordered Pro Vision cards. But the design in ’88 was not psychedelic, overbearing or too busy to enjoy the actual photo. It’s really pretty clean. The team logo is in the top right and isn’t too large and the player name and position blends well at the top.
This Dan Plesac Card was always a fun one for me. This is a pitcher, in the American League, who has eye black and is in a batting pose, with wrist bands and batting gloves. The 80’s version of Shohei Ohtani? Also, I loved the old Brewers logo!
As with other Retro Reviews, the featured catchers are pretty slim. But Tony Pena almost always makes the cut and this Benito Santiago was an easy pick.
I decided to plug in some less featured infielders than I usually post because these guys were quite good in the late 80’s, but often overlooked. Some of the usual suspects are included but that bottom row pictures some new guys for my review. Alvin Davis was the best player on the Mariners roster for many years. And Kevin Seitzer was a fan favorite in KC. Ken Caminiti was a tough out and had a rocket for an arm. Finally, Kelly Gruber wasn’t my favorite player because of what he did to the Braves in ’91 but he was certainly good.
There are a couple of new faces here as well. Ellis Burks is one of the more underrated outfielders from the late 80’s. Vince Coleman was the junk wax version of Billy Hamilton but he got on base a lot more. Mookie Wilson was a speedster too. I wish Andy Van Slyke played for another team because I liked him but I hated the Pirates thanks to those early 90’s playoff rivalries.
Frank Viola was quite a stud with the Twins and he had thankfully moved on before that fateful World Series battle with Atlanta. Chuck Finley was a great pitcher on horrible teams and Jack McDowell made music on the mound in the early 90’s but actually started making music soon thereafter.
A usual subset for Fleer in the 80’s were the multi player star cards. They usually featured multiple players from different teams that specialized in certain areas. The exceptions were the McGwire Rookie Home Run Card, The Ripken’s and the Red Sox Outfielders, which featured another classic underrated star in Mike Greenwell. Donruss is trying to produce these now but the lack of team logos really hurts.
As usual, ’88 Fleer was mostly swinging and missing with their identification of prospects. They hit on Mark Grace though. And I suppose John Burkett was pretty solid for a few years.
The least desirable card in the set from a design perspective was the All-Star card. These were just plain ugly if you ask me. I pulled all American League stars in this box.
Perhaps the biggest knock on 1988 Baseball Cards, beside production numbers, is the rookie class. Aside from a few bonafide stars like Greg Maddux here and Craig Biggio in Score, it was a pretty weak class overall. Edgar Martinez and Matt Williams were very good major leaguers but collectors aren’t clamoring for their rookie cards. Kevin Mitchell was one of my favorites and before we all started setting up retirement plans with the ’89 Gregg Jefferies Future Star, there was this ’88 Fleer. I included Sam Horn because he was a big stick at times but couldn’t quite piece it all together. There is a Ron Gant in the set as well but I didn’t pull one.
Fleer has a lot to like in 1988. The design is truly one of my favorites, the wax pack is a nice keepsake and it is relatively cheap when you are looking for it. I like the multi player cards and like the action shots in most of the photos. There are a couple of things to dislike as well though. The All-Star set is pretty bad and the rookie class is rather thin. But Greg Maddux, Ron Gant and Kevin Mitchell are enough of an offset for me to still chase some of the rookie class. I really like this set and I think it’s about as underrated as Ellis Burks was. I wish the card stock was a little better but if Fleer hadn’t stopped producing cards in 2007, I can see this as being one of their go to “throwbacks” that are so often found in modern products. But much like my summer days at Crystal Lake, Fleer is simply a memory from my youth that is no longer around to enjoy in 2018. I suppose it’s for the best with all the license shenanigans today but I do think that retro Fleer sets get a bit of a bad rap with modern collectors. If you have the opportunity, pick up some ’88 Fleer and I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
The other two cards that everyone will recognize from the set are the Tom Paciorek and Steve Kemp. No? Just me? Yeah, I’m a White Sox fan. OK, so maybe you will recognize the Ozzie Smith and Reggie Jackson cards, showing them in their new digs. Both deals actually happened prior to the 1982 season, but after Topps had already issued its single-series base set. The Topps Traded set was collectors’ first chance to see cards depicting these two future HOFers with their new teams, and they have been favorites for over 35 years.
But what if this set checklist were a tad bit different? What if the industry at the time had dictated a more prospect-driven product? What if this set had included subsets, like those following it eventually included? Ready to have some fun? Let’s have some fun…
When the 1983 sets came out, only one major brand picked up this next guy. He only played in 20 games in 1982, with 32 plate appearances. He batted .241 with one, yes ONE home run. Nobody knew that in 1983 he would play 145 games and hit 35 home runs, on his way to earning the AL Rookie of the Year Award, all while being a very important piece of the lineup during the White Sox run to a Divisional Championship. He’s a great guy, and those of you who have written to him also know him as a TTM legend. What if Topps had included Ron Kittle in their 1982 Traded set?
So, this next dude played 123 games in 1982 with 422 at bats, 125 hits, 24 stolen bases, and batted almost .300. He helped the new addition, Ozzie Smith, lead the Cardinals to a World Series victory with an absolutely sensational catch in Game 3 that robbed a home run. Why didn’t he get a card in the actual Traded set in 1982? No idea. Now he has one. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Willie McGee.
There was a particular “Big 3” of rookie cards when the 1983 sets came out. But things could have been very different had they all appeared in the 1982 Topps Traded set. This first guy actually played 13 games in 1981, so he could have easily appeared in the base 1982 set. Only problem? He wasn’t that good. By the beginning of 1982 he had already been traded to a new team, so there is actually a better chance that this first custom would have appeared in the base set rather than the Traded set. It would have been the only non-insert that pictured this future HOFer on his original team, and we missed out on it. Lucky for us, in 1982 he had almost 700 plate appearances and nearly 200 hits. And since he technically changed teams, I’m going to go ahead and put them both in here, because who knows how it really could have been handled? Maybe one in the base set and one in the Traded set? The Cubs kinda made up for the Lou Brock trade with this one, bringing Ryne Sandberg in as a utility infielder and a throw in on the Larry Bowa trade. Not a bad throw in.
Here’s another guy who should have definitely been included in the 1982 Topps Traded set. He played 104 games for his team that year with 381 plate appearances, batting a measly .349. He would finish his career 18 seasons later, with a lifetime .328 average, 3010 hits, and eventually a bust in the Hall of Fame. Unlike Sandberg, who started out as a utility infielder throw in to a trade, Wade Boggs started strong and finished strong, would have been nice to see him in this set. Now we get to!
This next player wasn’t too far away from having a custom NBA card instead of an MLB card. Lucky for us, he chose baseball. He played in 54 games in 1982 batting .289, the only season in his 20 year Hall of Fame career that would see him bat under .300. With over 3100 career hits and a lifetime average of .338 – all while playing for the same team – Tony Gwynn was a shoe-in HOFer that could have easily been included in this set.
I had no idea that this last player came up at the end of 1982. With only 7 games and 13 plate appearances, he definitely would not have been a candidate for the set. But it’s a good thing that I don’t have a lot of rules. Its also a good thing I really wanted to see an ’82 of this guy! He played 14 years and ended up with a lifetime average of .307. With just over 2100 hits, unfortunately he did not have the length to his career that the others did, or he would have undoubtedly ended up in Cooperstown along with them. And this card of Don Mattingly, would have turned the collecting universe upside down back in the day!
So, there you have it, my updated “What If” version of the 1982 Topps Traded set. Thank you for taking the trip with me and imagining what it would have been like to pull this group from that bright blue box!
The things that can trigger these weird moments in time can vary but inevitably, they are always just as random as the memories themselves. Take the hexagon shaped pizza pictured above. Most people my age will remember this as the school lunch pizza. At least that’s what it was at Mitchell-Baker High School. It was damn good too! This was one of the meals where I would splurge and drop an extra .50 for a second pizza. I have not had a pizza like this in 22 years but it’s the first thing I think of anytime I walk into a school cafeteria, which is more often than I ever imagined before I had kids.
While we are on the subject of school, let’s talk about the smell of the athletic field house. Turn away for a moment if you are the squeamish type. I can’t even pinpoint the smell I’m thinking of but it was a solid mixture of sweat, feet, icy hot, wet grass, old cleats and school pizza farts. It’s not a good smell at all but it’s one that was somewhat addictive as a teenager. That smell is representative of baseball and some of my earliest friendships. The smell was certainly one of a kind but every now and again, I’ll open my bat bag today and get this faint memory of the spring of 1992; Coach Davis, our manager “Chicken Box”, my buddy David and his lanky 6’7 delivery or something else totally off the wall. It is a smell that can cross my nose at a moments notice if baseball is on the brain.
Another memory from my school days involves a Sheriff Deputy; Frank “Deputy Dawg” Sumner. Deputy Dawg was over the youth division of law enforcement of the big metro area 30 miles north of my hometown. I now live in that metro area and it’s not as daunting as it seemed back then. But when I was 15, Albany was the kind of place I wasn’t ready for. It was more dangerous than Camilla and I didn’t really know my way around outside of the movie theater and Putt-Putt. Deputy Dawg would go around to the local high schools and scare the hell out of us kids with his presentation on drugs, gangs and violence. I think of him often; when I’m watching a crime show on TV, when my kids have speakers at school or at other random times. He saved a lot of lives in the late 80’s-early 90’s!
I am often reminded of the cold water at our American Legion pool in my hometown of Camilla. We do a lot of summertime water sports with the family now and many times I find myself about to dive into water much colder than I’m prepared for. When I’m standing on the edge of that water, pumping myself up for what’s about to happen, my mind often goes back to the summer of ’93 when I spent almost every day at the Legion. The pool was spring fed and made you shiver on 110 degree July afternoons. I used to think that the kids that hung out at the top of the “Super Slide” were just being cool but now I think it was because they were scared to get back in the water after they had dried off. Every bit of fear of cold water in my adult life can be traced back to those days.
Speaking of fear, I’ve always been a fan of horror movies. To be more specific, I’m a fan of 80’s horror movies. I’d rather watch Friday the 13th than any of the new stuff that comes out that is not so much scary as just filled with “gotcha” moments. I also enjoyed the cheesy horror movies that weren’t scary but had a lot of blood and gratuitous, almost always unnecessary, nudity. I loved “Night of the Comet”, “Cheerleader Camp” and “Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama” for those very reasons. At 15, you couldn’t beat horror and scantily clad chicks! I got my fill of both from Rhonda Shear and her late night weekend show, “Up All Night”. Cable TV was a godsend when I realized I could stay up late on a Friday night and watch some corny ghoulish looking creature chase babes in bikinis without leaving my house! I still think of Rhonda from time to time and wish she would make a comeback for old times sake.
Those type of memories work with my baseball card love too. When most people hear the name “Leaf”, they think of the awesome ’90 set that was the first real competitor of premier giant, Upper Deck. The 1990 Leaf set is the most famous, most revisited and most valuable set from Leaf in the junk wax era. But that’s not the first set I think of when I hear Leaf. That mental image belongs to the 1992 set. I didn’t have a lot of the ’90 set because it wasn’t available in the local Wal-Mart and I didn’t make it to the card shops in Albany much, thanks to the healthy fear of the big city instilled by Deputy Dawg.
By 1992, the Leaf craze had settled down a little bit because Stadium Club, Pinnacle, Upper Deck and Ultra were all competing in the premium realm, making them more accessible. Also, scarcity wasn’t as big of an issue as was perceived when Leaf was introduced to collectors a couple years prior. By ’92, while Leaf was more accessible, it was still a top of the line card to own. The much sought after Leaf Gold Rookies were a hot chase too! This is the first Leaf set that I really bought a lot of so the design has stuck with me over the years.
First up; the First Basemen! Here you can get a good luck at the clean silver border with a nice black nameplate to accent. This is the design I see when I close my eyes and imagine Junk Wax Leaf Baseball!
Here are some strong Second Basemen as well. Knoblauch and Alomar were 90’s superstars. DeShields was supposed to be but never really panned out. Julio Franco was as steady a ball player as you would ever want but we really didn’t recognize his true place in the game until he played 100 seasons.
I missed out on Ozzie Smith but these 3 were all good replacements. I always liked this Cal Ripken card because it showed that he was a player that didn’t shy away from contact or getting dirty. That makes his consecutive game streak all the more impressive.
In the early 90’s, Ken Caminiti was the scariest Third Baseman in the game in my opinion. The dude could smash with the bat and had an absolute cannon for an arm. He was really fun to watch!
1992 Leaf has a very nice mixture of aging veterans and young superstars. Kirby Puckett was in his prime, Juan Gonzalez was the hot youngster and Robin Yount was on his way out. That Mariners outfield was a horror to face too with Mitchell, Buhner and Ken Griffey Jr.!
The arms in 1992 were hot! These guys didn’t have pitch counts or innings limits and a couple them destroyed the radar gun. One of the most underrated players of my lifetime is Lee Smith. All this guy did was shut down games. He barely missed 500 saves and that has kept him out of the Hall but he was a dominant pitcher coming out of the bullpen!
My favorite part about 1992 Leaf was the Black Gold cards found one per pack. These came as a variation for all players so they weren’t always great. But when you got a good player, they looked SO good in that binder! I even pulled a Black Gold Checklist in this box!
I snagged up 5 Leaf Gold Rookies but none of these guys were true MLB Superstars during their career. I remember the hype around David Nied in Atlanta. We had a great rotation and the thought of Nied becoming that 5th arm was tantalizing! And Turk Wendell never let collectors down with his cards.
The big rookies in this set are somewhat debatable. Mo Vaughn and Jeff Bagwell were both included in the ’91 Gold Rookie Checklist but ’92 represented all of their first base set inclusions. 1990 through 1993 are hot right now because the entries into the Hall of Fame have been and are coming from these rookie classes for the most part. While there are David Nied’s and Matt Stairs’ to contend with, the chance of pulling the rookie card of a hall of famer always ramps up the excitement a bit.
While this set will always be memorable for me, I just can’t get overly excited about this rip. The Gold Rookies only include 2 key names with Pedro Martinez and Kenny Lofton among the 24 on the checklist. The actual rookie class of Bagwell and Pudge may or may not be considered rookies depending on your standards. There are some big names like Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas but those names are found in every set of 92. The design saves it from being a complete bust and the Black Gold brings it even to a 3. I bought the entire box for $8 so you can’t really complain about the price of the nostalgic trip. So while this set is clearly not as gross as a Slimeball Bowl-A-Rama, it’s probably not as good as lunch pizza either.
The day started early. I was up at 7 and getting ready for an 8 o’clock basketball game with my 1st grade basketball team, the Typhoon. For the last 7 Saturday’s, I’ve gotten up at 7 to coach these awesome kids and it has been an amazing experience. I’ve coached sports for a variety of age levels over the last 20 years; baseball, basketball, football and even soccer. It truly is one of my passions aside from writing and collecting. I love seeing the confidence that can be built in a kid by a simple game. And I especially love being a part of a game that can bring us all together, regardless of social status, race or who our parents are. Look at this picture; this is true happiness on the faces of boys playing a game with their friends on a Saturday morning. We moved to 7-0 with our win today and we have one week left.
After basketball, it was time for another Saturday ritual; breakfast at Pearly’s. If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or even Instagram, you’ve seen my Saturday breakfast posts from this local landmark. This is my usual – steak biscuit, cheese grits, hash brown casserole and diet Dr. Pepper. This meal can sustain me until supper time on Saturday and I usually have to have a pretty serious excuse for not making it to Pearly’s. It’s blurring between ritual and superstition at this point. I’m pretty sure that all of the Georgia losses over the last few years has been because I didn’t make it in on game day. This place is hopping on Saturday mornings with a packed inside and cars wrapped all the way around the building in the drive-thru. Several of the waitresses know me by name and some even know what I order. I call that a good thing!
The next part of this Saturday was my trip to the LCS in Warner Robins. Because I had the day to myself, I had all the time in the world to make my trek up I-75 to the land of wax. The trip is 90 miles one way so I use that time to catch up on podcasts I may have missed during the week. I have a pretty heavy rotation so I actually enjoy that ride time! The usual suspects are the Fatpacks, That Sportscard Show, DawgNation Daily, Lemme Get That Podagraph and Nightmare on Film Street. I have a few that I’ve rotated in like Up and Vanished and Atlanta Monster as well. I don’t even listen to the radio anymore because podcasts have taken over my listening time!
Upon arrival, my first stop is always the junk wax turnstile. This is where I pick up all the sweet boxes for my retro reviews. We’ll cover one of those in a minute. The turnstile is drying up a little and Charlie commented that he has to work on restocking it. It doesn’t help that I buy up multiple boxes each month. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for some good deals on a couple of mid 80’s boxes if any of you have an inside track. I am also hoping to cover a 70’s box soon, which would be around the time I was born but still worth the visit.
It’s not all junk wax for me when I go to the shop because 1) I’m addicted to the YouTube hangouts when I break boxes with the Dub Gang and 2) I usually do a new product review for Bags Unlimited each week. This week I picked up an old faithful and a new release. The old faithful is my running favorite, 2017 Optic and the new release is Panini Patches and Plates. You can check out the 
But before I review something new, I will do my favorite rip and review something old. This week’s review is 1989 Topps Traded Baseball! I picked this up for $9.95 and the cards were in really good condition in the box. I have mentioned here before that I am a sucker for the 89 Topps bubble letter font and design. This was also the year I started collecting so I ripped a ton of wax then. There was one notable omission from the base set and the only place to find him was in this update. More on him at the end. But first, here are some others that were in the update set, with a few I forgot about.
Jim Abbott was a highly touted rookie in 1989. Part of that was his pitching ability but another part of his fanfare came from his amazing ability to make it to the major league level as a pitcher with only one hand. Most people know the story of Jim Abbott but if you don’t, check 
I can’t really figure this card out. This is a pitcher, wearing glasses, with eyeblack. What am I missing?
Jesse Barfield was a member of the Canadian version of the Bash Brothers with George Bell until he landed in the Bronx in 1989.
Julio Franco spent the first part of his career with the Phillies and Indians before spending most of the 90’s with Texas. I think he was 53 in this photo.
Flash was a guy that I really collected hard in ’89. I played softball many years later with a guy who played minor league ball with Gordon. I’ve always been a big fan!
Ricky was originally Ricky in Oakland, then became Ricky in New York but by 1989, Ricky was Ricky in Oakland again. See what I did there?
The Big Unit didn’t make the base set but was one of a few Mariners rookies who made the update set. This is my favorite Randy Johnson RC.
Eddie Murray played 21 seasons but only 3 in LA. He hit .330 with 26 home runs in 1990 so still had plenty left in the tank.
You can rest assured that this guy is going to show up in my next 
Here is an inclusion I forgot about in ’89. Now that I see this card, I can easily visualize his ’89 base card in the Astros uniform. He switched teams but didn’t even have to leave the state.
Another rookie that wasn’t included in any of the base sets of 1989 was Deion. He was in the Fleer Update and Donruss “The Rookies”, in addition to this card.
If I had only known in 1989 that Lonnie Smith was 2 years away from making me cry in front of a TV, I may have torn this card up. But then again, thanks to that baserunning flub, I have a 
Another Mariner RC in ’89 was the slick fielding Omar Vizquel. He’s vastly underrated in the hobby but was as solid a Major League Baseball player as you’ll find.
If you’ll go back and read that “Dated Rookie” link above, you’ll find the ’89 Rookie of the Year, Jerome Walton. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Jerome!
Ken Griffey was traded to the Reds in 1988 so I’m not entirely sure how he landed in the ’89 Update set but I am intrigued.
Though Ken Griffey was included , the Griff that drove this set was Jr. He was included in the Fleer, Donruss and Upper Deck base sets but somehow Topps missed him that year. He is probably one of the biggest oversights in set history. The Mariners were stacked in the early 90’s with Unit, Vizquel, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and Jr. They were really fun to watch!
I’m sure you sometimes wonder if there is anything I don’t like from the 80’s and 90’s. Trust me, there are and I have a few of those on the horizon. This set is not one of those. What’s not to love about this set? The awesome ’89 Topps Design is top notch. There are great rookies included with Randy Johnson, Deion, Vizquel and Jr. There is even a veteran SUPER star with Nolan Ryan. And all of this can be had for less than $10! It gets an easy “5” from Dub!
I remember writing scary stories as a kid (5th, 6th, 7th grade maybe) and I based them loosely on characters like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. I wasn’t very original but my mind was pretty active and I could come up with some stories that could fill three or four pages of notebook paper. My horror career obviously never took off and I really never even let a lot of people read it. It was then that I tried to do some illustration with my story-telling and realized that I wouldn’t be wowing anybody with those skills. I am 40 now and just to give you an idea, I tried to draw Jason just tonight and this is what it looked like. I stared at a photo and drew this and you might think my kids drew it if I hadn’t told you. The only thing I was ever able to accomplish was the 80’s “S” and it was the first initial of my last name so I thought I was pretty cool.
My brother, Chase, could draw a lot better than me. He drew the storefront of an auto parts place one time and I still have it hanging on the inside of my armoire. Yes, I am still using a piece of furniture that I had when I was 15. It is now where I store a lot of my baseball card paraphernalia. I have some old boxes of junk wax in there, along with autographs, patches and 8X10’s that I don’t have in the storage boxes in the closet. But every time I open that armoire, I see that drawing fastened to the back of the door with electrical tape. I don’t know why I still have it but I do. He’s gone on to be a lot more artistic than me in adulthood and his job is essentially based on precision and design, so his skills carried over.
Now my cousin, Michael, is in a real band. He plays the guitar and does things that I can only dream of being able to do. They are called Chasing Victory and they formed in 2001. He and his group of high school friends formed the band and just started playing locally. After 3 years of hard work, they would eventually release three albums that are available on iTunes today. Those albums are “A Not So Tragic Cover Up” (2004), “I Call This Abandonment” (2005) and their most accomplished album (according to me), “Fiends” (2007). They also toured during those years and played almost 300 shows per year throughout the US and Canada. They appeared with Underoath, Acceptance, August Burns Red, Emery, May Day Parade and many others. They were featured on several collaboration albums over the years as well.
Around 2007, the bandmates started getting married and planning families and decided to break up. They were pretty well established at that point on the “Screamo” scene and it was a sad thought that they were done. Of course, they were just growing up and the next stage of life was calling but they had legitimate talent and were very popular with their peers and fans. Fortunately, they would remain friends over the years and they never let the talent die because they have continued to do various musical projects over the years. While not quite like the worldwide albums and nationwide tours from the mid 2000’s, they never really lost their fan base. To prove that, they were named by AP Magazine as one of the “Top 10 Bands We Wish Never Broke Up” and “Most Influential Band” last year by the lead singer of Bring Me The Horizon, Oli Sykes.
Now, in 2018, they are about to step out into the public spotlight again. They have been working on an album for the last year and I have had the privilege of hearing some occasional sampling and raw recordings ahead of the album being released on February 9, 2018. The album is called “Friends, Vol 1” and is an alliteration of the last album title in 2007, “Fiends”. The album title is powerful because, according to Michael, “No matter what, we have always remained the best of friends; even through the lowest of the lows that you experience while touring, and also the highs. We named it Friends because of the profound impact we have had on each other’s lives.” Even after a 10 year layoff, they sound like they haven’t missed a beat. They recently released the album’s second single, “Kenosis”, and you can check it out 
So I’ve tried art, music and now writing but I’m still not an “artist” per se. I do love the arts though and have always wanted to be good at all of those things. My wife has been taking some art classes lately and she is really good. At least someone in my house can do something artistic! As usual, at this point you may be asking how this is going to tie in to sports cards but you should know by now that I always bring it back full circle. While I was trying to learn to draw as a kid, there was somebody else out there that was doing it a lot better than me. I have expressed my love for sketch cards many times here and 1991 Pro-Vision is probably my favorite single insert of all time. But as for a set, I don’t think 1991 Score will ever be topped as it relates to inserts and sketch cards; at least for me. While I loved ’91 Pro-Vision, I really didn’t like the base set so finding those inserts came with a price. I definitely enjoyed the base design of ’91 Score more than Fleer so the sketch cards were a bonus.
A box of 1991 Score weighs about a ton. There are 36 packs with 16 player cards and 1 magic motion card per box. The packs are the sweet old school baggies that Score made famous in the late 80’s. The box was split into 2 series’ much like some other sets in 1991. I have a box of Series 1 thanks to my good friend Steve (@
The fronts of the cards came in 4 colorful designs; Blue, Aqua, White and Black. We’ll cover the fronts in a minute. As for the backs, they were a bit busy. The cards covered every year of a player’s career so players like Nolan Ryan and Joe Carter had tiny stat lines. Where they could, they would fit some written information about the player.
Here are the notable catchers from Series 1. One of the catchers had the unusual designation of C-CF. He would later become a Hall of Fame Second Baseman as well! How many catchers would you guess had the capability to play CF? I always liked the Carlton Fisk card as well because he was in the throwback White Sox uniform and the card had the black design.
The infielders include some of the best players in Junk Wax history! Every one of these players were studs in their own way. The odd man in this section is Dave Justice. While he did play 1B as a minor leaguer and some as a rookie, he played over 100 games in RF this particular season but still didn’t earn that designation on his card.
Speaking of outfielders, look at this collection! The Sosa was another favorite of mine (again in the throwback). Damn I miss the late 80’s and early 90’s!
Every collector likely remembers Pedro Martinez. My buddy Shane (@
There were a ton of prospect cards in Series 1. There were some recognizable names like Karl Rhodes, Mickey Morandini and Brian McRae. But the stud in 1991 was Phil Plantier! He was hovering near Judge-Mania territory!
The best rookie in the entire set is in Series 2; Chipper Jones. But there are some names that were highly collectible in ’91. Carl Everett, Rondell White and Alex Fernandez were hot names but the player who had the best career was Mike “Moose” Mussina.
Now we find ourselves in the best part of the checklist; the inserts!! The first cards found were the “Highlight” cards. I REALLY loved the blue dazzle lights in the background. This Bo Jackson was a centerpiece in my binder for a while.
Next up is the “Master Blaster”. These are very 90’s! The Master Blaster series covered big time hitters and used red strobes in the background.
The “Rifleman” was the next group. These were players with cannon’s for arms. Obviously, these used green strobes in the background and another Bo is always a welcome addition.
“K-Man” covered the pitchers who were dominant on the mound in 1990. Here we have that Ramon Martinez guy again. I pulled Bobby Witt but would have liked to have had the other Rangers K-Man.
Finally, the cards we have all been waiting for; All-Star’s! These were sweet artist sketch cards with “big head” designs. While not the same type of feel as the Pro-Vision cards, these were very high on my list of wants in 1991. My favorite was always the Ken Griffey Jr.
Last but not least, we have the “Dream Team” insert. This was another favorite of mine in the early 90’s. I only pulled one from this box but it was a great one; Jose Canseco. These were really classy and each card had a unique shot of the super star.
This set remains one of my favorite overall sets for a few reasons. First, the colorful designs in the base set looked really good and were more appealing than those tried in 1988. Next, every insert card in the set was unique and collectible to me. I liked some better than others but I liked them all. Finally, the All-Star cards are second only to Pro-Vision during that time on my rankings of sketch cards. I liked these better than ’90 and ’91 Diamond Kings to be honest. The box was $10 and the only drawback is that the rookie class was not as stellar as some of the other years. But that small blemish will not deter me from giving this set a “5” on the Dub-O-Meter. I really like ’91 Score and would love for the current Score sets to include some of these cool inserts. I was saddened when Chasing Victory called it quits but they are making a comeback 10 years later. What say you Score??