Category: Sports

My little town in Southwest Georgia had some shortcomings when it came to eateries.  There were a couple of local joints that were pretty good but they had weird hours.  Then there was a Krispy Chik, Pizza Hut and Hardee’s.  The McDonald’s and Subway came in my early teens.  But my favorite place to eat in town was always Dairy Queen.  I knew the owner and his family, the food was great and their ice cream was a kid’s dream come true.  One of my fondest memories of Dairy Queen was the nights after city league softball or baseball when we would stop by and get a vanilla scoop in a mini batting helmet.  Companies try to replicate that from time to time but nobody does it like DQ did in the late ’80’s!In addition to their mini batting helmet promotional, DQ also partnered with Topps to release a baseball card set for the upcoming 1992 Team USA.  In the set, they commemorated the 1984 and 1988 teams as well.  The 1984 team produced one of the most sought after and memorable cards from my youth while providing a couple more star power cards.  The team also won a Bronze Medal.  The 1988 team had several hot rookies that would show up in 1989 Donruss and be hot commodities for a while.  They went on to win a Gold Medal.  The ’92 squad did not provide the same level of stars as the previous two teams but had some names that were very collectible at that time.  Unfortunately, they didn’t Medal, finishing 4th with a 5-2 record.The cards came in a 33 card set and had a very classic Topps look with a white border and red trim.  At the top of the card, a Stars and Stripes banner read “Team USA”.  The bottom of the card had the age old Dairy Queen logo and then a name box in the bottom corner with the players name, position and the year he was on Team USA.  I really like the back of the cards.  They continue the red, white and blue theme and provide all of the vital personal info at the top of the card.  The bottom of the card includes a highlight from their time on the team.  But the best part is how the stats are broken down.  There are actually three separate stat boxes; (1) the complete MLB stats up until 1991, (2) the complete stats for the Team USA tour and finally (3) the complete stats for the Olympic Games.  Topps did a great job with the breakdown.  Let’s take a look at some of the big names.Mark McGwire 1984 – This is the card mentioned in the opening that was so iconic when I started collecting in the late 80’s.  The original McGwire Team USA card was right there with the Canseco ’86 Donruss on most collector’s want list.  McGwire started his MLB career on a tear with 175 home runs in his first 5 seasons.  But he was only getting started and was a key part of the great homerun race in 1998 with Sammy Sosa.  Despite all of his faults when it came to his association with PED’s, I think baseball owes a lot to McGwire for bringing a level of excitement to the sport that had been missing since the ’94 strike.  The homerun chase was one of the most exciting events I can remember in sports.  He probably won’t ever get into the Hall of Fame unless the writers opinions of that era change but he was a tremendous boost to the game when it really needed it.  And while I still don’t own the ’85 Olympic card, I at least own the ’92 reprint.Will Clark 1984 – One of McGwire’s teammates was another 1B that would go on to have a very good MLB career.  While McGwire had a good Tour in 1984 with a .391 average and 6 home runs, “The Thrill” bested him by .001 in the average (.392) and more than doubled his home runs with 13.  McGwire really struggled in the Olympic Games with only a .190 average and no home runs.  But Clark actually improved from the tour and hit .429 with 3 home runs in 5 games.  These two stars would go on to face each other in the famous 1989 World Series that was delayed by an earthquake in California.  Oakland would sweep the Giants to take the series 4-0.  Barry Larkin 1984 – Another star from the ’84 team was Barry Larkin.  However, Larkin did not have an original Olympic card in any previous sets.  Like McGwire, Larkin played extremely well on the Tour with a .328 average and 3 home runs but really struggled in the Olympics with a paltry .143 average.  However, Larkin is the only one of the three who has made it into the Hall of Fame at this point.  Larkin is a 3x Gold Glover and 9x Silver Slugger to go along with his 12 all-star appearances.  He was also the NL MVP in 1995 and won a World Championship in 1990 with the Cincinnati Reds, the only team he would ever suit up for in the majors.  Larkin is one of the greatest middle infielders to ever play the game!Jim Abbott 1988 – Abbott was well known for his rise to major league fame despite only having one hand.  His pitching style was analyzed by many and displayed a quickness that was often missed with the naked eye.  He got his start with Team USA in 1992 and was stellar in that run with a 7-1 tour record with a 2.59 ERA and then pitched a complete game win with a 2.25 ERA in the Olympics to finish 1-0.  Abbott would go on to have a good, but not great, MLB career that included a no-hitter in 1993.Ben McDonald 1988 – Big Ben (6’8) was one a hot 1990 rookie that everybody wanted a piece of.  Part of that was because of his dominance in the Olympics with a 2-0 record and 1.00 ERA.  He gave up 5 runs in 18 innings and pitched 2 complete games.  His prospects never translated to the big leagues where he would finish his career with a 78-70 record and a 3.91 ERA, which was cut short by a rotator cuff injury.Robin Ventura 1988 – Mr. Ventura was a highly touted ’89 rookie and actually turned in a solid career, which is sort of rare for the ’89 highly touted.  A few had stellar careers but more than a few totally bombed.  Ventura would go on to play in 2 All-Star games and win 6 gold gloves at 3b.  He hit nearly 300 home runs (294) and hit .267 over a 16 year career.  My favorite card of Ventura is his ’89 Topps where he is pictured in his college jersey.  Unfortunately, he may be most known for the poor judgment he showed on the night of August 4, 1993 when he decided to physically challenge The Ryan Express after being walloped with a fast ball.  He was then walloped by a few overhand rights and the video will live forever.  Still, I always liked Ventura.Charles Johnson 1992 – Johnson was another one of those prospects who had very hot cards when he was brought up to the big leagues.  He was a terrific defensive catcher with a rifle for an arm but could also hit for power, as evidenced by his 26 homers as a freshman and sophomore at Miami.  He would go on to play 12 major league seasons and average 23 home runs over his career.  But his .245 career average was a killer.  Still, he won a World Series ring in 1997, played in 2 all-star games and won a gold glove 4 times.  Solid career but not what may have been expected in 1992.Jason Giambi 1992 – The final player I’ll profile here was no stranger to the long ball.  The Giambino, as he was frustratingly called in NY, hit 440 home runs over a 20 year career, including 3 seasons of 40+.  Unfortunately, he was unable to do it without the allegations of steroids dragging him down.  He went from a scrawny 6’2, 195 as an Olympian to a 6’3, 250 pound major leaguer that was mashing balls out of stadiums.  But even as an Olympian, he hit .323 with 2 home runs in 8 games.  He even had a triple in there.  Makes you wonder what he could’ve done if he had stayed clean.  

Team USA has produced a large amount major leaguers over time, and even several superstars.  There are also many memorable cards that show players donning the red, white and blue.  This set by Dairy Queen commemorates the teams from my youth and was filled with nostalgia.  It was also very cheap as I purchased it for $2.75 plus shipping on eBay.  It’s probably over produced much like the rest of the products from 1992 but I think it’s a fine add to the PC at that price.  Overall, I’ll give it a 3 on the Dub-O-Meter for value and some star power.  If the set came with a helmet sundae, it would have easily been given a 5.  Speaking of, I’m going to get a blizzard!

Dub Score – 3

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?

My cousin had a house fire when he was a youngster.  The house was destroyed along with all of his youthful possessions.  Among those possessions was his baseball card collection.  He lost a nice vintage Harmon Killebrew in that fire.  Though not the most important issue he had at the time, I’ve always wondered what I’d do if I lost my cards to a fire or flood or some other act of God.  I have a ton of years in this hobby and I have a ton of cards that are worth next to nothing on the open market but are invaluable to me.  There’s no way I can protect all of my cards but I do try and look after some of them.

I have a small fireproof box where I keep my favorite cards.  My hope is that the box would survive a tornado or fire and I’d have my cards.  Kinda sad when I put it in those terms.  They aren’t even my most expensive cards as much as they’re just special.  I have baseball, basketball, football and two autographed baseballs in this magical case.  I also have my newly purchased Cuyler Smith cards in there.  The selection may change from time to time but about 80% of the cards in there will always be in there.  These cards are the PC items that I’d never let go of and hopefully my daughter feels the same about them because they’ll be hers one day.  All of these cards have some sort of story; either the card itself or the player featured.  Let’s take a gander at a few.2012/13 Exquisite Endorsements Michael Jordan/Larry Bird Dual Autograph #d 14/15 – This is one of my prize pieces, top 5 no doubt.  As a child of the 80’s and a teen of the 90’s, it didn’t get better than Bird and Jordan, unless you threw Magic in there too.  I don’t care what today’s fans say about LeBron, he’s not Jordan.  He’s unbelievably talented but there will never be another Jordan.  And Bird was one of the best sharpshooters in basketball history.  Plus, he played defense, rebounded, dove for loose balls and fought for teammates.  Jordan and Bird are the reasons I played basketball in high school.  I wanted to be these guys, just like every other 13 year old that played basketball.  Two legends, on the same card, autographed.  This one stays in the fireproof until I’m dead and gone!2015 Leaf Buyback Bo Jackson Auto #12/40 – Another 80’s legend!  I’m a southern boy and a UGA fan.  But, I can appreciate otherworldly talent when I see it, even if it comes from Auburn.  We did have Herschel though!  But Bo was a beast in baseball and football.  There are so many cool stories I’ve heard about Bo when he was at Auburn.  Bo was so easy to pull for.  He was a terrific athlete and had a great charisma in front of the camera.  Not only did I love Bo Jackson, I also loved 1990 Leaf so when I saw this card, I had to have it.  It’s the only Bo auto I have and it’s another that will never see the outside of the fireproof unless I’m holding it.Panini HOF 75th Anniversary Satchel Paige Emerald #6/10 – I looked at these boxes for months on www.dacardworld.com before I finally pulled the trigger.  I pulled a few nice autos in the box but my favorite card was this Satchel Paige with the Emerald.  I don’t own any Satchel Paige original cards so this is the best I can do.  Paige is in 3 separate Hall of Fames and is remembered by some as possibly the best pitcher ever.  Being numbered to 10 and having a gem in the card makes it a very nice keepsake for me!1989 Upper Deck TTM Nolan Ryan Auto – This is a recent addition to the fireproof.  I sent this off to the Nolan Ryan Foundation back in November and got it back in early February.  The ’89 Upper Deck was my favorite Nolan (that I wanted to mail) but I was a little concerned at how dark the photo was when I mailed it.  I was pleasantly surprised when it came back and he used a nice blue ink for the auto.  It came out great and is the only Ryan auto I have.  There isn’t much I can say about Nolan Ryan that you don’t already know.  You don’t read my blog for me to tell you that Ryan was a good pitcher.  But he was a man’s man and personified the force on the mound that you wanted to be as a pitcher.  I remember during 8th grade, I spent the summer reading his book and following his arm workouts in hopes of picking up some velocity on my fastball.  It definitely helped but I wasn’t really throwing that much harder.  It was cool doing it though.  And who can forget what he did to poor Robin Ventura when he charged the mound that fateful night?  A Ryan Express auto was a huge get for me!!1992 Donruss Elite Ken Griffey Jr PSA 8 – I didn’t buy this card because of the grade.  I bought it to own it, plain and simple.  When Donruss Elite hit the scene, I can remember me and my friends losing our minds trying to pull one of those.  Twenty-five years later and I still have never pulled one.  I did pull a Robin Yount Legend Series card a couple years ago that was very similar to the Elite but no such luck with the original chase card.  I remember one of my best friends pulling an André Dawson.  I’m not being dramatic when I say that it was the equivalent of pulling a Mike Trout auto today for us.  We went nuts!  And then, the jealousy set in.  I wanted one!!  So, when I grew up and started earning an income, I bought one.  It’s not the same as pulling one but I have a Ken Griffey Jr Elite Series and that’s all that matters to me!Nick Chubb Leaf Army AA Patch Auto#20/25 – This one is going to be a bit regional for some but trust me, you’ll be seeing Nick Chubb on Sunday’s very soon.  Nick Chubb is the kind of kid that every fan appreciates and pulls for.  This is a kid who dominates on the field and is a rock star on campus but skips spring break to work out at his old high school.  Instead of partying on the beach, he’s running sprints in Athens alone.  He is humble, speaks highly of his teammates and never blames anyone for a loss.  Plus he’s an absolute stud with a football in his hands.  He’s #2 on the all time rushing list at UGA and isn’t mathematically eliminated from passing the greatest ever, Herschel Walker. You may not like UGA, but it’s hard not to like Nick Chubb!  We love him and he’s a Damn Good Dawg (DGD).2015 Panini Contenders Todd Gurley Auto – Speaking of DGD’s, there’s Herschel Walker and then there’s Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb.  Chubb passed Gurley on the rushing list this past year but Gurley missed quite a bit of collegiate time with a couple of knee injuries.  He could rush for 100, catch 5 for 100 and return a kickoff 100 in the same game.  He was as smooth a runner as I’ve ever seen in person.  Chubb and Herschel run you over, just ask Bill Bates. But Gurley can run you over or run around you and take it to the house.  But more than that, Gurley made a great impression on me and my family when we met him before the draft in 2015.  We went to a meet and greet where we were able to take pictures with him and then we got in line for autographs.  The downfall of getting the picture and auto ticket was that we had to go to the back of the line after the picture as the auto line was filling at the same time.  The auto line took hours.  We even had a chance to grab a bite to eat at the Dave and Busters while we waited.  Even after that loooong wait, when we got up to Gurley for the auto, he remembered my 9 year old daughters name!  He posed for another picture, even though he wasn’t supposed to.  One of the most soft spoken and humble superstars I’ve ever met.  I love Herschel!  I love Nick Chubb!  And I love Todd Gurley!  Please don’t ever ask me to rank them in order because I don’t know if I can.So there are the first 7 items from the fireproof.  There are more where those came from.  I’ll come back for a part 2 when the time is right and I’ll pick 6-7 more to share.  Thanks to @camp2x for the inspiration on this one.  Do you have items locked away that you’ll never consider getting rid of?  I’m sure we all have players and cards that are near and dear to us.  These are mine and I’m doing the best I can to keep them safe!

J-Dub

Revco was a pharmacy that originated in Detroit MI in 1956. They were found through out the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United Sates. In 1986, Revco was the largest drugstore chain in the United States with 2,049 stores in 30 states. I always wondered where the name Revco came from but found out in my research that it was originally Registered Vitamin Company. There was a Revco located about 30 miles from our house so we didn’t go often but I was very familiar with the store. We had a Big B Drugs in my hometown, along with Rite Aid and some local shops. Revco shuttered its doors in 1997.In 1988, Revco joined other retailers such as Rite Aid, Kmart, Woolworth’s and others by teaming up with Topps to create a baseball card set for their store. Revco decided to go with a League Leaders theme and included some very different names for an oddball set at that time. We’ve discussed some of the mainstays in those sets from Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Kirby Puckett, Tim Raines and Tony Gwynn. The names we haven’t mentioned though are Kent Tekulve, Juan Samuel, Brian Downing and Mark Eichhorn. I can’t wait to see what they led the league in.As for the set, it was pretty standard for Topps to go with a 33 card set for the oddballs while Fleer went with 44. This set included 18 hitters and 15 pitchers, a much more even breakdown than some others I’ve opened recently. The cards had the same high gloss that KayBee and Kmart sets had and were on reasonably sturdy card stock. The design was a bit funky with the Revco logo taking up 2/3rd of the top border and the Topps League Leaders logo was in bright yellow in the top right. The bright yellow immediately gave me flashbacks to ’91 Fleer a couple of nights ago. The bottom right of the card has a diagonal name banner that includes the team name and the position. Again, there is that yellow! The backs of the cards used two shades of red (pink) and again show the Topps and Revco logos. Only one year of stats (1987) is included along with the career line. The text box center-right of the card provides the league leading stat category for the player.Let’s take a look at a few of the cards and the stats that led the league in 1987.Would you be surprised if I told you that Tony Gwynn led the National League in batting average? He hit a solid .370 in 1987 and also led the league with 218 hits. By 1988, this was his 3rd season leading the league in hits and 2nd season leading in average.In the American League, Wade Boggs led the way with a .363 batting average. He finished with an even 200 hits, his 5th consecutive season of such a feat. He would also do it again in 1988 and 1989.Two players split the AL lead for hits. Kirby Puckett and Kevin Seitzer led the way with 207 hits. Puckett is a Hall of Famer but Seitzer was always a bit underrated to me. He didn’t have a lot of pop (13 was his season high in home runs) but he did hit .295 over a 12 year career and did not strike out much at all.Vince Coleman led the majors in stolen bases with 109. This actually still stands as the 10th best stolen base season in major league history but it’s not even Coleman’s best, as he had 110 in 1985. Rickey Henderson had 93 in ’88 but no one has even come close since then with the best being Marquis Grissom with 78 in 1992.Andre Dawson was the king masher in the NL with 49 home runs. This was a career high for the Hawk, who would finish with 438 home runs over 21 years. He also led the majors with 137 RBI that year, another career high.In the AL, Mark McGwire burst onto the scene as a home run king with 49 home runs as well. Everyone knows that this was not his career high as he would best that 4 times with seasons of 52, 58, 65 and 70. The amazing thing about 1987 was that it was his first full season. He finished with 49 bombs, 118 RBI and a .289 average.George “Taco” Bell led the AL in RBI with 134, 3 off the Hawk’s pace. This was Bell’s career high but he did have 4 seasons (12 total) with 100+ RBI. He finished with 47 home runs, just 2 behind McGwire.Nolan Ryan led the NL with 270 K’s and a 2.76 ERA. I have found that he is not always included in these oddball sets so this was a pleasant surprise. He’s in the Astro’s uniform as well, which is a plus. The amazing stat for Ryan that year was that even after leading the league in K’s and ERA, he would finish with an 8-16 record, the worst win/loss ratio of his career.. Man, the Astros were bad!In the AL, Roger Clemens set the pace with 18 complete games and 7 shutouts. Those numbers are astronomical by today’s standards. I was just having this conversation with Ryan (@basecardhero) on Twitter over the weekend. The MLB leader in complete games in 2016 was Chris Sale (6) so Clemens threw more shutouts than the CG leader in today’s game. I know that the game has changed but complete games are really a forgotten stat. Clemens got a ton more run support than Ryan. His ERA was higher at 2.97 and he finished with a 20-9 record, which also led the AL.And of course, Jack Clark would lead the league in Slugging. Curse him and his deceiving stat line! He had a .597 slugging percentage but also led the league with 136 BB’s. I have nothing else to add here.As for the otherwise random oddball inclusions, Kent “Science Teacher” Tekulve led the league in games pitched. I was curious as to why he was included but this makes sense. He didn’t lead in wins or K’s but he did pitch in the most games so there’s that. Mark Eichhorn led the AL with 89 games pitched.Juan Samuel led the NL in triples with 15. Not a huge season for triples as this was good for 414th all time.Finally, Brian Downing led the AL in BB’s with 106, 30 off the pace of Jack Clark in the NL. This was also his best home run season with 29. Downing had consistent power with 5 consecutive 20+ home run seasons from 1984-1989.

This was a really cool little set that included some players that normally didn’t get the honor of being in a 33 card set. Of course, the argument can be made that the checklist isn’t as strong as others but if you are including all of the leagues leaders, it is pretty representative of that moment in time. The design was classic 80’s and the cards were in good condition. The cost of the set is below $5, so its a very easy add to the PC if oddball’s are your preference. I’ll give this one a solid 4 on the Dub-O-Meter and recommend that you take a look if you’re in the market. Revco may have gone out of business but they did put a good oddball set on the market before they did.

Dub Score – 4

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?

 

In 1990, Fleer was a pretty bland set in a fresh new 90’s world.  Upper Deck continued what they started in 1989 with a continued high quality look.  Donruss and Topps on the other hand, burst onto the 90’s scene like Kelly Kapowski through a Tigers banner at a Bayside pep rally!  Donruss introduced their bright ketchup red with spots and squiggles and Topps broke out vibrant neon yellows, oranges, blues and reds.  Meanwhile, Fleer used a boring white border with team colors sprinkled throughout the set.  That’s not to say that I didn’t like the ’90 Fleer set but my positive memories of it may be more about the time period of my life and certain cards I enjoyed from the set.  Needless to say, Fleer missed an opportunity in 1990 to be flamboyant and get away with it.When 1991 rolled around, they were hell bent on not being the bland set in the group.  No, they turned it up a notch or twelve and broke out what many consider to be one of the loudest, most retinal intrusive designs in cardboard history.  And it seemed to be totally out of the blue (or yellow – waka waka).  If you go back and look through the history of Fleer, there was never any indication before or after 1991 that this design would ever be a consideration.  In movie terms, 1991 Fleer was Halloween 3.  There are a handful of events throughout history that I wish I was present for.  And I am not joking when I say that one of those events is the marketing/design meeting where this was approved.  I have to know if it was a resounding yes or if it won by a single vote or if they just decided to flip a coin and go with a random option.Nevertheless, this was the option chosen and this is the set we were given when Saved By The Bell, Full House and Fresh Prince were giving us all the loud colors and designs we could stand on television.  For 1991, I don’t suppose this set was all that out of place.  Although, Topps had gone back to its more classic white border and Donruss toned it down quite a bit with their new blue border, the opportunity Fleer missed in 1990 was more than made up for in 1991.  A set that will forever be marred by that taxi cab/mustard/Big Bird yellow border in what otherwise would have been a fairly promising set.The set itself is made up of 720 cards, as was the norm for the 80’s and early 90’s sets.  That sounds like sooo many cards now.  The insert sets that year included All-Stars, Team Logo Stickers, World Series cards, box bottoms and my personal favorite, Pro-Visions.  To this day, the Pro-Visions remain one of my favorite inserts of all time.  According to www.tradingcarddb.com, there are also 55 errors or variations.  Though many were uncorrected, it does still allow for somewhat of a chase so many years later.  The wax box came with 36 packs of 14 cards and 1 logo sticker.  Fleer’s box advertised “Full Color Backs”, “2 Player Pictures Per Card” and “Improved Action Shots” which while all factual was very much debatable as well.Base Cards – The checklist does have some strong names that include Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Don Mattingly and of course, Ron Gant.  But the checklist is loaded with guys I don’t even remember; Jim Vatcher, Kelvin Torve and Troy Afenir??  720 cards was way too large of a checklist for Major League Baseball in 1991.  I can’t put a positive spin on this, not even with Ronnie Gant in there.  I did choose the Tom Gordon for a reason though.  A friend of mine who played softball with me for many years was in the Royals farm system with Gordon.  He played right field and says that Gordon would turn and look at him almost every time the ball was going to be hit to him.  That’s how good Gordon was in the minors.  He could almost predict where the hitters were going with the pitch he was about to throw.  I thought that was amazing but it’s probably fairly common with major leaguers.Rookie Cards – As was normal with Fleer, they didn’t have any unique designation for a rookie card in the set.  The rookie cards looked just like the veterans.  No Future Star, Rated Rookie, All Star Rookie or even just “Rookie”.  The rookie checklist may be one of the worst I’ve ever seen.  The best rookie in the entire set was Luis Gonzalez and he won by a landslide over such names as Carlos Garcia, Randy Tomlin, Terry Lee, Jeff Gray and Tom Edens.  I didn’t just go through and pick bad names for effect either.  Take a look at the rookie checklist when you have time.  It’s truly abysmal.  One name though that brought back memories was Phil Plantier.  He was Kevin Maas-light in 1991.Inserts – Not much in the way of inserts besides the Pro-Visions which we’ll discuss in a moment.  The main cards in the set that differed from the base cards were “Leader” cards.  These included Home Run leaders, Saves leaders, etc.  There is also a card made just like the leader cards called “Second Generation Stars” that pictures Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds.  I’ll take what I can get at this point.Pro-Vision – Alas, the main reason I wanted to revisit this set.  I pulled three of the Pro-Visions in the 32 packs I opened.  There are 4 packs that are left over that are going to be randomed to a VERY lucky winner!  The Pro-Visions I pulled were Jose Canseco, Ruben Sierra and Don Mattingly, all players I liked in 91.  Canseco is holding a bat that is being struck by lightning under a cloudy night sky.  Ruben is wearing his Sheriff badge and standing in the desert.  Finally, Mattingly is holding 3 bats and standing in front of a full pinstripe backdrop.  These cards were so cool to me.  They are truly the only thing that saved this set from the lowest possible Dub Score.

MiscellaneousSeriously, what is Jeff Treadway doing here?How about mixing up the font mid sentence on the back of the card?I’m guessing this is one of the few times Tony Gwynn got caught looking?Here is Steve Avery on a high school baseball field in front of a crowd of zero!I really want to know what Fleer considers a “Card Accounting System”.And if you needed any more reasons to dislike this set, how about a Jack Clark?

I think you know where I am going with this score.  I can’t give it a 1 simply because of the Pro-Vision cards.  I can’t have a set with one of my favorite inserts be a 1.  I can have it be a 2 though.  The set is honestly worse than I remember and is only held together with nostalgia and Pro-Visions.  The card stock is bad, the photos are bad, the lighting is bad, the checklist is bad and the rookie crop is bad.  I’m really not trying to be too harsh but I really can’t find much to like about this set of than one insert set.  My advice is to look elsewhere when wanting to travel down memory lane in 1991.

Dub Score – 2

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?

Up until a couple of weeks ago, the only thing I knew about Drakes was that Newman loved their coffee cakes on Seinfeld. I assumed they were a baking company and never had any other reason to check them out. Then the discussion on oddball sets happened. Ryan (@basecardhero), Scott (@SBergerBOSTON), Shane (@ShaneKatz73) Donnie (@TheDingoDad) and others started a big discussion that in, Ryan’s terms, “Escalated Quickly.” What we all thought were just random oddball sets turned into a massive list of retail sets that were available from the 80’s that we didn’t even know about. Some of them were regional and we would have had no real reason to know about them. Drakes must have been one of those sets, because I had no idea, but you can believe I ran out and bought me a set for my collection.The set I bought was 1985 but the box shows that it’s the 5th annual edition. A little more research revealed that they produced sets from 1981-1988. The sets were labeled “Big Hitters plus Super Pitchers”; reminiscent to the set I reviewed that started this cluster of a conversation, Fleer’s 1987 “Sluggers vs Pitchers.” The set had a total of 44 cards (no stickers though) and was broken into 33 hitters and 11 pitchers. The checklist is phenomenal in my opinion. There isn’t one player that I think is out of place in the set. One of the reasons I think that may be because Jack Clark was excluded. Another plus is that the cards are from 1985. You can’t buy cards from 1985 as cheaply as you can buy cards from 1989 but this vintage set only cost me $6.49 with free shipping!The cards themselves were set to mirror the ’85 flagship Topps product but have the added Drakes logo and a different bottom banner. The backs of the cards are almost identical with the exception of the color. The ’85 Topps cards were green with red writing and Drakes is red with dark blue writing. They are very similar in style and the card stock is the same as well. The cards were in remarkable condition to be 32 years old, though they had a distinct odor to them. The fronts of the cards had the “5th Annual Collector’s Edition” logo at the top, either in green (National League) or red (American League) and included the card number in the series. At the bottom, there was a Drakes “Big Hitter” or “Super Pitcher” logo next to the banner with the players name, team and position. All of the hitter’s photographs were taken during a swing at the plate. The pitchers were all taken on the mound, most mid delivery. Again, the backs were typical Topps with background info, stats and the occasional trivia question.The Hitters

This checklist is loaded with sluggers from 1985. Listen to some of these stats; Tony Armas (43 bombs), Harold Baines (29/.304), Dwight Evans (32/.295), Tony Gwynn (.351), Don Mattingly (.343), Dale Murphy (36/.290), Eddie Murray (29/.306), Cal Ripken (27/.304), Mike Schmidt (6 consecutive 30+ HR seasons). Again, I have no beef with the selections in this set. I obviously have a personal beef with the inclusion of Kent Hrbek but I’m not going down that road again. His stats were worthy of inclusion so we’ll just leave it at that.The Pitchers

There were only 11 pitchers included but they were all generally stat stuffers and several were future Hall of Famers. Steve Carlton had 313 wins by the time 1985 rolled around, along with a career 3.04 ERA. Doc Gooden was just getting started but his rookie year was 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA and 276 K’s in 218 IP. Tom Seaver was knocking on the door of 300 wins with 288 by 1985. He also had a career sub 3.00 ERA (2.80) with 3,403 K’s. Finally, future Brave, Bruce Sutter was included, wearing his St. Louis Cardinals uniform but his card had the tag at the bottom that said “Now with Braves”. There were a couple of oddball pitchers but nothing too far out there.

The Uniforms

The absolute best part of the set was the uniforms that the players were shown in. Take a look at these gems.Gary Carter – Montreal ExposAlvin Davis – Seattle MarinersSteve Garvey – San Diego PadresTony Gwynn – San Diego PadresKent Turdbek – Minnesota TwinsMike Schmidt – Philadelphia PhilliesTom Seaver – Chicago White Sox

I’ll tell you that this may be the best oddball set I own now. It’s the oldest and the cards are in really good condition. You will not even find many packs from 1985 for this cost and I would put the quality of these cards up against the flagship set. It makes me want to check out the other Drakes sets but I am also worried that I may be disappointed in the next set. I don’t want to be let down after this pleasant surprise! I have to give these a Dub Score of 5 for several reasons. First, the reasonable cost is unbeatable. It’s always a plus to add a set that’s 30+ years old to your collection so vintage value is a winner. The checklist is strong, as mentioned above. Finally, the quality is really good for a set of 1985 baseball cards. I’m actually going to order another so I can random this one to someone else who can enjoy them as well! Collect and keep this hobby strong my friends!

Dub Score – 5

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?