Month: June 2017

In January of 1993, I was preparing to turn 16 years old.  My birthday is February 13 so the early part of the year is always exciting for me.  I usually didn’t have the usual crash after Christmas because I knew that more presents were around the corner.  But as I’ve aged, I’ve actually come to dread my birthday as opposed to celebrating it but I think that is fairly normal.  In ’93, I was getting ready for my driver’s license but I don’t think the world was ready for my driving.  After failing the learner’s test a year before, which wasn’t a huge surprise given my track record for preparing for tests at that age, I was spending that January cramming for the big one.I was also gearing up for baseball season to start as I was entering my first season as a Mitchell-Baker Eagle.  Baseball tryouts were in late February so I had to knock the rust off due to not playing for several months.  In the early 90’s, we didn’t play year round baseball like the kids do today.  We played whatever sport was in season so that meant I hung up my baseball glove in August the year before.  So in between cramming for the driver’s exam and trying to salvage my 10^th grade academic year, I was also studying Nolan Ryan’s Pitcher’s Bible.  This book had me curling gallon jugs of water, doing dips in my room and throwing daily 40 pitch warm-up sessions.  I was pretty serious about the Pitcher’s Bible.  I should have taken Geometry that seriously!I went on to pass that driver’s exam, I made the baseball team and I ultimately passed the 10^th grade so the work paid off.  I learned one of my first “Life Lessons” from baseball that season too.  In our first game against Thomas County Central, a school that was above us in classification, we battled them punch for punch into the 7^th inning.  One of those innings was even a scoreless effort from Dub.  Anywho, in the bottom of the 7^th, we were down 5-4.  After one of their pitchers loaded up the bases, TCC rolled out their ace reliever who threw what looked like 200 miles per hour to a 16 year old rookie in his first high school game.  He struck out the first batter.  As the second batter stepped into the batter’s box, I sludged to the on deck circle.  I then turned to my head coach and asked if he was sure he wanted me to hit instead of utilizing a pinch hitter.  I won’t lie, I was scared.My coach snapped back at me, “You’re hitting!”  I didn’t know at the time why that upset him but that’s where the life lesson comes in.  But before I got to the life lesson, I had to face the ace with 2 outs and the bases loaded.  The previous batter had also struck out and aside from a foul ball, nobody had made any contact yet.  I stepped into the box, gripped the bat as tight as I had ever gripped it and watched (even though I didn’t actually see the ball) a high school version of Aroldis Chapman groove a fastball right down the pipe on the first pitch.  I knew the at bat was going to end poorly.  I whiffed on the next pitch.  On the third pitch, I just threw my bat through the strike zone and somehow made contact!  It was a routine grounder to 2^nd that was scooped up and tossed over to 1^st for the final out of the game.   Were you expecting a game winning single?  Trust me, I wasn’t.

As I walked off the field, some of my teammates actually reached for high 5’s and patted me on the back.  I had just “lost” the game but they were impressed that I made solid contact.  The coach called me into his office while everybody was changing and told me that he only wanted players on his team that had confidence.  I was told that I needed to make the decision right then and there if I wanted to be a part of the team.  He wanted me to come to him and beg him to let me hit in a crucial situation as opposed to asking to be pulled.  He also pointed out that I made good contact and if he had to do it over again, he would trot me right back out there.  It actually turned out to be a confidence building moment for me that I have carried with me since that game.Aside from high school baseball, I was building confidence in my major league baseball card knowledge too.  The industry was changing profoundly and I was having to study my “Beckett Textbook” on a monthly basis to stay on top of my game.  New products, more shows and tons of card shops and dealers were saturating the hobby with so many options that card values were as unstable as Enron stock in 2001.  If you didn’t learn about the new products early enough, you were usually stuck with buying them at a markup cost that you knew was too high.  But you had no choice if you wanted to add certain items to your PC.  It was becoming a volatile time in the hobby and many of us chose to stick with what we knew, only adding premium when we were feeling lucky.As I read through the January 1993 Beckett in preparation for this piece, I was flooded with thoughts of how the hobby was exploding during that time and how exciting it was.  But it was also troubling to look back and wonder how we didn’t see it coming.  Some people did and they were very vocal in the “Reader’s Write” section of this issue.  I commend Rich Klein for fielding some of these doozies as there was a lot of panic and laying blame coming from the public.  Despite several readers saying that they were sure their negative piece would never make it to print, Beckett posted them and eloquently responded to them while never losing a sense of professionalism.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy at times.  While a 16 year old Dub would have wilted under that kind of pressure much like he did in the game against TCC, Mr. Klein took the high road and faced the heaters.The first article I read was “Hobby on the Move”, which went perfectly with my theme of this series being major changes in the hobby.  This article covered the hobby from 1981-1993 and outlined certain changes in the manufacturers (3 in 1981), the hot rookies that had faded (Ron Kittle), the early introduction of premium sets (1984 Topps Tiffany), the heyday of error cards and finally the move to multiple premium options in the early 90’s with Leaf, Topps Stadium Club and Upper Deck.  Even with all of the tumult in the hobby during those years, the last paragraph of the article stuck out the most to me and I try to live by it today.

“Lastly, collecting cards needs to remain fun.  Collect who or what you want to collect without worrying about what anyone else thinks.  It’s your collection.  A little more laughter at the local card show, and a little less investment analysis, may do us all a world of good.”

There was another great piece called “The Hot Corners” which outlined the hot players at 1^st and 3^rd at the time.  These were young stars that were getting a lot of publicity for their talent.  The list actually holds up some 24 years later with 2 exceptions.  The list included Gary Sheffield, Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Jeff Bagwell, John Olerud, Eric Karros and Edgar Martinez.  All of these players were considered stars for most of their career and a few are rightfully in the Hall of Fame.  The misses were Dean Palmer and Dave Hollins.  But if you collected in 1993, you remember how hot Dean Palmer was for a while!Speaking of Hot, the Hot/Cold list got a quick look before I moved to pricing.  Pricing got a lot of attention during this review because we were starting to see many new products and the years were continuing to pass since the major stars rookie cards.  After reaching #1 in October 1991, Frank Thomas was still found at the top of the hot list for 16 months straight.  The Big Hurt was The Big Get in the early 90’s when pack ripping.  The big mover on the Hot List was Pat Listach who jumped from 29 to 14 in one month and even got an article of his own later in the issue.  Jose Canseco, Pete Rose and Kevin Maas continued their appearances on the cold list.

As I moved to pricing, I knew I was going to see some changes from 1992.  There were some new hot products that were getting a lot of attention, some of the players were cooling off and some were heating up.  Some of the changes were bigger than I thought while some had defied the odds and remained stable.As previously, I had to start with the 1982 Topps Cal Ripken as it was the first major card of the 80’s.  It was valued at $75.00 but dropping.  Though it was still up from $70 in 1992.Then it was on to 1983 where Ryne Sanderg, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs all had rookie cards.  Sandberg was at $60 (-$10), Gwynn was at $40 (+4) and Boggs was at $35 (-$2).The 1984 Fleer Update set continued to amaze me.  Roger Clemens had skyrocketed to $420 (+$160) and Kirby Puckett was $360 (+$130).  Doc Gooden had entered his decline and was down $20 to an even $100.  But what an unbelievable set to own if you’re one of the lucky ones.1984 Donruss was continuing to be a hot product with a set value of $350 (-$15) but it was losing some steam.  Strawberry headlined the set with a value of $48 (-$17) while Mattingly checked in at $45 (-$15) and Joe Carter at $35 (-$10).The 1986 Canseco RC had dropped $15 to $60.And the 1987 Fleer Bo Jackson was tanking, going from $22 in 1992 to $6.50 in 1993,1990 Leaf was my favorite set for many years.  It was beyond my financial reach at 15-16 but I had friends who had them and I was totally jealous.  One friend had the full set in numerical order in a binder!  The cards were beautiful!  The white and silver complimented each other perfectly, making the design ahead of its time in my opinion.  In 1993, it continued to be a very active set and was still holding major value for a 90’s product.  This was the set to own but would eventually be passed by a 1992 product I’ll cover in a moment.  The value Leaf was spinning off was also a hot topic in the Reader’s Write section.  Frank Thomas was valued at $55, Dave Justice at $24, Ken Griffey Jr. at $24, Gary Sheffield at $16 and Steve Avery at $14.  Remember, these were mere base cards!The 1991 Leaf Gold Bonus set had leveled out and started to fall in value since the 1992 issue.  They were still holding solid value at $60 for a 26 card insert set.1991 Stadium Club was rivaling Leaf for early 90’s dominance with a $250 set.  Some of the highlights here were Frank Thomas at $30, Juan Gonzalez at $16, Nolan Ryan Tux at $14 and Jeff Bagwell at $10.1992 Fleer’s 20 card insert set (Rookie Sensations) held 6 times the value of the base set.  Frank Thomas was a $50 card while Juan Guzman was $22. Not to be outdone, Pinnacle jumped on the scene in 1992 and offered some equally stunning inserts.  Team Pinnacle was valued at $425 for 12 cards while Rookie Idols was valued at $275 for 18.  Read that again slowly.  Estimated at 1 in 125 packs, these inserts were carrying individual value of $85 for a Will Clark/Frank Thomas and $70 for a Ryne Sandberg/Roberto Alomar.  Again, this is 1993 folks.The final set I want to touch on in the pricing section was a rather unassuming one in this issue of Beckett.  1992 Bowman was a 705 card set with virtually no inserts outside of a gold foil card found 1 per pack.  This set is most well known for its young superstar checklist that included Chipper Jones, Carlos Delgado, Manny Ramirez, Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera.  In 1993, these cards were valued at a combined $7.00.  Today, they run about $50 for the lot.  A box of 1992 Bowman will only cost you about $225, which is virtually unheard of for the “junk wax era”.  In 1993, the set was valued at $90.  This was lower than the value of ‘90 Leaf and ‘91 Topps Stadium club (by a lot) and you can buy multiple boxes of each cheaper than one box of Bowman today.  The other notable highlight of this set that is often discussed is the odd poses and clothing used on some of the rookie cards.  Whenever you are feeling down, just google 1992 Bowman Images and look for players like Braulio Castillo, Jeff Jackson and Ryan Long.  You’ll perk right up, I promise!  This remains the most valuable and popular base set of the 90’s.On to “Reader’s Write”, which is really one of the best sections of 90’s Beckett.  One gentleman wrote in with a word of warning about Home Shopping Networks trying to prey on inexperienced collectors.  This took me back to the first few times I saw salesmen peddling cards on HSC.  These guys made 1990 Donruss seem like ’55 Bowman.  I had totally forgotten about that and got a good chuckle out of that memory.The next reader gives us a glimpse at the strain that was being placed on the modern collector in 1993.  He was very unhappy with the introduction of “all these new premium cards”.  He lamented on the days when you could buy packs for .50.Our final reader had a novel idea of providing customers with an electronic price guide.  Remember, it was 1993.The card show calendar was rocking and rolling with 23 pages of shows.  To give a little depth to what was happening now vs then, the State of Georgia had 43 card shows scheduled for January 1993 with 2 of those being here in Albany.  In 2017, I know of 3 card shows that have taken place in the last 30 days in Georgia and we haven’t had one in Albany in about 20 years.  You could still meet some major stars and get cheap autos back in ’93 as you’ll notice in the photo above.The final article I read in the issue was on Pat Listach.  Collectors from 1992-93 will recognize Listach immediately but some younger collectors may have never heard of him.  He took the hobby by storm in 1993, as evidenced in the Hot/Cold list above.  Listach won the NL ROY in 1992 by hitting .290, collecting 168 hits and stealing 54 bases.  All of those were career highs (except for a .296 average in 16 games in ’94).  He would not play more than 101 games for the rest of his 6 year career.  The star did not shine long but it was very bright in January 1993.I continue to be reminded of cards and players I had forgotten about while I work through the early 90’s Beckett Magazines I have on hand.  I am surprised at some of the values these cards had at the time as well because we have been programmed to think of the “Junk Wax Era” as just that.  But these cards still hold value to collectors who went through those times like I did.  A 1992 Pinnacle Pat Listach is one that I want to keep in a toploader, not because of monetary value but because of what that card meant to me in 1993.  The same can be said for the ’86 Donruss Jose Canseco, which can be purchased for less than $10 on eBay today.So sure, the hobby got really crazy for a while in the early 90’s and it overcorrected itself in a major way in the early 2000’s.  But it was so much fun to be a collector during those days.  It’s why I like opening a box of 1992 Studio or a pack of 1991 Topps.  It’s why I think the statement I highlighted above about collecting what you want is so important to me today.  Most of these cards may never be worth much and they certainly will never be worth what we thought when we were buying them up.  But that’s not what this is about for me anymore.  These cards are a part of the legacy of card collecting.  They are as important as the ’52 Bowman Mantle when you look at the timeline of collecting.  The “Junk Wax Era” is was a very important time for our hobby, no matter how fondly or painfully we look back on it.  I choose to look back fondly because I don’t know that I was ever happier as a collector than during those days.

J-Dub

The game of Basketball has always been a big part of my life.  I have blathered on about my love for the hardwood before in my post, Hoop Dreams.  To get a much more detailed background of my basketball past, I you can check that one out.  My first basketball goal was a smaller hoop of the 5 foot variety that sat at the top of a small metal pole with a four pronged base.  It wasn’t sturdy at all and I had to put fire logs or cinder blocks on it to keep it from toppling over.  I eventually got smart and tied it to one of the lattice columns of the backyard shed my parents used for storage.  Once I had it fastened to the front of that shed, it could withstand all of my amazing dunks and trick shots and never fall over.  And as an added bonus, I was able to get rid of the fire logs that constantly posed a threat to my ankles that were protected only by the thin cloth found in Converse All-Stars.When the weather wasn’t cooperating, I took my game inside to the Nerf hoop that hung on my closet door.  Back then, the balls were literally circular foam sponges that were so light that you had to have laser focus to make a shot from further than 3 feet.  And dunks were tough to finish without smashing into the closet door and prompting a visit from your angry mom.  We also had a little lake place that had a huge screened in porch that had a Nerf hoop screwed into the wood siding that totally mixed indoor and outdoor elements for the perfect game.  My cousin and I would play for hours during the summer while others were swimming or skiing.  We were focused totally on hoops!Eventually, I moved to a full size backyard basketball goal that had the neighborhood kids flocking to my house for mini tournaments and 2 on 2 battles.  From 14-20, I was playing basketball 4-5 times a week either at my house, my cousin’s house, the Westwood Gym or the Mitchell-Baker Gym.  I played RA Basketball with the church, I played some basketball at the school and I played in some city leagues after graduation.  I love all sports but as for playing them, basketball carried the torch for me through my teen years.  I played the others but basketball was a cut above.  I still play it today in a recreational city league that doesn’t require you to run a 4.5/40 or have a 28” vertical leap.  It’s competitive and a mix of young and old but none of us are looking to sign a 10 day deal in the D-League with our play.Being so involved in basketball throughout my youth, it was only natural that I would collect basketball cards.  So in 1989, when I began with baseball cards, I also started picking up ’89 Hoops to add to my collection.  Unfortunately, I started collecting too late to have a bunch of ’86 Fleer lying around my collection but that set remains a part of my Sports Card Bucket List.  The big card I was after in 1989 was the David Robinson RC and other stars like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Dominique and Olajuwan.  I don’t care what players come along in today’s NBA, you will never convince me that the league will ever be better than my teen years from 1987-1997.  There were so many legends in the league at that time.  The game was exciting to watch in November and was super charged when the playoffs arrived.  You have to trust me when I say it was the best of times in the NBA.I think basketball cards in general are the forgotten hobby by sports card enthusiasts and deserve more celebration.  Mid to late 80’s basketball cards hold great value and the sets were LOADED with superstars.  And because everybody and their brother weren’t collecting them, they aren’t as abundant in collections as other sports.  I am not saying they weren’t mass produced but I am saying that there are way more ’89 Topps baseball cards in collector boxes than ’89 Hoops.  I collected heavily from 1989-1995 and probably had as many basketball cards as any other sport.  Unfortunately, my basketball cards didn’t survive my dead period like the other sports did.  I have some star cards left and have since collected newer sets but I lost track of most of the older cards in various moves from my parents’ house to bachelor pads to my current family home.My favorite basketball set is the 1993 Topps Archives Set.  The set is much like Archives Baseball of today as it used some of the current stars (at the time) of the NBA on retro Topps designs.  This was the only set where you could find basketball players on famous designs from Topps years 1981-1991.  Yes, you can find Tim Hardaway on a 1989 Topps design and you can find Brad Daugherty on a 1985.  And as an added bonus, the cards were produced in the same “High Definition” of Stadium Club so they are considered a premium set for 1993.  And before you assume the worst, these don’t stick together like 1991 Stadium Club Baseball does.  These are still in very good condition from the pack and are wonderful for the nostalgic collector.The set is numbered to 150 with the cards from 1981 designs being in the front to 1991 closing it out.  If you have a favorite Topps Baseball design from that time frame, it’s in here.  The box is made up of 24 packs with 14 “Super Premium” cards in each.  The subset for this product was a Special 1981-1991 #1 Draft Picks Set featuring; you guessed it, the #1 picks from those years.  Boxes also featured a Master Photo card that entitled “winners” to 3 master photo cards with $1.00 postage and handling.  These Master Photos were printed on 5X7 photo white stock.  My particular winning group included James Worthy, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing.  Unfortunately, the expiration date on this winning insert was 1/31/94.I ripped through this box and it was almost as fun as watching Spud Webb win the dunk contest.  I was able to build the full Draft Pick subset and also the full base set with the exception of Card #67, Reggie Miller.  Miller turned out to be elusive!  I pulled two Jordan’s and countless Hall of Famers and Superstars.  As you’ll see, the design year matches the players’ draft year.  Let’s take a look at how the box stacked up.1981 Design– Cards 12-22 – Featured players like Danny Ainge, Tom Chambers and the pictured Isiah Thomas.  1981 was not one of my favorite Topps designs but seeing some basketball players on them gave them some pop.1982 – Cards 23-31 – These are very good looking.  The group includes two major names; Dominique Wilkins and James Worthy.1983 – Cards 32-42 – These have the signature small circular photo in the bottom corner.  Clyde “The Glyde” Drexler was the headliner here.1984 – Cards 43-59 – This was the best group of players for a set design and featured the ’84 Draft Class.  This group included Charles Barkley, Akeem (Not Hakeem) Olajuwan, John Stockton and “His Airness”!1985 – Cards 60-76 – 1985 Topps remains a popular set in baseball today.  This group of players featured Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone (maybe my favorite action shot), Chris Mullin and Spud Webb.1986 – Cards 77-88 – This design has historically been either loved or hated over the years.  The players featured in this group were not the best in the set either with Brad Daugherty, Dennis Rodman and Mark Price being the main stars.1987 – Just as you’d imagine, cards 89-100 are in the classic wood grain design of 1987 Topps Baseball.  There were some well liked players in this group but no bona fide superstars outside of Scottie Pippen.  Included were names like Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues, Reggie Lewis and Kevin Johnson.1988 – Cards 101-114 – The design used in 1988 was a little uninspiring for my taste but it’s nice as a retro design.  The players in this group included Danny Manning, Rex Chapman, Dan Majerle, Mitch Richmond and Rony Seikaly; all household names in 1993.1989 – Cards 115-130 – This is the wonderfully classy design we all know and love from 1989 Baseball.  The group of players from the ’89 Draft is also top notch with the inclusions of Vlade Divac, Sean Elliott, Tim Hardaway and David Robinson.1990 – The “Saved by the Bell” set of 1990 Baseball was covered with cards 131-139.  The group included a pair of stars from Seattle, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, as well as Dee Brown and Dennis Scott.1991 – The final design featured in the set was 1991 and included cards 140-148.  Card #149-150 were checklists.  This group included Larry Johnson, Billy Owens, Steve Smith, Dikembe Mutombo and Rick Fox.

As far as basketball sets go, this is one of the best for me.  Sure, sets from 1986 and 1987 are more valuable but they are also out of my price range.  This is a way to own superstar players in retro Topps designs for about $15-$20.  The cards look great, they are still in good condition in the packs, the set is small enough to build easily and they are very affordable.  If you like 80’s-90’s basketball, there is absolutely no reason not to buy a box and build this set.  This is a very firm 5 on the Dub-O-Meter and was a blast to rip.  Just check them out, you won’t regret it.

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?

By 1992, I was starting to drive (learner’s permit) and began hitting the baseball field at high school. I was also still heavily investing in baseball cards. One of the differences for me from ’91 to ’92 was that I was turning my less than average landscaping abilities into weekly cash. I was mowing a couple of church lots from time to time but my weekly gig was at a local insurance company in Camilla. I would pop on my headphones, lose all touch with reality and mow that yard for about an hour and a half. It was a push mower but it was one of those fancy self assist jobbies that did most of the work for you. So it was me, Gin Blossoms and Pearl Jam on those hot summer days just dreaming about the cards I would buy with that $20 I was about to make.My prime target in 1992 was Donruss. I liked the design (still do in relation to other 90’s Donruss) and the price was reasonable for a 15 year old on a lawn mowing budget. But more than that, there was an insert found in ’92 Donruss that was originally introduced in ’91 that made me say a little prayer before opening every pack. If you collected during that time, you likely know the feeling of that chase well. Donruss Elite was like nothing ever before as it related to chase cards. Sure, ’90 Upper Deck introduced the random autograph but there were only 2,500 of those and I knew that was impossible. On the flip side, Elite was printing 10,000 of each player and while that sounds like a lot by today’s serial number standards, that was a drop in the bucket compared to production runs.I remember one of my best friends pulling an Andre Dawson in 1991 and it was the only one I ever saw pulled. I never pulled an Elite card from a pack. I did pull a Legend Series Robin Yount about 4 years ago from an old box of ’92 and that was pretty dang exciting! I can only imagine that I may have passed out from sheer joy if I had pulled a Ken Griffey Jr. or Nolan Ryan back in the early 90’s. Andre Dawson wasn’t even a HUGE name but my friend bounced around his room for about an hour. In 1992, subsets were ramping up in popularity as you’ll see when we get to the pricing section of this post. Fleer Ultra, Stadium Club and Leaf were taking over the premium set domination while Upper Deck was lost in the same basic design from ’89. They were still premium but they had not come very far in my opinion.The cover of the Beckett that I used for this look back to 1992 was listed in my top 12 favorites that I posted a few weeks ago. It had to have been a shot that Topps had in the file from the ’92 Topps collection as it is next to that same batting screen with the same jersey and bat. It’s almost the same pose except he replaced his smile with a stoic look. There was a major player on the back of the magazine too and I’ll save it as my last photo. It’s one of the other reasons this is on my favorite list. So without further ado, let’s take a look at what was happening in the world of baseball cards in 1992.This magazine was from April 1992 and hit store shelves just before opening day. Inside, there were a couple of prediction pieces that were interesting to read and compare to actual results. They hit a couple on the head but also whiffed on a few. That’s pretty standard for all prediction pieces. It’s important to remember that the two leagues had only two divisions each back then as well. The divisions were split up into the East and West and regionally they made no sense. There was also just one playoff round before the World Series. Beckett predicted the final standings as follows, with the actual winners in bold.

• NL West – Atlanta, Cincinnati, LA, San Fran, San Diego and Houston – They got the top 2 right here
• NL East – NY, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Philly, Montreal and Chicago – Most people remember the epic playoff matchup between Atlanta and Pittsburgh. But do you remember that Montreal finished 2nd that year in the division? The Mets finished 24 games out.
• AL West – Chicago, Oakland, KC, Minnesota, Seattle, Texas and California – Oakland pulled out the division with Minnesota finishing 6 games out.
• AL East – Toronto, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, NY, Milwaukee and Cleveland – They nailed the AL East but the surprise in 1992 was Milwaukee finishing only 4 games out of first place. Their second place prediction finished last, 23 games out.They also predicted the major awards for the upcoming season but that is even tougher than final standings. This is almost impossible when factoring in injuries, trades and other issues that come into play over a 162 game season. But it is interesting to look at what the expectations were at the beginning of the season vs. how the actual players ended up. Beckett’s prediction is listed first (along with how they finished) with the actual winner listed after.

• AL MVP – Cecil Fielder (9th) – Dennis Eckersley – Eck finished with a 7-1 record, 51 saves and a 1.91 ERA
• NL MVP – Bobby Bonilla (NR) – Barry Bonds – Bobby Bo was a bust in ’92 with a .249 average, 19 home runs and 70 RBI
• AL HR – Cecil Fielder (35) – Juan Gonzalez (43) – This helped the price of the ’91 Donruss Reverse Negative
• NL HR – Daryl Strawberry (5) – Fred McGriff (35) – Straw only played in 43 games in ‘92
• AL Batting Champ – Wade Boggs (.259) – Edgar Martinez (.343) – The worst batting average Boggs had in his career
• NL Batting Champ – Hal Morris (.271) – Gary Sheffield (.330) – Also one of Morris’ worst batting averages of his career
• AL Cy Young – Roger Clemens (3rd) – Eckersley – Hard to argue with the numbers above
• NL Cy Young – Ramon Martinez (NR) – Greg Maddux – Martinez was 8-11 with a 4.00 ERA and Maddux was 20-11 with a 2.18 ERA. Tom Glavine finished 2nd.I would be remiss if I didn’t include this beautiful article about my main guy, Ronnie Gant.  The Hot list hadn’t changed at the top much since 1991 but Atlanta Braves were starting to take over with Avery (3rd), Justice (4th), Klesko (13), Gant (20), Glavine (26) and the Braves as a team (22). Meanwhile, Sportsflics just couldn’t catch a break with readers.I also remember full spread ads from card companies like this Fleer ad. Of course, I also remember this Rocket insert as being pretty sweet. “Over 2,000 signed”!On to pricing and we have to start with the 1982 Topps Cal Ripken that was now hovering at$70. Ron Guidry on the other hand was about to see his last month in the price guide.1983 Topps was rolling along as well as Ryno, Gwynn and Boggs were all high value cards.I had to check in on the 1984 Fleer Update set and much to my surprise, it continued to rise. Two cards over $200!1984 Donruss was also a big hit with Darryl Strawberry checking in at $65, Don Mattingly at $60 and Joe Carter at $35. Carter was in store for a huge season and postseason as well!We are beginning to see the downfall of Jose Canseco and his 1986 Donruss. We were only a year away from a baseball bouncing off of his head and into the stands for a homerun. We all should have gotten out right around this time.Fleer was the king in 1987 with Will Clark at $30 and Bo Jackson at $22.And what do we have here? Ron Gant at $7 and rising in ’88 Fleer.The ever popular 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. was still climbing in value.1990 Leaf was otherworldly with Frank Thomas at $70, Dave Justice at $40, Ken Griffey Jr. at $24 and Steve Avery at $20. Totally out of place with other 1990 sets!I had TOTALLY forgotten how in demand 1992 Donruss Diamond King was when it came out. Look at these prices!!Another extremely hot insert set for 1992 was Fleer Rookie Sensations. The 20 card set was checking in at $175!There were a ton of great reader comments from this edition so I had to really think about which ones were pertinent to this post. This one was included because it gives some of the young guys a glimpse at the selling options before eBay, Twitter and all the other online sites. “Place an ad in your local newspaper.”We have a Ron Kittle mention here so I had to include this one.I laughed at how literal this reader took Beckett’s previous advice in this one.Here’s a new feature that wasn’t included in the ’90 or ’91 editions I covered. Cardboard Art has now come to our modern technology with the Twitter follow @bsblcardvandals.The shows were still going strong in ’92 but had decreased from 22 pages to 20. Still a ton and the guests were out of this world. Look at these two ads for card shows in Pittsburgh and California.The last item of note was this sweet interview with Nolan Ryan. He had some pretty fun answers including, “I looked into buying one of my rookie cards one time, but it was so darn expensive, I changed my mind.” He goes on to say that he offered a dealer a free pitching lesson in exchange for a rookie card and was denied.The other reason this is one of my favorite Beckett’s – the back cover!

Baseball cards were still trending in the right direction in 1992. New products were including highly sought after cards and the stars from the 80’s were at the peak of their careers and driving up the value on their early cards. Some of the rookies from ’89 and ’90 were stumbling while some of the others that were mediocre their rookie season were starting to take off. Unfortunately, we were getting close to a crash and didn’t know it. We were flying on wings of cardboard that were getting dangerously close to the sun. But we weren’t quite there yet. We were still living it up at card shows and buying product all over town. We’ll take a look at 1993 next week and we might see some signs starting to surface. But as for 1992, there may be no other year I’d rather go back to and experience again in card collecting!

J-Dub

In 1992, I was as deep in the hobby as I’ve ever been.  I was buying every pack I saw, subscribed to Beckett and was trading cards like the Wolf of Wall Street.  I was 15 years old, playing sports year round and was a master at all the hottest sports video games.  It truly was an amazing time to be alive.  The Braves were coming off of a tough 7 game World Series loss but the future was bright and we were saying it was going to be our year.  Dave Justice was blossoming into a star, Glavine and Smoltz were dominating on the mound and Sid Bream was preparing for the 100 yard dash in the ’92 Olympics.  I’m telling you, it was a good year!

Here is a look at what was hiding in those foil wrappers.

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?

My post “State Of The Hobby – 1990” was met with positive reviews and even some requests to follow up with more similar posts.  As I am a blogger who aims to please, I felt the urge to do so.  It also helps that I enjoyed browsing that old Beckett and seeing those 1989 Donruss Rated Rookies priced at that moment in time when I was buying them.  If you collected in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I encourage – nay, I demand – you find a Beckett Magazine from that era and just read through it.  There are things that you’ll remember immediately and then there are some that you will have totally forgotten about.  Those forgotten tidbits are the gems that make the $5 investment worth every penny.

Enough rambling, let’s jump into the card collecting world from November, 1991.

·         1951 – Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” Wins Pennant for Giants

·         1953 – Mickey Mantle hits 565 Ft Home Run

·         1960 – Bill Mazeroski HR Beats Yanks in World Series

·         1961 – Maris Breaks Babe’s Season HR Mark

·         1974 – Hank Aaron Breaks Ruth’s All Time HR Record

·         1978 – Bucky Dent Breaks Boston’s Heart

·         1988 – Kirk Gibson Seals Oakland’s Fate

I then found myself at the “Readers Write” section which was fun to read then but is even more of a blast now.  It really gives you a look into what was going through our minds as collectors back then.The first was “Bogged Down” in which a reader blamed dealers for “false increases in newer cards just to pad their pockets.”  I think the response from Beckett set the record straight on this one by breaking down demand of certain new cards vs. older rookies.“Speaking Out” and “Speaking Out II” covered the frustration that collectors were beginning to see as pricing for singles, packs and boxes were starting to rise.  It makes me miss when $4.00 packs were considered highway robbery.The final piece I found interesting was a question about the 1991 Topps Desert Storm cards.  With this being 1991, it seems that no one had a real handle on the production.  We were all even less sure of how value would look in the future.  Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

There is a lot to cover in pricing because we were experiencing some record breaking prices around this time for sports cards.

J-Dub

I made a cheap eBay purchase a couple of weeks ago purely for some nostalgic fun.  I bought a series of Topps Football packs from 1987-1991; one pack for each year.  This lot intrigued me because I hadn’t opened these particular years of Topps Football in quite some time and there are some pretty solid rookies to be had.  Randall Cunningham is in ’87, Bo and Okoye in ’88, Barry, Aikman and Deion in ’89 and Emmitt in ’90.  I wasn’t too interested in ’91 but it completed the 5 year stretch.  Spoiler alert – I picked up my best rookie card in that ’91 pack.  The other intriguing part of the deal was that it was less than $10 shipped.  

Topps really didn’t change a whole lot from 87-90 and it wasn’t until ’91 that they came close to matching up with the baseball design.  All of the sets have a basic white border and they really only evolved just a tad from year to year.  Each pack comes with a 1,000 Yard Club card showcasing a player that topped the 1,000 yard mark the previous year.  I don’t suppose I really had to explain that.  The packs themselves are almost identical with only color schemes being different.  Each pack from 87-90 are wax packs but changed in ’91 to the new cello type material, just like baseball.  In ’91, the gum was replaced with one more card increasing the pack size from 15 to 16. I was prepared to pull some of the star players because we all remember them.  But there were a few players that I had totally forgotten about until ripping these packs.  I won’t cover every player in every pack but there are a few in each that deserve a comment.

1987 – ’87 has a pretty basic design with dualing flags at the top of the card with the players name and team name opposite each other’s.  Those flags were the two main colors of the team uniform.  The plus for this set was that I did like the 1,000 Yard Club card better than the others but that’s not exactly a huge compliment.

The first time Todd Christensen makes an appearance in my memory is courtesy of original Tecmo Bowl.  That version only had 12 NFL teams and 4 offensive plays but the Raiders were one of the best on offense.  If Bo, Marcus Allen and Tim Brown weren’t enough, Christensen was one of the fastest tight ends on the game.  He became even more memorable for me but I’ll save that for the second card I pulled of him, hint-hint.Anthony in Minnesota was one of two receiving Carter’s and together with Cris, made a formidable duo.  He began his career in the USFL and caught the game winning TD pass from Bobby Hebert in the USFL Championship his rookie season.  He seemed to rise to the occasion come playoff time.  He still holds the NFL record for most all purpose yards in a single postseason with 642.Steve Largent is another Tecmo Bowl Legend.  Largent is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and is the first WR to catch 100 passes in a career.  He once held the record for consecutive games with a catch at 177 until Jerry Rice obliterated it on the way to 274.  Largent is also the only player I pulled in this lot that went on to be a congressman.Ozzie Newsome is better known in today’s NFL as the General Manager of the Ravens, for better or worse.  But for some of us older guys, he was a helluva tight end too.  He’s historically been ranked around #5 on all time lists from various outlets.  He’s a member of the Hall of Fame and gave the position some punch from an offensive perspective.  And not to mention, never missed a game in 13 seasons.Most packs from the 80’s include an oddball of sorts.  Mark Gastineau is the oddball in this one.  He may be an oddball in this pack but he was a stud on the field.  He still holds all of the major sack records for the Jets and made the Pro Bowl 5 times.  After football though, he spent some time behind bars for various crimes in the late 90’s.  Some people may know his daughter Brittny more than Mark but he was a very good player in his day.

1988 – ’88 was my best pack as a whole.  The ’88 base design is probably my favorite of this group.  The card uses the two primary team colors in the design at the bottom of the card in a very cool visual.

Henry Ellard was a stud with the Rams.  Everett to Ellard was a vastly underrated combo on my opinion.  This 1,000 Yard Club design was not underrated as it was rightfully poorly rated.  Out of the 5 years, this was probably ranked #4.  Lame is all I can say about it.Art Monk – Hall of Famer – 3x World Champion – 3x Pro Bowler – First WR to 900 receptions.  What else do you need to know?I’m sure Jim Kelly asked Topps if this was the best picture they could find in their file. It’s just a terrible shot of a star QB in ’88.  Kelly is another Hall of Famer with impeccable numbers.  But he’ll always have to carry around that 0-4 label in the Super Bowl, which is very unfortunate.Eric Dickerson was indeed an All Pro as this card would indicate.  Dickerson was a 6x Pro Bowler, NFL Rookie of the Year and led the league in rushing 4 times.  He even played for the Falcons for a short period.The only way you can really describe Ronnie Lott is “absolute beast!”  He could strike you, he could pick you off and he could sack you.  Extremely gifted with a combination of speed and hands at safety puts him on my favorites list.The ’88 oddball is the same player as the 1,000 Yard Club member in ’87.  But this is what he looked like the second time he enters my memory bank.  He was a commentator on American Gladiators and rocked the worst Afro/Mustache combo of the late 80’s.

1989 – ’89 had my second favorite 1,000 Yard Club design from this group.  I also like and remember the base designs well.  They come to mind when I think “Topps Football”.

Neal Anderson first got my attention on NES Play Action Football.  In 1990, it was the best attempt at the real thing on Nintendo.  It would only survive one year though as the king of all NES games would hit shelves in 1991.  Anderson was really good and ran for 1,000 plus in 3 consecutive seasons and he’s the #3 all time rusher for the Chicago Bears.  His career was cut short because of injuries.Andre Reed was an absolute beast in the Bills K-Gun offense.  Reed ranks 12th in all time receptions with 942 and was a 7 time Pro Bowler.  While he missed that elusive Super Bowl ring, he did get elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014.  The football stadium at his alma mater, Kutztown University, is even now named André Reed Stadium.  Reed caught 3 second half touchdowns in the great comeback against the Oilers in January 1993.While we are talking about the Bills, we might as well mention Scott Norwood.  I am not going to beat up on Mr. Norwood because I think he has probably taken enough abuse over the years.  True, he did miss the decisive field goal attempt vs the Giants in Super Bowl XXV but he was historically a very steady kicker in Buffalo.  He passed OJ Simpson as the Bills all time leadin scorer while in NY.  He no longer holds that record but it speaks to how many times his field goals were true.I included this card but I don’t really have anything nice to say about Mr. May.  He’s ruined his legacy with me with his college analysis on ESPN.  Oddball!!

1990 – More subtle changes from the previous year.  However, the 1,000 Yard Club design was the worst in the set history for me.  Can you say 1991 Fleer?  These were just horrible.  The ’90 pack was the slimmest on decent pulls but I did get my biggest star QB.

Brian Blades from The U!  He played college ball on the far southeastern tip of the US and pro football in the far northwestern tip.  That’s the farthest jump from college to the NFL if you exclude Hawaii.  Aside from Pro Football, Blades has one of the strangest convictions followed by acquittal you’ll see with an athlete.  He was charged with manslaughter in the death of his cousin.  He was convicted by a jury but the judge overturned the verdict and he walked.  Later, a discovery was made that the judges father employed Blades when he was a player at UM and the defense attorney was a part of the judge’s divorce case.  That is a strange one that probably needs its own 30 for 30.One of the best!  John Elway was a true gunslinger but also had wheels for a big QB.    We won’t rummage through all of his stats and achievements because you probably already know them.  I will say that when the Broncos played the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, I pulled for the Falcons but was torn with Elway and Terrell Davis (UGA) on the opposing sideline.  If the Broncos had played ANYONE else that year, I would have been a happy man at the end of that game.

1991 – As I said before, the packs changed for 1991 from wax to cello and gum was no longer included.  There was obviously a shift happening in the hobby towards more progressive packaging and visuals but I miss the wax and gum immensely.

Jerry Rice, the greatest wide receiver of all time!  He was a member of the 1,000 Yard Club 8 times and caught 1,549 passes.  That’s dang near double Steve Largent and he was amazing in his own right.  Happy with this pull.This is the best rookie card I pulled and not even one I was looking for.  But super excited to pull it.  Hamp is sometimes known for his Pro Bowls and Super Bowl ring and 5 consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons in NY.  But for me, he’s a Damn Good Dawg that got after it while he was in Athens.  Hamp is 7th on an all time list that includes Hershel Walker, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, Garrison Hearst and Knowshon Moreno.  He was a fine tailback at Tailback U and is a beloved player to Bulldawg Nation!

I didn’t pull any of “The Huge” rookies from these classes but I had a great time ripping these packs and seeing the old designs and players.  I had forgotten about guys like Aundray Bruce and Ernest Givens.  For less than $10, I could do this 4-5 times a week and never get tired of it.  When you are sifting through $7 packs, remember that these gems are still out there and very affordable.  If you collected during that time, you’ll love the memories.  If you didn’t, you’ll love looking at what the product was like before gloss and serial numbers.  What is your favorite Topps set from these 5?  Which did you collect most?

J-Dub

With my recent post on my favorite Beckett Covers, I took out a few that I kept over the years.  If you’re my age, you remember Beckett Magazine before there was internet and eBay and Twitter.  We used the magazine as a Bible for collecting and we were able to keep up with who was hot, what products were coming out and where the next show was.  While I had the Bo Beckett out, I decided to give it another read.  I took my time too.  I started at the beginning, worked my way through a couple of articles, the “Readers Write” section, The Hot/Cold List, the price guide portion and then the show list.  I wanted to take the temperature of the hobby in mid 1990, so to speak.I was very much a part of the hobby in 1990 and I have many fond memories from that time but I wanted to see it in black and white again.  Believe me when I say, it didn’t disappoint.  First, let me point out very obviously that our hobby has changed quite a bit since 1990.  Card companies were printing cards with reckless abandon and we were buying them up as fast as they came off the press.  There is even one forboding comment from a reader in the “Readers Write” section that was a couple of years ahead of its time.  There were some hot rookies at the time that were making waves and forcing collectors to grab up their cards that are now only a part of cardboard folklore.  There were some sets that were just plain bad, even by 80’s standards and the market reflected it.  And let’s be clear about that part as well.  These prices we are going to discuss and the hot players were decided by their play and the market.  This was a sign of the times, not an indictment on the hobby by any means.Cards were popping up at drug stores, convenient stores, grocery stores, you name it.  The LCS was just the pricey alternative in those days.  The packs you got at Wal-Mart were the same as what you would get at a hobby shop; you just paid Wal Mart prices for them.  As you’ll see with one article that I particularly enjoyed, cards were popping up on Home Shopping Channels at this point as well.  Everybody was trying to get in on the action but we didn’t see the train wreck coming, or at least I didn’t.  I was 13 years old at the time and I was just trying to get my hands on as many Rickey Jordan RC’s as I could.  I hadn’t reached the point where I knew ’88 Donruss was oozing out of warehouses like a scene from the blob or that Jerome Walton was going to be a flash in the pan.  Maybe if I had a Beckett Almanac from the future back then!  All I knew was that cards had taken over my life and I was 100% sold just like everybody else.

So let’s look at the hobby as it was in June of 1990.

As we begin this trip down memory lane, how many of you remember this advertisement?  I always wanted this entire collection of books but was only able to score the Baseball Price Guide.  You couldn’t pay me to read a textbook in 8th grade but I would study these publications like my grandma at a book club meeting.

The first article I read was “Top Guns”, which covered the best arms at each position.

• C – Benny Santiago
• 1B – Keith Hernandez
• 2B – Jose Oquendo
• SS – Shawon Dunston
• 3B – Ken Caminiti – Dude had a rifle!
• LF – Bo Jackson
• CF – Andy Van Slyke
• RF – Jesse Barfield

They also covered some weaker arms by position.  Some of the names surprised me.

• C – Craig Biggio – Guess the move to 2nd was warranted
• 1B – Dave Magadan
• 2B – Ryne Sandberg – Surprise #1
• SS – Ozzie Smith – Surprise #2
• 3B – Bobby Bonilla – Wild Arm
• LF – Kirk Gibson
• CF – Gary Pettis
• RF – Ivan Calderon

The first article was awesome and gave me information I had either totally forgotten or I never knew!  The names took me back immediately and made me realize I was going to enjoy this adventure.

Next, I moved to the “Readers Write” section.  This is where the readers would write in with a question or observation and get responses from various writers or editors at Beckett.  Let me first say that there were some very arrogant readers back in the day.  There were a couple of comments that made me bristle at the tone they were taking.  While some were cringeworthy, others were pretty interesting in hindsight.

First, the one that made me cringe a bit.  It was a comparison between Jim Abbott and Gregg Olson.  But the response was dead on.  Abbott was a starter and Olson was a reliever.  How many relievers have ever looked good in the price guide?

Then there was a reader who was no fan of Rickey Henderson.  I get that his career had not completely played out yet but he was not interested in Rickey being a member of the All 80’s Team.  The whole thing seems pretty laughable today.

The last one I’ll share is the one that is a bit foreshadowing.  M.V. In California seems to have seen the writing on the wall!

Moving on to the Hot and Cold List, this was what we were after in a big way in mid 1990, or either trying to dump.Canseco, Jefferies and Chris Sabo found themselves on both lists.  Bo was the hottest player in the hobby and his cover photo (’89 Score) was one of the hottest cards.  Todd Zeile was in the Top 5 while Ben McDonald and Eric Anthony were in the Top 10.  Delino DeShields was making his first appearance on the list.  In August of ’89, Pete Rose was placed on Baseball’s Ineligible List and his spot at #1 on the Cold List was reflective of his removal from the game.  Sportsflics was getting hammered too but more on them on a moment.

When I got to the price guide portion, I automatically thumbed to certain cards that I remember being on my want list.  While doing so, I stumbled across some that I never knew were as popular as they were in June, 1990.  Again, this is a great indicator of where the hobby was at the time.  The current market always tells the story.  As I said before, the hobby has changed!

The first out of place card I saw was this 1983 Donruss Howard Johnson.  It was running only $2 less than Ryne Sandberg.

What was going on with Kevin McReynolds in 1990 to make his already $12.00 RC be on the rise?  I can’t figure this one out.

In the 1984 Topps Traded set, two American League pitchers were surprises.  Gooden was the obvious stud in the set but Bret Saberhagen at $24 and Mark Langston at $18 didn’t quite hold up.

All collectors from this era remember the ’85 Topps Mark McGwire.  Your window of purchasing this card at a reasonable price was closing fast by this point.

The window had already closed on getting the Canseco at a low level.  He was a bonafide star by this point and the card would continue to climb.

Here’s a name from the past.  Kevin Mitchell was rocking a $9 Fleer card in 1987.  For a 13 year old, a $9 card was as good as a $50 card.

Not to be outdone, Will Clark popped in with an ’87 Fleer valued at $35.  The last 4 players (McGwire, Canseco, Mitchell and Clark) were fresh off of the “Battle of the Bay” World Series of 1989.  Their cards were hot!

Here is where that Beckett Almanac from the future would’ve paid HUGE dividends!  I could have purchased 20 Barry Bonds ’87 Topps and made $2,000 on them a few years later.  This was a true buying opportunity missed!  But at the time, I would’ve traded Bonds and Frank Viola for the Greg Seinfeld RC!

Remember that Sportsflics mention above? This was ’86 and ’87.  This is what we call abandon ship time!!

This ’88 Score Update Mark Grace totally took me by surprise.  He was a hot young player but this card was huge value for 1988.

Want to know just how much Collectors thought of Jerome Walton?  Look no further than the ’89 Score and Topps Traded Sets.  In June of ’90, he was valued at a mere .50 cents less than Ken Griffey Jr. and was the second highest value in the sets.

Speaking of The Kid, this was one of the last times you could get his ’89 Upper Deck for a decent price for a long time!

Finally, ’90 Score brought us a hot young rookie who was just starting to blossom.  Big Hurt’s rookie card was .90 and would not see a 2 digit value again.

The next section of the mag was the show listings.  Shows in 1990 were abundant to say the least.  I just attended my first show in many years this past weekend and wrote about it HERE.  In 1990, you could take your pick on any given weekend within a 50 mile radius of anywhere in America.What I really found striking in these ads were the players that would be present and how much an autograph would cost.  What a time to be alive!

• Eric Dickerson and Jim Palmer were free with admission
• Barry Sanders – $7
• Whitey Ford – $8
• Willie Stargell – $5
• Brooks Robinson – $7
• Johnny U – $8
• Al Kaline – $7
• Sterling Sharpe – $5

I wrapped up my review with a read of this article titled, “Beware of Mass Media Hucksters”.  This just screams 1990 and is a perfect synopsis of how mainstream the hobby was becoming.  I tried to scan this so you could read it fully.  Great stuff!

This was our hobby in 1990.  No Twitter trading, no eBay sales to effect the market, names that we’ve forgotten were household names, a chance at Hall of Fame autographs for the price of a pack of cards today and no filter on collectors who wrote in to magazines.  As odd as it all may sound to some of the new collectors, I think I speak for a lot of Junk Wax Era hobbyists when I say it was one of the funnest eras ever!  I miss those days and in many ways, never left them.  Those that follow me know that I am a sucker for ’89 Topps, Pro-Vision and washed up prospects of the 80’s. That’s because it’s what I cut my teeth on.  And we never stray too far from our roots.  Even when those roots are made out of wax paper and high fructose sticks of gum.  It’s just a part of me and always will be.

J-Dub