1996 Fleer Ultra

1996 Fleer Ultra #514

Ultra started out as a set boasting multiple pictures of the player, then went on to introduce UV coating and gold foil stamping. Finally in 1996 it lost some of the gaudy "look at me" design in favor for a borderless look with full bleed photos and toned back the goil foil. I personally like the design, though Fleer also used this design for their minor league set, Excel.

Gold Medallion #514

The Gold Medallion parallels just didn't do much for me in 1996 or even today. There is just a thing as too much foil and this is a prime example. Like others, these cards are notorious for showing finger prints so beware when handling. I should also mention that the player image is embossed similar to the Circa Boss inserts from the same year.

1996 Fleer Flair

1996 Fleer Flair Gold #325

Back when the Flair brand was new, I was absolutely in love. From the fancy cardboard packs to the thick card stock, I loved everything about Flair. While the brand would evolve over the years, it always was a fun pack to open.

1996 Fleer Flair Silver #325

What I originally didn't know is that these cards came in two varieties...with gold foil and silver foil.

Wave of the Future #18

While I love lenticular cards, they just don't scan well. This insert set would continue to improve it's look over the years to come, but this is where the set got it's start.

1996 Fleer Circa

1996 Fleer Circa #161

Fleer introduced Circa as a new set in 1996 and it was seemingly welcomed by collectors as it went on to last a few years before it was retired. Although I find the card fronts to be a little busy, I seem to remember buying a lot of this product. It seemed as if this was the first year that Rey was being compared against other notable short stops. This card's back mentions him as the successor to Ozzie Smith, the "Wizard" himself!

Access #24

The Access insert was one of the first folding baseball cards that I can remember. I'd previously seen this done with basketball cards (Collect-A-Books), but not in baseball. The card opens up like a trifold wallet, with the middle picture above being the first image you see when you open up the card. Interesting concept with some cool trivia info inside.

Boss #42

The Boss inserts feature the player on the fronts embossed. Not a new technology, but something that just makes the cards stand out a little more (no pun intended).

1996 Fleer Update

 1996 Fleer Update #U160

1996 Fleer was a nice change of pace for baseball cards. Gone was the slick UV coating on the cards and in its place was a matte finish. The cards still included gold foil stamping for the logo as well as the player's name, team and position. The matte finish made these cards perfect for autographs and while I never was able to get any autographed, this set still holds up as one of my favorites.

 1996 Fleer Update #U248

The Checklist cards were numbered as part of the set and surprise, surprise, Rey was given the real estate on the front of one of the checklists.

 Tiffany #U160

If memory serves me correctly, the popular Tiffany parallels were found one per box, so if you were trying to put a whole set together of these I would imagine one would have their hands full.

 Tiffany #U248

 New Horizons #19

These New Horizons cards look better in person than the scan makes them look...but just a little. The write up on the back mentions Ozzie Smith, a fellow short stop that Rey was often compared to in the mid to late 90's.

Smooth Leather #8

The Smooth Leather insert features a rather plain look, but Rey makes for a good inclusion in a set based on fielding skill.

1994 Fleer Excel

1994 Fleer Excel #233

I was a big fan of Fleer in the 90's, but this Excel set never excited me as much as other minor league sets. The design is horrible. You can tell this is a great action shot of Ordonez at second base, but the sliding player is cropped out and there is no background. 

First Year Phenom #5

There weren't many inserts in this Excel set and that may be a good thing based off this one insert's design. Had they not screwed with the photo and just had a clean design it may have come off as a better looking card.