Quick By My Standards

I have let some of the different set projects that I have posted in this space linger for a long time, either because I did not complete them quickly, or I just never updated the project to show my progress.  Back at the beginning of February, I made a post about putting together a set of the 1983 style cards in that are included in packs of this year's Topps base set.

I started with 8 of the 100 cards, last check in I was down to just 27 cards.  Last week that number was all the way down to 2 cards.  A few days ago in the mail I got a bubble mailer with......

the two cards that I was still missing.  I am crossing this card set off after just two and a half months.  Really pretty good considering that I did not open a box, or significant number of packs.  Almost all 92 cards that I was missing when I started were picked up in trades, or from buying small lots, no singles, off of EBay.

Yes, the set is finished, but I am also going to leave the door open to find more of these cards when Topps releases Series 2 at some point this summer.  There were some things that I really enjoyed about this project.  First, the 1983 sets were the first cards in my collection.  I started opening packs of cards at some point that summer.  I have always loved these cards.  Second, there were plenty of players that I enjoy collecting on the checklist.....

a few Cardinals, a few former Durham Bulls, and also a few players I saw while they were in college.  The Carlos Martinez card is probably my favorite Cardinal.   Also plenty of older players in the set too, which is my lone, small criticism of this set.  It would be nice if the cards of the retired players included on the checklist had a connection to the actual year of the card design.  Might have said this in another post.  My three favorite older cards in the set.....

probably have to be the three shown above since they were actually around and playing in 1983. 

All three were younger players at this point, but they still were pretty impactful that season.  Especially Ripken, considering the final play of the 1983 season was a soft line out to him, which ended the World Series.  

 There were plenty of good players who were active during the 1983 season, eager to see what Topps comes up with in the next batch of cards in Series 2.  I'd be excited to see a Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, or a Willie McGee.  Doubtful I will see a McGee, but a Gwynn in some brown, orange, and yellow Padres digs would be sweet.  

My Top 50 Players on Cardboard-#32 The Two Sport Star

At some point in the late 80s the baseball world became intrigued with the two sport star.  There had been many players over the years who had dabbled in second sports, but the 80s saw the first athletes who tried to take on two different professional sports full-time.  Early examples of two-sport stars in baseball included Duke basketball star Dick Groat, Michigan State football player Kirk Gibson, San Diego State basketball player Tony Gwynn, and Dave Winfield who was drafted into the NBA and NFL.  While these players dabbled in sports outside of baseball, none of them made their second sport much of a career.  Enter Bo Jackson.  

1987 Topps Bo Jackson 

Hobby Impact-

Within a span of six years, three big two-sport stars popped who crossed the line between Major League Baseball and the National Football League.  Jackson was the most talented of the trio and was seen as an All-Star/All-Pro caliber player in both the NFL and MLB.  I think the highlight that best defined Bo Jackson was his lead off home run in the 1989 All-Star game.  

The All-Star game home run catapulted Jackson's fame as a two-sport star and also brought attention to another rising two-sport star breaking into Major League baseball with the Yankees.  Deion Sanders was a great football player.  He was never really that great at baseball, but at the peak of his career in baseball he was at least average.  Deion was a little bit more flamboyant than Bo Jackson.  Where are the videos of the touchdown dance?  Silly NFL.  Link to (S)cam Newton doing the dance.  

1990 Leaf Deion Sanders

Sanders was also the longest running of the two-sport stars, but he took several seasons off from baseball along the way basically missing out on three years of his career.  While Bo Jackson had a career ending football injury that also limited his baseball abilities, Sanders always seemed a little bit lost on the baseball field.  

The last of the three two-sport stars from my time in collecting is outfielder/safety Brian Jordan.  BJ was not in the majors while he was a professional football player and the Cardinals paid Jordan a 1.7 million dollar bonus in 1992 to quit the Falcons and only play baseball.  Many point to the Bo Jackson injury as a precautionary tale with the two-sport players and the Cardinals obviously wanted to protect their investment in Jordan.  

1992 Topps Traded Brian Jordan 

Since the Cardinals bought out Brian Jordan out of playing football there have not been any active Major League Baseball players moonlighting in another sport.  While several players like Todd Helton, Seth Smith, or Darin Erstad have been good college football players, they are often given the choice by the teams owning their rights to either quit baseball or quit football.  Rickey Williams, of NFL fame, was a minor leaguer in the Phillies organization, but gave up baseball after the Saints drafted him out of the University of Texas.  Others like Chad Hutchinson, Brandon Weeden, and Drew Henson started off in one league and then changed their minds.  

Basically, all of these players are pretty collectable.  There are plenty of Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders collectors floating around and the other multi-sport athletes have their moments too.  I had a Brandon Weeden Bowman Autograph in my collection for several years.  He was kind of a nobody, but got hot going back to college at Okie State.  Autograph card sold.  Thank you.  

On the Field-

Jackson had the greatest impact of the big three two-sport stars when he was healthy and on the field.  At the height of his playing career he was an All-Star caliber player for the Royals made plays that baseball fans ha never seen.  My favorite beyond the All-Star game home run was the running catch he made...

I am not quite sure what Deion's highlight as a baseball player would be.  He did play for the Braves in the early 90s and did pop up in a few important games, but really had very little impact on any of the games.  Living in St. Louis I got to see Deion several times and the only thing about Deion that sticks out in my mind was him wearing his socks up for the 1997 season for Jackie Robinson.  Nice gesture.  

Really, Jordan ended up having the greatest impact of the trio.  By greatest impact I mean that Jordan was an above average player for a good portion of his playing career.  In fact, as a Cardinals fan I am not sure the team would have made it to the National League Championship series without his help.  Jordan a clutch home run against Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to close out the NLDS against the Padres and was the real run producer of that team before the picked up Mark McGwire the next season.  

Jordan also played a longer time than Jackson and Sanders putting together a 15 year career.  His career OPS+ of 105 does not look that great, but his last three season were all in the 60s.  His career OPS is jut slightly below .800 with his last three seasons been consistently in the .630s.  Baseball-Reference has is comparable batter in the latter stages of his career as Raul Ibanez, but then his last three years he turns into Melvin Mora.  In other words, Jordan just hung around a little too long. 

Jordan's real importance to the game though was that he was the first two-sport player to have a line drawn in the sand, which still seems to exist today.  You can football, you can play baseball, but you cannot play both at the same time.  

Favorite Card- 

A 90s classic.  

1990 Score Bo Jackson 

30 Year Top 50- 1989 Upper Deck

#1- The most important set of the past fifty years is the 1989 Upper Deck set.  At the time of the set's release there were three companies producing baseball cards, the biggest of which was Topps.  Most of the card manufacturers used thin cheap card stock, little or no gloss on the cards, and serious lacked quality control.   Upper Deck's entry into the baseball card marketplace greatly changed the appearance and quality of baseball cards for the better.

1988 Upper Deck Promo Wally Joyner

The work on the Upper Deck set began before 1989 and in a strange twist, the company actually issued their promotional cards for the set in 1988.  The two card promotional set featured two Angels players, Wally Joyner and Dwayne Buice.  The Joyner card is not very difficult to find and can usually be had for around $20.  The Buice is rare and will cost several hundred to add to your collection.  I picked up this Joyner promo card a few years ago for a great price and really have enjoyed having it in my collection.  

1989 Topps Bo Jackson

The innovations on the Upper Deck card were numerous, but the most important features that distinguished these cards from brands like Topps were the glossy finish on all cards, the full color pictures on both sides of the card, and the use of holograms to prevent fraud.  The cards were instantly a huge hit amongst collectors which brings me to the lone flaw of the 1989 Upper Deck set.  Originally, the Upper Deck company had set a cap for the production run of cards around 1,000,000 per card.  That number disappeared once the cards started selling quickly.  

1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.

The first card in the 1989 Upper Deck set is one of the most important baseball cards ever.  If you look at a checklist on a set of Topps baseball cards you will notice that they tend to load the front half of sets with star players.  Upper Deck decided to take the opposite approach and use the first part of their sets on rookies.  The trend of making the first thirty to fifty cards "Star Rookies" ran all the through the company's last baseball card set which was released in 2010 without a license from Major League Baseball.  Upper Deck gave the first spot in their first set to Seattle Mariners prospect Ken Griffey Jr.  At the time of the cards release, Griffey Jr. was playing for the San Bernadino Spirits and had yet to actually play in a Major League game.  Upper Deck ended up actually taking a picture of Griffey in his minor league uniform and then doctored the photo slightly to make it have the appearance of a Mariners jersey.  The "S" on the hat is slighty off from the 1989 Mariners cap.  

1989 Upper Deck Craig Biggio

While the Ken Griffey Jr. card is regarded as the iconic card of the 1989 Upper Deck, there are at least five other Hall of Famers in the set.  I guess I should say, in my opinion, but in this case I think they are all on solid ground.  Biggio is my favorite non-Griffey rookie card since he is wearing the cool rainbow Astros jersey.  Biggio is also the only important rookie card which is not in the Star Rookies subset at the beginning of the set.  Instead, Biggio is in with the regular Astros cards.  The other three Hall of Famers are pictured below.  

1989 Upper Deck John Smoltz

1989 Upper Deck Gary Sheffield 

1989 Upper Deck Gary Sheffield

Card collecting changed dramatically after the release of the 1989 Upper Deck set.  While Upper Deck set the bar higher for Topps, Fleer, and Donruss, they continued to push the envelope during their twenty-one years in the baseball card business.  At the time of the sets release the Upper Deck cards were considered premium cards.  Soon after the other three card companies would follow suit with their own premier card brands.  Basically, the 1989 Upper Deck set helped all baseball card collectors.  The set put a strong emphasis on innovation and quality which is still pushing card companies to this day to constantly improve their cards and strive for them to be a quality product.