These have been a lot of fun to rip, with only 8-9 cards to pick they post really quick which is nice, but the box yields 192 cards and I don’t know how many cards are in the set, but I wonder if it has more than 100 cards on the checklist. I am saying this because this pack was mainly dupes. Anyway, decided to post it none the less and here is what we got:
#61 Manny Ramirez Cleveland Indians (I scanned the back of this because I forgot what Manny looked like pre-weave…He had a pretty standard, read awesome, year at the plate in ’96-he batted .309/33/112.)
#50 Steve Finley San Diego Padres (I just posted Finley from ’94 while he was on the Astros. Here he is in his Padres uni coming off a year where he hit 30 homers and batted .298. He hit .381 with 20 RBI in the month of July)
#32 Derek Jeter NY Yankees (I don’t think anyone is gonna complain about getting 2 of these Jeter cards-I bet you can find a trader without much of a problem…)#21 Vinny Castilla Colorado Rockies (Another card showing Castillo after a 40 homer season…)
#30 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants (I still consider Hank Aaron the Homerun King)
#109 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves (Glavine was 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA in the month of May ’96)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card Dave Nilson Milwaukee Brewers
#113 Troy Percival California Angels (Percy saved 36 games and struck out 100 batters in 1996)
#121 Wilton Guerrero LA Dodgers (Vlady’s little brother…)Well that’s it, another pack opened and stacked in little team piles. The Braves are still the tallest. The Giants and the Rockies are getting taller. I will probably get a count and post the team by team results because I am a geek and I am addicted to stats. Until the next pack, troll out.
#351 Steve Finley Houston Astros (Finley should be an inspiration to us all. This guy suffered from Bell’s palsy and was still a tough as nails ballplayer for 19 years. The Astros were his 4th team (he played for 8 different total) and in ’93 he hit 13 triples to lead the NL. Over Finley’s career he racked up totals placing him in the All-Time Top-100 in games, runs, hits, doubles, triples and extra base hits. Plus he earned 5 Gold Gloves as a centerfielder and he won a ring in 2001 with the D-Backs)
#278 Randy Johnson Seattle Mariners (Struck out 308 batters in 1993 and held batters to a .203 batting average)
#358 Marquis Grissom Montreal Expos (Grissom stole 53 bases for the Expos in ’93. He stole 429 over his 17 year career-good for 56th All-Time)
#402 Joe Oliver Cincinnati Reds (In ’87 Oliver played for the Vermont Reds and was the starting catcher in the Eastern League All Star game held at Beehive Field, he went on to bat .305 in AA that year AND by 1990 he took over as the Cincinnati Reds full-time catcher and helped them get to and win the World Series against Oakland that year and Oliver hit .333 in the Series)
#373 Orestes Destrade Florida Marlins (1993 was Destrade’s only full season in the Major leagues and he hit 20 homers for the Fish. He became a star in Japan and was the Tokyo Sportsman of the Year in 1992. After that he also worked for the Devil Rays for a few years. One of the nicest people I have ever met in baseball. He wrote his autobiography in 1996 and it is a recommended read)
#501 Pedro Martinez (Before he was a Phillie, before he retired and before he was on the Mets Pedro was an Expo. He made his first All Star team with Montreal and won his first Cy Young Award in 1997 as an Expo)
#515 Dan Wilson Seattle Mariners (Wilson set a record going 42 at-bats without a hit in the postseason. Not good. He won a Silver Medal with the 1987 USA Junior National Team as a pitcher and a catcher)
#499 Lee Smith Baltimore Orioles (I made a comment about Troy Percival someday going the Hall of Fame earlier-I admit I was way off base with that. Lee Smith on the other hand IS a HOF caliber closer. He was an All Star 7 times and led the league in saves 4 times. He was 478 lifetime saves with is 3rd All Time)
