Ripping Right Along... Back to 1994 Pinnacle

Ripping onward! This is the 19th pack (out of 24) of 1994 Pinnacle. I found a few loose packs of this and bought them and I will rip them, too, and add them to the stack, but I will NOT be posting them. I picked up a few random discounted packs-2007 Topps, 2008 Heritage, 2009 O-Pee-Chee and 2008 Upper Deck. I will keep the Rays for myself and whatever is left will be split up into everyone’s team stacks. These also will NOT be posted. This pack will be posted right now! This is gonna be a quick one… I have a bunch of trade bait that I would like to get posted, but I REALLY wanna finish this break so I can ship out everyone’s cards and prepare for the next one. Here we go!
#326 Bill Swift San Francisco Giants (The pride of South Portland, Maine. 1993 was Bill Swift’s best year by far. He was 21-8 with a 2.82 ERA in 34 starts and finished 2nd to Greg Maddux in the Cy Young vote)
#493 Rafael Palmeiro Baltimore Orioles (After a career year in ’93 where he topped 30 homers (37) and 100 RBI (105) for the first time, Palmeiro cashed those numbers in and signed a 5-year, 30 million + dollar deal with Baltimore. He delivered and started a nine consecutive season 100+ RBI streak in 1995-he would return to the Rangers for 5 more productive seasons before going back to Baltimore for his final 2 years. He hit his 500th homer for the Rangers and got his 3000th hit with the Orioles)
#477 Pat Borders Toronto Blue Jays (Pat Borders was the 1st resident of Lake Wales, Florida to make it to the big leagues-Wade Davis is the only other. Borders is (for now) the only Lake Wales local to make it to the World Series-he did it twice, winning both times. He was the 1992 WS MVP when he hit .450 with a homer and 3 RBI. Incidentally, Lake Wales, Florida is where Esther Gin N Juice and I went for our first date and it was also where we got married-neither Pat Borders, nor Wade Davis attended)
#386 Rich Amaral Seattle Mariners
#399 Darrell Whitmore Florida Marlins
#465 Tim Laker Montreal Expos
#396 Mark Grace Chicago Cubs (Grace hit .325 in ’93, won a Gold Glove as a first baseman and started the All Star Game as a DH)

#353 Ramon Martinez Los Angeles Dodgers (Insert your own caption HERE)

#473 Jesse Orosco Milwaukee Brewers (Jesse was a little bit past the halfway point in his 24 year career in ’93. JO is the All Time Leader in appearances for a pitcher with 1252)
#534 Mike Kelly Atlanta Braves (1991was the year that the Yankees used their #1 pick (1st overall) on a left handed pitcher named Brien Taylor. Kelly was the second overall player picked in that draft. He was less of a flop, but hardly a success. The Indians used the 13th pick to grab up Manny Ramirez that year)
#519 Jody Reed Milwaukee Brewers (Reed topped 40 doubles in 3 straight years with the Red Sox, leading the AL with 45 in 1990)
#389 Ozzie Smith St. Louis Cardinals (The WIZARD!)
#512 Luis Polonia New York Yankees (Polonia played in the WS in 3 different decades for 3 different teams and won 2 of them. He was a member of the 1995 Braves and the 2000 Yankees)
#496 Ellis Burks Colorado Rockies (There were 2 writers this month who felt that Ellis Burks was an Immortal. Really?)
Okay, another one down… I cannot wait to finish this break!!! I have enjoyed it, but I really had no idea how much time this would take. My apologies to everyone for that. Anyway, it WILL be done this week. To view all of the rips in this break, click here. Go Rays! Troll out!

Ripping Like a Mad Man! Pack #18 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press

Moving right along-upwards and onwards to pack #18 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press. I will waste no time and jump right in…
#139 Ken Griffey Jr Peak Performers Seattle Mariners (The back of the card states “At 27 he (Griffey) is a definite threat to break Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 homers)
#89 Jeff Conine Florida Marlins (I think Conine cards were seeded 1:2 packs in this product)
#19 Ellis Burks Colorado Rockies (I scanned the back of the card because it shows Burks ’96 stats and shows the at the plate high five he got from the Big Cat so many times that year-1996 was the season that he absolutely exploded and put up HUGE numbers… Batting .344 with 40 homers, 128 RBI, 30 steals, 211 hits, 45 doubles, 142 runs scored and a league leading .639 slugging percentage… If he had duplicated that performance in even 1 other season he would probably get a vote or two for the Hall…)
#47 Albert Belle Chicago White Sox (Speaking of MONSTER power numbers… Belle outdid Burks that year with 48 bombs and 148 RBI)
#5 Frank Thomas Chicago White Sox (Did anyone not hit 40 homers in ’96? The big Hurt chipped in 40 himself along with a .349 BA and 134 RBI)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card +4 (Seriously, does anyone want these things?)
#35 Ivan Rodriguez Texas Rangers (Pudge hit .300/19/86 in ’96-I’m surprised he was able to keep his starting job…)
#82 Darin Erstad California Angels (DE was a rookie in ’96 and didn’t get a ton of PT, but he had his monster season in 2000 when he hit .355 with 240 hits! He won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and was an All Star and in 2002 he won a ring with the Angels)
There were a whole bunch of American League homeruns in these 7 cards… They were all juice free, too, to the best of my knowledge. This pack puts us at the halfway point for this box, too. We might just finish this thing! Congrats once again to Hawk Dawson, the only player in the Hall of Fame Class of 2010! He wasn't good enough last year or the year before or the year before, but he is a Hall of Famer now! Let the debate rage on! Troll out!