Card Number 195: DonRuss, 1988; #BC-6
This was one of 26 bonus cards available in wax packs of DonRuss cards. It looks very similar to both Tony's base card and his All Star card in the 1988 set.
It has a standard DonRuss 1980s card back as well. Apart from the number, this is exactly the same information as the base card.
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that there isn't a full stop after LEAF INC on the top right hand side of the card. Trading Card Database keep notifying me that they have updated their database to take into account that versions exist of this card with and without full stops after INC. But I have to admit I really don't care!
The career highlights are the usual collection of factoids, including that Tony had two 5-hit games in the 1987 season.
Card Number 196: Upper Deck MVP, 1999; #176
OK, this is cheating a bit as the card range is called MVP, but hey...
It's not the most exciting card, from a fairly turgid set. Upper Deck went through a bit of a malaise towards the end of the 90s, and it shows here.
The back mentions an interesting milestone - Tony's 2,900th hit.
Card Number 197: DonRuss, 1989; #BC-20
This card looks very different to Tony's base card in the 1989 set.
That MVP graphic is a harbinger of change. The 1990s were coming... and so was the era of baseball cards designed on computers.
The most noticeable difference about the cardback from the previous year was the colour. Most of the content was regurgitated from the 1988 card. They added in a mention of his injury in 1988. That's about it. It's exactly the same as what was printed on his base card.
Card Number 198: Upper Deck MVP, 2000; #130
This really looks similar to the 1999 design, except for the card borders which have gone all angular.
The back has a posed photo, a stats box, and no factoids. Which is a shame because after mentioning his 2,900th hit on his card in the previous year, they could have mentioned his 3000th one on this card.
Also, the first time I saw this I thought the card was #19. But it's not. That's annoying enough for me to moan about it.
Tomorrow we will hit the 200 card marker on this blog. Until then, have a great Monday!
Total: 198/394 (over half way!)
I don't see what the variation is on that 1988 Donruss BC is. I'll have to sit down and look through my duplicates to see if I have both versions and figure out the deal.
ReplyDeleteIt's literally whether there is a dot after "Inc." in "Leaf Inc."
DeleteWow. Gotta give props to the person who discovered that variation.
DeleteThey've discovered similar on a few of the DonRuss series now. Every time TCDb sends me a message about it I roll my eyes.
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