Back to base: SP in the late 90s

A short run of base cards from the Upper Deck SP ranges. These days "SP" means "Short print". I've previously tried to discover what 'SP' meant when Upper Deck was using it, but haven't had any joy. The cards were a premium range for Upper Deck, which means some are printed on foil board... on both sides! That's fancy, and annoying to scan. 

Anyway, enough preamble, let's get back to base!

Card Number 1029: Upper Deck SP, 1996; #160

This is one of the cards that's printed on foilboard on both sides, so I had to use the overhead scanner twice for it. There's also double photo use on the front, although the head and shoulders photo is placed oddly in line with Tony's backside in the main photo.

The foilboard on the back gives the plastic coated outfield wall in the background an authentic sheen.

The write up amusingly describes Tony's sequence of batting title wins as a "habit". That's some habit!

Card Number 1030: Upper Deck SP, 1997; #155

This card has a shiny front and a matt back. The rather odd silver wedge on the left hand side gives this card an odd vibe. For some reason it reminds of the sets that card companies put out aiming at kids, like Triple Play or Fun Pack. 

This set has the head and shoulders photo on the back. It's a really good photo that has appeared on some other cards - like one of the Collector's Choice cards in this post.

The description is less amusing than the previous year, almost mundane in comparison.

Card Number 1031: Upper Deck SPx, 1999; #44

There were several different 'SP' sets in 1999, including SP Authentic, which was the new name for the main SP set. SPx was another range in the SP stable, with the first sets including holograms as chase cards  although there weren't any in the 1999 set.

This base card has a big embossed foil panel on it. And a design that reminds me of Meccano.

Having two photos on the back is less impressive when one of them is the same one that appeared on the front of the card, and is being used like a watermark.

This time it's the batting average above .300 that's "routine". Tony's run of batting titles had come to an end in 1998. But he did get to play in the World Series, and, as the card notes, he passed the 1000 mark for runs batted in. 

Total: 1031 cards