Allen Bored
I never had very many Upper Deck cards for the simple fact they were too expensive with my paltry allowance. I think the packs might even cost more than a $1! Oh those were the days. The fact that those cards seemed almost unattainable for me made it an easy selection for the next pack I would open out of the old, worthless pack lot I bought. The 1990 set isn’t nearly as revered as the 1989 set that pretty much changed trading cards as we know it. The 1990 cards though do look great and I love that there are full color photos on the back of the cards as well.
Before moving onto what was in my pack just a note that I broke down and bought some old, worthless football and basketball packs as well for future articles. Current plan is I’ll do another baseball pack with the next article and then from there will rotate between football, basketball, and baseball.
#44
Card Value: $0.25
1990 Stats: 55 PA, .275/.327/.333, 85 OPS+, 0.1 WAR
Can you believe Jose Vizcaino played 18 years? This was just his second short stint in the Majors. He spent most of the 1990 season in Triple-A.
#88 Mike Scott (Astros Team Checklist)
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 205 2/3 IP, 1.26 WHIP, 98 ERA+, 1.6 WAR
Oh the dreaded checklist card, in fact I also had a standard checklist card in the same pack. Not sure what was the point of the standard checklist card when you had team checklist cards as well. The noted ball scuffer (probably not a word) pitched the full season but it was with arm problems. He only pitched 7 more innings the following season and his career was over.
#110
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 417 PA, .224/.308/.314, 75 OPS+, 0.0 WAR
The light hitting first baseman with a good glove inexplicably got a four year deal from the Mariners after the ’89 season where he had hit a hardly scintillating .260/.356/.372 with the Indians and was already on the wrong side of 30. He would provide -0.6 WAR over the course of the contract.
#174
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 66 1/3 IP, 1.66 WHIP, 105 ERA+, 0.0 WAR
This was a bad season sandwiched between two good seasons for the Wild Thing. He had just a 1.1 strikeout to walk ratio in ’90 (55 strikeouts, 50 walks).
#228
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 458 PA, .265/.311/.385, 97 OPS+, 2.0 WAR
Jose was the #54 prospect per Baseball America entering the season. He would be traded on August 29th to the Cardinals for Willie McGee who was leading N.L. in batting average and had enough plate appearances at the time of the trade to end up winning the N.L. batting title. On the same day the A’s also acquired Harold Baines from the Rangers.
#241
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 126 IP, 1.42 WHIP, 84 ERA+, -0.5 WAR
I don’t know why but I was always seem to remember Darling as a really good pitcher but outside of two very good years in ’85 and ’86 he was a below average pitcher most of the rest of his career. This was the worst season of his career as he would end up losing his spot in the Mets rotation in May and was shuffled between the rotation and bullpen for the remainder of the season.
#279
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 76 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 118 ERA+, 0.8 WAR
Pena was traded to the Mets in a deal for Juan Samuel during the offseason, he was one of the more consistently good relievers from ’88 to ’91.
#305
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 162 2/3 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 169 ERA+, 5.3 WAR
Darwin just barely threw enough innings to win the N.L. ERA title in ’90 and also lead the league in WHIP and walks per nine innings. He’s one of only two pitchers in the last 30 years to win an ERA title when making more relief appearances than starts (Steve Ontiveros of the A’s won it in the ’94 strike season).
#421
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 487 PA, .248/.329/.406, 104 OPS+, 1.0 WAR
After ten years with the Blue Jays, Moseby signed with the Tigers as a free agent after the ’89 season but played only two more years in the Majors.
#426
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 610 PA, .267/.353/.372, 105 OPS+, 3.1 WAR
“The Governer” had two pretty good seasons with the Indians but I always remember him as the super utility guy for the A’s during their ’92 division champion season.
#544
Card Value: $2.00
1990 Stats: 204 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 114 ERA+, 3.6 WAR
Wow a $2 card! I can retire now. I’m pretty sure that besides Ken Griffey Jr. that Nolan Ryan’s cards were the most sought after by collectors during this time. Yes he was overrated and yes he shouldn’t be in the HOF with a Rangers cap but it was still pretty cool to see this guy in his 40’s blowing away hitters. In June of this season he’d throw the 6th no hitter of his career (box score) and then a month and a half later pick up his 300th career win (box score).
#557
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 402 PA, .245/.283/.410, 92 OPS+, 0.6 WAR
This was the first full year in the Majors for the 1986 #1 overall pick. King is one of the most fascinating players of all-time due to the fact that he apparently hated playing baseball yet somehow was good enough to be a #1 pick and last 11 years in the Majors.
#627
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: 170 IP, 1.28 WHIP, 103 ERA+, 2.5 WAR
Was one of the best pitchers in the game from ’86 to ’88 but various injuries derailed his career. This okayish season got him a four deal from the Brewers but he’d only throw 125 innings during those next four years.
#649
Card Value: $0.10
1990 Stats: Retired
Garcia was picked up by the Yankees in the offseason but failed to make the team in Spring Training and then retired. Poor guy soon after that would be diagnosed with a brain tumor but did survive.
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