2024 ONLINE BLASTER - PART 8:90S WANTLIST STUFF

 WAY BEHIND IN EVERYTHING SO IT'S TIME TO GUZZLE A POT OF COFFEE AND WRITE ABOUT BASEBAWL CARDS. I HAVEN'T POSTED SOMETHING I GOT THIS YEAR IN A WHILE SO LET'S DO SOME WANTLIST GETS

CATEGORY - WANTLIST

1993 DONRUSS DIAMOND KINGS BILL SWIFT, GARY SHEFFIELD

TOPPS INSERTS I HAVE WANTLISTED OUT OF OBLIGATION, FLEER INSERTS I HAVE WANTLISTED OUT OF LOVE. DONRUSS INSERTS? MEH. THERE'S A FEW COOL DONRUSS INSERTS FROM THE 90S BUT I'M NOT QUITE AS INVESTED IN THEM AS I AM IN INSERTS FROM TOPPS, FLEER AND UPPER DECK. I LIKE 'EM BETTER THAN SCORE'S INSERTS AT LEAST. DIAMOND KINGS THOUGH? THOSE ARE THE GOOD STUFF. I'VE HAD THE 92 SET COMPLETE FOR A WHILE BUT THERE'S STILL A HANDFUL MISSING FROM 93. I WISH I COULD TELL YOU HOW MANY I STILL NEED BUT I TYPED UP A LIST OF ALL THE DIAMOND KINGS I NEEDED AND WINDOWS ATE IT IN AN UNEXPECTED UPGRADE REBOOT. I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH PICKING UP THE SHEFFIELD WANTLIST OR NOT

1992 FLEER RYNE SANDBERG ALL STAR

I WILL NOT BE COMPLETING ANY FLEER INSERT SETS ANY TIME SOON BUT IT'S STILL FUN TO CHIP AWAY AT THEM. SO MANY CARDS, SO MANY SETS. THEY ALL (MOSTLY) LOOK REALLY GOOD TOO LIKE THIS ALL-STAR SET WITH THE BLACK BORDERS AND GOLD FOIL. RYNE SANDBERG AIN'T TOO SHABBY A PLAYER EITHER

1994 FLEER JEFF BAGWELL PRO-VISION

I'M PRETTY SURE I HAVE THIS PRO-VISION CARD OF BAGWELL ALREADY. I THINK I PULLED IT FOR A BLOG POST A LONG TIME AGO AND NEVER PUT IT BACK IN THE BOX, SO NOW I HAVE IT. IT'S STILL NOT IN THE BOX BECAUSE I HAVEN'T PUT THESE CARDS AWAY YET BECAUSE I'M SCREWING AROUND INSTEAD OF PUTTING THINGS AWAY

1995 DONRUSS DON MATTINGLY CHECKLIST

1995 DONRUSS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES, BUT I'M NOT TERRIBLY CLOSE TO COMPLETING THE THING. NOW I CAN PULL OUT THE BALL POINT PEN AND SEE EXACTLY WHICH CARDS I STILL NEED. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING - AND I PROBABLY AM - BUT YOU NEVER KNOW. I'M GETTING A BIT WEIRD ABOUT MY COLLECTING LATELY AND IT WOULD BE HANDY TO SEE AT A GLANCE THAT I STILL NEED THAT ANDRES GALARRAGA CARD

1996 PINNACLE JEFF BAGWELL CHECKLIST

I'M ALSO NOT TERRIBLY CLOSE TO COMPLETING 1996 PINNACLE THANKS TO MISSING A TON OF SERIES TWO CARDS. I DON'T NEED MANY ON THIS FIRST SERIES CHECKLIST SO I PUT THE PEN AWAY. I ACTUALLY PREFER THE 1997 SET WITH THE COOL CARVED BAT TEAM NAMES ON THE BACK BUT THIS SET IS PRETTY NICE TOO

1997 UPPER DECK ANDY PETTITTE

ONE OF THE PROJECTS I'VE BEEN DOING INSTEAD OF WRITING BLOG POSTS FOR ALL TO ENJOY IS TRYING TO GET MY UPPER DECK SET BOXES IN ORDER. THIS... HAS BEEN GOING POORLY. A REALITY CHECK ON THE SETS I WAS CERTAIN I HAD COMPLETED HAS SHOWN WAY MORE MISSING CARDS THAN I EXPECTED WHICH MEANS:
1) I FUCKED UP
2) THERE'S ANOTHER BOX FILLED WITH UPPER DECK CARDS THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT AWAY SOMEWHERE

IT'S PROBABLY BOTH SINCE I FUCKED UP BY NOT PUTTING AWAY THINGS IMMEDIATELY BUT ANDY AND THE REST OF THE UPPER DECK CARDS IN THIS POST ARE THANKFULLY SAFE AND SNUG IN THE SET BOX NOW. THIS MEANS I KEEP PICKING OUT THE CARDS TO LOOK AT THE BACKS WHICH IS MAKING THIS POST TAKE FOREVER

1997 UPPER DECK TINO MARTINEZ

97 UPPER DECK IS ONE OF THE BEST SETS OF THE NINETIES NOT JUST FOR THE SNAZZY DESIGN BUT FOR THE PHOTO EXPLAINER ON EVERY CARD. IT'S NICE WHEN YOU GET TO FIND OUT THAT ANDY PETTITTE BEAT UP ON THE A'S IN JUNE. BUT WHEN YOU LEARN THAT TINO MARTINEZ WAS GETTING INTO FIGHTS WITH UMPS IN SPRING TRAINING - IN MAY SOMEHOW - WELL THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY. I WANT TO GO DIG THROUGH MY CARDS TO FIND MORE WEIRDNESS LIKE THIS NOW

1997 UPPER DECK JUAN GONZALEZ GLOBAL IMPACT

NOT GONNA LIE. I DON'T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHICH SUBSET GOES WHERE FOR EVERY MID-90S UPPER DECK FOILBOARD CARD. IT'S HARD ENOUGH REMEMBERING 96 UPPER DECK IS THE ONE WITH THE ORANGE FOIL AND OVAL AT THE BOTTOM WHILE 97 HAS THE ORANGE FOIL WITH THE WOODGRAIN BORDER. IT DOESN'T HELP THAT THE COPYRIGHT DATE FOR SERIES ONE IS THE PREVIOUS YEAR BECAUSE THE NEW YEAR SETS WERE RELEASED IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER BACK THEN. BETTER THAN RELEASING 2023 PRODUCTS IN 2024 BUT STILL CONFUSING

1997 LEAF KEN GRIFFEY JR. LEGACY

THIS IS KIND OF A TECHNICAL WANTLIST CARD AS I AM NOT REALLY WORKING ON 1997 LEAF. IT'S KIND OF AN UGLY SET AND SERIES ONE'S BORDER IS A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN SERIES TWO LIKE THEY DID WITH 1991 DONRUSS. THIS WAS MAYBE THE FIRST SET THAT WAS DESIGNED WITH GOOFY PARALLEL BORDERS IN MIND WITH THAT FRACTAL MATRIX MESS. A GRIFFEY JR. IS A GRIFFEY JR. THOUGH AND THESE LEGACY CARDS HAVE A DECENT ENOUGH DESIGN

1997 LEAF CAL RIPKEN JR. GAMERS

CAL RIPKEN JR. WON'T BE THE LAST CARD I NEED FOR THIS SET! I'LL NEVER GET TO THAT POINT BUT IT WON'T BE! I MIGHT TRY TO FINISH THE GAMERS SUBSET JUST BECAUSE I ENJOY THIS DESIGN. I GOT A LITTLE EXCITED THINKING THE LEAF FOIL STAMPING LOGO WAS OFF CENTER BUT IT TURNS OUT THEY ARE A LITTLE OFF CENTER ON EVERY CARD. SEARCHING FOR OFF CENTER/MISCUT/GOOFED UP FOIL CARDS IS STARTING TO MESS UP MY BRAIN

1997 SCORE TINO MARTINEZ

I LOVE ALL THE SCORE BASE SETS AND WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BUILD THE FULL 1988-98 RUN BUT IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN WITH MY CURRENT LEVEL OF FOCUS. I JUST NEED TO BUY THE FULL 1993 AND 1997 SETS BECAUSE I THINK I'M UNDER 50% COMPLETE ON BOTH OF THEM. 1993 SHOULD BE EASY IF I FIND ONE THAT HAD THE JETER PICKED OUT OF IT BUT 1997 IS TOUGH TO FIND. LOOKING AT THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF STATS ON THE BACK OF THIS CARD REMINDED ME OF JUST HOW DAMN GOOD TINO WAS IN HIS PRIME

1997 NEW PINNACLE FRANK THOMAS

THIS SET IS FUCKIN BEAUTIFUL AND THANKFULLY IT'S ONLY A 200 CARD SET. THIS IS ONE I REGRET NOT BUYING MORE PACKS AT THE TIME. IT WASN'T EASY TO FIND TO BEGIN WITH AND WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING WHEN YOU FOUND THIS WHEN EXPECTING PINNACLE SERIES TWO. POOR PINNACLE WAS FLAILING WILDLY AT THE END BUT THEY HAD SOME REAL BANGERS IN 1997 AND 1998

1997 NEW PINNACLE BARRY BONDS AURA

LIKE THIS! THIS IS A SUBSET CARD! TOPPS AND DONRUSS COMBINED RELEASED MAYBE THREE INSERTS THAT LOOKED EVEN CLOSE TO THIS GOOD IN 1997. COMBINED. CLOUDS AND PYRAMIDS AND HOLOFOIL AND BARRY SMUSHING A BASEBALL OH MAH GAWD. THIS MIGHT BE THE PINNACLE OF PINNACLE

1998 SCORE MANNY RAMIREZ

THIS IS TECHNICALLY THE ROOKIE AND TRADED SET BUT IT WAS RELEASED IN PACKS AND NOT A BOX SET SO I JUST SEE IT AS SCORE SERIES TWO. JUST LIKE THE 1994 SCORE R&T SET THE DESIGN IS DIFFERENT FROM THE BASE SET. UNLIKE 1994, IT'S NOT A COMPLETE AND SOMEWHAT RADICAL REDESIGN BUT A SIMPLE CHANGE FROM BLACK TO SILVER ON THE BORDER. MANRAM LOOKS PENSIVE ON THIS CARD AS HE SEEMS TO BE AWARE OF PINNACLE'S IMPENDING BANKRUPTCY. I'M LEARNING NOW THAT THIS SET HAS ALSO HAS SHORT PRINTS IN IT, MANNY INCLUDED. MAYBE IT WAS TIME TO PINNACLE TO GO

1998 UPPER DECK ROGER CLEMENS

I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT 1998 UPPER DECK. I LIKE THE DESIGN AND ONE OF THE LAST UPPER DECK SETS I CARE ABOUT AT ALL BUT IT'S ALSO A MASSIVE 750 CARD SET OVER THREE SERIES AND I'M NOT EVEN CLOSE. THESE PACKS WERE EXPENSIVE BACK IN THE DAY! I KNOCKED OFF A FEW STARS OFF THE VERY LARGE WANTLIST STARTING WITH CLEMENS BETWEEN SOME PILLARS. A DESCRIPTION OF WHERE THE HECK THIS IS WOULD BE USEFUL BUT THE GAME DATED DESCRIPTION ON THE BACK DOESN'T MENTION IT. I ALMOST ACCIDENTALLY BOUGHT THE SPECIAL F/X VERSION OF THIS CARD BUT LUCKILY REMEMBERED THAT IT WAS THE 1997 VERSION OF THE GRIFFEY'S HOT LIST CARDS THAT HAD THE FUNKYFOIL BACKGROUNDS

1998 UPPER DECK BARRY LARKIN

HIGH FIVE BARRY LARKIN WITH THE ALL STAR STAMP . ONCE AGAIN THE GAME DATED MOMENT ON THE BACK DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PICTURE ON THE FRONT, WHICH LESSENS THE USEFULNESS OF SUCH A THING

1998 UPPER DECK FRANK THOMAS

MOAR FOIL STAMPING! THIS IS FROM THE UPPER ECHELON SUBSET. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT EXISTS. MAYBE IT'S SERIES TWO'S VERSION OF THE GRIFFEY HOT LIST. THIS CARD DOES HAVE ONE OF THE GAME DATED MOMENTS ON THE FRONT AND WE GET A SNAPSHOT OF THE BIG HURT WRECKING THE TIGERS

1998 UPPER DECK BARRY BONDS

THE LAST 98 UPPER DECK CARD HAS A MIKE PIAZZA CAMEO BUT I DON'T THINK DODGER COLLECTORS WOULD WANT ANY CARD THAT COMMEMORATES A FILTHY GIANT MASHING DINGERS AGAINST THEIR TEAM. I WANT ALL THE CHEAP BONDS CARD THOIUGH. GIMME GIMME GIMME

1998 METAL UNIVERSE TINO MARTINEZ

FINISHING UP WITH ANOTHER SET I WILL NEVER COMPLETE (ALTHOUGH THAT MIGHT BE EVERY SET AT THIS POINT) BUT I WILL ALWAYS PICK UP WHEN I SEE IT. I'VE GOTTEN A FEW CARDS FROM THE 98 EDITION OF METAL RECENTLY AND IT'S REALLY FUNNY TO SEE PLAYERS FROM MIDWEST CITIES GETTING TRAIN TRACKS AND TRAFFIC JAMS FOR A BACKGROUND WHILE NEW YORK CITY IS BLESSED WITH A BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL. IF I WERE A REAL BLOGGER AND NOT JUST A SHITPOSTER RIPPING OFF BOYD AND HARRIS' SCHTICK I COULD WRITE A NICE PIECE ON THE DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IN THESE SETS. I'M HAVING TOO MUCH FUN TO DO ACTUAL WORK, ONE OF YOU GOOD WRITERS GET ON THAT PROJECT

UP NEXT: CHAOS! IN BOTH CONTENT AND POSTING ORDER