Saturday, July 19, 2008

1989 Topps - Like 1978 but not.

This offering from the 16-pack box comes from Topps. These are the 1989 regular issue that used a similar scripted font to the cards of 1978. The main differences are the thickness of the font (1989 are thicker) and the '89 font is almost something like a 'semi-script' that looks like the designer couldn't decide if he was writing or printing. Each pack has 15 "Bubble Gum Cards" and 1 stick of gum.

The cards feature a large player picture with a white border all the way around the image. The upper left and lower right corners are rounded off. The "Topps" logo appears in the upper left corner or most cards, though the color varies presumably based on the background color. In the lower right, we have the team name in the print-script which has a banner that resembles Coke's "dynamic ribbon device." In the banner is the player's name in all-caps.

The backs of the cards feature a black border that surrounds bio info and player stats in two pink areas. I don't know who decided pink was a good color for the back of baseball cards, but there it is... Some cards feature player tidbits at the bottom of the card back, while other cards feature monthly stats or other relatively useless information.



First three players out of the pack are Larry Parrish (Red Sox), Bob Stanley (Red Sox), and Don August (Brewers). Evidently, Parrish thought he was so good that he only needed one hand to hold the bat. He was born in Clairton, Pa, near where my grandparents live and where my uncle and aunt live now. Stanley looks like he is posing and not actually in mid-throw at all. Meanwhile, August has the "Hey, this is my rookie card" look, which after a quick look at the back of the card, turns out to be his rookie card, of course.



Up next, we have Jim Rice (Red Sox - I'm sensing a pattern here), Argenis Salazar (Cubs), and Eric King (Tigers). Pulling ANY Jim Rice card is awesome. When this card came out, he had been playing for 14 years already! Salazar's "other info" only says that his hero was Dave Concepcion. That's gotta hurt... King has the look of someone who was told to throw a ball and look at the camera just after you release. "Oh, and you can drop the ball at your feet for all we care..."



Coming up, we have Dante Bichette (Angels), Topps Company Store card, and Jim Adduci (Brewers). I was always a Bichette fan as a kid, though today I do not have a clue as to what led me to feel that way. Later in life, he would admit to hitting his pregnant girlfriend. Shifting our attention to the Topps card - How About That Shirt!? Gotta love the "B-I-N-G-O" approach Topps made to the shirt. In fact, this is a "High quality PUFFY-lettered T-shirt as shown Style E." The shirt would set you back $9.95 plus $1.25 postage, PLUS any THREE special offer cards (ya gotta buy the packs to get the shirt!). My guess is that if you wrote to Topps and asked, they'd be happy to send you one of these form their warehouse of 'vintage' items...



The next set of players yields Tom Glavine (Braves), Harold Baines (White Sox), and Tony Phillips (A's). Glavine's 2nd year card ain't a bad pull at all! I also like the Baines pull in there, too! As a kid, I was an A's fan, and can remember rooting on Phillips! The nostalgia factor in this group hits about a 8.5 out of 10 for me.



Rich Yett (Indians), Jeff Kunkel (Rangers), and Lance Parrish (Phillies) are bringing in the end of the pack, leaving only one card to go. Were Lance and Larry related? They were not born in the same town. Man, how about those powder-blue uniforms... Ouch. Kunkel looks like he is about 20, but is actually about 30 in that picture. He also comes off as looking like a rookie even though he had already been in the majors for 5 years. I pulled a Triber! Excellent! Rich Yett will appear in the All-Time Tribe uniform countdown (at tribecards) when we get to Number 42...

Finally, we have the card that had to have the wax pack pried off it - Larry McWilliams (Cardinals). The pack glue had adhered itself to the last card in the pack. The wrapper was so attached to the McWilliams card that it left a little of itself behind...

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