1990 Topps

I've already ripped my pack for the day, but today was an especially bad one in the baseball world and I think we could all use a little pick-me-up. What better thing to cheer us up than a pack of Technicolor plaid cards? O 1990 Topps, please heal us at this trying time.

37 Domingo Ramos
251 Jeff Blauser
205 Mark Davis
747 Randy Bush
188 Mike Smithson
617 Geronimo Berroa
183 Steve Lake
210 Ryne Sandberg
Topps Company Store card
447 Atlee Hammaker
693 Calvin Schiraldi
524 Daryl Boston
354 Stan Belinda
72 Jeff Huson
388 Cal Ripken Jr. AL All Star
594 Luis Sojo
401 Kevin Mitchell NL All Star

There's a lot to love in this pack. Two Hall of Famers, two Braves, a motley assortment of late 80's fringe players and... could it be? A Luis Sojo rookie card? There's also Mark Davis in full Cy Young form on his Padres card. Unfortunately for Mark, he was pitching for the Royals in 1990 and literally fell off the face of the earth. No seriously, he was in his windup while pitching in a blowout against the Tigers and whoosh - just flew off into space. He was last seen dodging meteors around the Van Allen belt. Something does not look right at all about the Socks logo on Mike Smithson's card. It looks like the logo was drawn in at the last second, my Topps Airbrush sensor is going off on this one. My bet is that's a Twins jacket that was altered by the Topps tailors. There's a pair of relievers with big time playoff meltdowns in the pack. Calvin Schiraldi may have been let off the hook by Bill Buckner, but the photo on this card shows him paying the price for 1986 as he is forced to walk the earth in nightmarish misty twilight for eternity in a really brown Padres uniform. Meanwhile, two cards later Stan Belinda remains blissfully ignorant of what awaits him two years in the future. The All Star cards double as league leader cards on the back. Both in this pack show the 1989 RBI leaders, Kevin Mitchell is at the top of the list on his card while Cal is nowhere to be seen on his. I checked my SCD price guide and that is a rookie card of Luis Sojo. Anyone who has read my 2007 Allen & Ginter box break knows of my Pavlovian reaction to all Luis Sojo cards, so in his honor I leave you with this: