1995 Topps Finest

I picked up this pack a couple of weeks ago before A&G was out. I wanted a pack of something, but wasn't thrilled by crappy Topps base or $5 packs of Upper Deck. I almost got a pack of A Piece of History, but looked behind the counter and saw 1995 Finest for $3.50. It was a no brainer. I pulled a pack out of the dusty box and got that instead. This is from the glory days of Finest - No prospect autos, no redemption cards, no Rip Masters. Just "Brilliant Uncirculated" "High Tech" cards with peel off card protectors on the front. It's even got a few bells and whistles in it - Refractors (1:12), Power Kings (1:24) and Flame Throwers (1:48).


193 Joe Girardi
17 Jim Edmonds
FT6 Pedro Martinez Flame Throwers
112 Eddie Murray
5 Rondell White
88 Chuck Knoblauch
140 Shawon Dunston

WOOHOO! Case hit! Well, a two box case at least. This is a pretty slick looking Mid '90s insert right here. And it's a decent player too, looking at the checklist in my SCD shows me I could have gotten stuck with John Hudek or Jason Bere. The Power Kings are really cool looking though with big honking lightning bolts in the background. I'll pull a Chris Harris and reproduce the copy on the back for you.

Fastball has natural chasing action to righthanders... Blows hitters off the plate... Needs to use the circle-change and curve more on lefties... Mental toughness belied by wispy body... Terriffic all-around athlete.

SKILLS RATINGS:
Velocity-----------------(4)
Movement------------------(4.5)
Intimidation------(3)
Strikeout Rate--------------(4.5)
Endurance--------(3)
Durability------------(3.5)

Some nifty scouting info there. Insert aside, this is a pretty good pack. Hall of Famer Eddie Murray leads off the lineup, there's an active manager in Joe Girardi, an active player in Jim Edmonds and a handful of solid players. I always liked this design too with the diamond and circles and what appears to be artificial turf with pinstripes. Two of the cards have a textured pattern in the diamond behind the player as you can see with the Edmonds card. Thankfully I got two of them, I thought it was a parallel at first. The card companies have trained me too well to be on the lookout for gimmicks.