1995 Topps Embossed

6 embossed cards from the over-produced era of the mid-90s, including one special golden foil card, does it get any better than this? It definitely does, but I'm going to subject you to this pack anyway. I remember buying a couple of packs of this stuff at the ballpark as a kid in Norwich, CT, while catching a Norwich Navigators game (the local AA team, which at the time was part of the New York Yankees farm system). I think I paid $2 a pack at the time, so when I saw a wax box for $11 recently, how could I pass it up? I'm about half way through ripping the box and this is the best pack so far...

#5 - Pat Hentgen - Toronto Blue Jays - I gotta say, for an odd mid-90s set, I kinda like these cards. Action-Packed will always be the king of embossed cards in my book, but I think Topps did a decent job with this set. The design is simple, featuring large photos with semi-transparent borders, and I like that the embossed player overlays the border. Not sure what the point is of the stupid red line going through the bottom of the card where the name is though.

#50 - Travis Fryman - Detroit Tigers - I don't know if it's just me, but I remember a time when I was thrilled to pull a Travis Fryman card. Injury cut his career short, and despite an outstanding season in 2000 during which he established career highs in nearly every offensive category, he was out of the game by 2003.

#129 - Barry Larkin - Cincinnati Reds (Gold Foil) - Each pack contains one very special "Gold Foil" card. As you can see, these cards are no different than the base cards except for a layer of gold foil which makes them impossible to scan well. The only purpose these serve as far as I can tell is robbing you of a 6th base card and forcing you to bust more wax to complete your set.

#51 - Ken Griffey, Jr. - Seattle Mariners - Here's where the pack gets good, a nice action shot of Ken. Looks like he just connected and sent a ball sailing into the outfield, or maybe even the seats.

#109 - Greg Maddux - Atlanta Braves (Cy Young) - This card is a total foil catastrophe. If you look down through the series of smaller and smaller foil frame designs you almost start to feel dizzy. It's like Greg is traveling towards you at light speed. The facial expression here is also priceless, classic Greg Maddux...

#136 - Manny Ramirez - Cleveland Indians - The pack finishes off strong with a Manny Ramirez. I hate to admit it but I have to be honest, last night when the Sox were taking a beating from the Rays, it was the first time since the trade where I really missed having Manny in the lineup.

I'll be posting a full box break on my own blog once I finish busting these packs and shaking the headache that I got from staring straight into the Maddux card for too long...