Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Donruss Triple Play

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Donruss Triple Play

I’m not a huge fan of the Donruss Triple Play brand.  Personally, I did not find that the cards were very exciting.  And I also thought that the large, shifted frame that held the player’s picture took up too much space and limited the effectiveness of a nice, larger image.

But, this Cal Ripken card from the 1992 set escapes that criticism.  This card is sweet!

Have a look:

 

I love the image that was used of Cal for this set.  Not only is the card action packed, but you get a good idea of what is happening.  It appears that Rickey Henderson (#24) was either picked off or an attempt to pick him off occurred.  Cal’s got the ball in his hand and based on the direction that Henderson slid, he looks like he is headed back to 2B.  Either that, or Cal snagged a liner off the hitter’s bat and tried to chase Rickey back to second…

A fine addition to my Cal Ripken Jr. player collection.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Fleer Superstar Special ‘The Indispensables II’ With Joe Carter

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Fleer Superstar Special ‘The Indispensables II’ With Joe Carter

Man, I really like these two guys…

 

Both of these guys, in different ways, have cemented themselves in my baseball memory and built images in my head that will last for my lifetime.

Joe Carter hit the home run that all kids dream of as a kid.  World Series drama, walk-off game winner, series clincher – You name it!  With one swing, Joe Carter cemented himself as a baseball legend who shined the brightest when all eyes were on him.

Cal Ripken built such an incredible baseball resume, and he did it the right way.  A consummate professional, Ripken played the game the right way and he did it for the pure love of the sport.  A tremendously skilled all-around player, Cal has no weakness on the field, and he took that to his off-the-field persona once he retired from the sport.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1991 Upper Deck

Cal Ripken Jr. 1991 Upper Deck

The 1991 Upper Deck design still offered quite a bit of similarity to the 1989 and 1990 products that preceded it.

But, I am not complaining!  The 1989 Upper Deck set is a classic with a timeless design.

And the 1991 version, looks just as good.

Here is further evidence – the Cal Ripken, Jr. card:

 

I told you – it is a beauty!!

In today’s collecting world, this would not work as collectors demand innovation and new designs from card companies with each and every new release.

I wonder how this went over back in 1991 when collectors first discovered that the 1991 set design was just a tad different from the previous 1989 and 1990 releases…

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Score All-Star

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Score All-Star

Baseball caricatures became all of the rage in the late 1980’s.

I know that I had a few t-shirts that sported some of my favorite players likenesses on them.  And I believe that I had a pennant or two as well.

Well, Score took it to another level in 1992 when they inserted an All-Star set in their 1992 flagship set that honored the best players in the game.

This is the card of Cal Ripken from that set:

 

Certainly deserving of a spot on the checklist, this card of Cal is super.  I love the details, and even more, I love the fact that I absolutely recognize the caricature as #8.

Oh, and I really like the background too – having a ‘real’ group of seated fans makes the card come to life just a tad bit more…

Nicely done by Score.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1996 Upper Deck – Home Run Trot OR Base On Balls??

Cal Ripken Jr. 1996 Upper Deck

Well, I have another card here where I cannot tell what the outcome of the action is.

Have a look:

 

What do you think is going on here?

Is Cal Ripken getting into his home run trot or has he been walked to first base?

The card you are looking at comes courtesy of the 1996 Upper Deck set.  And it has left me scratching my head.

Cal Ripken Jr. 2012 Topps Golden Greats – ‘Stopping The See-Saw’

Cal Ripken Jr. 2012 Topps Golden Greats – ‘Stopping The See-Saw’

I don’t know about you, but I am a huge fan of the baseball card that celebrates a team or player achievement.  Regardless of the scale of the event, if the moment is worth mentioning and getting  a card, I am in favor of it.

In 2012, Topps gave us the ‘Golden Greats’ set.

This is the card of Cal Ripken, Jr. from that set:

 

This card celebrates the game-winning home run that Cal launched against the White Sox on July 13, 1984.  The 3-run blast came in the bottom of the 11th inning after the White Sox scored in the top of the inning to take the lead.  With the home run, Ripken secured victory for his team and sent all Orioles fans home with smiles on their faces.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1991 Topps ‘1990 Record Breaker’

Cal Ripken Jr. 1991 Topps ‘1990 Record Breaker’

Now this one is a sweet one!!

Check it out:

 

This card comes from the 1991 Topps baseball card set and it is part of the ‘Record Breakers’ subset.

I like the look of the card with the 40th Anniversary logo in place in the upper-left corner, and the prominent ‘Record Breaker’ tagline at the bottom truly calls out what makes this card special.

For me, the only thing that is missing from the front is some kind of hint as to what the record was.  I like the way that it was done in 1985, and I wish that Topps carried that style forward with other issues.  A little hint or tease as to what is printed on the back would have been nice – give us a reason to pause and read the back of the card!

As an FYI, this card is celebrating the fact that Ripken had an errorless games streak of 95 consecutive games at shortstop in which he handled 431 plays before making another error.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1990 Donruss MVP Bonus Card

Cal Ripken Jr. 1990 Donruss MVP Bonus Card

Donruss’ relatively short-lived ‘Bonus MVP’ subset allowed for collectors like me the opportunity to build insert sets and also pick up extra cards of the players we valued the most.

Typically featuring the team’s best and most popular players, the MVP set kind of felt like an All-Star set, with MVP graphics.

This is Cal Ripken’s card from the 1990 set.

 

I love the idea, and I actually don’t mind the loud background that Donruss employed with this 1990 version of the set.  I just wish that the photo selection was better – show me why this player was chosen to be tagged with the MVP title for his team.

Other than that, I like it!

Cal Ripken Jr. 1988 Fleer

Cal Ripken Jr. 1988 Fleer

The Red, White, and Blue striping that the 1988 Fleer baseball card set offers us may be a great color scheme for baseball, but it is certainly not a great match for the Baltimore Orioles.

Here is the Cal Ripken card from that set:

 

The card is nice and the colors are sharp, but the two varying color schemes given to us clash pretty well against one another.

Still, it is Cal!  And in 1988, he led the American League in sacrifice flies with 10.  A true team player that was willing to sacrifice himself for the chance to pick up a run and possible victory.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1988 KMart ‘Memorable Moments Of The Eighties’

Cal Ripken Jr. 1988 KMart ‘Memorable Moments Of The Eighties’

Oddball baseball cards from the 1980’s rank very high on the list of ‘cool’ at 30-YOC.

As a kid that was obsessed with collecting baseball cards during the mid-to-late 1980’s, I always wanted more than what the three main companies were issuing at the time.  Even with the bonus cards and send-in cards, I craved more.

Oddballs filled that void rather nicely.  And I tackled as many of them as I could gather.

While this card is new to my collection now, I am fairly certain that I picked it up sometime in 1988 as well.

Enjoy.