Trade List > Baseball > 1995

The following cards are available for trade. If you see anything that interests you, please feel free to drop me an email.

1995 Bazooka: 2, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21 (2), 34 (2), 35, 36, 37, 41 (3), 51 (2), 52 (2), 55 (2), 70 (2), 72 (2), 73, 77, 83 (2), 91, 92 (2), 94, 95 (3), 96, 97, 99, 100, 101 (2), 105, 111, 117 (2), 118 (4), 121, 123, 130 (2)

1995 Bowman: 22, 135, 140, 224, 245, 254, 285, 367

1995 Bowman's Best: 33B, 45B, 87B

Refractors:
13. Karim Garcia, Los Angeles Dodgers/Matt Williams, San Francisco Giants "Mirror Image"

1995 Collector's Choice:

Silver Signatures:
56. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians "Best of the 90s"
337. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians "International Flavor"

You Make the Play:
2. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians
31. Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers

You Make the Play Gold:
2. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

You Crash the Game:
CG18. Gary Sheffield, Florida Marlins (July 5)

1995 Collector's Choice SE: 100 (3), 104, 105, 235, 253

1995 Donruss: 42

Bomb Squad:
2. Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros/Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox

1995 Emotion: 45, 153

Timeless:
1. Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles

1995 Finest: 70

1995 Flair: 155, 368

1995 Fleer: 155, 181, 201, 208, 294, 326, 350, 359, 398, 439, 574

All-Stars:
1. Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers/Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers

1995 Fleer Update: 106, 108

1995 Leaf: 48, 213, 218

1995 Old Judge T-96 Series:

Autographs:
32. Amaury Telemaco, Chicago Cubs

1995 Pacific: 259

1995 Pinnacle: 235, 237, 300, 339, 346, 367, 448

Museum Collection:
187. Craig Shipley, San Diego Padres
200. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

1995 Pinnacle Zenith: 2, 23, 42, 109, 114, 122 (2)

All-Star Salute:
14. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

1995 Score: 147, 170 (4), 332 (2), 340, 346 (2), 377 (2), 422 (2), 431, 437, 443 (3), 459 (2), 478, 519, 540 (2), 557, 562

Gold Rush:
17. Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers
115. Bud Black, San Francisco Giants
334. Derrick May, Chicago Cubs
369. Pat Kelly, New York Yankees
372. Kevin Bass, Houston Astros
381. Ron Darling, Oakland Athletics
433. Bob Hamelin, Kansas City Royals
439. Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers
443. David Cone, Kansas City Royals
455. Bret Boone, Cincinnati Reds
460. Pedro Astacio, Los Angeles Dodgers (2)
466. Willie McGee, San Francisco Giants
491. Bill Swift, San Francisco Giants
421. Brady Anderson, Baltimore Orioles
565. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians "Hitters Inc."
587. Marc Newfield, Seattle Mariners (2)
590. Kevin King, Seattle Mariners

Platinum Team Set:
235. John Jaha, Milwaukee Brewers

Air Mail:
AM04. Jose Oliva, Atlanta Braves
AM05. Charles Johnson, Florida Marlins
AM06. Russ Davis, New York Yankees

Hall of Gold:
HG68. Craig Biggio, Houston Astros
HG81. Jay Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates
HG84. Ruben Sierra, Oakland Athletics
HG89. Rafael Palmeiro, Baltimore Orioles
HG101. Jeffrey Hammonds, Baltimore Orioles

1995 Select: 86, 99, 121, 226

1995 SP: 9, 26, 76

SuperbaFoil:
144. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

Platinum Power:
PP11. Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers

1995 SP Championship Series: 63

1995 Sportflix:

Detonators:
DE4. Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox

1995 Stadium Club: 18, 86, 101, 295, 349 (2), 408, 431, 472, 478, 533 (2)

Members Only:
22. Ken Hill, Montreal Expos

1995 Stouffer Pop-Ups: 2. Gary Carter, New York Mets

1995 Summit: 2, 3, 7, 8, 37, 66, 81, 99, 114 (2), 124, 129, 147, 162

Nth Degree:
100. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

1995 Topps: 22, 108, 179, 259, 315, 344, 347, 397, 432, 457, 459, 462 (2), 481, 503, 508, 509 (2), 533, 541, 605, 651

1995 Topps Traded: 25, 49, 74, 121, 123, 129, 141, 142

1995 Topps Archives: 2, 16, 35, 54, 73, 75, 94, 118, 126, 162

1995 Topps DIII: 2, 10, 21, 25, 30, 31, 54

1995 Topps MBossed: 15, 17, 28, 35, 42

Gold:
92. Orlando Merced, Pittsburgh Pirates
95. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

1995 UC3: 34, 37, 50, 84, 110, 114, 131, 137

1995 Ultra: 399, 442

Gold Medallion:
192. Ken Hill, Montreal Expos
278. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians
348. Mike Kelly, Atlanta Braves
389. Orlando Miller, Houston Astros
406. Kirk Rueter, Montreal Expos

All-Rookie:
4. Bob Hamelin, Kansas City Royals
6. John Hudek, Houston Astros

All-Star:
8. Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres
18. Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers

Hitting Machine:
10. Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox

Strikeout King:
1. Andy Benes, San Diego Padres
3. Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners (2)
5. Pedro Martinez, Montreal Expos

1995 Upper Deck: 49, 62, 80 (2), 81, 95, 139, 152, 234, 242, 244, 251, 320, 352, 361, 369, 386, 420, 435, 446

Electric Diamond:
26. Doug Drabek, Houston Astros
51. Troy O'Leary, Milwaukee Brewers
54. Pat Listach, Milwaukee Brewers
81. Marquis Grissom, Montreal Expos
168. Willie Greene, Cincinnati Reds
202. Jason Bere, Chicago White Sox
339. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

Checklists:
1. Montreal Expos

Special Edition:
27. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians
155. Jim Abbott, Chicago White Sox
159. Kenny Lofton, Cleveland Indians
184. Jeffrey Hammonds, Baltimore Orioles
187. Bob Hamelin, Kansas City Royals

Steal of a Deal:
SD11. Carlos Baerga, Cleveland Indians

Trade Card:
TC5. Gregg Jefferies, St. Louis Cardinals

1995 Upper Deck Minor League: 6 (2), 162

A Date with the True 90s Diamond King

I was certain last season was going to be Ken Griffey Jr's last. I also wanted oh so badly to make a short hop across the Juan de Fuca Strait and see him play while visiting my family back home in Victoria last summer. In both instances, it wasn't meant to be. Thankfully. Now I'm calling destiny.

The wheels are in motion for some big changes at the Trader Crack's household this summer. For making a trip to Safeco to see the Mariners, this should make it a much easier undertaking. With that in mind, I hopped online this afternoon and got me a couple of baseball tickets - October 3, the season finale between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics. Although I suspect the Mariners will be in the post-season, I also suspect this is going to be the regular season finale of the 90s generation's biggest icon.

Sure, others might have bigger career numbers and some of the most prestigious all-time records, nobody else captured the friendly spirit of baseball like Griffey when he was truly The Kid. I could get all long and winded about how that came to be and eventually pass, but that will come later in the season when it's more appropriate. Right now, I'm stoked to have a chance to be on hand for a special moment. And if it turns out Griffey's gas tank is ready for more, well, I'm sure I'll be able to accommodate that in 2011. But more on that later too when things are firmed up.

1995 Donruss Diamond Kings DK-27. Ken Griffey Jr.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

When it comes to collecting, I consider myself to be somewhat patient. My budget requires me too. If I want something that's hot today, it might be a decade or more before I finally land it. But when it comes to iconic cards of the hobby, I'm certainly willing to wait.

If you were to go back in time about 15 years you'd find me watching Seinfeld, eating unhealthy amounts of Mr. Noodles, listening to Silverchair and Smashing Pumpkins and dreaming of getting a 1995 Bowman's Best Andruw Jones. At the time, the guy was a stud. There was no limit to what he might do for the amazing Braves. I don't recall exactly the price the rookie card reached, but I'm thinking it was around or over $100. That'd be 20 hours of flipping burgers and burning myself working fries for a single card, albeit a shiny one, of a guy who had a tremendous World Series debut. Add to the fact I lived in Canada where base Topps and Upper Deck were all that was found for the most part, and I wasn't going to be having any of it.

It was probably a good thing I waited. While Jones has put together a solid career overall, he didn't exactly pan out to be the phenom his early card prices demanded. As his strikeouts piled up, his stock in the hobby fell. Today he's bouncing from team to team, playing largely for up-side contract incentives.

Well, I finally got my 1995 Bowman's Best Andruw Jones rookie. The cost: $7.50. And that, friends, is why I don't prospect.

Although the card holds merely a fraction of the value it once did, it is still an important part of baseball card history. It was one of the first "shiny" base set rookies that still have a foothold in today's hobby. It's value plummet is also the thing of legend, comparable to Jose Canseco whose various 1986 cards were once worth more than $100 as well. But while Canseco's fall from grace can be attributed to overproduction as much as his fall in play, Jones is an example of raw, unproven skill that could never reach the hype.

The 1995 Bowman's Best set was at one time the hottest in the hobby. Not only did you have the Jones rookie, but there was Vladimir Guerrero and Scott Rolen as well. I picked up a Bob Abreu the same time as the Jones for an additional $6.00. One of these days I'll pull the trigger on a Guerrero to add to the Expos team set collection. However, I have a hunch if I stay patient for another few months I might save myself a few dollars. 

Holo Grammys

It's the Academy Awards of music tonight but I don't really care. While your significant other scours People Magazine's website in the morning, here's a random bunch of holograms:

 1992 Denny's Grand Slam 26. Joe Carter

I remember begging my parents to take me out for pie and coffee when these were available. They just turned to me, told me it was a 30 minute drive and that I was too young for coffee as they sipped their instant "coffee." They neglected to mention that Denny's also had gross key lime pie. Denny's sucks. This set was the best thing the restaurant had to offer in 1992. 

 1995 Score Dream Team Gold DG11. Greg Maddux

I'm not sure why Score abandoned the shirtless grandeur of the Dream Team cards for holograms. I can't say that I mind either. The whole "Gold" label, though, doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.

1993 Upper Deck Diamond Gallery 32. Wil Cordero

This card is a part of some oddball Upper Deck box set. I hadn't heard of it before and may have to track it down seeing as how it's an oddball hologram box set. Just 123,600 sets were made, which must make it extremely limited ; )

1997 Stadium Club Instavision Highlights I13. Andy Pettite

You can't capture the greatness of this card in a scan. Well, it is a hologram so it is instantly great, but that there hologram shows Pettite's hurling prowess. Yes, it's got motion technology without the creepy factor of Sammy Sosa's 1996 SPx card winking at me.

And now a trio of static non-sport holograms:

 Marvel Universe: Series One (Impel, 1990) MH1. Cosmic Spider-man

Although these are probably the most recognizable non-sport holograms (my guess is that it's due to the seemingly millions that are out there and just about everyone collecting the set at the time had one or two), I also rank them amongst the worst. Sure, they're shiny but there's nothing else going on. Plus, the card backs are identical for all five in the set. Yes, Virginia, holograms can be boring sometimes. Can anyone tell me what makes this Spider-Man, Cosmic Spider-Man?

 DC Comics: Series One (Impel, 1992) DC Hologram Hall of Fame DCH8. Superman

This card suffers somewhat the same fate as the Spidey above. It's pretty boring. However, at least with this set Impel wised up a bit and gave something of an interesting background. Too bad Superman's face resembles that of a stick man I doodled while waiting on hold yesterday.

Marvel Universe Series Three (Impel, 1992) H-5. Ghost Rider

Finally, Impel is getting somewhere. While I'm not a big fan of Ghost Rider, the way his motorcycle is popping out of this card is pretty bad ass.

Box Break: Gargoyles: Series One (SkyBox, 1995)

Gargoyles was one of those shows that came out when I was a teenager who avoided cartoons at all costs if for no other reason than they simply weren't cool. At least that's the attitude I gave off. In reality, I'd watch cartoons somewhat regularly, albeit I didn't have the TV schedule memorized like I did when I was six. I caught this more mature-minded show that brought those creepy gothic cement figures to life a few times but not enough that it left a huge impression on me. Oddly, though, I ended up having half of a set of cards in my collection and an option to buy a retail box quite cheaply. The results were a mixed bag, although I suspect that if I'd opened this box back when they were first released in 1995, my opinion would be much higher.

This particular had 12 packs of seven cards plus a gorgeous over-sized box topper that features the main Gargoyle Goliath swooping down from a rooftop on the front and an overview of the show on the back. The base set has 90 cards so I knew going in I wasn't going to have a full set but I was hoping to plug some holes in my partial set that had been collecting dust for several years prior.

The checklist breaks down as follows:

1 Header
2 - 54 Story Cards
55 - 69 Character Cards
71 - 75 Good vs. Evil
76 - 79 Statistic Cards
80 - 88 Origins Puzzle
89 - 90 Checklists

Basic card fronts are simple but affective. They feature a full-bleed picture without any logos, borders or captions. As much as I love the often corny captions that come with a Topps non-sport set, the show had a lot of cool art to it and by going minimalist, Topps allows the cartoon to shine. In fact, when they get into the later subsets such as Good vs. Evil and the Statistics cards, the attempts at design take away from the overall affect. Granted, style changes but they haven't aged well.

Overall, I got 54 base set singles. Not too bad, I guess, but 14 doubles and three triples aren't excusable for a small box such as this.

Each pack also had one Pop-Up card, which were popular with SkyBox non-sport sets of this era. There were 12 in the set and I fell one short. Ironically, the one I was missing just happened to be the one that I had sitting in my monster box of singles to that set's done.

The remaining inserts are pretty sparse and none were guaranteed in the box. Double-Sided Spectra cards were inserted 1:24 packs. I didn't get any so I have no idea what they look like. There were also two possible redemptions. The first was for a 3D SkyMotion card (1:90 packs) and the second was for a Gargoyles video (1:180 packs). Wouldn't you know, I got the Skymotion redemption that is useless now but still a card with some nice artwork. Should I decide to go for the master set of everything, redeemed Skymotion cards can be found for around $20 on eBay.

Overall, a nice and simple box break for a straightforward product. I liked the base card design of the story cards a lot and I also love the lost art of the simple set composition, inserts included. However, the numerous duplicates and unredeemable redemption card did bring this box down a notch, though.

Inserts

• Pop-Ups (1:1): 12 (P1, P2, P3 (2), P4 (2), P5 (2), P6, P8, P9, P10)
• Skymotion Exchange (1:90): 1
• Oversized Box Topper: 1

For a complete breakdown and more images, please click here.

The Many Faces of Moises Alou

This post was inspired by some cards sent to me recently by John from The Pursuit of 80's(ness). Another awesome batch of cards came across from the UK and whilst going through them I was reminded of the solid but rarely flashy career of Moises Alou.

Drafted second overall in the 1986 draft by the Pirates, Alou was the "player to be named later" in a 1990 trade that saw Zane Smith pack for Pittsburgh. It wasn't long before he became one of Montreal's outfield cornerstones dependable for above-average stats in both average and power. He might not have been as flashy as Larry Walker or as speedy as Marquis Grissom but he got the job done. With his father Felipe managing him, Alou finished second behind Eric Karros in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1992 and was an All-Star two years later.

As good as the Expos got, the team suffered from a lack of commitment from ownership and the team was soon dismantled following the strike that ended the 1994 season. He stuck around for a couple more years but signed on as a free agent with the Marlins for the 1997 season and made an immediate impact hitting .292, knocking in 115 runs and smacking 23 home runs. Oh yeah, he was also the winner of the Babe Ruth Award, which is similar to World Series MVP, in that it's given for the best World Series performance as voted by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, leading an unlikely team to their first World Championship.

Alou's stay with the Marlins wasn't meant to last. Florida owner Wayne Huizenga promptly dismantled his championship squad in a firesale that looked a lot like the ongoing deals that Alou would have become accustomed to seeing in Montreal. Off to Houston.

Different team, same plucky player. In his four years playing with Houston (he missed all of 1999 due to a psychopathic treadmill so I'm not counting it), Alou was an All Star twice and finished third in NL MVP voting in 1998 where he set a career high for RBIs, driving in 124 runs for a dangerous team that included Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.

As Alou approached and surpassed 40 years of age, he continued to put play a solid game yet never managed to find a place to really call his baseball home. After leaving the Astros via free agency following the 2001 season, Alou got a ripe three-year deal with the Cubs. In 2004, at the age of 37, he set a career high in home runs with 39. But that would be all for his days in the Windy City.

Although his power numbers were starting to taper off, Alou continued to hit for average in his final four seasons (spending two each with the Giants and Mets). Between 2005 and 2008 the Atlanta-born outfielder never hit below .300.

Last year marked the end of Alou's playing career. He'll likely never get any Hall of Fame career, nor does he necessarily deserve it. He was, however, one of the more overlooked players of a generation, quietly playing contently in the shadows of some of the game's bigger stars. Superstars might make those around them look better than they actually are but it's guys like Moises Alou that enable superstars to rise to the top of their game.

Thanks again, John for the awesome cards and for reminding me of an Expos great.

Mega-Box of Joy from gcrl

From the on-going journey of catching up and checking in comes some highlights from the Mega-Box of Joy sent my way from gcrl.

There were

Expos looking to make the catch,

 

and others making the catch.

There was

 

 

Matt Stairs making a fool of himself and

 

Matt Stairs making a fool of himself (I think someone at Pinnacle Brands in 1998 hated him).

There was

 

famous Canadians and

 

not-so-famous Canadians.

Finally, there was

old set needs and

new-ish set needs of old guys.

Thanks, GCRL!

That's My Boy! or I'm in BIG Trouble : (

Last week while doing some post-Christmas shopping I found an opportunity to scoot away with my son and grab a couple packs of cards. While I got a swift kick, I grabbed Ethan his first pack of baseball cards from the Dollar Bin - 1995 Topps DIII. I figured he might dig the three-dimensional effects of the cards and he did. From his pack he got a Tim Wallach (nice Expos memories, even if he's pictured with the Dodgers), Denny Martinez (another former Expos great pictured with another team) and Barry Larkin (who wishes he was an Expo, I'm sure). Ethan took an immediate liking to the Wallach so he might grow up to be a Dodgers fan. I can live with that. For the next couple of hours he toted that Wallach around with him sitting in his stroller. He stared at it, he shook it, he tried to eat it. It was clear he caught the bug. My wife's mantra is one card collector's enough. I'm in big trouble.

Well, to confirm his "bug" we made another two-hour trip to the city and went back to the mall. I avoided the kick ang grabbed Ethan two more packs. He was in love still. This time it was Carlos Garcia who got the love in the stroller but when we got home he was all about Bob Hamelin.

I decided that Ethan and I are going to work on this set together and ordered a box. It's a small set so it should keep my wife appeased for the time being until he's a bit older and the cards mean more than bad 3-D effects. Still, it's a start and I'm excited.

He's Ethan clutching his Hamelin, looking all sweet and then showing it off all proud like.