Most popular cards: 1993-1998

I wanted to stray a second from customs, and do a post kind of about my memories from collecting cards since around 1992 or so. It seems like last year with all of the Aaron Judge over-hype talk, that everyone was trying to go back and remember when a newcomer got that much buzz. Most people kind of related it to back in 2001 when Albert Pujols and Ichiro were the talk of baseball. I wanted to go down that same avenue with this post, except tie it in with card collecting and kind of go year by year from my perspective from 1993 until now and list the player(s) and sets that had their cards fly off the shelves. I think my thoughts will reflect the card collecting community as a whole, but then again, I was 10 in 1993, so some of my thoughts may not. For berevity, I think I will split this topic up into 2 or 3 posts, with this first one going from 1993-1998.

1993

1993 was the second year I really started purchasing packs with my own money and had enough of a grasp on the game of baseball to know who was good and stuff.  From what I recall as a 10-year old, there were really 3 players who everyone in class were trying to pull cards of, and unlike most of these players that I will list, one wasn't a rookie. 

Number one would probably have to be Mike Piazza. I remember he was in his Rookie of the Year season, and everyone would talk about him and were trying to get his card from packs of 1993 brands, as well as his '92 Fleer Update and '92 Bowman cards.

Number 2 if my thoughts are correct would be Nolan Ryan. 1993 was his last season, and his 1993 Topps card was the highest priced card in the set, aside from the Piazza. It seemed like everyone was wanting to get his cards from 1993 sets.

Number 3, and to a much lesser extent was probably Tim Salmon. He didn't hit as many homers as Piazza, but he did have a decent showing that year.

Also, it should be noted that 1993 Topps Finest, although not a player, was flying of the shelves in 1993. 

1994

1994 was the year that Michael Jordan started playing baseball, and even though the strike happend that year, everybody wanted to get a Michael Jordan baseball card. Just like in 1993, Nolan Ryan's final cards created alot of stir among collectors that year. Piazza was also still hot, as well as Ken Griffey, Jr.,  Frank Thomas, Matt Williams, and Chan Ho Park cards.

1995

1995 was the year that Hideo Nomo came to the Majors, and he had cards in a few sets, and he was all of the rage. His 1995 Pinnacle Zenith card with the Japanese writing was pretty popular.

1996

If memory serves me correctly in 1996, there were a few players, 1 insert set, and 1 regular set that were hot that year. 

Alex Rodriguez had his first MVP season, and people were buying his rookie cards like they were going out of style. 

I think I'm correct when I say that 1996 was when Derek Jeter's cards really took off. 

1996 was the year Topps inserted Mickey Mantle reprints in packs. I pulled a '52 Topps reprint from a pack, and at the time, it was worth about 20 bucks. 

1996 was also the year that the first MLB-lisenced certified 1-per pack autographed cards came out with Leaf Signature Series. I didn't go to hobby stores then, and I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't have let me fork over whatever the cost of the pack was, but I remember this set being talked about alot.

1997

1997 was where things get a little prospect-heavy. 

Travis Lee got drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1996, and became a free agent due to a loophole. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed him, and everyone thought he would be a star even though the club hadn't even played a game or drafted players yet. His 1997 Bowman Chrome card was one of the most coveted cards put out in '97. 

Jose Cruz, Jr. put up some good numbers in 1997, and his cards were pretty hot, including his 1997 Bowman Chrome card.

After Andruw Jones' hot start with the Atlanta Braves, his cards were like gold. I remember a guy coming up to me in the card aisle at Wal-Mart in 1997 and asking me if I knew what sets Jones was in. I told him that I believed he was in 1997 Score, and the guy got a handful of 1997 Score packs just to try to get a non-rookie card of Jones. Nobody likes Score, not even Score! This tells you how hot Jones was back then.

Hideki Irabu debuted for the Yankees in 1997. His 1997 Bowman card (technically an insert and not part of the regular set) was hot that year. 

For most of the year, 1997 Bowman Chrome set was a hot commodity. People started getting on the prospect train, and by Chroming it up, Topps changed the way we would collect forever. 

I'm not sure, because I only got 1 pack, but I also think that 1997 Upper Deck may have flew of teh shelves because of the first game-used cards in their packs.

1998

1998 was the year of the Home Run, and 2 power hitters dominated the charts, as well as a rookie pitcher who broke strikeout records, and a Cardinal rookie.

Mark McGwire was #1 in 1998. His 1985 Topps rookie was the card everyone wanted, and I am proud to say that about 15 years after everything, that I do!

Sammy Sosa was right there with McGwire, but ultimately finished short. He got alot of attention during the HR race, and his cards were just as popular as Big Mac's. He had a few different cards you could consider as rookie cards, including his first lisenced MLB card, out of the 1989 Donruss Best set.

I remember when Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters in a game, he started becoming the talk of baseball. He was all over the next month's Beckett's and his 1997 (and 1998) cards were going through the roof. I never pulled anything of his until 1999, but I did pick up a '97 Bowman Chrome a few year back.

While McGwire was bashing Homers, a rookie named JD Drew got called up, and was hitting some himself. Drew's 1998 Leaf Rookie and Stars card was pretty hot then. I remember people thinking he was the next Carl Yastrzemski or something.

So that is kind of my memory of all of the hot cards/sets during my first 5 years or so of collecting. I hope this has been an enjoyable post and has brought back old memories of good times collecting. Please let me know if there was anything I left out, and if I added something I shouldn't have or placed something in the wrong year.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy