Paying homage to 1995 fantasy baseball studs and their baseball cards
Unless you’ve been living under a pile of compact discs the past few years, the internet, via the social media machine, is constantly celebrating and embracing nostalgia.
We’ve paid so much homage to yesteryear, a Columbus-based apparel shop of the same name recently expanded its retail reach. So, for as often as fantasy baseball owners are interested in what is to come in the future, reminiscing about the past remains trendy.
Twenty years ago fantasy baseball owners enjoyed uber-production at the plate. Whether owners hit the offensive jackpot due to salves, creams and needles were moot points not often discussed because the collective “we” were entertained and our pen and paper score sheets filled with big numbers. So, I thought it’d be fun, not only to revisit the top fantasy producers of the 1995 season, but to also take a look at some of their baseball cards that season.
Mike Piazza's 1995 Studio baseball card
Catcher: Mike Piazza
The 1995 season marked the first of eight consecutive campaigns where the Dodgers / Marlins / Mets backstop smacked 32-or-more homers in a season. The next closest catcher in home runs and WAR in ‘95 was the pride of Bowling Green, Ohio – the Orioles’ Chris Hoiles (19 HR).
As for Piazza’s baseball card, a hat tip out to the fine designers at Studio for the credit card appeal. Unfortunately, the going rate for a 1995 Studio Piazza doesn’t carry a hefty line of credit. The last eBay sale went for a couple bucks or about the same price as a bottle of Pert Plus.
Frank Thomas' 1995 Select baseball card
First Base: Frank Thomas
Despite crushing 40 homers with 111 RBI and leading MLB in walks for the fourth time in five years, The Big Hurt finished eighth in MVP voting after earning the honor in 1993 and 1994. Perhaps, a little MVP fatigue among voters led them to select … *this can’t be right … no* … Mo Vaughn the 1995 MVP. Granted, Big Mo did steal a career-high 11 bases that season.
As for Thomas’ 1995 cardboard submission, I went with Select’s dual-photo on the front. The image of the left appears to be Thomas posing for the camera like one of Jack’s French girls, while the image on the right is candid as if Hurt’s stankeye is asking “did that SOB just take my picture?”
Current eBay market value: $1.00.
Chuck Knoblauch's "GRITTY" 1995 Fleer Emotion baseball card
Second Base: Chuck Knoblauch
Before arguably the most extreme case of the “yips” baseball has seen in the last 50 years, Knobby was an all-around solid baseball player. If not for the speedy Quilvio Veras, Knoblauch would have led all second basement in stolen bases in 1995. Could you imagine if your 2015 second baseman ripped off 46 stolen bases with 107 runs and 11 homers?
Wait, that’s basically 2014 Jose Altuve.
Knoblauch’s 1995 card selection was – at the time, 20 years ago – an industry favorite. The one-word, 48-font sized Fleer Emotion spoke to collectors, but the translation, albeit very loud, didn’t hit its mark as most have yet to yield a solid return on investment from the set. The fact Knoblauch is holding what appears to be a fungo bat makes it extra special. However, GRITTY is an adjective not an emotion, but I digress.
John Valentin's 1995 Topps Embossed Golden Idols
Shortstop: John Valentin
If one of your buddies tries to stump you with “Who led MLB in WAR in 1995?” You have your answer – John William Valentin (8.2).
A quick glance at Valentin’s 1995 Topps Embossed Golden Idols proves the design – though well intentioned – could really be anybody behind the gold foil. A quick glance at the rest of Topps’ Golden Idols subset and you’ll see what I mean. Plus, the Valentin base card from the set isn’t the most flattering of pictures. So, perhaps the gold foil is for the best.
Third Base: Jim Thome
Jim Thome's 1995 Fleer "Magic Eye" baseball card
After several cups o’ coffee with the Tribe the previous four seasons, including the strike-shortened 1994 campaign when he hit 20 homers in 98 games, Thome’s first full season proved to be the start of a beautiful eight-year run on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. He and Bobby Bonilla were the only two guys at the hot corner who managed 25 HR, 90 + R and 70 + RBI in 1995.
Thome’s 1995 Fleer base card design is very 1990’s. I would assume the design team wanted to max out their new computer software with all the bells and whistles it had to offer. The card mimics one of those Magic Eye posters where the longer you stare at it, the more you learn. Be warned, the Chief Wahoo negative baked into the top of the card is chilling.
Outfield: Albert Belle
Albert Belle's 1995 Score Gold Rush baseball card
You have to love the athletes who earn the prestigious back-handed label of “a guy you love if he’s on YOUR team.”
The first member of the 50/50 Club, 52 doubles / 50 homers in 1995, it’s been well-documented that Belle wasn’t the most fan-friendly player and his big bat turned into a wine bottle, but the dude could blast off. Belle averaged 40+ homers per season 1992-1999.
His 1995 Score Gold Rush Hitters Inc. may have been one of the original picture-in-picture sports experiences. The “hungry eyes” overlay motif makes no design sense, but that’s what I love about the card.
Outfield: Reggie Sanders
Sanders did it all for the Reds in 1995. In recent years, Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Trout and Ryan Braun were outfielders to post 25+ HR, 90+ R and RBI with 30+ SB as Sanders achieved in 1995. He finished third in WAR – 6.8 – among outfielders that season behind Barry Bonds and Belle.
Reggie Sanders' 1995 Sportflix 3-D baseball card
Who doesn’t love lenticular printing?! Better known to the layman as “3-D” baseball cards, they were all the rage in the 1980’s and 1990’s as a technological advance and guarantee of future wealth. Current MSRP of Sanders’ Sportflix is approximately $1.00
Outfield: Dante Bichette
Dante Bichette's 1995 Donruss Diamond Kings baseball card
Few players enjoyed the thin air of Coors Field as much as Bichette. After hitting 35 homers in his first three seasons combined, he averaged nearly 30 homers a season 1993-99; most of which came after his 30th birthday. In fact, he was 31 years old when he led MLB in hits, homers and RBI at the end of the 1995 season.
The Donruss Diamond Kings art cards remain one of the more popular subsets in the hobby today. The 1995 version came jam-packed with vibrant paint colors. Probably cooler than the Bichette featured is the artist, Dick Perez, earned his own Diamond Kings card in 1994. That hair! #mousse
Starting Pitcher: Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson's 1995 Fleer Ultra Strikeout Kings baseball cards
As for as advanced metrics go, Big Unit’s FIP was lower than his ERA in 1995. So, there’s that. Although his 12.35 K/9 rate wasn’t a career high (13.41 in 2001!!!!), Johnson topped Hideo Nomo by more than one strikeout per nine innings and more than three strikeouts per nine ahead of John Smoltz who finished third that season.
Johnson’s 1995 Fleer Ultra Strikeout Kings should impress Fangraphs’ grip czar, Eno Sarris.
Closer: Jose Mesa
Joe Table. His name is forever-linked to Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for the wrong reason, but in 1995 he finished second in Cy Young voting and fourth in MVP voting after leading the league in saves. The 46 saves ended up a career-high for Mesa.
Jose Mesa 1995 Topps Cyberstats baseball card
I’m not sure how many of you had a household computer in 1994, but I believe the Fowler’s were still about a year away from their first dial-up experience. Leading the industry, Topps must have had a few bucks to toss around on some early computer simulated baseball projections. The back of Mesa’s 1995 card includes 1994 simulated stats beginning August 12th through the “scheduled conclusion” to account for the strike-shortened season. Very WhatIfSports of them.
