Monday, July 28, 2014

1992 Topps Mike Benjamin




Mike appeared in the 1990 Topps Debut set (card # 89), the 1991 Topps set (card # 791), the 1993 Topps set (card # 384), but was skipped over in the 1992 set. He was a steady middle-infielder, and had some great sideburns towards the end of his career (check out some of his Pittsburgh Pirates cards).

1992 Topps Mark Clark




Mark Clark made his debut in 1991 for the St. Louis Cardinals, but didn't appear in the regular 1992 Topps set. He was in the 1992 Topps Debut set (card # 35) , and was in the 1993 Topps regular set (card # 339). I know, because I have that card signed! He pitched in 10 Big League seasons, and played on some very good Cleveland Indians teams.

1992 Topps Dave Parker




After looking at Dave Parker's career stats, I still find it hard to believe that he isn't in the Hall of Fame. He was a force in the '70's and '80's, and helped many Pittsburgh and Oakland teams reach the postseason. If he would've signed with Toronto for the next 2 years, he would've got 2 more World Series rings. I also featured this card in my other blog Topps card that never were. Here, with the first card ending in "00" or "50", is Dave Parker's final Topps card.

1992 Topps Stacy Jones




Stacy Jones made his first Major League pitch with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991, but didn't get a regular Topps card. He appeared on cardboard in 1992 with Score (card # 832), as well as Fleer, who made a card of him and fellow Auburn Tigers Gregg Olson, Frank Thomas, and Bo Jackson (card # 701). Being an Auburn fan (WAR EAGLE!), I decided to give him a card in the first part of my set. Stacy appeared on the 1992 Topps Debut set released later in 1992 (card # 94).

1992 Topps Jeff Mutis




Jeff Mutis made his debut in 1991 for the Cleveland Indians after being a first round draft pick of theirs a few years earlier. He didn't appear in the 1992 Topps set, but did appear in the 1992 Topps Debut set (card # 131).

1992 Topps Troy Afenir




Troy Afenir appeared in a few seasons in the Big Leagues, debuting in 1987 with the Houston Astros, and making a few appearances with the Oakland A's in 1990, and 1991, and then playing for the Reds. He doesn't have any Topps cards despite all of his time in the Majors. Here is his 1992 Topps card, which happens to be the first horizontal card of the A's in 1992 (Topps used all vertical cards in their set for the A's team).

1992 Topps Jarvis Brown




Jarvis Brown was called up by the Minnesota Twins in late 1991, and provided them with good defense in the outfield, and speed on the bases as a pinch-runner. He won a World Championship ring with the Twins in 1991, but was left off of the 1992 set, and although he appears in the 1992 Topps Debut set (card # 24), and makes a few appearances on Topps Stadium Club cards, he does not have a Topps base card despite his career lasting more than a few seasons.

1992 Topps Rusty Meacham




Rusty Meacham was one of my favorite players as a teenager in the '90's. I met him a few times at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida during Spring Training in 1996. He signed a few baseball cards for me, and was always kind enough to talk to the fans before games. I chose him to be the first player to be on a base card in the custom 1992 Topps set. Rusty would later appear in the 1992 Topps Debut set (card # 122), the 1992 Topps Traded set, as he joined the Royals in 1992 (card # T72), and in the 1993 Topps set the following year (card # 321), but nothing in the 1992 regular set, so now he does.

1992 Topps Tony LaRussa All-Star




The manager for the 1991 AL All-Star team was Oakland A's skipper Tony LaRussa. Tony had led the 1990 A's to the 1991 AL Championship, and lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. He was chosen as the AL's manager for the 1991 All-Star game, but was left off of Topps' 1992 All-Star subset. He was, however, given a base card in the set (card # 429). Here is his All-Star card.

1992 Topps Lou Piniella All-Star





For the first card added to the 1992 Topps set, I decided to give a card to the manager of the 1991 NL All-Star team, Lou Piniella. Lou led the Cincinatti Reds to the World Series title in 1990, and for his efforts was named the manager for the NL in the 1991 All-Star game. Topps had an All-Star subset, but didn't include managers in it. Lou also appears on a base card in the 1992 set (card # 321).

First Post

Hello everyone, my name is Jeremy. I am 31, and have collected baseball cards since 1989. My favorite set of all-time is the 1992 Topps set. It is the first set I brought packs of when I was old enough to spend money, and I ripped tons of packs of it in '92 and '93. I have been making custom baseball cards for a while now, and after seeing some bloggers design "cards that never were", I decided to do the impossible: Give a 1992 Topps card to every player that appeared in a game in 1991. I fully expect it to take at least a decade or so in order to even get close, but I am going to try. If my tabulations are correct, this will jump the number of cards in the '92 Topps set from 792 to around 1,200. I plan on doing the checklist cards pretty soon, and I will share links to them for those of you interested in all the players who were left out. I also have another blog dedicated to Topps cards that never were from other years, at http://toppscardsthatneverwere.blogspot.com. Thanks for checking out my blog, and if you have any ideas or questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know.
-Jeremy