1990 Donruss #365, Diamond King #4, Best of the AL #1, Learning Series #8

1990 Donruss #365

 

In my collection: 23 regular, 9 DK, 1 Best of the AL, 1 Learning Series

Griffey looks: back-lit

Is this a good Griffey card?: Yes.  Griffey's face is mildly discernible on it, as is his name and baseball information.  Also, it is a card.

The set: The jump from '89 to '90 was bad for Donruss.  I could sit here all day long and try to explain where this set went wrong, but this is really all you need.

The author refers to this set as "The Red Menace" and "The burden of a generation."  Both are pretty funny.  This is terminology that should be attributed to communism.  Maybe AIDS.  Something bad.

Ah, man.  I forgot the Sammy Sosa rookie.  Well, there's a Sammy Sosa rookie in this set.  Trust me.

Here's some of the All-star cards

 

The Diamond Kings, all Perez-style.  

Kevin's gold tooth and Tommy Herr's background are the real kings here.

HEY, KIDS!  Look!  A guy in a suit!  Is he doing paperwork?  Maybe sharpening pencils?  What an interesting day he must be having.  I wonder if his mortgage is auto-drafted from his checking account or if he pays it by mail.

Also, the puzzle for '90 Donruss was the Yaz seen above.  I am a few pieces short of finishing my first.

Let's end the '90 Donruss info on a high note.  Here is one of the best cards in this set.  If you don't see why, then you don't like baseball cards.  Mike was on the Phillies, so the red border is actually appropriate.  And check out the back - oh, yeah.  Full career stats.  This thing is kinda awesome.

Now, to the Griffey:

Griffey looks shady because he is back-lit.  I'm thinking they caught him late afternoon after practice.  At least it's an improvement over his '89 Donruss picture from blur-town.

Funny thing, though: the card above is not the same card as the one at the top of this post.  Look again:

See that?  Let me show you what I'm talking about.  I stacked my 22 of my 23 copies of this card together.  Now, see those little twin specks that are on every card?

They are not on this card:

The speckles in the border are the same on 22 out of 23 of my #365's.  Only 4.35% of them are different.  That makes it rare and unbelievably valuable.  Condition doesn't even matter at this level of super-rarity.  I think Beckett calls this the "Alternate Speckle" and lists it as "STARS: 1500X TO 7000X BASIC CARDS."  And if they don't, they should.

I made all that up, and maybe I'm nit-picking, but if you know anything about speckle discrepancies in this set, give me a holler (if I get a holler about that, I will be completely shocked).

Here's the Diamond King:



Diamond King #4



 

This is Griffey's first time getting the Perez treatment.  I could say that the painting looks like an awkwardly-recovered-burn-victim version of the player it depicts and that the background looks like an acid trip if acid trips weren't fun, but I would be describing every Diamond King made during the 80's and 90's.

Hey, look at this thing:



Best of the AL #1



 

WHAAAA?!  I know.  It's crazy.  And I'm not sure if this looks better than the regular set or just refreshingly different, but I can't stop looking at it.  Cool action photo, too.  Looks like a pitch just got thrown.

Donruss made 2 blue sets, one for each league.  Both contain 144 cards, and the AL one contains a great Sosa rookie.  

Donruss was busy in 1990.  Look at this:



1990 Donruss Learning Series #8



This 55-card set was distributed to elementary schools to teach the children about baseball cards, the fact that baseball cards exist, and colors, specifically red.  I think this is the best picture Donruss put out of the Kid up to this point.  Also, I think he's flirting with me.

The Best of the AL card is the hardest to come by, but it is not terribly valuable.  Actually none of the '90 Donruss cards are worth much at all.  Go get 'em.