1992 Bowman: 90's Fashion Time Capsule

In my collection:3

Griffey looks: well-insulated

Is this a good Griffey card? Yes.  A unique shot of Griffey at practice in one of the landmark sets of the 90's.  This is a set that falls right into my wheelhouse (baseball reference!).

The set: 1992 Bowman is an otherwise timeless set that somehow got trapped in the 90's.

This is the first year Bowman made all of their cards Tiffany-style: glossy and on higher-quality card stock.  Moreover, it was not overproduced as the previous modern Bowman sets had been.  That scarcity combined with a shift in focus to rookies and prospects made this an alluring set that continues to fetch good prices.

And how about that less is more design?  Bowman has always embraced that concept, but they really pull it off in '92.  The front is clean and simple: player name, Bowman B, nothing else.  The substitution of the brand name with just the B is modest and attractive, and the mildly sylized color bars on opposite corners frame the picture tastefully.  The backs are colorful and engaging with that big, weird team-by-team stat box looking more legible than ever.  Overall, this is just a well put-together baseball card.

The content of the sets is also given the simplicity treatment.  You may have seen some of the cards from this set stamped in gold foil.  Those are actually base cards and should not be confused with parallels.  There is no parallel of '92 Bowman, not even a Tiffany set.  There are also no inserts and no subsets (apart from a few of the cards sporting gold foil).  No gimmicks - just sweet-ass baseball cards, y'all.

'92 Bowman is also loaded with great rookies including Carlos Delgado, Mariano Rivera, and Manny Ramirez

Here's one of my personal favorite rookies from this set:

A dollar at the card show - well spent.

And here's one of the great rookie cards of the modern era:

Not mine - this one is still on my want list.



Luckily they got Mike in his uniform.  I say "luckily" because much to the delight of bloggers who poke fun at the more questionable wardrobe choices of aspiring young ballplayers, Bowman started photographing rookies in street clothes.  And not just any street clothes - 1992 street clothes.  Needless to say, the results are hilarious.

Yikes.  There are dozens upon dozens of cringe-worthy photos of the 90's making fashion victims of us all.  I get to complain because my Mom was still dressing me when this card was made, so it was all her fault I probably looked like a spaz.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Let's see that Griffey:

The Kid looks to be practicing catches in the outfield.  I'm thinking it must have been a little nippy out that day because he is well-insulated against the elements.  Good hustle, Junior. 

This is one of those rare sets that only has one Griffey to get; but for those of us who cannot get enough '92 Bowman, there is another.  In 2010 Bowman re-used this popular design for their Bowman Throwbacks insert:

Great card, amazing photograph.  I love how you can't see his eyes.  I'm thinking that if you could, the laserbeam of Griffey-focus would slice your skull in twain.  Best to let that stay between a man and his ball.

This entire set is available at dacardworld.com for $125.00.  For that you get all the great rookies including Piazza, Mariano Rivera, and Carlos Delgado as well as 2nd-year cards for Chipper and Pedro Martinez.  But what is more than that, you get tons of pictures of dudes sincerely sporting Esprit turtlenecks, stonewashed Guess jeans, and Jordache bermuda shorts.  Now that is priceless.