1992 Pinnacle Rookies

Here's another 1990's Pinnacle set with all the 1990's goodies, except for a great checklist. The players are a mix of flame-outs and players that had long, but not necessarily, flashy careers. I got the whole set, in an unopened box back in February.

Luis Mercedes - Free agent signing by the Orioles in 1987. 3-year career with O's and Giants, 70 ABs, .190 career average.

Scott Cooper - 3rd round pick by Red Sox in 1986. Played for 7 years, 5 with the Red Sox. He was a 2-time All-Star

Pat Listach

Certainly a good choice for this set, he was the 1992 AL Rookie of the year. But in another 5 years he never had a year nearly as good as his first.

Kenny Lofton

Although he was a 17th-round draft pick in 1988, he is one the best players (with Alou) in the set, Lofton was runner-up for the 1992 AL ROY Award. Probably a Hall of Fame player. He had a 17-year career with a career batting average of .299 with 622 stolen bases (15th on career list). 6-time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves and 95 games played in post season.

John Doherty - 19th round pick by the Tigers in 1989. In 5-years he had a winning record, 32-31 with 9 saves.

Andy Stankiewicz - although only a 12th-round pick in 1986, I remember him being a well regarded rookie in 1992. Never really a full-time player, he compiled a .242 average in 7 years.

Derek Bell

2nd-round pick by the Blue Jays in 1987, he had an 11-year career with a .276 career average and 134 home runs.

Gary DiSarcina - solid if unspectacular player. Played his entire 12-year career with the Angels.

Roberto Hernandez

1st round pick by the Angels in 1986, I guess he has a shot at the Hall. He played for a lot of teams in a 17-year career where he picked up 326 saves (13th on all-time list).

Joel Johnson - 3-5 record with 2 saves in 5 years, I never heard of him.

Pat Mahomes - 6th round pick by the Twins in 1988. I'm not too familiar with him but he managed to have a winning record (42-39) in 11 years.

Todd Van Poppel - Another pick rookie sensation in 1992 as he was the A's 1st-round pick in 1009. I'm not too impressed by a 40-52 record over 11 seasons.

 Dave Fleming - Another short-timer (5 years) but a workhorse, appearing in 116 games with a 38-32 record.

Monty Fariss - Rangers #1 pick in 1988, washed out in 3 years.

Gary Scott - Who? 67 games in 2 years with a .160 BA.

Moises Alou

Another guy I have to say has a shot at the Hall. He was the 1st round pick by the Pirates in 1986. In a 17-year career he hit .303 with 332 home runs. He was a 6-time All-Star and win a World Series title with the 1997 Marlins.

Todd Hundley - The Mets 2nd-round pick in 1987. 202 home runs and a .234 BA in 14 years. Tarred with the steroid brush in the Mitchell report.

Kim Batiste

The only Phillie in the set, he was the Phillies 3rd-round pick in 1987. He never became anything more than a part-time player in a 5-year career.

Denny Neagle - he had a 13-year career with a 124-92 record. Impressive to me but apparently not to the Hall of Fame nominating committee.

Donovan Osborne - another 1st-round pick, this time by the Cardinals in 1990. Compiled a 49-46 record in 7 years. 

Mark Wohlers

A big part of the Braves organization in the 1990s, he compiled a 39-29 record with 119 saves and a 3.97 ERA.

Reggie Sanders

Another pretty good player who will become eligible for the Hall this year. He had a 17-year career with 305 home runs, 304 stolen bases and a .267 batting average.

Brian Williams - 1st round pick by the Astros in 1990. 26-38 with 6 saves in 9 seasons.

Eric Karros

Karros was the 1992 NL Rookie of the Year. He was the Dodgers 6th-round pick in 1988. He had a 14-year career, mostly with the Dodgers, hitting 284 home runs and a career .268 BA. Good but not good enough for the Hall.

Frank Seminara - 12-9 in 3 years.

Royce Clayton

Another 1st round pick (Giants in 1988) and another 17-year man. Solid player but no Hall for him.

 Dave Nilsson - 8 years with the Brewers, toiling in obscurity.

Matt Stairs - He was a free agent signed by the Expos and went on to a 19-year career, the last of the players in the set to retire. He hit 265 home runs and had a career BA of .262. He was with the Phillies World Series teams of 2008 and 2009.

Chad Curtis - a 10-year, average career.

Carlos A. Hernandez - Another 10-year player but who only appeared in 488 games in that stretch.