The 1990s Baseball Card Face-off - 1997 Zenith vs. 1995 Bowman

Check this post to see my methodology.

The last matchup wasn't much of a contest but this one will be more difficult because both are nice cards whose design goals are way different.

Today we've got:

1997 Zenith vs. 1995 Bowman

1997 Zenith #8  Greg Maddux

1997 Zenith #49 Scott Rolen

I only own one card from this 50-card set. That would be the Rolen card above. The Maddux card I got from tradingcarddb.com. They appear to have the whole set. The card fronts are simplicity itself, a full bleed photo and the set name. That's it. The cards have a nice glossy feel. The photos are a mix of action and posed shots. The Z in Zenith is in a circle matching the player's team colors. Pretty subtle. The backs have a visual representative of the player stats. The rookie cards have a large script R on the front which is the one jarring note in this set.

1995 Bowman #276 Albert Belle

1995 Bowman #108 Kevin Jordan

This is a set that is just trying too hard. The left side of the card is squashed b/w mirror image of the card photo. The bottom of the card is a sepia mirror image of the photo. They allow the photo to overlap the side border but not the bottom. This makes the card look a little off-centered. The player's first name is in small white letters while his last name is in silver foil letters that are about 4 times the height. A mismatch between the presentation of the player's first and last name is common in card design but is usually a detriment to the design. Veteran cards are red (more like a dried blood color) on the back while rookies are a sky blue. Bowman will use this color coding for over 10 years but this was the first time they did it.

The Result: I don't hate 1995 Bowman although it's got it's problems. And I don't really love 1997 Zenith, but I have to go with it due to the simplicity of the design and the good photography.

My Reference Cards #3 - 2000 Bowman

Although Bowman had started "color-coding" their cards in 1997, they hadn't quite settled into the black-red and black-blue motif that they relentlessly followed for the next 10 years or so. By "color-coding" I mean that veteran players had a red highlight while rookies had a blue highlight. The set had 440 cards and was issued in one series. Individual packs had 10 cards and were available for $3.00.

A nice design although the player photo is a bit squeezed. Instead of black, the cards are gray. The red is more maroon to me. The player name and card logo are in gold foil. The "Bowman Briefing" on the back first appeared in 1999 and continues to this day.

In addition to the blue highlight, the 'rookie' cards had silver foil. Since Oswalt didn't actually appear in the majors until 2001, under MLB's current rules, this would be called a "1st Bowman Card" and be part of the "Prospects" subset.

There were no subsets in 2000 Bowman, just the division into veteran and rookie cards.  There were however inserts and parallel cards.

Bowman Retro and Bowman Future

This parallel set was printed on foil board and was inserted one per pack. The veteran players were featured on an old-fashioned TV while the rookies were featured on a more modern looking TV set. The cards had the same photos as the base set but cropped to only show the players heads.

Bowman Autographs

There were 40 autographed cards inserted at a 1:144 ratio. I did not get an auto in the hobby box I bought but got this on eBay later. The card has "Certified Autograph Insert" embossed in in blue foil on the front and a holographic sticker on the back. The auto is on-card.

Bowman’s Best Preview

These were inserted in 1:18 packs. I got one of them in the box.

Bowman Early Indications

This 10-insert set had a strange finish. The swirling lines on the front were raised giving the card some texture. These were inserted 1:24 packs. I pulled just this one from the box.

Bowman Major Power

Another 10-card set with a glossy, textured finish. These were inserted 1:24 as well, but I got two of them.

Bowman Tool Time

 Bowman was really fond of this hard-to-scan finish in 2000. This was a 20-card set inserted at 1:8. Higher insert ratio, better chance of getting one. I got 3, including the Phillies Pat Burrell.

There was also a Bowman Gold parallel in this set but I don't have one. Other than that, I have at least one representative card of the entire issue. There's lots of Bowman to go. Coming up will be Bowman Chrome, Bowman Draft Picks (regular and Chrome) and Bowman's Best.

Random Cards From My Collection #27

Card #24102
2002 Donruss Best of Fan Club #184 Shane Reynolds

Donruss, apparently believing that they could never underestimate the obsessiveness of baseball card collectors, released their Fan Club set in 2002, followed up with Best of Fan Club set. The difference? None, except Best of Fan Club was printed on foil board.

Card #23014
2006 Sweet Spot #64 Bobby Abreu

I got this card from a group break run by fellow blogger Thorzul Will Rule in 2009.

Card #3113
1993 Fleer Final Edition Diamond Tribute #9 Dave Wingfield

This 10-card set was only available as part of the 1993 Fleer Final Edition factory set, which I did not buy. I have the whole set but I don't remember how or when I got it. A Player I Collect.

Card #6847
2006 Topps Turkey Red White #440 Brian Giles

The white bordered parallel, inserted 1 in 4 packs. I got this is a blaster box.

Card #21286
1995 Upper Deck #144 Kevin Stocker

Nice action shot. I wish I knew who the sliding player was. It looks like an Oriole. In 1995, that would mean this photo came from a spring training game.

Card #409
1989 Fleer For The Record #5 Greg Maddux

In 1989, you would get one card from this 6-card set in every rack-pack of Fleer you bought. I got the entire set on eBay for $3.29 in 2003. A Player I Collect.

Card #32062
2012 Topps Opening Day Mascots #M-13 Dinger

A purple triceratops as a mascot? Why not?

Card #1038
1996 Select Certified #58 Carlos Baerga

In 1996, a 6-card pack of this would set you back $4.99. I bought the entire 144-card set on eBay in 2004 for $12 (including shipping). The cards came with a peel-away protective cover.

Card #23792
1999 Bowman #313 Carlos E. Hernandez

Even as far back as 1999, Bowman had already established Red/Black for veterans and Blue/Black for rookies. Hernandez, a second baseman, played 16 games for the Astros in 1999 and 2 games for the Mariners and that was his major league career.

Card #4592
2005 Topps Opening Day #6 Mike Cameron

1991 Baseball Cards A-Z (Part 1)

Well, really more like B (Bowman) to U (Upper Deck)

I think 1991 was a transitional year for the hobby. The 5 big producers (Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, and Upper Deck) had been in place since 1989. Cards were still a mix of gray and white card stock. The first major sets featuring glossy finishes, full-bleed printing and gold-foil appear this year. The excesses of the later 1990s (like a myriad of sets with multiple inserts) were just starting to appear. It's maybe the last year that it is possible to collect some of each major release.

Set #1 Bowman

In it's third year since Topps reincarnated the set in 1989, Bowman still hadn't found it's "Home of the Rookie Card" niche. They hadn't settled on the Blue-Red (and later Green) standard. The cards were still on gray card stock and no gloss. They did experiment a little with gold foil as several subsets (MVP, Sluggers and a Rod Carew tribute) featured little gold foil icons. Chipper remains the key card in this 704 card set. There were no inserts.

Set #2 Classic I

This 100-card set was sold as a factor set only and features pretty much the same design as previous years.  The cards were printed on white card stock with a plain finish on the front and no finish on the back. Other than the color, there is nothing to distinguish this set from Classic II.

Set #3 Classic II

The dark lines on the front look like flaws but are actually part of the marble-like background design. I only have a few of these and they are all different. Another 100-card factory-only set.

Set #4 Classic III

I just featured this card a few days ago but in case you missed it, Classic III, also 100 cards, had a different back and featured a glossy finish front and back.

Set #5 Donruss

In keeping with the transitional nature of the year, Donruss was a 770-card set issued in 2 series. I believe this was the first year they had 2 series,  but it will become a common in all sets in the next few years. Series 2 was distinguished by having a green background. As they had for the past few years, Donruss continued with the crazy borders and the plain looking backs. Their design will change completely in 1992. For 1991 though, no gloss and no metal foil. The Diamond Kings was still a subset rather than an insert. This will also be the last year that Donruss includes puzzle pieces in the packs. This year's puzzle was Willie Stargell.

Set #6 Donruss Bonus

Similar to previous years, this was a 22-card insert set with highlights of the 1990 season. The Series 2 inserts, like this Ripken card matched the green borders of the Series 2 base set.

Set #7 Donruss Grand Slammers

A 14-card set split between the two series, the set featured Grand Slam Home Runs hit in 1990.

Set #8 Donruss Elite

 This was something new in the hobby which will become very common in the future, a limited insert set with sequentially numbered cards. The Elite Series will continue for a few years. The 1992 set will start with card #9. After all these years, these cards have retained their value. There are currently only 4 of them on sale in eBay, 3 of them not slabbed and all commanding over $25. I paid $10.50 for this one in 2003 at a card store and it was the first one I had ever seen.

Set #9 Donruss Rookies

Like past years, the Rookies set was only available as a factory set. It has 54 cards and I have the whole set. The card design is similar to the Donruss base set but a different color.

This looks like a good place to break. The next post in the series will start with Fleer.