Ripping 1994 Pinnacle Series 2

Well, I made my first post here on this fine blog a few weeks back, then I started school and all of my free time disappeared. I love this blog and really want to be a part of it, so I am officially making time for it tonight. My last post was of 1997 Pinnacle X Press, you can read that HERE if you are so inclined-I am going to follow that theme and post a pack of 1994 Pinnacle Series 2 today. I want to keep on going with the Pinnacle theme-I picked up cans of 1997 and ’98 Pinnacle Inside which should find its way over here in a week or two… For those interested I am in the process of ripping a box of ’94 Pinnacle for a group break on my blog, the Collective Troll. You can see all of the posts from the group break here. This one is nearing completion, but I have another one coming soon and there are slots available. If you want to join the fun, please shoot me an email at bacontowne at yahoo dot com. Okay, enough babbling, let’s get to the cards! This is the 20th pack I have ripped out of a box of 24-each pack has 14 cards in it, here we go!
#439 Tom Pagnozzi St. Louis Cardinals (It’s a play at the plate! The Cubs runner beat the throw and looks like he is safe at home!)
#532 Jack Morris Cleveland Indians (Mr.Clutch in the Postseason, Morris spent his 18th and final season in the big leagues with Cleveland in 1994. Prior to the ’94 season he had a streak going of 14 consecutive Opening Day starts. He started 23 games for the Indians and went 10-6, but had a beefy 5.60 ERA. The strike ended the season August and that would be it for Morris’ career in MLB. Over 18 seasons he owns a 254-186 career mark with 175 complete games. He won 7 more games in the postseason and won 3 World Series rings with 3 different teams (Tigers, Twins, and Blue Jays). Morris was a 5-time All Star and he started the midsummer classic 3 times. He has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 11 years now. This past year was his best in terms of support-he received 52 percent of the votes this month)
#482 Bobby Ayala Seattle Mariners (The only thing I remember about Ayala was the beating he took in the 1995 ALDS)
#362 Billy Hatcher Boston Red Sox (Hatcher was a beast in the 1990 World Series when he helped the Reds beat the A’s. He was 9 for 12 (.750 BA) with 4 doubles and a triple (1.250 SLG %). He spent all of ’93 with the Red Sox, but was traded to Philadelphia in May of ’94)
#525 Rick Helling Texas Rangers (Helling was the Rangers first round pick in ’92 and made his MLB debut in ’94. Up till ’97 he had never won more than 5 games in a season and BAM! He was a 20 game winner in 1997. He won at least 12 games the next 3 years. He went to Baltimore as a free agent in 2003, but was released in August of that year. He found a job with the Marlins, won a game down the stretch and made their postseason roster and picked up a ring with them when they beat the Yankees-Question, was Helling one of the kids on Home Improvement?)
#436 Kirk Presley New York Mets MUSEUM COLLECTION (I love these parallels! The dufex technology is awesome! Too bad it wasn’t anyone decent… Presley was the 8th overall player chosen in the 1993 draft, but he never made it past A level-I declare a BUST!)
#464 David Wells Detroit Tigers (After winning the WS with the Jays in ’92, Wells signed his first huge contract with the Tigers in ’93… I don’t think the Tigers got what they had hoped for and they pawned him off on the Reds in July of ’95 right after he made his 1st All Star team… He was off to a great start (10-3) in ’95 and they didn’t get much for him (CJ Nikkowski) but they got rid of him… Career wise Wells has some pretty healthy numbers… Over 21 seasons he played for 9 different teams and won 239 games and struck out 2201 batters. )
#283 Doug Henry Milwaukee Brewers (I LOVE old-time, throwback uniforms, I really do. That said Doug Henry looks ridiculous on this card. Maybe it is because they didn’t have closers when this uniform was current? Maybe, but I think there is more…)
#371 Terry Pendleton Atlanta Braves (The 1991 NL MVP hit just .252 for the Braves in 1994. He signed with the Marlins the following year, but came back to Atlanta once more in August ’96)
#373 Orestes Destrade Florida Marlins (Speaking of the Fish… Destrade was an original Marlin and he hit 20 homers for them in their Inaugural season)
#513 Will Clark Texas Rangers (The Thrill looks George Clooney-esque with his 5 o’clock shadow…After 8 seasons in San Francisco, 1994 was Clark’s first year in Texas. He hit .329 and made the All Star team as the new kid in town)
#443 John Flaherty Boston Red Sox (The Flash hit just .120 for the Sox in very limited work in ’93. He bounced around MLB until 1998 when the Padres traded him to the expansion Devil Rays and he became their first ever catcher. He held that post for 5 seasons)
#429 Alan Trammell Detroit Tigers (1993 was Trammell’s final full season in the big leagues and he hit .329 for the Tigers. In 20 seasons with the Tigers Trammell was an All Star 6 times, won 4 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Slugger Awards. His Tigers were World Champs in ’84 and Trammell won the WS MVP Award batting .450 with 2 homers and 6 RBI in his only Series)
#489 Jerry Browne Florida Marlins (From one of the greatest infielders of the 80’s and 90’s to Jerry Browne… Browne hit .295 in 101 games for the Fish in ’94)
Okay, there ya go, welcome to 1994 Pinnacle! I really liked this brand then, and I still dig it now… The color, composition, crispness, action and variety of the photography did it for me… It’s sad to think that 15 years later such a huge step backwards happened (2009 O-Pee-Chee) in sports card photography. I have 4 more packs of this stuff to rip on my other blog, head on over to the Collective Troll if you are interested. Thanks for reading as I rip! Thanks again to Matt F and this awesome blog for letting me be part of the crew! troll out!