1992 Leaf Series 1

The baseball playoffs are in full swing, with four games on the slate today. Here's a pack of cards from the bad old days. I was a fan of the first few Leaf premium style sets. They were weighty and pulled no punches, something you can appreciate in the middle of the junk wax era. Things got weird the year after this set was released, with Fleer eventually taking hold of the thick card producing torch.

219 - Sam Horn - A legend so big that he inspired a website.

39 - Charlie Hough Black Gold - Leaf was an early adopter of the parallel concept, which reared its ugly head over at The Topps Company this same year. These still look nice, though.

206 - Tony Gwynn - The legend!

76 - Kevin Bass - Here's what the back look like. Clean, easy to read, with a second full color picture. I like it.

69 - Rob Dibble - One of The Nasty Boys. Huge fan of Janet Jackson.

65 - Greg Briley - Not Ken Griffey Jr.

60 - John Olerud - One of the more underrated stars of the '90s and beyond. All he did was hit like crazy.

229 - Mark Langston - Another solid, probably underrated player.

224 - Dave Gallagher - Before the Wussification of Baseball, guys used to perform all sorts of ballet moves around the plate. Freeform, interpretive dance right here.

219 - Sam Horn - Sam Horn again! How did I get to be so lucky?

214 - Scott Leius - Former Portland Beaver. I got to see him play quite a bit in person in 1990.

129 - Darrin Jackson - D.J. was a journeyman player who became a broadcaster after his playing career was through.

70 - Glenallen Hill - Hill was supposed to be a future pillar in Toronto, but here he is awkwardly setting up under a fly ball in a Cleveland uniform.

76 - Kevin Bass - Kevin Bass! Again! THE Kevin Bass!
 

82 - Shane Mack - Had I been blessed with two Shane Mack cards in this pack, I would have been set up for an easy "Return of the Mack" joke.