Cards That Never Were #2

One of the true crimes of 1990 was that Frank Thomas didn't get an Upper Deck card. The two early cards were Topps and Score. Those were followed by Leaf and Classic. Fleer missed out on the Thomas bonanza, but rectified that by including Frank in the update set.

Donruss was the only other major company to miss out on Frank Thomas in 1990. Even Bowman had a nice rookie card of Big Frank. Upper Deck's rookie was expected in the update set. When it didn't happen, people started to question Upper Deck. How could they miss out on something this big?

Instead Upper Deck decided to give a card to Tom Drees in the base set. Tom made the majors in 1991 and was quickly gone after that season. I can understand why Tom Drees got a card. He threw three no-hitters in his 1989 minor league season. Upper Deck gambled and lost. They had a chance at redemption in the update set, but didn't bother. Even while Frank was earning his jump from AA to the majors that year, Upper Deck looked the other way.

Here is the Upper Deck High Numbers card that could have been, but never was.

July 4, 1990

The last Fourth of July game in old Comiskey Park will always be memorable for me. It was the last time I was ever in the old park. It was a blistering hot day and we had to stand outside of the park in a line for what seemed like hours. It was the best place to be that July 4th.

My mom had won tickets that morning in a radio contest on Q101. For those of you in the Chicago area, it was an adult contemorary station at the time. I think she won them off of Murphy In The Morning. This was a break from our usual July 4th ritual of going to Raceway Park over in Blue Island for the fireworks show and if we were lucky a demolition derby with locals racing their beaters.

We took my dad's mom with us that day. I think it was the only 4th that I spent with her. The White Sox provided a good game despite the long wait outside. Ron Kittle hit two home runs that night. Detroit's catcher Mike Heath spoiled the fun in the 12th inning by hitting a three run homer put the Tigers ahead of the Sox. The White Sox lost that game 10-7 in 12 innings, but we still had a great time.

The fireworks show was spectacular. It was better than anything Raceway Park had done in years. A good time was had by all, despite the final outcome. Even if the White Sox lose a game, I can still enjoy it if it was entertaining overall. That game reminded me of the rest of the 1990 season. There was a lot of excitement, a lot of fireworks, a lot of good baseball played, but in the end, the Sox fell short of winning it all.

1990 Donruss Rookies

Let's look at the 56 card set of 1990 Donruss Rookies. I'll tell you right off the bat, I like the design of the regular issue 1990 Donruss. Yes, I'm the one. It reminds me of a simpler time in my life. I was making the transition between junior high and high school that summer.

I had slacked off on card collecting in 1988 and 1989. I was more into other interests those two years. It may have had to do with the White Sox really sucking those two years. Kids can be really fickle. I got back into heavy card collecting in June of 1990. I woke up from my hormonal interests of girls and music to find that the White Sox had not moved to Florida, like was threatened a couple years earlier.

The White Sox had a young, exciting team on the field, despite trading away one of my childhood heroes the previous year. Honestly, I think trading Baines away was the last straw and contributed to my lack of interest from July 1989 to June 1990.

I liked the design of 1990 Donruss products from the first time I saw them. I even remember trying to duplicate the black splatters across red background design for an art project in my freshman year of high school. Having been overkilled with the red background, I really prefer how the green background looks. It's a little more pleasing to the eye.

Out of 56 cards, the White Sox get 5 in the set. That's a good amount. The player selection is hit and miss though.

• 9 - Craig Grebeck
• 15 - Robin Ventura
• 17 - Wayne Edwards
• 25 - Jerry Kutzler
• 40 - Scott Radinsky

Craig Grebeck was a scrappy little player. I always liked him. Robin Ventura is always a welcome edition. Wayne Edwards was decent. He even used to be in a band with Jack McDowell. Jerry Kutzler was a Waukegan native, so he had the "hometown" thing going for him. He only appeared in 1990 and was 2-1 in 7 games. His ERA of over 6 did him in though. Scott Radinsky was a good relief pitcher. Gutsy and a good all around guy.

This wasn't an overwhelming set, but slightly better than other 1990 releases. Sets from this year are very hard to review. They were all overproduced and everyone has a few, wether they want them or not. The player selection isn't good, but it's not bad either. There are non-White Sox cards of David Justice, Sandy Alomar Jr., Ben McDonald, Delino DeShields, Carlos Baerga, Steve Avery, John Olerud, Greg Vaugh and Todd Zeile. This would have been awesome in 1990, but lacks the kind of player selection excitement that was huge in 1990.

I would've been bragging to my friends about this set in 1990. I probably would've been the envy of my card collecting friends. In 2007, it's still a nice set to have. I'm sure it can be picked up for less than a song.

1990 Fleer Soaring Stars

Some of the first insert cards that grabbed my attention were the 1990 Fleer Soaring Stars. I never got the Robin Ventura card, but I did get stars like Scott Coolbaugh and Todd Zeile. Sure they don't sound great now, but back in 1990, they were hot stuff.

Todd Zeile was white hot back then. Now he's more known for being on a bunch of teams and switching positions a lot. Scott Coolbaugh is now known for more for his brother Mike's tragic death. Back in 1990, Scott was the next coming of Ron Cey. That sounded a lot better 17 years ago too.

The initial attraction was the green. Green has been my favorite color since I saw Luke Skywalker's light saber in Return Of The Jedi. That left quite an impression on a young kid sitting in a movie theater in 1983. The card doesn't just have a green border, it's bathed in it. The Soaring Stars lettering and the star backed in a shooting rainbow color reminds me of those CBS Special intros that I'd see at the beginning of Garfield's Halloween Adventure or A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. So sue me. I liked the animation on the ghosts on the island and loved the idea of the dinner of popcorn, jelly beans and toast.

These cards look like some lost relic from the late 70's or early 80's. The design is so kitsch. You can see this card from a mile away. Sometimes that's a good thing. The only White Sox card is #4 Robin Ventura.

This set always stood out when I was a kid. My goals were even loftier when I was younger. I wanted to collect one of every card. So I tried to complete sets. A 12 card set is easy to complete at first glance. But when something seems too easy, it's usually hard. I only got the Zeile and Coolbaugh cards. I've seen the Ventura card on eBay occasionally, but never could bring myself to pay over $2.00 before shipping. One day I'll get that card, then on to the next project.

Gene Gene The Pitching Machine

Wayland Eugene Nelson. Yes, I read the back of old Donruss cards too. He came to the White Sox in 1984 from the Mariners. He was gone at the end of 1986 to the team you all associate him with, the Oakland A's.

Being a middle reliever in the 80's must have really sucked. At that time the only pitchers the public cared about were the starting pitchers. The closers were slowly getting noticed, but the middle relievers walked anonymously through the crowd. They could pass for an overzealous fan if it weren't for the fact that they were on the field and the security guards didn't care about it.

Gene looks like he's wondering when he'll get some attention. Well, it wouldn't be with the Sox. I'll bet when he got traded to Chicago, he thought he'd be going to the playoffs every year. And why not think like that? The 1983 Sox won their division by TWENTY GAMES! That's unheard of. Plus they picked up Tom Seaver. What's not to like? It just goes to show you that what looks good on paper, almost never materializes. Some players never come close to career years again. That's why I still believe that any team is capable of beating any other team on any given day.

Gene's career year came in 1990 with the Oakland A's. He had an ERA of 1.57 as a middle reliever and went to World Series in 1988, 1989 and 1990. The A's even won in 1989. Not even an earthquake could stop them that year. Gene was a big part of those teams, but 1990 was his year. He got the press, he got the attention, everything came together. He was setting up Dennis Eckersley, life was grand.

Reality has a funny way of deflating your ego. In 1991, Gene's performance started to slip. In August of 1992, he was released from the A's. After stints with the Angels and the Rangers in 1993, he was out of major league baseball.

1985 Topps is the first set I remember actively collecting. I vividly remember riding my bike up to the local drugstore to wander the candy aisle in search of packs. I could either pick up some packs, some candy, or some comics. If I played my cards right, I had enough for all three. Although, I never got this card in a pack of Topps. This was a traded card. I didn't even know these cards existed until I saw the 1990 set at a local card shop when it first came out.

I can still picture Gene coming out of the bullpen in the sixth inning at old Comiskey Park relieving Tom Seaver against the Red Sox in April. Yes, I was at that game too. Before the talk on ESPN, before the World Series ring, before 1990, he was on the Chicago White Sox.

Psycho

I will never forget that image as long as I live. Steve Lyons slides into first base, gets up and starts dusting himself off. A few seconds later I see the unbuckling of pants. I think to myself that he's brushing dirt off and tucking his shirt back in. No big deal. Then I see bare thigh and a quick hike up with the pants. Then Steve Lyons with a face as red as his previous Sox team in Boston. All he did then was laugh.

I can only imagine this happening to Steve Lyons. He frequently dove into first base, like a poor man's Pete Rose. I won't remember Steve Lyons in that way though. I'll remember him as the player who played every position in meaningless exhibition game against the Cubs. I'll remember him high-fiving a fan who caught a foul ball. I'll remember him as a player who tried to make the game fun and always seemed like he was having a good time, even if you weren't in on the joke.

I chose to showcase his 1990 Fleer card for two reasons. In my opinion, it was his most successful year and he always reminded me of Nellie Fox in this photo. The way the shadows hit his face made me think of the wad of chewing tobacco that always seemed to be in Nellie's mouth. He also looks like a pretty decent guy in the photo. The sky makes him look larger than life and he seems confident like a superhero. This is definitely my favorite card of Steve Lyons.

There's only one way he'll be remembered as a player. Bunting to get on base on July 16, 1990. Steve's called safe. The Tiger's pitcher disagrees and argues with the umpire. Steve feels something down his leg. He pulls his pants down and brushes away the dirt. Then the crowd goes ballistic.

Steve was one of the bright spots in a lot of the bad Sox teams of the late 80's. He was also part of the resurgence in 1990 that almost got the Sox into the playoffs. The White Sox had two no-hitters that year. Melido Perez had one. Andy Hawkins of the Yankees had the other. The Sox won both games. That is how special the 1990 team was. But since they didn't make the playoffs, Steve Lyons is the one thing that sticks out from that season.

After the self-pantsing, women would sit behind the Sox dugout waving dollar bills and calling out to him. This is the strange world of Steve Lyons. One that is self created, but strange nonetheless. I wonder if he ever got any women's phone numbers from that.

The sad thing is now that may get overshadowed by something Steve did off the field, in the broadcast booth during the 2006 playoffs. He was making comments about Lou Piniella "hablaing Espanol" and said shortly afterward, "I still can't find my wallet." Then Steve compounded everything by saying, "I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now". He was promptly fired for making racial comments that Fox Sports found inappropriate.

Still, I will fondly remember Steve Lyons as a player who always had a smile, always cared for the fan and always made every play seem like the most important of his career.