Thursday, June 12, 2008

1993 Donruss Triple Play


If you happen to stop by my Indians blog, you will notice that I am playing "Scratch-off Mania" like Thorzul did a while back. Well, I am so hooked on the scratch-offs and having "interactive" games, I decided to snag an eBay auction for some 1993 Triple Play packs in an unopened box.



Every pack comes with 12 cards plus 1 ruboff game card. In this pack, we find Junior kissing a ball goodbye for the Mariners. At least, I think that's Junior. If not, feel free to correct me. He's come a long way since this home run...


The cards themselves have black borders on the front with the "Triple Play" logo in one corner (usually the lower-left). The player's last name is in silver (not foil) all-caps lettering across the top of the card. The player's full name (in all-caps) appears in red at the bottom of the card (again usually in lower left) with the position in white lettering next to the full name. The team logo appears in the lower right corner. I like the layout because the photos take up a LOT of card real estate! I'm old school, I like big pictures. It's the reason I "read" all those girlie magazines as a teen... I digress... The backs of the cards are black with a 2nd player photo on the left side. The right side of the card has the card number, the player's jersey number in silver with his name in red lettering across it. Biographical info is below the number/name in yellow. there is a bit of trivia on each card in white that takes up the bulk of the center-right of the card back, then some stats in a gradient filled orange-to-yellow table at the bottom.



First up in the pack is Gary Sheffield (Padres) - "Gary's run at the triple crown earned him a lot of attention in 1992. Who was the last NL player to win the Triple Crown, leading the league in homers, RBI and batting average?" (answer below)



Next up, we have Awesome Action - "Pitchers try to thwart the top base stealers by stepping off the pitching rubber and throwing to first base, hopefully catching the runner too far off the bag."


After that, we have Cal Eldred (Brewers) - "Don't cheat yourself and always work hard to be successful." -himself



Todd Zeile (Cardinals) - "Todd met his wife, Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Julianne McNamara, in a folk literature class when they were both students at UCLA."



Brett Boone (Mariners) - "Bret is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and the son of longtime catcher Bob Boone, making them the first family in history to have major leaguers from three generations."



Curt Schilling (Phillies) - "Tough times don't last, tough people (who rat out their peers) do." --himself, modified slightly...


Jeff Montgomery (Royals) - "Who was the last National League pitcher to win the MVP award?" (Dang, this guy didn't get his own quote or family history or anything on his card....) (answer below)


Al Martin (Pirates) - "Al attended USC on a football scholarship before he was drafted and signed by the Braves in 1985..."



Vince Coleman (Mets) - "I believe in the three d's: determination, dedication and desire." -himself



Edgar Martinez (Mariners) - "Edgar won the AL batting crown in 1992, becoming the first Mariner ever to win the award. Third basemen have won nine of the last 13 batting titles in the AL, including five by Wade Boggs and two by George Brett."


Frank Thomas (White Sox) - "Pick positive role models to follow, like those who say no to drugs." -himself



President Clinton (Astros hat) - "This lefty made a pitch for the White House and became our 42nd president. He's only the fourth left-handed president in history. Can you name the others?" (answers below)


Okay, are you ready for the answers to the trivia questions? Well, too bad! Here's how we're playing the game: first person to answer ALL the trivia questions correctly wins a 1957 Topps Bob Hale card and a pack of 1993 Triple Play. Rules are simple: Answer the questions as they would have been answered in 1993. You must be the FIRST responder to correctly answer the NL Triple Crown question, the NL pitcher MVP winner *AND* the three lefty presidents question (according to the answers as provided on the cards). Pretty easy, right? Have fun!

8 comments:

Mike S said...

1. Joe Medwick
2. Bob Gibson
3. James Garfield, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush

Kevin said...

Rats! That Bob Hale card looks pretty sweet. FWIW, a lot of sources seem to list Hoover, Truman, and Reagan as lefty as well.

NickL said...

i f'kin love Triple Play

--David said...

Wow, you guys are FAST! Congrats goes to Mike S, who got the answers correct according to the backs of the cards! Mike S wins! I'll email you to get your mailing address! Stay tuned folks, you never know when the next trivia quiz will pop up!

William said...

That Bill Clinton card lists for $5, I've had it since I was 7.

William said...

Kevin -- Reagan was probably a lefty but forgot.

--David said...

Could probably buy a decent cigar for five bucks...

The Baseball Card Snob said...

If you decide to put the set together send me a list, I've got extras.

And extra non-scratched, scratch offs.