Nostalgic Box Break: 1994 Stadium Club Series 3 (Part One)

Hey, remember last year when I made a proclamation to attempt to complete every Stadium Club set ever?

Remember when halfway through the year I sort of..stopped?

Well, I'm back home now, and ready to post another box of Stadium Club, this one from 1994. I'd broke open a box of 1994 Series 2 last year, to start this whole madness off. Now, I'm back in 1994.

The one thing I recalled from 1994's set was that the cards stuck together something fierce, and pulling them apart resulted in little marks all over the cards, which kind of sucked.

The other thing I remember about the 1994 set was that the collation wasn't great. And yeah, you can say that about any set from the 90's, but still.

We've got 24 packs, so I can knock this out in two posts. Let's dive in.

Cards I needed: 12/13
First Day Issue Inserts: 1/13
Hall of Famers: 2/13
Future Hall of Famers: 1/13
Guys who have the same name as Hall of Famers: 1/13 (sorry, other Pedro Martinez!)

Three guys that were at various levels of relevance in 1994:
David Wells was on his way up.
Will Clark was still at his peak.
Shawon Dunston was on his way down.

Fun fact: Years before Michael Sam was drafted, Billy Bean was one of the first MLB players to come out as gay. Also, Bean was one of the first MLB players to spend a season playing for a Japanese team.

Onto the 'Hall of Fame Showcase' portion of Pack 1. Chipper Jones isn't there yet, but everyone knows he will be eventually. Rickey is one of the most beloved baseball players of the past three decades. Saying you don't like Rickey Henderson is like saying you hate puppies and ice cream.
Greg Maddux, this time last year, was announced as an inductee into Cooperstown.

Man, this guy must hate being confused for the other Pedro Martinez.
Oh, and this is a 1st Day Issue insert, which is 1-per-box.

Pack 2-
Cards I needed: 12/13
Inserts of awesome Phillies legends: 1/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13

Three stars of the 90's. David Segui was building up to his power years in Baltimore. Heathcliff Slocumb was in his lone season as a Phillie before being traded everywhere else in the league. And speaking of ex-Phillies, Juan Samuel was a few years away from retirement here on the Tigers.

Two rookie cards of two guys that did alright. But again, you're here for the photography. So get a load of those.

Darren Daulton is pulling off a pretty nice play at the plate. Glavine is pitching another beaut, I imagine.
Daulton's is a Dugout Dirt insert, which means there's an ultra-fun drawing on the back.

LOOK AT THAT! HE'S LIFTING WEIGHTS! THAT'S PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME!

Pack 3-
Doubles: 10/13. So if you loved pack 2, then Pack 3 is for you.
Cards I need: 3/13
Borderline Hall of Famers: 1/13

The three salvageable cards. Curt Schilling, Brian Hunter and some Astros guy practicing bunting.

Pack 4-
Doubles: 0/13
Cards I needed: 13/13 (!)
Hall of Famers: 1/13
Hall of Refusing to Retire members: 2/13 (Palmeiro and Denny)

Pat Mahomes looks either focused or hypnotized.
Rafael Palmeiro is in mid-warmup, in his brand new Orioles uniform.
Junior Felix is playing the "I dunno? You want it? I don't want it!" game with the offscreen infielders.

One of the bazillion awesome catcher shots in 1994 Stadium Club.
Bret Boone, before he inexplicably became amazing.

Rick Helling was evidently a Rookie Rocker. ...right.
Paul Molitor is having a grand old time in Toronto, though he'll be taking over for Ron Gardenhire next year in Minnesota.
Denny Martinez is seen pitching into his roughly 90th season on the mound.

Pack 5-
Doubles: 2/13
Cards I need: 11/13
People on the Hall of Fame Ballot: 2/13

Just in case you forgot that Tom Brunansky was a Brewer. Also, those uniforms have not aged well.

Dave Henderson is most famous for his role in the 1986 World Series, as a Red Sox. Chris Sabo is most famous for his role in the 1990 World Series, as a Cincinnati Red. Look what they amounted to.

Roger Clemens is best known for his role in 1996's Kingpin. Just kidding- he has more Cy Youngs than brain cells.
Lee Smith was crowned the All Time Saves leader in 1994. And yet you people have yet to elect him into the Hall of Fame.

Pack 6-
Doubles: 1/13
Cards I needed: 12/13
Subsets: 2/13
Fat Guys past their prime: 2/13 (Incaviglia and Jackson)
Hall of Famers: 2/13

Tuffy. Someone actually asked people to call him Tuffy. One of the many reasons why I'll never fully understand the 90's.
Bad Brewers uniforms and bad Astros uniforms. But the Cubs ones, admittedly, are kind of cool.

Catcher Shot #1,000,000
Pete Incaviglia, in mid-fall.

Eddie Murray, pictured as a Cleveland Indian, is the subject of another Leaders card. Man, he's awesome.
Ryan Klesko is another Rookie Rocker. I say leave John Rocker out of this.
Bo Jackson sullenly blows a bubble in batting practice. Poor guy.

Pack 7-
Cards I needed: 3/13
Doubles: 10/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13
Hannibal Lecter wannabes: 1/13
Stars of the 1990 World Series: 2/13 (Sabo and Rijo)

Ryne Sandberg, as part of a Fantastic Finishes subset. This would look like a Fantastic Finish to Sandberg's career, until he returned a season or two later.
Bobby Ayala was left alone with the masking tape.
Jose Rijo was once one of the most powerful pitchers in baseball. Think about that.

Pack 8-
Doubles: 1/13 (just Clemens)
Cards I needed: 12/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13

Harold Reynolds, post-career-going-downhill, pre-getting-sued-for-sexual-harassment.
Okay, to be fair, this is a pretty nice shot.

This technically counts as a Jim Edmonds rookie, so I guess that's cool.
Yet another Leaders card of Ozzie Smith, which is pretty awesome.
Bernie Williams, who was pretty fun to watch as a Yankee.

Pack 9-
Doubles: 3/13
Cards I needed: 10/13
Hall of Famers (as of three days ago): 1/13 (2/13 if you count the Sandberg double)
Hall of Very Good-ers: 3/13 (Viola, Williams and Hampton)
Cards of people traded to bring Rickey Henderson back to Oakland: 1/13 (Luis Polonia, who did better than the other two guys)

Here's a Mike Hampton rookie. Mike Hampton will be on the Hall of Fame ballot next year. No, he won't make it, but won't it be fun to watch?

Pedro Martinez pitched for one team I despise, one team I love, and two team I should hate but really don't. And also Le Expos. He's awesome, and I'm glad he made the Hall.
Sweet Music, aka Frank Viola, was a pretty solid closer, but not solid enough to make it out of the 80's with his career intact.

Matt Williams did indeed have a Fantastic Finish, hitting a career high 54 home runs, and going on a tear before being halted by the dreaded '94 strike.
Luis Polonia...the less said, the better.

Pack 10-
Cards I needed: 11/13
Doubles: 2/13
Other Members of the Rickey Henderson trade: 1/13 (Greg Cadaret, the pissant)
Borderline Hall of Famers: 2/13 (Smith and Vizquel)

Andy Van Slyke ponders exactly what went wrong. Cheer up, buddy. Your kid'll be a regular outfielder for the Dodgers in 20 years.
Kevin Bass and Otis Nixon run and bat.

Alex Cole straddles in the batter's box.
See? Greg Cadaret looks like he's taunting me.

Omar Vizquel is one of the best defensive players of the 90's, and deserves at least some Hall of Fame recognition.
Lee Smith deserves to be in the damn Hall of Fame. What the hell does it take?

Pack 11-
Cards I need: 1/13
Inserts I need: 1/13
Doubles: 11/13 (!)

I do not know the name of this insert set. All I know is that it looks really cool, and looks like a variation of Topps Finest. I think it might have been Stadium Club's Finest or something. Anyway, Mike Piazza looks awesome here.
Ellis Burks takes a stroll.

Pack 12-
Doubles: 5/13
Cards I need: 7/13
Inserts: 1/13
People who will be in Cooperstown next year: 1/13 (Griffey)

Walt Weiss played for both 1993-era expansion teams, one after the other. Here he is on the one he's most famous for.

Ricky Bones has some of the best cards of the 1990's, and 75% of them come from Stadium Club.
Brian Johnson is not, as previously assumed, the lead singer for AC/DC.

Ken Griffey Jr. will be hounded next year by those same sportswriters who will yell "But what could have been". The ones that vote him through will talk about what did happen, and what Ken Griffey Jr. did was pretty spectacular.
Javy Lopez had a few good seasons, but belongs more in the Braves HOF than the Baseball HOF.

Tomorrow (?) I'll post the rest of these. And then I'll move on to the next box.

My Unofficial Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot (2015)

In general, January's a pretty sucky month. It seems like everything great in January is leftover from the previous year, and everyone acts like it's normal.

The only highlight of my January is Hall of Fame induction time. Why? Because I get to see new people inducted into the baseball hall of fame, and I get to plead my case as to which ones should go through.

This year, three big-time candidates have broken into the list of candidates, and I'll talk about their probability of induction in a little bit. So I'll list the ten people I'd be voting for if I did indeed have a ballot, in alphabetical order.

Jeff Bagwell: Jeff Bagwell is one of the best hitters on the ballot, despite injuries limiting him to a fifteen-year career. When he was healthy, he was one of the strongest hitters, and has an MVP and a ROY under his belt, as well as 450 home runs. The one thing people forget about him is how consistent he was,  having a span of nine straight 25+ home run seasons up until his penultimate year in the bigs. What Jeff has working against him is the fact that Craig Biggio has the '90's Astros player' vote demographic down pat. I doubt Bagwell will get in this year, but he deserves to eventually.
Team of Induction: Astros
Odds of 2015 Induction: 7 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: 5 to 1

Craig Biggio: It is my humble opinion that Craig Biggio should not have taken three seasons to make it into the Hall of Fame. Why? Because he's a legendary defensive player and a member of the 3000 hit club. I used to think that, steroids notwithstanding, that was a given for induction. But apparently when, otherwise, there are no apparent reasons for induction, it can wait three years. Which I think is preposterous. Biggio should have been a first-ballot-hall-of-Famer, but here we are.
I think the fact that he played multiple positions, including catcher, outfield and second base, and still managed to secure his identity on the field is a thing of beauty. Biggio isn't necessarily defined by a single position, although a lot of people attribute him to 2nd base. He was versatile as he was consistent, and that's worthy of something, I think. Also, the guy played until he was 41, and still played as well as he did when he was 24 towards the end. That was his attitude.
If Biggio doesn't make it in again this year, there is definitely something terribly wrong with the system.
Team of Induction: Astros
Odds of 2015 Induction: 3 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: Even

Randy Johnson: From the second Randy Johnson retired, with 300+ wins, well over 3000 strikeouts, and multiple Cy Young awards, I knew he'd be in Cooperstown someday. I imagine he'll be in this year, unless something goes horribly wrong.
People have said enough about the Big Unit's accomplishments, and if there's any surefire inductee for this season, it's definitely Johnson, so I'll say this: From 1991 to 2004 Johnson was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. This was a career that could even withstand being signed by a one-year-old expansion team. Johnson was pitching no-hitters well into his forties, and still being considered a powerful force on the mound until his retirement as a San Francisco Giant in 2009.
So yeah. Randy Johnson's in. And he's probably in this year.
Team of Induction: Mariners (though could be D-Backs)
Odds of 2015 Induction: 3 to 2
Odds of Eventual Induction: Even.

Edgar Martinez: This is one of the two guys I keep bringing up that nobody agrees with me on. Nobody understands why a career DH should be enshrined in Cooperstown. To that I say '*because* he was a career DH, and he hit the way he did'. Edgar has some of the best numbers for a Designated Hitter outside of David Ortiz, and, need I remind you all, he has a yearly DH Award named after him. I don't expect Martinez to get in this year, but I think it'd be nice if he did eventually.
Team of Induction: Mariners
Odds of 2015 Induction: 14 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: 7 to 1

Pedro Martinez: If you're listening to most sportscasters, then this is the second lock for 2015. Pedro Martinez had one of the most consistent pitching careers of anyone from the last two decades. The man has a Cy Young award in the NL and AL, and pitched in the postseason twice, once with the 2004 Red Sox, and then with the 2009 Phillies (woot!). He has over 3000 strikeouts and has a career 2.93 ERA. The guy is one of the best pitchers of the 1990's, and should be compared to people like Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer, guys who would dominate the mound entirely.
He should get in this year, but if he doesn't, it's a crime.
Team of Induction: Red Sox
Odds of 2015 Induction: 2 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: Even

Fred McGriff: The other guy I have to fight to convince. If the 1994 strike never would have happened, he'd have 500 home runs. Instead, people have to be reminded about how powerful he was at the plate.
Probably won't get in, and that's kind of sad.
Team of Induction: Braves
Odds of 2015 Induction: 20 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: 9 to 1

Mike Piazza: A lot of BBWAA voters seem to be under the delusion that Piazza took steroids. I don't think I ever saw him on the Mitchell report, and I did a damn 8th grade project on steroids in baseball. Some reporter "claims" to have overheard Piazza saying something about it, and I'm not 100% believing it. So until he becomes "tainted" in my mind, he's still a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. Why? Because one of the greatest hitting catchers since Johnny Bench.
Just the things he did with the Dodgers, hitting home runs while retaining a run as a defensive catcher. Then once he got to the Mets he got even better. Piazza has 425 home runs and a ton of defensive and offensive awards. He should get in, but I'm not certain that he will this year.
Team of Induction: Dodgers
Odds of 2015 Induction: 4 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: 2 to 1

Tim Raines: This guy doesn't have much time left on the ballot, but he's one of the best base-stealers of all time. It's a shame he lacked his 80's relevance during the second decade of his career, or else he'd be in by now.
I don't know if he'll get in, but I'd like him to eventually.
Team of Induction: Expos
Odds of 2015 Induction: 10 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction:  5 to 1

Curt Schilling: I needed a 10th spot, and I didn't want Bonds or Clemens on my ballot, so Schilling got the spot. But still, he had an amazing career, and didn't hit his absolute prime until he left the Phillies, becoming a mainstay for Arizona and Boston. More than that, he was consistent, and had several 20+ win seasons, in addition to having over 3000 strikeouts. His only drawback is his lack of star presence, and the fact that he left the game with a whimper instead of a bang. Plus, to a lot of people, Schilling doesn't exactly scream "Hall of Fame". So he may or may not get in. It could go either way.
Team of Induction: Phillies (or D-Backs)
Odds of 2015 Induction: 8 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: 5 to 1

John Smoltz: The other guy on the ballot that should be a lock. However, thanks to a lot of sportswriters, he isn't really. Smoltz spent a lot of seasons recovering from injuries, or saddled to a bullpen role (which he still thrived at), but that took away from him being a serious HOF candidate for them. In my opinion, he should be a guarantee, simply because he was part of the strongest pitching rotation of the last few decades, and made a lot of the more impressive contributions, like his 1996 season, which won Smoltz his only Cy Young award.
While he is the most underrated of the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz rotation, I think Smoltz deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. If he doesn't get in this year, he will eventually.
Team of Induction: Braves
Odds of 2015 Induction: 3 to 1
Odds of Eventual Induction: Even

Those are my picks. Let's see how it all plays out.

Uncustomed Heroes of Baseball: Tigers

For a year without any real postseason accomplishments, the Tigers did a lot to improve their roster flaws, and relied on a lot more younger stars than usual, while keeping their veterans in check.

Torii Hunter, while he didn't have the season he had in 2013, still managed to hit hard enough to stay relevant. Next season he'll be returning home to Minnesota, and hopefully it'll be a warm welcome.

Nick Castellanos had a pretty nice rookie season, becoming the starting 3rd baseman a season after losing Prince Fielder, and making a name for himself as an offensive and defensive force. He'll likely stick around.

In 2013, Max Scherzer rose out from under Justin Verlander's dominance to become the best pitcher in Detroit. This season it was Rick Porcello's turn, as his summer was especially consistent. Next season he'll be pitching for Boston.

J.D. Martinez was in Houston last season. Thankfully, he was moved to Detroit, where he became one of the more underrated stars of the lineup, slowly working his way into an everyday outfield spot that would intensify upon Austin Jackson's departure.

Alex Avila has become a nice bat, after his breakout season in 2011. He's a consistent catcher who has started hitting really well this year, as evidenced by this awesome photo.

Thanks to Alfredo Simon, Anibal Sanchez will likely be the fourth or fifth starter in Detroit, however he's still a strong arm, and has had a couple of nice seasons with the Tigers.

Meanwhile, Rajai Davis became one of the Tigers' most trusted utility outfielders, being a great player though not playing everyday.

Joakim Soria had the comeback of the season, going from an injured extra reliever in Texas to a trusted reliever in Detroit. Hopefully his comeback tour will continue next season.

Coming Tomorrow- A couple standouts from the Twins.