1990 Leaf Baseball-What happened?

BLUEJAYWAY

Would like to hear your thoughts on the popularity drop of this issue. It has been/will always be one of my favorite all time issues. White borders(a personal favorite for any year), heavy stock,sharp photography. I realize that basically the set has only the Thomas RC going for it. But it was not overproduced. Even the wrappers were very slick and of a high quality. The box as well was of high quality. My only thought can be for the lack of the insert to drive the product. Where does it rank with you on an all time favorite list?

shagrotn77

The Sosa rookie totally tanked, so that had something to do with it. It's fairly easy to get 10's for this issue, so I think the supply exceeds the demand. As you mentioned, the Thomas rookie, along with a few others (Griffey, Ryan, etc.) are the only real draw to the set as far as value.

itzagoner

i'm happy to add to this thread. regardless of it's current position in the collecting world, this set strikes a nerve for me. when the issue debuted and the Frank Thomas rookie took off, i hoarded boxes and opened enough to accumulate dozens of them. back then, dealers were paying generously to obtain mint examples and i was happy to accommodate them, too. the profits were recycled into other purchases which help set off a chain reaction in bringing home other quality stuff. i even filled a table with monster boxes full of these cards at our family yard sale and made out pretty well. the set was briefly red-hot popular and i miss the uniqueness of the time when it entered the market on the heels of '89 Upper Deck Griffey madness. somewhere down the line the Sosa and McGwire cards took off for obvious reasons, but of course now aside from Thomas, the cards are paperweights.

they smelled different. they felt different. heck, they even tasted different.

thanks '90 Leaf. you were one of my very first really good hustling projects. i'll never forget you and look forward to celebrating your upcoming 25th anniversary.

kingbeeswax

My first pack in 1990 when I was 11 had a Thomas. The dealer told me that is a good card. He was right!

orioles93

Just opened my only 5 packs i had last night along with 5 packs of 1989 upper deck. Didnt get anything worth keeping.

Dty

I think this is a very undervalued set. While it certainly made a run years ago and again when Sosa and McGwire made their own run, I think a lot of folks were banking on a few other guys that just kind of fizzled- do the likes of Dave Justice and Steve Avery ring a bell?

Folks were loving Series II for the Rookies (Thomas, Avery and Justice) but liked the Series I for Sosa (R) and the other Hall of Famers, including Griffey Jr (who was still only a year from his rookie).

Personally, I would like to see this set start to gain in attention and I think it will. (I don't know why, but I kind of compare this set to the 92 Bowman BB, in that they were both RED HOT, and then cooled off. I know there are more Rookies in the 92, but both sets were not really over produced. The thing going for the Leaf set- there is product still out there, albeit not that prevalent, but can be found...and at better prices than the 92 Bowman.

When folks were paying $8.00, $10.00 and sometime $15.00 per pack for 90 Leaf, others have to like that you can now pick up the same packs in the $2.00 range or less. Heck, I would much rather pay $2.00 for a chance at some killer 90 Leaf cards (including Thomas rookie) than $2.00 on some new pack at Target or Walmart, not knowing what the heck to look for....and that is assuming you can even buy a 2014 pack for $2.00. I pick the 90 Leaf everyday over the new stuff.

My guess is that once folks see the mid 80's unopened vanish (like the 70's and early 80's are heading), folks may look to this 90 Leaf set and unopened product for some ripping fun and demand for more higher graded examples may be on the rise, too.

Just my 2 cents.

vols1

I think 1990's baseball in general hit hard times after the PED scandals. I remember '91 Ultra Update and '92 Bowman used to be hot as a firecracker as well.

ClockworkAngel

I thought the PSA 10 Thomas would be worth more than it is. Granted, it's easy to find, but it's still one of the greatest players of the generation PED free.

I also really like his 1991 Fleer Rookie Sensation

lawnmowerman

I loved this set! I remember being so happy when I pulled the Joey Albert Belle card.

I didn't know at the time he would turn out to be a giant a$$hole cheat that routinely used corked bats. Oh well.

TheCARDKid

I think it's a few things...

-People have gravitated towards inserts. I.e. the popularity of 1993 Topps finest refractors.

-Frank Thomas (as great as he is) got eclipsed by Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, A Rod, etc. If you imagine a world of clean 500 home run hitters, wouldn't Thomas' card be more popular?

-Griffey Jr?? I think this set peaked when Griffey did. I think this set got lost in the shuffle with newer ones. When 1990 leaf was at it's peak, 1992 bowman, 1993 upper deck sp!, those sets weren't as hot. I think the players in 1990 leaf got eclipsed by guys like Jeter.

It kind of reminds me of 1991 stadium club. The player selection and print run isn't as good as other more popular early 90's sets.

digicat

I recall that this set had a very heavy registry following several years ago. Looking at the registry today, there are 5 active sets at 100% completion, and 4 others who are over 85%.