5 biggest rookie busts of the 90's

Baez578 · August 15, 2013 12:17PM

How many of these cards do we all have stashed still? Lol

Inspired by Doug's van poppel post

ClockworkAngel · August 15, 2013 12:28PM

How can we forget Ben McDonald? The famous error card in 1990 Upper Deck was supposed to pay for my kid's education. And Kevin Maas ruled the world for about 2 weeks

churchiscool · August 15, 2013 1:58PM

i still have a soft spot for ben mcdonald...that '90 topps #1 draft pick card is legendary! so is his leaf and UD rookie...even the donruss rated rookies, or the fleer of him smiling. you CAN'T go wrong with a ben mcdonald rookie card!

ReggieCleveland · August 15, 2013 2:05PM

I'm not ashamed to admit that I searched ebay last week for a 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald w/ Orioles card. I wasn't going to buy one, but I wanted to see how available they were.

hyperchipper09 · August 15, 2013 2:15PM

Pretty good list. Though they weren't "busts" in the true sense, neither Rondell White nor Cliff Floyd turned out as I hoped

JustinsShoebox · August 15, 2013 2:59PM

I was a major Ben McDonald fan! That 1990 Leaf was my favorite of his. Was also betting on Phil Plantier and TVP. Both 1991 Upper Deck cards were gold for me. What's funny is my buddy from long ago was collecting braves, so I was trading away my Chippers for his Plantier/TVP/McDonalds. Of course I was about 10 years old, but what great moves those were!

Justin

digicat · August 15, 2013 4:29PM

<< I'm not ashamed to admit that I searched ebay last week for a 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald w/ Orioles card. I wasn't going to buy one, but I wanted to see how available they were. >>

I confess, I actually want to get one.

jfkheat · August 15, 2013 5:15PM

I still have a stash of 1990 Leaf Marquis Grissom rookie cards

Foo3112 · August 15, 2013 9:26PM

Every time I rip open a box of 1991 or 1992 cards, I always pull out the star cards including all the Kevin Maas cards. I always liked him. He messed up though when Mattingly got hurt in 91 and Mass stepped in to cover first base and he said that Mattingly was going to have to win his position back.

Oh no he didn't just say that! Lol

NVbaseball · August 15, 2013 9:59PM

Kevin Maas was a 22nd round draft pick and 25-year-old mid season call-up. A bit silly to call him a 'bust'

Josh Booty got a pretty nice signing bonus to do absolutely nothing for the Marlins -- and not even that much for LSU either; I guess Matt Anderson might not count for 90s players;

RyanAdmirer · August 15, 2013 10:25PM

I think Brien Taylor was part of the 90's....no bigger bust than his.

LarkinCollector · August 15, 2013 11:21PM

<< I still have a stash of 1990 Leaf Marquis Grissom rookie cards >>

Me too, plus all the other brands. I couldn't even work a deal just to get rid of them with the 1 Marquis Grissom collector I found.

jeffcbay · August 16, 2013 12:30AM

<< I think Brien Taylor was part of the 90's....no bigger bust than his. >>

You beat me to it.

calgarycollector · August 16, 2013 12:49AM

I don't remember the pure hype around Taylor they way there was with Van Poppel. Van Poppel was legend, he contract was filled with all sorts of no power tools, cutting grass etc rules

Tim Wakefield got really hot for a few months in the 90's! Mo Vaughn?

I suffered more through football busts in the 90's. Thanks Dan McGwire, Kijana Carter, Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Rashan Salaam and your other friends.

ClockworkAngel · August 16, 2013 1:37AM

<< I don't remember the pure hype around Taylor they way there was with Van Poppel. Van Poppel was legend, he contract was filled with all sorts of no power tools, cutting grass etc rules

Tim Wakefield got really hot for a few months in the 90's! Mo Vaughn?

I suffered more through football busts in the 90's. Thanks Dan McGwire, Kijana Carter, Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Rashan Salaam and your other friends. >>

Mo Vaughn was a stud in Boston. Then he signed a big contract with the NY Mets and disappeared. He was pretty big and I think had injury issues.

Does anyone remember the 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensation Cards that came in the 1992 Fleer Cello packs? The regular set was a really ugly green, but that subset was awesome. Blue and Glossy with Gold Font and really rare cards. You'd get like 12 in a cello box and the set had twenty-something cards so you really had a hard time finding them. I was buying as many of the Phil Plantier cards from that set as I could, but it also had Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Ray Lankford, Ivan Rodriguez, etc. Turns out it's a great set that got a lot right, but I think it has disappeared amongst the thousands of subsets during that era and is now irrelevant.

jeffcbay · August 16, 2013 1:39AM

Topps sure bought into Brien Taylor when they inserted autographed cards into their 1992 Topps Gold Factory Sets.

calgarycollector · August 16, 2013 1:48AM

92 Rookie Sensations, yes my favourite set of the 90's. I was big into Plantier as well! Lankford was great as well.

I have so much of the 92 Fleer as a result its just a shame lol

You just peaked my interest. Going to go see what they are selling for and maybe pick a set up.

ClockworkAngel · August 16, 2013 1:53AM

<< 92 Rookie Sensations, yes my favourite set of the 90's. I was big into Plantier as well! Lankford was great as well.

I have so much of the 92 Fleer as a result its just a shame lol

You just peaked my interest. Going to go see what they are selling for and maybe pick a set up. >>

There are no PSA 10 Thomas's and the 9's are selling for $75-100 so maybe it's not as irrelevant as I thought lol

Speaking of HOF, what is everyone's opinion on the big 3 from that set? Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, and Ivan Rodriguez? Thomas probably played too long and it hurt his career average but he still broke 500 HR

Baez578 · August 16, 2013 1:58AM

Pudge is in....Helps that he played catcher

ClockworkAngel · August 16, 2013 2:00AM

Nevermind

3BoyzTrading · August 16, 2013 2:35AM

The Fleer Rookie Sensations are just a normal insert set with people going back and buying them. Frank Thomas RC's were in 1990 with Bagwell and Ivan in 1991. Does anyone remember Jerome Walton? He had that long hitting streak and everyone put him in the HOF. I recall his 89 UD Hi # going for $50 or something.

mygotta · August 16, 2013 3:04AM

I remember a mild sensation once McGwire really began to become a superstar, people started to look at Cory Snyder and Bill Swift and Mike Dunne and Oddibe McDowell as the next potential big stars that would inflate the 85 Topps set even more.

markj111 · August 16, 2013 3:08AM

How does one define "bust?" Taylor and Big Ben were both injured. Marquis Grissom had a very nice major league career. Gregg Jeffries, in my mind, was a bust. A lot of hype, but not much of a career. Same for Brad Komminsk and Shawn Abner.

churchiscool · August 16, 2013 3:39AM

<< How does one define "bust?" Taylor and Big Ben were both injured. Marquis Grissom had a very nice major league career. Gregg Jeffries, in my mind, was a bust. A lot of hype, but not much of a career. Same for Brad Komminsk and Shawn Abner. >>

jefferies had alot of hype and didn't live up to it, but i don't think he was a bust. according to b-r he was a 2x all star in st. louis and had a respectable career....too bad he didn't get a chance to play with big mac. '89-'90 were my years started collecting so all the names brought up here feel like old friends you haven't heard from awhile.

lanemyer85 · August 16, 2013 3:45AM

Drew Henson would also like to enter this contest. Drafted in 1998 (3rd Round- for signability reasons) 6 years & 17M later ending with perhaps the greatest career triple slash ever - .111/.111/.111. (-40 OPS+)

miwlvrn · August 16, 2013 4:06AM

<< Drew Henson would also like to enter this contest. Drafted in 1998 (3rd Round- for signability reasons) 6 years & 17M later ending with perhaps the greatest career triple slash ever - .111/.111/.111. (-40 OPS+) >>

Tom Brady laughs his way to the bank anytime anyone mentions the name Drew Henson.

I know this is a baseball thread, but the top busts ever in my mind for the '90's definitely include Jason Bonsignore and Ryan Leaf

JaMarcus Russell can wait until someone starts a more modern era's thread.

vols1 · August 16, 2013 4:23AM

Hideki Irabu and Kerry Wood

cardsnbeads · August 16, 2013 4:29AM

I knew Ben McDonald was going to be bust when I saw him walk into a door . I forgot about Van Poppel telling the Braves not to draft him . The Braves should sent him flowers and a thank you card.

churchiscool · August 16, 2013 4:41AM

<< 

I know this is a baseball thread, but the top busts ever in my mind for the '90's definitely include Jason Bonsignore and Ryan Leaf

JaMarcus Russell can wait until someone starts a more modern era's thread. >>

love the bonsignore reference, but i gotta go with alex daigle for hockey back then. daigle was the top pick in a draft that had pronger, kariya, gratton, rob niedermayer and a bunch of other serviceable or all star players. i was very disappointed tho when radek bonk and bonsignore didn't amount to more.

jacksoncoupage · August 16, 2013 4:51AM

Finally some Ben McDonald love!

<< i still have a soft spot for ben mcdonald...that '90 topps #1 draft pick card is legendary! >>

I have a PSA 10 of that Topps card. PM if interested.

<< 

<< I'm not ashamed to admit that I searched ebay last week for a 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald w/ Orioles card. I wasn't going to buy one, but I wanted to see how available they were. >>

I confess, I actually want to get one.

>>

I have a really sweet PSA 8.5 that is begging to be resubbed - came from the exact same box my PSA 10 came from (no longer have this one) but were subbed at two different times. PM if interested.

scashaggy · August 16, 2013 9:10AM

zurbs17 · August 16, 2013 10:18AM

The Hammer

MrSnuffleupagus · August 16, 2013 10:44AM

The Yankees drafted Taylor #1 bypassing Manny Ramirez. Well, I guess 12 other teams passed on Manny too!

Raulsmaster · August 16, 2013 10:50AM

I'm surprised it took so long to reference Jefferies. What a disaster

elsnorto · August 16, 2013 11:56AM

<< I know this is a baseball thread, but the top busts ever in my mind for the '90's definitely include Jason Bonsignore and Ryan Leaf. JaMarcus Russell can wait until someone starts a more modern era's thread. >>

Football certainly had its fair share of busts. Remember the quarterback class of 1999 that was supposed to rival that of 1983.... not so much. Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Cade McNown, Daunte Culpepper, Shaun King, Brock Huard, Joe Germaine, Aaron Brooks ... at least Donovan McNabb had a decent career. Unfortunately, I bet big on Akili and lost.

Snorto~

robert67 · August 16, 2013 2:04PM

Pretty good list. Though they weren't "busts" in the true sense, neither Rondell White nor Cliff Floyd turned out as I hoped

Cliff Floyd is very good on the MLB network IMHO. Too bad he had a hard time staying healthy during his playing days.

MiniDuff · August 16, 2013 2:28PM

One of the monster rookie cards early in the decade that ultimately and utterly fizzled, Carlos Baerga. Those 90 leafs were gold. Lot of folks thought Robin Ventura would be a better pro as well. Both had nice runs, but not the careers envisioned at the time.

ReggieCleveland · August 16, 2013 3:12PM

My guess is that Ventura's career suffered from a lack of sabermetrics. I believe his glove was one of the best at 3B.

bigdogparty · August 16, 2013 3:12PM

Cubs future star Jerome Walton comes to mind but then again, he played for the Cubs so this is no shocker

Rudedawg · August 16, 2013 11:05PM

<< 

<< How does one define "bust?" Taylor and Big Ben were both injured. Marquis Grissom had a very nice major league career. Gregg Jeffries, in my mind, was a bust. A lot of hype, but not much of a career. Same for Brad Komminsk and Shawn Abner. >>

jefferies had alot of hype and didn't live up to it, but i don't think he was a bust. according to b-r he was a 2x all star in st. louis and had a respectable career....too bad he didn't get a chance to play with big mac. '89-'90 were my years started collecting so all the names brought up here feel like old friends you haven't heard from awhile.

>>

Gotta admit...............if I saw this come up at auction............I would bid

CDsNuts · August 17, 2013 12:32AM

McDonald turned out to be a solid pitcher, obviously didn't live up to the hype but he was a solid #3 starter. Jefferies was also a solid player, even got a few MVP votes in his years with the Cards because he could hit for avg. I wouldn't consider either of these guys complete busts since they ended up having solid MLB careers.

Van Poppel was awful. The top 3 picks in the '91 draft were supposed to be great but they turned out to be a dumpster fire: Brien Taylor, Mike Kelly and David McCarty.

Lee

miwlvrn · August 17, 2013 1:20AM

<< 

<< 

<< How does one define "bust?" Taylor and Big Ben were both injured. Marquis Grissom had a very nice major league career. Gregg Jeffries, in my mind, was a bust. A lot of hype, but not much of a career. Same for Brad Komminsk and Shawn Abner. >>

jefferies had alot of hype and didn't live up to it, but i don't think he was a bust. according to b-r he was a 2x all star in st. louis and had a respectable career....too bad he didn't get a chance to play with big mac. '89-'90 were my years started collecting so all the names brought up here feel like old friends you haven't heard from awhile.

>>

Gotta admit...............if I saw this come up at auction............I would bid >>

Looks like quite a different signature on the 1989 Topps Jeffries compared to the other 2. The 1989 Donruss & 1990 Topps look close enough to each other, but the 1989 would give me pause for consistency. The 2 Ben McDonalds have a bit of variance, but probably a little more within the amount that could be expected.

miwlvrn · August 17, 2013 1:21AM

<< 

<< 

I know this is a baseball thread, but the top busts ever in my mind for the '90's definitely include Jason Bonsignore and Ryan Leaf

JaMarcus Russell can wait until someone starts a more modern era's thread. >>

love the bonsignore reference, but i gotta go with alex daigle for hockey back then. daigle was the top pick in a draft that had pronger, kariya, gratton, rob niedermayer and a bunch of other serviceable or all star players. i was very disappointed tho when radek bonk and bonsignore didn't amount to more. >>

True enough for sure, but Daigle had a significantly better overall career than Bonsignore, though that's not really saying much.

BPorter26 · August 17, 2013 1:33AM

How about Eric Anthony of the Astros? He was being compared to Griffey Jr when he came up in 1989.

churchiscool · August 17, 2013 1:52AM

<< 

Looks like quite a different signature on the 1989 Topps Jeffries compared to the other 2. The 1989 Donruss & 1990 Topps look close enough to each other, but the 1989 would give me pause for consistency. The 2 Ben McDonalds have a bit of variance, but probably a little more within the amount that could be expected. >>

all the jefferies are good. the sigs were signed many years apart, hence the difference. ben mcdonald's sig hasn't changed much through the years, and he's pretty good ttm.

miwlvrn · August 17, 2013 2:19AM

<< How about Eric Anthony of the Astros? He was being compared to Griffey Jr when he came up in 1989.

>>

+1 on Anthony

How about Walt Weiss?

ClockworkAngel · August 17, 2013 3:16AM

<< I'm surprised it took so long to reference Jefferies. What a disaster >>

As someone else mentioned, Jeffries was a 2 time all star and had a decent career but the hype surrounding him was almost impossible to live up to. His 88 donruss and fleer cards were 10-15 bucks before he even played (at the time that was crazy) He was 19 years old and the NY media went crazy hyping him.

St. Louis is where he really shined finishing in the top 20 in MVP twice. In 1993 he had over 40 stolen bases and batted .344. His stats were along the lines of Keith Hernandez for a while. He also struck out like once every 18 at bats for his career which is really low.

Where I'm going is that jefferies career was hardly a disaster, the disaster was the media being ready to put him in the HOF when he was 19.

jmmiller777 · August 17, 2013 1:54PM

Do Mike Greenwell and Kevin Seitzer ring a bell? I prolly have several dozen Gregg Jeffries from each card company I was hoarding him and he had a great start. Louis Polonia was another one. There were many back then...

Probstein123 · August 18, 2013 12:24AM

Roger Salkeld was supposed to the next big thing....

miwlvrn · August 18, 2013 12:41AM

Archibald "Moonlight" Graham and Roy Hobbs never really panned out either.

alnavman · August 19, 2013 3:58AM

<< Roger Salkeld was supposed to the next big thing.... >>

agree, I know I'm not the only one who had 50 card lots put aside of this guy......

5 biggest rookie busts of the 90's

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