The basics: Chipper Jones was old news by 1993, having famously appeared in the 1991 Topps flagship set, as well as other '91 sets like Bowman and Score. He was even in Classic sets in 1990. This is the first of two Chipper Jones cards in the '93 Upper Deck set.
Card thoughts: It's another majestic sky photo as the photographer hopes you believe Chipper is about to make a basket catch of a ball that appears to have been dropped from the top of the Empire State Building, judging by his gaze.
Backs are important in '93 UD: Chipper Jones indeed made his MLB debut in 1993 but only for eight games as he spent most of the year in Richmond. Also, Jones switched positions to third base by the time he made the majors for good in 1995 and the Braves shortstop position was filled by Jeff Blauser, then Walt Weiss, then Rafael Furcal, then Edgar Renteria, then Yunel Escobar, while Jones manned third.
More from '93: Infielder Robel Garcia, who was all over card sets in 2020 with the Cubs, was born on this date in 1993. Even though Garcia played in a career-high 46 games for the Astros in 2021, he was in no sets in 2021 or 2022, save for a Topps Now card. Another example of Topps putting a rookie on blast for one year then acting like the player doesn't exist once rookie status is exhausted.
This photo would make for a good Panini card, the close-up angle hides the logos well even though there was no need.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how a stalwart franchise like the Braves have had two of the greatest third basemen of all-time.. and a whole lot of nothing at the double play positions.
I've always loved "what ifs"... and it would be cool to see how things would have changed had the Braves picked Van Poppel with the #1 pick instead of Chipper.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I didn't pay much attention to the Braves back then, but even so, I don't know if I ever knew that he didn't start playing full-time until 1995.
ReplyDeleteThe trend continues. No comparison to great players on the card = more likely to become a great player.
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