One-Sheet Collections: Underrated 1990s Baseball Stars

For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and that’s how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections.

It’s a simple concept with infinite possibilities.

Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme.

This time around we built a team of underrated stars from the 1990s.

It’s a collection of players who have been largely forgotten by the hobby, but at their peak, they were among the best in the game at their respective positions.

Enjoy!

Pocket 1: 1989 Fleer Update #41 Greg Vaughn RC ($0.40)

Vaughn finished third to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in the 1998 NL home run race, slugging a career-high 50 long balls for a World Series bound San Diego Padres team. The four-time All-Star finished with 355 home runs and 1,072 RBI in 15 seasons.

His only Rookie Card is in 1989 Fleer Update. He was also a “Rated Rookie” in the 1990 Donruss set.

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Pocket 2: 1990 Bowman #192 Ray Lankford RC ($0.40)

With an underrated combination of power and speed, Lankford put together five 20-homer/20-steal seasons over 13 years with the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit .293/.391/.540 with 37 doubles, 31 home runs and 26 steals in 1998 while tasked with protecting Mark McGwire from the cleanup spot during his 70-homer season.

Lankford’s Rookie Cards are featured in 1990 Bowman, Score Rookie/Traded and Upper Deck.

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Pocket 3: 1991 Bowman #203 Tim Salmon RC ($1.50)

Arguably the best player from the 1990s to never make an All-Star team, Salmon burst onto the scene in 1993 when he hit .283/.382/.536 with 31 home runs to win AL Rookie of the Year honors. He spent his entire 14-year career with the Angels, tallying 1,674 hits, 299 home runs and 1,016 RBI.

1991 Bowman contains his only Rookie Card.

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Pocket 4: 1992 Fleer Update #4 John Valentin RC ($1.50)

Valentin was an underrated pioneer in helping turn the shortstop position from a defensive-minded one to one of offensive impact. He won Silver Slugger honors in 1995 when he hit .298/.399/.533 with 37 doubles, 27 home runs, 102 RBI and 20 steals in an 8.3-WAR season. His 32.3 WAR during the 1990s trails only Barry Larkin, Cal Ripken Jr. and Jay Bell.

His only Rookie Card is in the somewhat short-printed 1992 Fleer Update set.

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Pocket 5: 1987 Donruss #627 Kevin Brown RC ($1.50)

Brown was the ace of the staff for back-to-back NL pennant winners in the 1997 Marlins and 1998 Padres. He won 211 games, earned six All-Star nods, captured two ERA titles, and his 2,397 strikeouts rank 50th on the all-time list. He deserved more than 2.1 percent of the vote as a one-and-done on the Hall of Fame ballot.

He made his MLB debut with a lone spot start in 1986, and that was enough for him to be included in the 1987 Donruss set.

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Pocket 6: 1990 Leaf #443 Carlos Baerga RC ($1)

The No. 3 hitter on those vaunted Cleveland lineups of the 1990s, Baerga enjoyed a brief but dominant four-year peak from 1992 through 1995 when he hit .315/.350/.476 while averaging 30 doubles, 19 home runs, 97 RBI and 4.2 WAR.

After reaching Triple-A in 1989, his Rookie Card was included in 1990 Bowman, Leaf and Upper Deck flagship releases, as well as 1990 Donruss Rookies, Fleer Update, Score Rookie/Traded and Topps Traded sets.

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Pocket 7: 1989 Topps #764 Robin Ventura RC ($0.75)

Ventura won the Golden Spikes Award and played for Team USA in the 1988 Olympics before starting his pro career, and the White Sox were happy to scoop him up with the No. 10 overall pick in the 1988 draft. He was a two-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, and his 46.1 WAR led all third baseman during the 1990s.

He has an XRC in the 1988 Topps Traded set as a member of Team USA, with his Rookie Cards coming in the 1989 Bowman and Topps releases, as well as the 1989 Fleer Update set.

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Pocket 8: 1985 Fleer Update #33 Darren Daulton XRC ($1)

The leader of a Phillies team that reached the World Series in 1993, Daulton hit .270/.385/.524 with 32 doubles, 27 home runs and an NL-leading 109 RBI that season. He was a three-time All-Star and finished his career with 137 home runs and 588 RBI in 14 seasons.

Along with the XRC featured here, he also has Rookie Cards in 1986 Donruss, Fleer and Topps flagship products.

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Pocket 9: 1990 Upper Deck #56 John Olerud RC ($0.75)

Olerud jumped straight to the big leagues after finishing a storied career at Washington State. He led the AL in batting average (.363), on-base percentage (.473), OPS+ (186) and doubles (54) in 1993 to help the Blue Jays to a second straight World Series title. He wrapped up his 17-year career with 2,239 hits, 255 home runs, 1,230 RBI and a .295/.398/.465 batting line.

His Rookie Card is featured in 1990 Bowman, Donruss, Leaf, Score and Upper Deck base sets, as well as the Fleer Update and Topps Traded releases.

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Total: $8.80