Happy Birthday Tony!
In 1989, Topps produced a bunch of baseball card sets for other companies: Woolworth's, K-Mart, Hills department stores, and today's featured set: Cap'n Crunch cereal.
However there are a couple of things that make this cereal set stand out among the others produced that year. By now you've probably noticed the airbrushed goodness that Topps featured on this lovely set. But check out the other sets:
Why did Cap'n Crunch get the shaft? Maybe it has to do with the way they were distributed. The Woolworth's, K-Mart, and Hills sets were all distributed in boxed sets at their stores. While the Cap'n Crunch cards were inserted into boxes of specially marked cereal as two card packs.
But that doesn't seem like the likely reason. My guess is that Sy Berger prefers Coco Puffs over the Captain. Or maybe Quaker Oats was just too cheap to dish out the $$$ to the MLB.
Whatever the reason, they're lucky that some fans don't mind a little airbrushing. The fact is... I'm a fan of oddball issued sets... especially when they involve food.
So grab a snack, sit back, and enjoy my latest set showcase: 1989 Topps Cap'n Crunch.
Set: 22 Cards
#1 Jose Canseco, #2 Kirk Gibson, #3 Orel Hershiser
#4 Frank Viola, #5 Tony Gwynn, #6 Cal Ripken Jr.
#7 Darryl Strawberry, #8 Don Mattingly, #9 George Brett
#10 Andre Dawson, #11 Dale Murphy, #12 Alan Trammell
#13 Eric Davis, #14 Jack Clark, #15 Eddie Murray
#16 Mike Schmidt, #17 Dwight Gooden, #18 Roger Clemens
#19 Will Clark, #20 Kirby Puckett
#21 Robin Yount, #22 Mark McGwire
Hall of Famers: 36% (8 players)
This set is full of players who were "good", but just aren't "good enough" for Cooperstown. Maybe Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire eventually make the grade if their sins are ever forgiven. But I'm not sure if anyone else gets in. Mattingly? Trammell? I guess with today's standards... anything is possible.
Beckett Value: $12
It's no surprise that Ripken is the highest valued card at $4. Gwynn, Mattingly, Brett, Clemens, and McGwire are second in the price guide... valued at $2/card. Lowest valued? Jack Clark and Frank Viola... 20¢/card.
eBay Value: $5 to $9
Two sets have closed within the last 30 days for $4.99 (+ $2 shipping) and $5.94 (+ $2.99 shipping). But there are a couple of sets listed right now with BIN's at $4.99 (free shipping). No surprises here... just around the 1/2 book value mark.
It should be noted that according to Beckett, Cap'n Crunch did not offer any mail-in offers. So most collectors had to eat a bunch of cereal to complete the set. Then again, I'm sure a ton of these sets slipped out the back door and were sold as complete sets.
Okay... time to hear your thoughts:
Will anyone outside of the elite eight ever make it into Cooperstown? If so, who?
Out of the four oddball sets listed on this page (Woolworth's, K-Mart, Hills and Cap'n Crunch), which card design do you find the most attractive?
Looking past the airbrushed hats, helmets, and jerseys... my favorite is the Cap'n Crunch set. They remind of some sort of little kid's product or a Bazooka bubble gum set.
Okay... that's it. Happy Hump Day! We're halfway there... only two more days of work. Sayonara!
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