Christmas Cards! Golden Treasures Part III

Time for the third installment of pack rips from this Golden Treasures repack I was gifted courtesy of my parents on Christmas.  You can view the first three packs here, the second three here, and today we'll crack open another trio.  Let's see what spills out of the box this time around...

Leading off, we've got a 1992 Fleer pack.  I certainly remember ripping some of this as a kid.  A healthy 17 cards in this pack, certainly can't complain about the value there.  Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to pull a Roger Clemens Career Highlights for my Red Sox collection?

I'm not sure the aqua green/teal holds up that well after a couple of decades.  I have to say though, other than the color choice I kind of like what Fleer did with the design here.

I think the cards where the design works best are the ones like Ken Hill here, where part of the player overlaps that large right border containing the name.  Kind of makes the card pop a bit.

Here's a keeper!  Always liked Jeff Bagwell.  Was kind of cool pulling this one, because one of my all-time favorite Bagwell cards is actually an insert from this very set:

These Rookie Sensations inserts were a huge deal back in the day, at least to my recollection.  This card and the Frank Thomas specifically were highly coveted.  I didn't pull this card in the pack, this is a copy I picked up years ago.  I think these may have only been available in rack/jumbo packs if memory serves.  Cool to have pulled the Bagwell base card to pair with it after all these years.

Another Astro, catcher Scott Servais...

I barely recall Slammin' Sammy Sosa's three-year stint with the White Sox.

I have to be honest, aside from the Bagwell this wasn't the world's most exciting pack.

The 17th and final card is a Terry Pendleton League Leaders.  As I said, the Bagwell kind of saved that first pack.  Will things improve with the next product?

Hmm, not likely.  We've all got our opinions on which sets we love, and which we detest, and for me 1990 Bowman has always been the latter.  I'll spoil the suspense right now and just say that this pack was further evidence of why this set just doesn't do it for me.  It was a real stinker.  Just hold your breath and we'll rush right through these.  Ready?

Gum-stained Walt Weiss was sadly arguably the best card in my pack.

Yikes.  See what I mean?  I'm glad this ended up being the middle pack of today's post, gives us a chance to wash the taste of that out of our mouths.

Let's see if 1989 Donruss can end things on a more pleasant note here.  15 cards and a puzzle piece, here we go...

Warren Spahn was the puzzle subject this year, and I pulled the upper left corner pieces containing the "War" from his first name.

My Diamond Kings card doesn't really resonate with me, though I love the extremely '80s background on this one.

Not the first Howard Johnson card I've pulled in this repack.

Alright, that's more like it!  This one increases my Red Sox card count on The Trading Card Database by one, and is a definite keeper for me.  Jim Rice has been appearing on the blog frequently in the early part of 2019 here.  Just a couple of cards in and this pack is already more enjoyable than the 1990 Bowman one was.

I'm certainly pulling my fair share of Expos in this box.

Here's another one that I really got a kick out of.  I know his legacy is tainted to say the least, but I still remember just what a big deal Mark McGwire was during my childhood run at collecting.  I've kind of softened my stance on all these guys, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, hell even Bonds, over the years.  I'll be hanging onto this one.

Great shot of Mitch Webster about to lay down a bunt.

A concerned (constipated?) Ray Hayward.

1989 Donruss wasn't done yet, this pack had one more gem in store in the form of this Cal Ripken.  I've mentioned this numerous times but I was a big Ripken guy growing up, he was one of a handful of baseball players that I really collected hard as a kid.  This might be my favorite pull of the box so far, and certainly has a permanent home in my collection.  Awesome stuff.

Mike Pagliarulo closes it out for this round.

Well, that 1990 Bowman pack was a total dud, but the Bagwell in the first pack and a trio of awesome cards in the '89 Donruss pack certainly made up for it.  I'm really enjoying working my way through this box, and still have 11 more packs to go.  I'll get the next three up in the coming days...