And now it’s time for some awkwardness, some oddities, and whatever the heck you might call the rest of this. As I’ve said before, with pictures on the back and the front you are bound to find some crazy stuff in these Upper Deck sets. I also think that Series 2 always has some good stuff like this because Upper Deck always seemed to have large sets.
This post is going to cover a little bit of everything so you better buckle up for the ride.
For a look at some the previous ’93 Upper Deck Series 2 posts, check out ’93 Til Infinity, Vol.2 or Picture Day 2.
Here’s more about the look back at Series 1: ’93 Til Infinity, Picture Day, Lurking Oddities and Finding Themes.
Hey There, Tough Guy
Wow… just wow! These guys sure are tough. Vince is definitely the leader of the pack when it comes to these tough guys. He’s got those great shades, that look on his face, and that undone jacket without much underneath it to show that necklace doesn’t hurt either. I’m noticing these other guys are in different stages of being tough.
Grace is ready to be tough, Batiste is being tough, and Hill has most likely just been tough. It’s as if they are the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. My favorite of the bunch has to be Glenallen Hill who is getting cooled down by a teammate. I think it’s an easy guess that it would be a HBP situation.
Not Quite
These just don’t quite do it for me in a couple different ways.
Are we really going to give Phil Hiatt the special exposure treatment? I seriously don’t remember him so I’m not sure he’s the best choice for a special card.
The other two guys are just in stages of not being there yet. Brian Jordan seems to be pulling the Willy Mays Hayes routing and not quite making it to second. I hope he didn’t get special “running” gloves too.
Catcher Stuff
When a guy is squatting down behind the plate you don’t notice the gear. I mean, yeah, you notice it, but it looks normal to you. But when you see a catcher walking around it looks a little more awkward.
Once you start taking pieces off of him it looks more and more awkward as you go. Wedge’s gear looks so different than what they wear these days. I don’t know if that’s normal gear or just something he might wear during someone’s day to throw on the side or something. Whatever it is it looks really awkward and even more so with his hat on.
Knorr is a little more normal looking, but I love this card because I know it can go out in a TTM.
Broke
Brian Hunter continues the broken bat theme in the ’93 Upper Deck set. There were plenty of them in Series 1 so it’s no surprise that wouldn’t continue into Series 2.
More Signers
As an autograph guy I really like to see all these guys signing on their cards. To me that’s something really special and provides that connection to players. Especially when you’re a kid, if you want that connection it’s certainly there for the guys that put in the time. But as you can see from some of these, you have to be willing to brave the crowds.
Chain Link
I don’t think I ever realized how much chain link there was around the league (at least at that time). I’m guessing some of these are Spring Training so that could be the reason for it. And two of them might actually be in the same place (which judging by the uniforms could have been where the Astros once played Spring Training).
’93 Upper Deck is one of my favorite designs and the content of the cards still don’t disappoint (front and back). I could open these for a while and still be pretty into it. After opening a box of Series 1 and Series 2, I’d be up for more.