Team MVPs: 1991 Score

 

The 1991 Score set is 30 years old this year.

 

As staggering as that is to hear, it seems about right in other ways. I have written about 1991 Score a whole bunch on this blog and references to it span the life of the blog -- 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019 all contain words dedicated to the blue, teal, black and white.

I finally completed the 893-card monster a little more than a year ago and talked about it some more then, too.

So, really, what I'm trying to do here is get another completed set out of the way in my Team MVPs series. I have reached 1981 in my reverse trip through history but continue to back-track as I complete more recent sets. This is me continuing to back-track with '91 Score.

The only other thing I'll mention here before we get to the best card for each team in the set is to say I always wished Score would have picked a border color/theme for this set and stuck with it instead of four different colors (one being very early 1990s).

The black-bordered cards in this set look wonderful, particularly when the inner red border matches up with a team that wears red such as Tom Browning here. Think of 1991 Score as nothing but black borders but with the inner border matching the color of the team. Phenomenal. And, no, I don't care about border chipping.

All right, what follows is the best card for each team in 1991 Score, assembled by the MLB divisions as they looked in 1991. I ignored the abundant subsets when evaluating here and also noted "one-off" cards like the Bo Jackson, Ryne Sandberg and a couple others.

Get ready for lots of ACTION!:

American League East

Orioles: Tim Hulett, Red Sox: Ellis Burks, Indians: Sandy Alomar Jr., Tigers: Lou Whitaker, Brewers: Edgar Diaz; Yankees: Bob Geren; Blue Jays: Tony Fernandez

Team with the best cards: Yankees or Blue Jays. The Geren and Fernandez cards are no-brainers but there are a few other nice ones for both teams. In general, the AL East teams didn't put up the most exciting cards.

Team with the worst cards: Tigers. I actually went back and re-checked all of the Tigers cards because, although I admire the Whitaker card, it doesn't stand out like the others. Jack Morris is pretty good, but there are a tremendous amount of "gunslinger" pitcher photos in this set.

Team I should go back and check again: Red Sox. I like the Burks shot because it's so unusual but the lack of a ball in the photo bothers me. Dwight Evans' card is nice but wasn't enough to place it here.

American League West

Angels: Lance Parrish, White Sox: Carlton Fisk; Royals: Kurt Stillwell; Twins: Al Newman; Athletics: Dennis Eckersley; Mariners: Edgar Martinez; Rangers: Julio Franco

Team with the best cards: Toss-up between the Angels, White Sox and A's.

Team with the worst cards: Rangers. I like the anticipation with the Franco photo but outside of that and a Kenny Rogers gunslinger shot, that's about it. I feel sorry for fans of teams like this because so many other teams have such interesting cards.

Team I should go back and check again: Angels. That Parrish card is great -- you can hear him putting on the brakes -- but I might be a little too thrilled with it (I should actually go back and rescan these cards so they're not crooked).

National League East

Cubs: Joe Girardi; Expos: Otis Nixon; Mets: Todd Hundley; Phillies: Mickey Morandini; Pirates: Don Slaught; Cardinals: Ozzie Smith

Team with the best cards: This division features the strongest photos. The Cardinals probably have the deepest roster of great cards but the Phillies are right up there (the Morandini is my favorite card in the entire set) and the Pirates have THREE cool catcher cards. The Expos are up there, too.

Team with the worst cards: Mets. A catcher-in-action shot saves a fairly boring selection (although the Gooden is quite regal).

Team I should go back and check again: The Expos. I know if I was a kid when '91 Score came out, I would be carrying that Otis Nixon card around with me in my front pocket because the rising dust reminds me of '76 Johnny Bench. But there are other Expos cards to consider.

National League West

Braves: Oddibe McDowell; Reds: Barry Larkin; Astros: Ken Caminiti; Dodgers: Orel Hershiser; Padres: Benny Santiago; Giants: Kirt Manwaring and Rick Parker

Team with the best cards: That's right, there are two Giants cards. I hate being indecisive but how am I supposed to pick between those two? (If there was money on it, I'd pick Cardboard Appreciation Hall of Famer Manwaring).

Team with the worst cards: Astros. Caminti is there because he's a bit more expressive in his follow through.

Team I should go back and check again: Padres. The Santiago card is so interesting to me because there are so few portrait cards in the base set. It really stands out. But the Jack Clark card is pretty good.

And there you are, the best card for each team from a set that came out the year "Enter Sandman" aired on MTV at least 25 times a day.

Next time, I'll go back to the early 1980s, I think.