Team Sets: 1989 Topps

Players Included: Joe Morgan (mgr), Marty Barrett, Todd Benzinger, Mike Boddicker, Wade Boggs, Tom Bolton, Dennis Boyd, Ellis Burks, Rick Cerone, Roger Clemens, Steve Curry, Steve Ellsworth, Dwight Evans, Wes Gardner, Rich Gedman, Mike Greenwell, Bruce Hurst, Dennis Lamp, Spike Owen, Larry Parrish, Carlos Quintana, Jody Reed, Jim Rice, Jeff Sellers, Lee Smith, Mike Smithson, Bob Stanley

Best Picture: Bruce Hurst. Here we have Sox star lefty Bruce Hurst…scratching his elbow! What a great moment in the game. I’m thankful that Topps was on hand to record this instance in baseball history.

Hall of Famers: Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Future Hall of Famers: Roger Clemens

Reason the buy the set: While the player selection isn’t exactly stacked, there are several quality players in the set. With Lee Smith and three (future) Hall-of-Famers, the star quality is there. This set also contains the core of the fun teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Excitement was riding high in those years with the young group of homegrown talent the Sox were playing on a nightly basis.

Overall Reaction: I like the design of the ’89 Topps set. It’s an artistic yet simple way to display the basic elements of a card. It’s a set, and a team, I think of fondly.