Sets in My Collection: 1988 Topps Kay-Bee Superstars of Baseball

1988 Topps Kay-Bee Superstars of Baseball set box.

This Sunday, the boxed set I'm featuring is the 1988 Topps Kay-Bee Superstars of Baseball, which is a typical Topps 33-card boxed set.  I like when these sets are fully committed to their retail partner, and that's the case here -- the box has the Kay-Bee logo, and so do the card fronts.  You can see that I got this marked down from $2.99 to $2.00.

Mike Schmidt.

Mike Schmidt card back.

Since it's a "Superstars" set, I thought I would start with the card of Mike Schmidt.  When I post these sets, I usually focus on the less famous players, the ones whose inclusion is perhaps more questionable.  But it's always good to post a Schmidt card, I think.  This features the old blue road uniforms I remember from watching the Phillies on TV as a kid.  Also, as I've been developing my player collection for Schmidt, I've noticed a lot of cards of him are head shots; it's nice that this appears to be a shot of him actually warming up on deck.  The back is nice, too, reminiscent of the 1971 Topps set.  The text goes to explain what makes the player a superstar, I suppose.

Juan Samuel.

The Phillies are well-represented, with Juan Samuel also appearing.  Samuel wasn't really a superstar, but he was a solid second baseman for the Phils for a number of years, making the All-Star team twice with them (and once after), and winning a Silver Slugger in 1987.  Things I didn't know: Samuel briefly managed the Orioles in 2010.  He's on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.

Lance Parrish.

Continuing with the Phillies, we have Lance Parrish.  I've featured Parrish for his 1987 Topps Traded card, in the 1987 Fleer 7-Eleven Award Winners set, in the 1987 Topps Mail-in All-Stars, when I recently opened two packs of 1980 Topps, in some 1984 Topps Rub-Downs, and if you look closely, you can see his name on the Angels Wall of Fame in the photos I posted.  Parrish was never important to my collection, and his appearances here were originally something of a coincidence, and now perhaps something of a running joke.

Darrell Evans.

I remember watching a Tigers game as a kid once, at Tigers Stadium, and when Evans came to bat, the crowd slowly chanted "Darr-ell, Darr-ell."  The announcers explained that when people chanted "Darryl" for Darryl Strawberry, it was antagonistic, but for these Tigers fans, this was a sign of deep affection for Evans.

Jack Clark.

I have a lot of cards of Jack Clark.  I would say he's over-represented in my binder.  I must have thought he was a big star in the 80s, which I guess he was.  He never played for teams I particularly cared for (while I was paying attention -- I do kind of like the Giants, but he left them before I started watching), and his career numbers are solid but not spectacular, I would say. 

Tim Wallach.

The Expos had a surprising amount of talent for a team with so few postseason appearances.  Wallach was a five-time All-Star with them, playing with them from 1980-1992.  He won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers in that time as well.  His career numbers aren't so different from Jack Clark.

Joe Carter.

Joe Carter always reminds me of eighth grade, which I started in 1988.  My social studies teacher, Mr. Kennedy, was an Indians fan, and he particularly talked about Larry Doby.  I gave him a Pacific card of Doby, which he tacked up on the classroom wall.  I had some 1988 Topps folders for my school work, and I used the Joe Carter folder for Mr. Kennedy's class.