Since dipping its toes into the premium baseball card market in 1992, Pinnacle Manufacturers Inc. shortly constructed a popularity for revolutionary design and printing strategies.
And the 1995 Pinnacle baseball card set was no exception.
Not solely did the playing cards comprise high-quality, borderless imagery with a gold foil baseball-seam-shaped nameplate alongside the underside, however some photos nonetheless stand as pastime icons.
The Ken Griffey Jr. card the place he’s blowing a big bubble is a collector favourite.
Bo Jackson, standing subsequent to a Blue Angles fighter jet, showcased two American icons aspect by aspect.
And how are you going to overlook a larger-than-life Frank Thomas climbing into the stadium?
The 450-card guidelines comprises so many great-looking playing cards.
And on this information, we’ll check out the 15 Most worthy.
Let’s soar proper in!
1995 Pinnacle #128 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $650
The Spiderman catch knocked Ken Griffey Jr. down. Months later, he lifted a whole metropolis up.
First, the fantastic catch.
Replayed hundreds of occasions up to now three many years, Griffey’s gravity-defying scale, stick, and seize off the Kingdome outfield fence is a one-of-a-kind internet gem.
It additionally broke the Seattle Mariners middle fielder’s left wrist.
The damage value Griffey 73 video games.
He returned mid-August with the Mariners’ preventing tooth-and-nail for a Wild Card spot.
On August twenty fourth, the 25-year-old hit his first-ever walk-off bomb, a two-run shot off Yankees nearer John Wettleland.
Junior’s bomb ignited the M’s, who surged to the franchise’s first playoff look in 19 years.
They added their first playoff sequence win, a memory-laden five-game ALDS win over those self same Yankees.
Griffey dismantled New York, hitting .391 with 5 dwelling runs and the series-winning run in Recreation 5.
In doing so, he captivated the town of Seattle and made it a baseball city for good.
1995 Pinnacle #208 Bo Jackson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $150
Bo Jackson may have landed anyplace as a DH in 1995.
Dogged by the hip damage that value him his soccer profession years earlier, Jackson was relegated to a delegated hitter spot with California in 1994.
He carried out effectively within the restricted function, hitting .279 with 13 dwelling runs, a .851 OPS, and a 117 OPS.
Nevertheless, he stole only one base in 75 video games and confirmed little of the athleticism that made him a two-sport phenom.
Quite than holding on and hunkering down as a hitting specialist, Jackson known as it a day.
With the ’94 strike bleeding via Spring Coaching and into the ’95 common season, the 32-year-old threw up his palms and walked away.
“Sufficient is sufficient,” Jackson stated. “I am retiring. It was nice whereas it lasted, but it surely’s over.”
Jackson’s profession stays an enigma.
At his peak, he was the preferred athlete on the planet.
His hip, nonetheless, robbed us of what may have been on each the gridiron and the diamond.
Of all of the Bo Jackson playing cards within the pastime, this one is among the dual-sport phenom standing subsequent to a Blue Angles fighter jet is among the coolest.
1995 Pinnacle #21 Don Mattingly
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $70
Ernie Banks and Don Mattingly acquired their fair proportion {of professional} disappointment.
Banks performed for the Chicago Cubs for 19 years, making 14 All-Star appearances and successful two MVP awards.
The beloved infielder did all the pieces a person performer may do after which some.
He was rewarded with zero pennants and playoff appearances, making him one of many biggest gamers to by no means play within the postseason.
Accidents knocked Mattingly off of Banks’ Corridor-of-Fame degree, but he was additionally an MVP and the very best hitter within the sport at his peak within the Eighties.
He additionally had zero postseason journeys, at the least going into the Yankees’ 1995 marketing campaign.
Mattingly, nonetheless, bought off the snide in his ultimate season with a rousing New York run to a Wild Card berth.
Donnie Baseball bought his licks in throughout his first October stint, hitting .417 towards the Mariners in a back-and-forth ALDS showdown.
Sadly for NY followers, the Yanks had been clipped in 5, and Mattingly was denied a World Sequence look, similar to Banks.
1995 Pinnacle #93 Tony Gwynn
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $60
The 1994 strike erased Tony Gwynn’s chase for .400.
However it did not cease him from being the very best pure hitter on Earth.
After a torrid five-game stretch, the legendary San Diego Padres left fielder entered the mid-August stoppage at .394.
He had a respectable probability of changing into the primary .400 hitter since Ted Williams in 1941.
No video games, no probability.
Gwynn gained his fifth NL batting title however left with a bitter style.
How would he reply in 1995?
The identical method he all the time did.
The 35-year-old returned from damage in late April and began dinking, dunking, and lining balls in all places.
After a subpar Could by his requirements, Gwynn returned to kind with months of .368, .400, .341, and .407 to finish the 12 months.
All of it added as much as a .368 common and a 22-point win over Dodgers sensation Mike Piazza for his sixth of eight profession batting championships.
1995 Pinnacle #201 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
Rickey Henderson’s final 12 months in Oakland wasn’t his final 12 months in Oakland.
It might have felt prefer it.
The charismatic but controversial left fielder returned to the A’s in 1994 on a two-year deal after a brief stint with the Toronto Blue Jays.
By the point the 1995 season ended, it felt like Henderson and the Athletics had outgrown one another.
Rickey had a powerful 112 video games, slashing .300/.407/.447 with 32 stolen bases and a 130 OPS+.
Alternatively, the previously pennant-chasing A’s had been heading into an entire rebuild.
Oakland completed 67-77 in ’95, twelve video games out of a playoff spot.
Henderson was in his mid-30s and needed to win, however the A’s weren’t going to win a lot anytime quickly.
So, Rickey departed the Bay once more in ’96 on a two-year cope with San Diego.
That appeared to be the top.
After which 1998 got here alongside…
1995 Pinnacle #204 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
Cal Ripken Jr.’s 1995 season was among the many worst particular person efforts of his profession so far.
It was additionally the very best factor that might have occurred to baseball.
Followers revolted towards the millionaires who performed and ran their groups after the protracted 1994 strike.
The lack of October baseball rightfully pissed off the devoted who purchased tickets to the precise video games.
All of the messiness and finger-pointing led to a scarcity of goodwill to start out the ’95 marketing campaign.
Attendance dropped sharply from 1994, dipping from 31,256 to 25,021, MLB’s worst mark since 1987.
Ripken (mixed with the house runs of the early Steroid Period) slowly introduced everybody again.
Ripken’s career-worst 91 OPS+ and Baltimore’s middling 71-73 file meant nothing on September sixth when he broke Lou Gehrig’s hallowed file of two,130 consecutive video games performed.
It was an emotional celebration of all the pieces the sport may very well be.
It began to rekindle the baseball itch in a jaded, lapsed fanbase.
1995 Pinnacle #304 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
The 30-card “Swing Males” subset present in Sequence 2 packs featured among the greatest hitters of the period.
Eleven of them turned out to be Corridor of Famers.
Large names like Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., Don Mattingly, Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones and Kirby Puckett are among the many hottest of your complete subset.
However all the playing cards pack great eye enchantment, with the participant superimposed upon a swirling picture of himself within the background.
The entire biographies on the reverse aspect of the playing cards are enjoyable to learn and spotlight what made every participant such a standout.
As one of many largest names of the period and a pastime favourite, Griffey’s “Swing Males” card is often probably the most fascinating of the group.
1995 Pinnacle #340 Kirby Puckett
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
Dennis Martinez inadvertently threw the final pitch of Kirby Puckett’s Corridor-of-Fame profession.
Puckett hit two milestones throughout the 1995 season, crossing 1,000 profession runs scored and 1,000 RBIs.
The 35-year-old Minnesota Twins proper fielder hit over .300 for the eighth time in ten seasons (.314) and blasted over 20 dwelling runs (23) for the third consecutive marketing campaign.
The ’95 Twins had been horrid (56-88), however Puckett was reliably nice.
It appeared like he had a half-decade left within the tank.
On the ultimate day of the common season, the Corridor-of-Famer’s All-Star marketing campaign got here to a devastating halt by a Dennis Martinez pitch to the face.
The HBP broke Puckett’s jaw.
Admirably, Puckett recovered shortly and appeared nice in 1996 Spring Coaching.
After which, it ended.
Puckett suffered a career-ending eye drawback per week earlier than the season with obstructed and blurred imaginative and prescient.
Martinez didn’t trigger it, however his errant pitch ended the Twins star’s final common season sport.
1995 Pinnacle #111 Chipper Jones
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
The Atlanta Braves waited an additional 12 months for the Chipper Jones period to start.
They celebrated the franchise’s first championship as a resident of Georgia.
The previous #1 decide suffered a brutal ACL tear in a 1994 Spring Coaching sport.
It lower his rookie season quick and pushed it again a 12 months.
It was delayed even additional because the labor stoppage prolonged into the ’95 season.
Nevertheless, as soon as the video games began, the get together started.
The 23-year-old appeared good, ending runner-up for NL Rookie of the Yr with a .265/.353/.450 break up, 73 walks, 87 runs, and 86 RBIs in 140 video games.
Atlanta locked up the NL East of their first 12 months within the division, successful their fourth division crown in a row general.
They went 0-for-3 on titles in ’91 via ’93, but got here via in ’95 with a stirring six-game Sequence conquer Cleveland.
It was the Braves’ first trophy since their fifth 12 months in Milwaukee again in 1957.
One 12 months, one title for Jones.
Not unhealthy.
1995 Pinnacle #226 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
Chicago White Sox celebrity Frank Thomas had a blistering 1995 marketing campaign, but it surely wasn’t ok within the voters’ eyes for a 3rd consecutive American League MVP marketing campaign.
Not that Thomas actually cared.
“I am not into being often known as the very best by followers or the media,” Thomas stated. “I care how I am perceived by my friends.”
The Large Damage’s friends noticed him as one in every of, if not probably the most harmful energy hitters in all of baseball.
And for good purpose.
Thomas performed all 145 video games for the Chicago White Sox in ’95 and led baseball in walks (136) for the second straight 12 months.
The 27-year-old first baseman put up 40 dwelling runs and 111 RBIs for a second 40/100 marketing campaign in three tries and positioned third within the Majors in OPS (1.061).
As with Barry Bonds within the Nationwide League, voter fatigue and crew mediocrity dinged Thomas’ MVP probabilities.
He completed eighth.
1995 Pinnacle #272 Barry Bonds
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
If we checked out stats in 1995 as we do in 2025, Barry Bonds may have gained his fourth NL MVP in six years.
Bonds was probably the most completed hitter within the Senior Circuit by present high-value metrics, main all NL place gamers with 7.5 WAR.
The 30-year-old performed all 144 video games for the San Francisco Giants and paced the league in walks (122), on-base proportion (.431), and OPS (1.009).
He additionally hit 33 dwelling runs and drove in 104, placing collectively a 30/100 season as he had in his earlier three MVP campaigns.
The issue was that Barry Bonds was Barry Bonds, and the Giants weren’t any good.
Voters dinged the Giants celebrity for his former success and dropped him all the way in which to twelfth in consideration of San Francisco’s uninspiring 67-77 end.
“As soon as you’ve got gained it just a few occasions, the requirements are very excessive,” Bonds stated.
1995 Pinnacle #333 Ozzie Smith
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
The top of Ozzie Smith’s profession got here knocking in 1995.
The face of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball entered his age-40 season, coming off a strong .262 marketing campaign in ’94.
Even after the strike extended the beginning of the ’95 common season, Smith appeared energized and able to go for an 18th 12 months.
What adopted was a really depressing expertise.
St. Louis nosedived to a shedding file for a second consecutive 12 months, costing supervisor Joe Torre his job.
The crew struggled mightily, as did Smith, however “The Wizard” was nonetheless an All-Star defensive participant.
He wasn’t within the batter’s field.
Smith missed three months because of shoulder surgical procedure and hit .199 with a paltry .526 OPS in 44 video games.
His -0.7 WAR stands as the one damaging output of his Corridor-of-Fame profession.
The Cooperstown icon mulled over retirement within the offseason, in the end deciding to present it one ultimate go in ’96.
1995 Pinnacle #49 Jose Canseco
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $30
After a three-year stint with the Texas Rangers, Jose Canseco discovered himself a part of a multi-player deal that despatched him to the Boston Crimson Sox forward of the 1995 season.
Whereas in Boston, Canseco carried out at a blistering tempo.
However many individuals do not keep in mind it that method, given how a lot time he missed because of damage.
Between his two years in Boston, Canseco performed in simply 198 video games between 1995 and 1996.
It is a disgrace as a result of he appeared to get pleasure from taking part in there.
Over 102 video games in 1995, Canseco belted 24 dwelling runs and drove in 81 runs whereas batting .306, his highest profession mark outdoors his 1988 MVP season in Oakland when he hit .307.
For those who common out his manufacturing in 1995 and 1996, Canseco produced a 162-game common of 184 hits, 43 dwelling runs, and 134 RBIs whereas with Boston.
Canseco’s distinctive mixture of energy and a nostril for the house run surged again into the highlight.
And similar to that, the Crimson Sox shipped him again to Oakland forward of the 1997 season.
1995 Pinnacle #244 Greg Maddux
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $30
Atlanta Braves tremendous ace Greg Maddux wasn’t only a degree above everybody else in 1995.
He was his personal measurement system.
Maddux adopted up the historic dominance of his 1994 marketing campaign with one other iconic displaying in ’95, the final of 4 consecutive NL Cy Younger seasons for the Corridor-of-Famer.
The 29-year-old righty led baseball in WAR for the third time in 4 years (9.7).
He paced the Bigs in wins (19), ERA (1.63), full video games (10), and ERA+ (260).
To high it off, he led the NL in innings pitched (209.2) and shutouts (3).
On August twenty sixth, Maddux was staked to a five-run lead in his record-breaking sixteenth consecutive street win.
“That is like giving a 15-0 result in a daily human being,” one author remarked.
Maddux was the exception.
He was additionally distinctive within the Braves’ first World Sequence run of the Atlanta period, going 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 5 postseason begins.
1995 Pinnacle #132 Alex Rodriguez
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
In 1996, former #1 general decide Alex Rodriguez broke out with a vengeance en path to an MVP runner-up and All-Star look.
The younger Seattle Mariners shortstop cemented the inspiration of his upcoming success the 12 months earlier than.
Rodriguez went backwards and forwards between Triple-A Tacoma in Seattle in ’95, getting beneficial reps at each the Minor and Main League ranges.
The 19-year-old’s swing wasn’t there but.
He labored tirelessly to carry it alongside.
“I do know it is going to take a while, but it surely’s one thing I am all the time engaged on,” Rodriguez stated.
The celebrated teen prospect performed 48 video games for the Large-League membership, posting a damaging WAR (-0.4) and slashing a modest .232/.264/.408 with 5 homers and 19 RBIs.
Rodriguez acquired simply two pinch-hitting appearances in Seattle’s first-ever postseason.
It was a humbling begin.
Nevertheless, the exhausting knocks did not final lengthy.
One 12 months later, A-Rod grew to become Seattle’s on a regular basis shortstop and blossomed into the very best younger participant in baseball.
1995 Pinnacle Baseball Playing cards In Evaluate
The 2 main drawbacks of this set are that it debuted throughout a pastime downturn and does not comprise any big-name rookie playing cards.
These two issues are why many collectors do not pay a lot consideration to it in in the present day’s market.
But, it nearly has a distinct segment/cult following due to the design.
For those who’re a traditionalist who likes glorious motion photographs, 1995 Pinnacle has loads of these.
And for those who’re a collector who likes some goofy and distinctive photographs, too, you will not be disillusioned.
Many playing cards within the set are simply downright enjoyable to take a look at.
There have been a number of totally different subsets within the guidelines, together with:
- Rookeis (#132 – 166; randomly #406 – 444)
- Draft Picks (#167 – 176)
- Swing Males (#276 – 305
The “Swing Males” subset is especially well-designed and options among the largest hitters of the period.
And since inserts had been all of the craze within the mid-90s, Pinnacle was fast to trip the wave, together with 9 totally different inserts general.
Sadly, 1995 Pinnacle simply does not appear to charge too excessive on many collectors’ wishlists.
It is a disgrace that the pastime nosedived so exhausting throughout the mid-90s as a result of units like this simply do not get as a lot fanfare as they in any other case would have.
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