Andujar Cedeno

R.I.P.

First of all, yes, Andujar Cedeno passed away in 2000 at the age of 31. Rough, given that he could have conceivably still been in the majors at the time. As I recall, he was a shorstop that was known more for his bat than his glove, which makes this shot kind of amusing. His best season was 1993 with the Astros, when he had 14 homes and a 106 OPS+. He followed that with a 100 OPS+ the next season, then unfortunately fell off from there, out of the majors by 1996. He held on in the minors until 1999 and was playing in an independent league when he passed away. It’s a sad story for a guy who had so much potential. I really thought he was going to be a superstar when I started picking up his cards. Ah, well.  

As far as being in the Gold Rookies set, I like this card. That turf looks brutal, but it’s an interesting shot you don’t see too much of – not to mention the good color composition in this set.

Jerome Walton

This card was once highly regarded.

Man this was THE card to have in the back half of 1989. Jerome Walton was in the middle of his 89 ROY campaign, and everyone wanted to have this card. I remember it being a highly valued card in our little trading community, one that took me a long time to acquire. It was trading up in the stratospheric TEN DOLLAR range! The same as the Ken Griffey Jr rookie card.  It’s laughable now, really, and I didn’t completely understand it at the time, as I was more of a Dwight Smith guy, but hey, a must-have card is a must-have card.

 

And frankly I think it’s a pretty good-looking card. He looks a bit weird, but the color in the picture is vibrant and I think almost as iconic as that Griffey shot. If Walton had panned out like Griffey, I could easily see this one occupying that same aesthetic stratosphere. I have a feeling they chose this photo very carefully, just like the Griffey one. Still fun to look at and think about, even if Walton was terrible.