1994 Action Packed 24K Gold Diamond
I thought Charles Johnson was going to be a huge superstar. At least I’m not the only one; he was consistently ranked as a top prospect and seen as a smart draft by the fledgling Florida Marlins. To be fair, he was an All-Star and a Gold Glover and produced well for a good long while, but unfortunately he fell off a cliff around the time he turned 30. Wow, did he look like a worldbeater in the minors, though. He had a killer (for a catcher) .828 OPS in 1993 at Single-A Kane County, then jumped to an .895 OPS in AA the following year (29 homers for a catching prospect – wow). For awhile in the majors he had a pattern of on-again off-again years – 100 OPS+, 73 OPS+, 113 OPS+, 79 OPS+…see the pattern? It’s a shame his production didn’t keep up because he might have been a longterm HOF candidate.
I pulled this card from a box of Action Packed that I bought in Minnesota in 1995. It’s apparently a fairly valuable card? Though I have to admit I’m not crazy about it. I don’t even know the story – is that actual gold leaf on the card? Either way, I’m not a big fan of Action Packed.
