JUNK WAX ERA
One of the biggest RCs found in 1988 Donruss is that of Tom Glavine. The youngster in this photo would go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Atlanta Braves and, to a lesser extent, the New York Mets. He is one of the three greatest pitchers to ever wear an Atlanta Braves uniform, along with John Smoltz and Greg Maddux. Other notable rookies in the set include Mark Grace, Jay Buhner, Gregg Jefferies and Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar.
One of the cards that will always stick out to me from the set is this Fred McGriff. First, the Blue Jays jersey really pops with the set design. This is also the first Fred McGriff card I ever owned. He would go on to have a brilliant career, with some of that time in Atlanta. He is currently the No. 1 modern player that, in my opinion, belongs in the Hall of Fame and isn’t (if we exclude the whole Pete Rose debate).
As was the case throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, sets would feature some cards that were a little different than your standard baseball card. This “Ripken Baseball Family” fit perfectly in that era and is a great looking card still today. At the time, no one could anticipate the storm that Billy Ripken would bring with 1989 Fleer, but that is a story for another time.
1988 Donruss is far from a perfect set. I won’t even call it the best set from 1988. The card stock is very thin and a lot of the cards you’ll find today will never grade well due to the colorful borders. The rookie class was not as good as 1987 with Bo, Barry Bonds and Greg Maddux. There also wasn’t a player in the set as highly collected as Ken Griffey Jr. would be in 1989. The Gregg Jefferies RC had a very nice run but it would soon fade away. So yes, the set could be better. But I don’t think any other set from the era gets dismissed as quickly as ’88 Donruss. Collectors have moved on from the set and I don’t think it is entirely fair. Even though it has its issues, 1988 Donruss deserves better.