Battle of the Sets: 1989 Upper Deck vs. 1990 Leaf
Maybe you were there, or maybe you've only heard the stories, but here's the thing. However crazy the stories sound, they're likely all true. The Hobby had never seen a set like Upper Deck. Though collectors didn't know it at the time, the set marked a permanent change in the Hobby landscape, the dawn of the Premium Era. Yes, Griffey was the card, but he was also one of many. Pulling a Jerome Walton, a Jim Abbott, or a Todd Zeile produced almost the same high.
Collectors looking ahead to 1990 knew one thing for certain. Upper Deck had set the bar impossibly high. There was no way the Yorba Linda company could top itself, but more importantly there was no way any other company could even come close to Upper Deck's 1989 offering. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, came the 1990 Leaf set. "Aren't these the Canadian Donruss guys?" collectors wondered. But no, this was something entirely new and different. Impossibly, these cards seemed even more premium than Upper Deck. But were they better? And are they better today?
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Rookie Cards
1989 UPPER DECK: Beyond the obvious, namely Griffey, 1989 Upper Deck offers a strong but not elite crop of rookie cards topped by Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio, and Gary Sheffield. Still, when a list includes Griffey, it's a near automatic W.
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1990 LEAF: Frank Thomas was back then and remains today the Leaf set's signature card. However, his card is one of the few that's remained largely steady over the decades. Travel back to 1990 and the buzz was around Ben McDonald, Kevin Maas, and Dave Justice. Today, most collectors would likely trade that trio for Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Deion Sanders. Fact is, they'd probably pull the trigger for the Walker alone. Still, as in 1989 Upper Deck, the supporting cast is just that: the supporting cast. With apologies to Deion, the Prime Time matchup is 100% Griffey vs. Thomas, and that's an easy one. EDGE: 1989 UPPER DECK.
Design
1989 UPPER DECK: When the cards came out, they were unlike anything collectors had ever seen before. Sharp photos, front and back. High-grade card stock. A hologram. Compare them to 1989 Topps, Fleer, or Donruss, and there's no contest, but what about when one premium set goes up against another?
1990 LEAF: This was pretty much the perfect baseball card. However good Upper Deck looked in 1989, it looked downright amateur compared to the clean design of 1990 Leaf. EDGE: 1990 LEAF.
Star Power
As the sets were only a year apart, the roster of superstars is nearly identical. Rather obviously, the 1990 Leaf set adds Frank Thomas and Larry Walker while including virtually every notable from the 1989 Upper Deck checklist. Technically the edge goes to Leaf but for all practical purposes it's more of a draw.
Extras
1989 UPPER DECK: Thanks to Griffey, the Star Rookies subset is the one most collectors remember best. However, the set also included some fantastic team checklists with incredible Vernon Wells, Sr., artwork and a fun bunch of Award Winner and Postseason cards. As much as Oakland fans might have hated seeing that Gibby homer one more time, they could at least take solace in the fact that Upper Deck assigned the card number 666! (And yes, the numbering was intentional.)
1990 LEAF: The Leaf set was about as close to a pure set as they came back then. Apart from a "header card" Leaf used to reintroduce itself to the Hobby, the only departures from standard player cards are the set's six checklists, which also doubled as extra cards of Rickey Henderson, Carlton Fisk, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Will Clark, and Ryne Sandberg. For collectors who enjoy a ton of extras, Upper Deck is the clear favorite. But for collectors who appreciate minimalism, the Leaf set offered an elegant "less is more" approach largely extinct today. EDGE: TIE.
And the Winner Is...
Sometimes the better set comes down to intentional effort, and sometimes it comes down to luck. And sometimes, a company creates its own luck. Had Upper Deck not rolled the dice on Griffey with the top slot on its checklist in 1989, it's hard to say how the set would be viewed today. Without a doubt, Upper Deck would have found a spot for Junior in its high number series, but by then collectors might have viewed Fleer or Donruss as his "true rookie card."
Of course, that's not what happened. Upper Deck did gamble on Junior and the gamble paid off. In 1990, Leaf was a helluva set. Nowadays, however, the premium look is everywhere. As great as Leaf was in 1990, that was then and this is now. Part of winning the battle is surviving the test of time. Upper Deck has done that in two ways. One, its Griffey card remains the Modern Hobby's most iconic card. And two, the set itself changed the history of the Hobby. EDGE: 1989 UPPER DECK.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.