Top 5 Ken Griffey Jr. Cards From Pacific to Take You Back to the ‘90s

1990s baseball will make you think of many players, but Ken Griffey Jr. stands out as one of the most popular, and for good reason.

Die-cut, refractor, and candy bars, these are a few of the top Pacific Ken Griffey Jr. cards. | Card Ladder

Ken Griffey Jr. has become synonymous with 90s baseball. The Kid became a quick fan favorite, doubling in his first at-bat after quickly making the team the year after he was called up, and then smacking a home run in his Kingdome debut. Pacific, the company, also debuted in the 1980s as the brainchild of Mike Cramer and developed a name for itself in the 1990s as the first company to heavily feature die-cut cards and foil variations, establishing a reputation for innovation.

After losing their MLB rights in 2001 and being acquired in 2004, they eventually folded into the Panini family, but while Pacific was Pacific, they truly flourished. Here is a list of the top Ken Griffey Jr. cards made by Pacific to hit you right in the 1990s.

1. Pacific Crown Royale's Cramer's Choice Award

This is the 1997 version of the Pacific Crown Royale's Cramer's Choice Award Card. There were versions printed of this die-cut masterpiece from 1996 until the company lost MLB rights in 2001. | Card Ladder

Produced several times, this is without a doubt the most expensive Pacific Ken Griffey Jr. card, and that’s for a reason. This die-cut card debuted in 1996 with a variety of color parallels and immediately became the “choice” for collectors. It was also often featured as a jumbo card that immediately stood out as the pinnacle for hobby boxes. 

2. Pacific Crown Prism Refractor Parallels

Two different years and two different colors of this exclusive insert from Pacific Crown Collection | Card Ladder

You might recognize Prism as the set that would eventually debut in 1999, before Panini acquired the company and made Prizm the set we know and love today. But before that ’99 set, Pacific released Prism refractor parallels, often in silver or gold, that were the crown jewels of the Pacific Crown Collection. The foil pattern would become synonymous with patterns of the 1990s and would become an iconic pioneer of the design. Junior’s swing was also made for these cards. The one-handed follow-through was too good to pass up, often being featured as the signature pose for these inserts.

3. The 1989 Pacific Candy Bar

The 1989 Pacific Ken Griffey Jr. Candy Bar card in the three colors released, yellow, white, and blue which correspond with the colors of the candy bar wrappers. | Card Ladder

While these cards might not be the most valuable cards released, they’re included because of two extremely important reasons: first, the candy bar wrapper blue, white, and yellow cards are complementary to the candy bars that Ken Griffey Jr. released, which takes us to reason two - Pacific was the company that produced those candy bars. While a candy bar wrapper from those legendary candy bars can be found in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, these cards can be found in the PCs of collectors everywhere due to being so accessible. Any fan of the Kid who lived through the 90s and can remember eating those candy bars needs to add copies of this card to their binders.

4. The Pacific Gold Crown Die-Cut

Die-cut to crown perfection, this insert showed off the royalty of baseball of its day. Featured is the 1995 Pacific Gold Crown Die-Cut card. | Card Ladder

A literal crown. While the Cramer’s Choice Award is top-notch, serving as the actual award from Mike Cramer as his best of the best, having a named “Gold Crown” bringing die-cut cards to the forefront using an actual crown couldn’t have been played better. The insert itself features iconic imagery and appears to “crown” Griffey Jr. as the King of the 90s. Ken Griffey Jr. is just cool. In a world where some might critique Pacific for having too many die-cut cards, this card is not what they’re talking about. 

5. The Pacific Omega EO Portraits Parallel 

This 1/1 variation of the 1999 Pacific Omega EO Portrait shows off the design, and Junior, in all their glory | Card Ladder

EO portraits featured on the Pacific Omega cards are truly top-notch. While scans might not do the cards justice, the clear optical portrait of Ken Griffey Jr. can’t be understated in person. Having the portrait be see-through on a card that otherwise is not makes not just the front stand out, but the back as well, and the portrait doesn’t lose any of its appeal when seen in reverse on the back. They had tinkered with the design in earlier years, but by 1999 the insert was perfected.

Honorable Mention: The Pacific Dynagon Diamond Titanium /99

This 1999 Pacific Dynagon Diamond Titanium card is out of 99 and features everything you'd look for from a late 90s refractor | Card Ladder

There’s too many to mention, but this 1999 staple brings back that iconic baseball swing follow through while adding a layer of diamond refractor goodness is exactly what 1990s became known for.  While Pacific wasn't known as the most sought after set, they did pump out some incredibly iconic cards in their run from 1988 to 2001, and like the player who debuted the year after them in 1989, it only makes sense that Ken Griffey Jr. would be an athlete that became the poster child for that era of collecting.