Tribute to 1990 Upper Deck - Mariano Rivera

As I mentioned in the 1990 Upper Deck tribute to Chipper Jones, these were the first baseball cards I ever owned.

The set has a classic, clean look. The white borders and the crisp, minimalist design compliment the photography well. Upper Deck used this look for the first five years of their existence, from 1989-1993. In 1994 they changed their style drastically but migrated the old design to the "Collector's Choice" sets, which I enjoyed collecting until their demise in 1999.

To speak a bit about the player -- Mariano Rivera is an outstanding closer for the New York Yankees. In 2008 he had one of his finest seasons ever. He had a 1.40 ERA, an absolutely absurd 0.67 WHIP and a sterling 77/6 strikeout to walk ratio. Much like Chipper Jones, he is a consistent target of mine in fantasy baseball leagues and will be again in 2009.